The 88th Academy Awards
Sunday, February 28, 2016 at 9:10PM Chris Rock's opening monologue will take some time to parse. We'll have time to parse tomorrow, okay? Like most Oscar opening monologues it had a combination of lame expected jokes and great curveball laughs but this time a super uncomfortable crowd, no one knowing when it was okay to laugh surely fearing the camera would be on them. Some of it was really inspired though, and an artful deflection and condemnation simultaneously.
To continue the racial themes he introduces Emily Blunt and "someone even whiter" Charlize Theron, who happens to actually be African. So funny. But in a thinky/smile about it later way if you realize. Both stars of that awful looking Snow White sequel look sensationally gorgeous. Charlize Theron's neckline dives deeper than the whole Best Actor field combined.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Spotlight
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY The Big Short
Adam McKay's says his movie is about "financial esoterica" which is surely a first for an Oscar ceremony.
Another first (and last) for Oscar -- a Stacey Dash appearance. I actually do not get this joke unless... Or, rather, I get it (Stacey Dash being an awful person who wants black history month and the like abolished) but it's super unfunny.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl.
lots more after the jump
This is insane."
Why yes it is Alicia Leading Actress Vikander! She seems overwhelmed and happy and she is such a good actor so we shan't complain too much.
Cate Blanchett introduces the category she has so often been a part of for the men and women she has so often played muse to. Good choice.
BEST COSTUME DESIGN Jenny Beavan, Mad Max: Fury Road
She warns us that Fury Road won't be totally science fiction if we aren't kinder to each other and if we don't stop polluting the environment. Jenny Beavan is a great interview btw and I was horrified when they started playing her off. Stop it, stick man!
Tina Fey cracks everyone up with her drunk act. The Monimees are...
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN Colin Gibson, Mad Max: Fury Road
Margot Robbie & Jared Leto introducing Makeup and Hair. Leto makes a joke about merkins. Well done.
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega, and Damian Martin Mad Max Fury Road
Pop the corks at home we're bringing gold.
Three Oscars already for Mad Max Fury Road. Remember when this moment seemed like an impossible dream that critics and journalists and pundits would really have to push and push for. We did it! This is a huge win for taking genre films seriously.
Benicio Del Toro and Jennifer Garner introduce clips for The Revenant and Mad Max Fury Road.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Emmanuel Lubezki The Revenant
This is his third consecutive win which has never happened before in Cinematography. John Toll won two back to back with Legends of the Fall (1994) and Braveheart (1995)
BEST FILM EDITING Margaret Sixel, Mad Max Fury Road
If she wins and George Miller doesn't this will be a bit like Catherine Martin taking Oscars for Baz Luhrmann pictures without Baz ever winning one! But damn the editing is great in that movie. GREAT SPEECH about forging a picture with minds, hands, and hearts.
Angela Basset with the "Oscar's Black History Minute" Hilarious But in a conceptual way again. Hmmm. Is this going well at Oscar parties?
Chris Evans and Chadwick Boseman arrive to introduce the Sound categories. Strangely they are welcomed by Disco music... "Staying Alive" to be precise.
What Glenn said:
I am offended that Chris Evans and Chadwick Boseman are presenting together and they're not naked. How rude.
— Glenn Dunks (@glenndunks) February 29, 2016
SOUND EDITING Mad Max Fury Road
SOUND MIXING Mad Max Fury Road
I'll let another Team Experience member take this one...
GEORGE MILLER HAS EATEN THE OSCARS YASSSS
— Jason Adams (@JAMNPP) February 29, 2016
Andy Serkis is introduced via film clips of his performance capture work. He's here to talk Visual FX
VISUAL EFFECTS Ex-Machina
WOW. This was my choice but i never in a million years thought it would win. This prize was followed by a really strange unfunny Star Wars bit. Those weren't the droids I was looking for. Not after an Ex Machina win! But at least Jacob Tremblay liked it. He jumped up from his seat to see them better.
ANIMATED SHORT Bear Story
ANIMATED FEATURE Inside Out
I predicted Bear Story and it's a good short and the Chilean team behind it were so handsome/happy. But... I weep for We Can't Live Without Cosmos and World of Tomorrow which were both so brillant, funny, and also hard to shake emotionally.
Kevin Hart congratulates Chris Rock on a great hosting job, gets bleeped by worried censors -- but it didn't look like he was swearing so not sure what's going on there -- and complains that he hasn't had enough camera time. And ends with a great quip "I have a suit with shiny stuff on it so I still made a statement." Hee. Then The Weeknd performs "Earned It" from 50 Shades of Grey.
Chris Rock does his going to the movie theater shtick wherein people haven't even heard of movies that were hits! Bridge of Spies did pretty well!
Patricia Arquette, woke from her nap, introduces the next category. You know what it is.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Why do they always show Mark Ruffalo's worst season in the movie. Way OTT for that movie, sorry. And i love the Ruff but tone it down man. Happy for Mark Rylance. He was just outside of my nominees in the category but he's such a brilliant actor. And now he's halfway to an EGOT. (Sly Stallone was not pleased obviously.)
DOCUMENTARY SHORT Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE Amy
My short predictions have been spot on. Not so much elsewhere!
Whoopi Goldberg introduces the Honorary Oscar clips. Insane that we don't get to see more than a split second of these legends on Hollywood's High Holy Night. Boo.
Cheryl Boone-Isaacs appears to talk about diversity and Louis Gossett Jr comes on to the tune of "Love Lifts Us Up (Where We Belong)" which I think is the first time someone has been introduced by music from a movie they were actually in. He's here to introduce Dave Grohl singing during "Blackbird" to In Memoriam. Maureen O'Hara forever (my heart)
LIVE ACTION SHORT Stutterer
FOREIGN FILM Son of Saul
ORIGINAL SCORE Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight
ORIGINAL SONG Sam Smith, The Writing's On the Wall from Spectre
BEST DIRECTOR Alejandro G. Iñárritu, The Revenant
Disappointing after all the Mad Max wins but what can you do? When they love someone they love them hard (and then they move on). And now Eddie Redmayne to hand out Best Actress
BEST ACTRESS Brie Larson, Room
She thanks festivals and fans for the platform and the moviegoing. There's my girl. Thanking moviegoers is too rare. YOU'RE WELCOME.
BEST ACTOR Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Great speech.
BEST PICTURE Spotlight
Fun surprise to end the night. I noticed that the (false) word was quickly spread that this is the least wins for a Best Picture. This is not true. Other Best Picture winners that only won 1 other Oscar are: ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930), REBECCA (1940), THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH (1952); and famously GRAND HOTEL (1932) won only Best Picture with no other nominations. (There were fewer categories back then but still...)
THE END
Obviously we'll celebrate the highs and lows of sideways moments over the next couple of days and then we're off to a whole new film year. Please stick around daily!
Reader Comments (106)
Stacey Dash had gotten a lot of blowback for calling an Oscars boycott ludicrous and generally being a conservative shill. I guess it was supposed to be some sort of funny "mea culpa"...or something.
I agree the monologue was hit-or-miss but the hits were GREAT. The montage of the black actors in this year's nominated films was also very funny.
Jenny Beavan just walked by Innaritu and he was not clapping and looked pissed
Wow, Mad Max on a roll.
Remember when the aviator was winning everything and then the last 4 categories happened...
Chivo! he won 3rd time!
Alicia you're stuck in Best Supporting Actress prison not because your win was bad but because only titians of the craft get to go from Supporting Actress winner to Best Actress winner --- only three have done it and I don't believe anyone will see you as the successor in a trio that is made up of Meryl Streep, Jessica Lange and Cate Blanchett.
Rooney Mara you dodged a bullet and now your eventual coronation to Best Actress Champ (Nick Davis) will transpire.
Kate Winslet you're not done this nomination secured you're standing with the Academy in case some writer/fan is concern about where you're film career is going.
Jennifer Jason Leigh you're my preferred overdue nominee of the night.
Rachel McAdams you also dodged a bullet and should be very grateful all you are is a nominee tonight. Maybe this will light a flame in your backside and you'll give better performances in movies I'd actually care to see.
Yay, Mad Max over The BS for film editing.
Alicia just won an Oscar and I just cannot even.
Thank GOD at least MAD MAX is sweeping!
Even if Miller doesn't win they still are an Oscar winning couple cause he won for Happy Feet 9 years ago. Although he needs to win for Max he already has a win which is a great thing.
MOULIN ROUGE is a perfect comparison for MMFR though
I really hate this cheer but for some reason I can't help it I have to yell...
AUSSIE,AUSSIE,AUSSIE OI,OI,OI!!!!
They were REALLY impressed with Ava, apparently!
Ex Machina winning VFX plus the Get Down Saturday Night instrumental, after six straight Mad Max wins = this is heaven
Holy shit EX MACHINA VISUAL EFFECTS! No one fucking sees that coming.
Craver biggest surprise so far is Ex Machina
Ex Machina!! A real surprise at the Academy Awards! I thought those were a myth.
As much as I love Mad Max and Star Wars I'm stocked for Ex Machina!!!
Truthfully, though, Mad Max had some of the best visual effects ever put to film. That was a strange shocker, especially after all those other awards for MM. I guess that's called spreading the wealth.
2 Oscars for Ex Machina - effects and best supporting actress.
My iPad just change stoked (as in over the moon)to stocked. Silly auto correct doesn't understand Aussie slang...
Ex Machina must be the lowest-budget winner in the category ever, inflation-adjusted.
Jacob Tremblay's reaction to the droids was adorable.
Wasn't Ex Machina for Visual Effects the frontrunner? It actually served the plot instead of just being window dressing so I figured it was a shoo-in.
Where's your coverage on Charlotte Rampling?
Anyone else think supporting actor being pushed back all but guarantees Stallone? They want that to be a moment.
What is 'Weekend' wearing on his head? And if that didn't sound grumpy enough...
I wish they would stop playing the winners off so quickly, I would love less of the presenters and more of the winners.
I'm just imaging Vikander won for Ex-Machina makes it easier to swallow. Plus I don't think she would've won without boost Ex-Machina provided.
Visit the Academy's FB page and you'll see that not many people are happy with Chris Rock's 'jokes'.
The Spielberg cruse is officially broken. No Day-Lewis' win does not count.
Boo. Sorry, but as good an actor as Rylance is, Stallone deserved it more. I wasn't impressed with his performance in Bridge of Spies...a piece of wood with an accent. Stallone had the best male acting performance this year. Oh well, I guess the Oscars will always be the Oscars.
OH MY FUCKING GOD DREAMS DO COME TRUE! MARK RYLANCE JUST WON A FUCKING OSCAR OVER STALLONE
Well deserved even though I like Stallone quite a bit.
A refreshing upset!
Mike -- i agree on that. too bad the actors have something against sci-fi. They always have.
MARK RYLANCE - Wow!! and what a wonderful thank you speech. I'm so grateful for this surprise win. Give the winners a chance to talk, fewer comedy bits would be nice.
Chris Rock has been given enough time.
I am thrilled for Mark Rylance.
Louis CK hilarious as usual.
Mark Rylance! I am so happy. And he gave such a gracious, intelligent speech.
I agree that Chris Rock has nothing left to say at this point. It's become very one-note.
Someone should count the diversity tally of this oscars... a female palestinian, latins, one from egipty... no blacks, but this is a very diverse oscar nonetheless
And Now I'm imagining how much better Louis CK would be at hosting than Chris Rock.
Mark Rylance is the new Tilda Swinton.
And this gives me hope for a Rampling shock.
I'm not sure I saw any people of color on the In Memoriam reel.
Potter -- people only think of diversity in terms of black and white, sadly. It's why the Academy could get away with ditching the Asian soprano and trans woman singers from the broadcast without an uproar.
Craver -- that would be the shock of all shocks. sly stallion's loss i think will make sense in respect. there's not much of a career to hang a "career achievement" oscar on. even though he was really good in Creed.
Stallone may have lost as a casualty of the OscarsSoWhite backlash (the only nominee in a predominantly black story. For that reason, I don't think you should bank any emotions on a Rampling upset happening.....
Wow that Ex-Machina win in Visual effects is probably the biggest surprise so far, who saw that coming? But I love it.
MAD MAX is killing all its competition so far!!! Why can't it also win picture and director? *sigh*
Rylance deserved to win... Stallone's performance has been overrated.
Stallone is drinking by now, thinking of Michael Keaton last year.
Quite a reception for Joe Biden, I would have preferred Amy Schumer but we don't always get what we want.
Ennio Morricone - I'm grateful that he finally won an Oscar, that standing ovation was the most deserved of the night.
The Hateful Eights score really was awesome, but that Sicario score is a masterpiece, and the one that will be most remembered moving forward.
Okay after every great deserved win so far and THAT performance by Gaga, Sam Smith wins an Oscar for a mediocre song?! What the actual fuck?!
Oh fuck @ Sam Smith. What a mediocrity.