Oscars 2018: Jordan Peele makes history with 'Get Out' original screenplay win; Jimmy Kimmel jokes about Weinstein
- Allison Janney wins best supporting actress for “I, Tonya”; Sam Rockwell wins best supporting actor for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
- Jordan Peele makes history with ‘Get Out’ original screenplay win. Peele is the first African American to win this award.
- “Coco” wins best animated feature; “Dear Basketball” wins best animated short, written and narrated by Kobe Bryant
- Jimmy Kimmel’s monologue addresses last year’s envelope flub and Harvey Weinstein
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Monologue | Red carpet | Complete coverage of the 2018 Oscars
[ Oscars 2018: Complete winners list ]
10:38: Jordan Peele wins best original screenplay for “Get Out.” The writer-director is the first African American person to win this award.
Peele’s win was met with copious applause, to which he replied, “You guys are going to mess up my jet ski, hold up.” Peele, who was once best known as a sketch comedian on Comedy Central’s series “Key and Peele,” said he stopped writing the movie so many times because he wasn’t sure it would ever get made, though if it did, he was sure it would find an audience. It did; of all the best picture nominees, it made the second-most amount of money last year (“Dunkirk” was first).
He thanked those who helped make it happen, including Jason Blum at Blumhouse Productions, plus his mother who taught him “to love in the face of hate.”
10:32: James Ivory wins best adapted screenplay for “Call Me By Your Name.” Decades after the heyday of Merchant Ivory Productions — which put out acclaimed British period films such as “A Room With a View” and “Howards End” — James Ivory is proving that he’s still got it at 89. The longtime director takes home his first solo Oscar for penning the script for “Call Me By Your Name,” adapted from André Aciman’s novel.
Given that “Faces Places” director Agnes Varda — who’s eight days older than Ivory — failed to win the best documentary feature tonight, that means Ivory now has the title of oldest Oscar winner.
10:25: Ashley Judd, Salma Hayek and Annabella Sciorra joined together to talk about the Me Too movement and Time’s Up initiative. Sciorra, who went public late last year about her alleged rape by Harvey Weinstein, got emotional on stage after years out of the spotlight.
“It’s nice to see you all again,” she said. “This year, many spoke their truth and the journey ahead is long, but slowly, a new path has emerged.”
“The changes we are witnessing are being driven by the powerful sound of new voices, of different voices, of our voices, joining together in a mighty chorus that is finally saying time’s up,” Judd said.
They introduced video that featured recent “trailblazers” in the entertainment industry, featuring Mira Sorvino, Ava DuVernay, Lee Daniels, Kumail Nanjiani, Geena Davis and more. “Everyone is getting a voice to express something that’s been happening forever,” Sorvino said. “Not only in Hollywood, but in every walk of life.”
Davis talked about how when “Thelma & Louise” came out in 1991, people thought it would mark a turning point for how women were portrayed in Hollywood.
“That didn’t happen,” she said. “But this is now that moment.”
10:18: Dave Chappelle introduced Andra Day and Common before they performed their Oscar-nominated song, “Stand Up for Something,” from the film “Marshall.” Ten activists — or “extraordinary human beings who answered the call to action,” as Chappelle called them — stood behind the duo during their performance: Alice Brown Otter, Bana al-Abed, Bryan Stevenson, Cecile Richards, Dolores Huerta, Janet Mock, José Andrés, Nicole Hockley, Patrisse Cullors and Tarana Burke.
Common began by referencing several hot political topics, including the push for gun control in the wake of the school shooting in Parkland, Fla. “Tell the NRA they in God’s way,” he said.
10:15: When Tiffany Haddish hosted “Saturday Night Live,” she showed up in the same Alexander McQueen dress she wore to the “Girls Trip” premiere. The comic said she was going to keep wearing that dress over and over. And she did it again tonight during the Oscars telecast. (She wore a different dress on the red carpet.)
Haddish and Maya Rudolph showed up to present a pair of Oscars with their fancy high heels in their hands. Haddish said she wore slippers because she’s been in her heels since this morning. And Rudolph? “Since the Critics’ Choice Awards. My pinky toe fell off.”
“Tiffany, can I just say, when you peed off a zipline in ‘Girls Trip,’ it was brilliant,” Rudolph said.
Haddish replied: “When you took a dookie in the street in ‘Bridesmaids,’ it changed my life.”
(Actually, it was Jada Pinkett Smith who relieved herself mid-air in “Girls Trip.” But we get the idea.)
The pair made quite the impression — so much so, that plenty of people on social media are calling for Haddish and Rudolph to host.
Every other tweet in my timeline is people begging for Tiffany Haddish & Maya Rudolph to host next year and add me to the chorus.
— Celeste Ng (@pronounced_ing) March 5, 2018
10:15: Chris Overton and Rachel Shenton win best live action short film for “The Silent Child.” This is their first nomination and win.
10:13: Frank Stiefel wins best documentary short subject for “Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405.” It’s Stiefel’s first Oscar nomination and win.
10:09: Jimmy Kimmel dragged a group of stars (Margot Robbie, Ansel Elgort, Guillermo del Toro, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Gal Gadot, Lupita Nyong’o, etc.) across the street to a screening of “A Wrinkle in Time” to shoot hot dog guns and give away free snacks. The audience members lost their minds, and it was about as chaotic as you might expect.
9:57: Lee Smith wins best film editing for “Dunkirk.” This is his first win after three nominations.
9:53: “Blade Runner 2049” (John Nelson, Gerd Nefzer, Paul Lambert and Richard R. Hoover) wins best visual effects.
9:45: Daniela Vega, the lead actress in the Oscar-winning foreign-language film “A Fantastic Woman,” just made history as the first transgender actor to present at the Academy Awards. She presented the best song nominee for “Call Me By Your Name.”
9:41: “Coco” wins best animated feature. This wasn’t the most competitive year for animated movies — hence the nomination for “The Boss Baby” — but that shouldn’t diminish the win for “Coco,” the music-heavy, Mexico-set Pixar movie that takes place during the Day of the Dead. This is the ninth time a Pixar production has won the best animated feature category.
The movie is notable for getting two nominations; its tearjerker “Remember Me” is also up for best original song.
“Coco is proof that art can change and connect the world,” Darla K. Anderson said, “and this can only be done when we have a place for anyone who feels like an other to be heard.”
Lee Unkrich added, “Marginalized people deserve to feel like they belong. Representation matters.”
[ ‘Coco’ forced Pixar to dive deep into a real-world culture — and add some diversity ]
9:38: “Dear Basketball” wins best animated short film. The movie is directed by Glen Keane and written and narrated by Kobe Bryant. It’s based off of his love letter to basketball, written when he announced his retirement from the NBA.
“It’s a message for all of us, whatever form your dream may take, it’s through passion and perseverance that the impossible is possible,” Keane said, as he introduced Bryant.
“I don’t know if it’s possible. As basketball players we’re really supposed to shut up and dribble,” Bryant said, referencing Fox News host Laura Ingraham’s remarks to LeBron James and Kevin Durant for their criticism of President Trump. Bryant then went on to thank his family.
[ Kobe Bryant’s Oscar-nominated basketball movie, explained ]
9:29:Allison Janney wins best supporting actress. Janney wins her first Oscar for playing the cruel and abusive mother of disgraced figure skater Tonya Harding in “I, Tonya.” Her performance is incredible not only because of the vitriol she had to channel as a tyrannical stage mom, but also because she had to do so much of it with a bird perched on her shoulder.
9:23: “A Fantastic Woman” from Chile wins best foreign language film. The film was a front-runner and follows a transgender woman navigating the loss of her boyfriend. It is Chile’s first win in the category.
9:13: Oscar-winning “Black Panther” star Lupita Nyong’o and Kumail Nanjiani, nominated for writing “The Big Sick,” used their introduction of the production design award to send a political message in light of the current battle in Washington over DACA. Both are immigrants and told the audience: “We’re dreamers. Dreams are the foundation of Hollywood, and dreams are the foundation of America.”
They added, “to all the dreamers out there, we stand with you.”
9:11: Paul D. Austerberry wins best production design for “The Shape of Water,” along with set designers Jeffrey A. Melvin and Shane Vieau.
9:01: Gregg Landaker, Gary A. Rizzo and Mark Weingarten win best sound mixing for “Dunkirk.”
8:58: Richard King and Alex Gibson win best sound editing for “Dunkirk.” King’s win sets a new record for the category. King has taken home four Oscars over the course of his career. His previous wins were for “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” and two other collaborations with “Dunkirk” director Christopher Nolan: “The Dark Knight” and “Inception.”
8:49: Your eyes are not deceiving you: There is very large font on the front of those Oscar envelopes. The lettering is so big that viewers at home can clearly see the category for each envelope that a presenter is holding.
As Vanity Fair reported from backstage at the Oscars on Saturday:
If there’s one thing Oscar presenters can be sure of this year, it’s that the winners’ envelopes will be easier to read than a large-print edition of Reader’s Digest.
“This is what the envelope will look like,” stage manager Gary Natoli told presenter Eva Marie Saint, 93, at Oscar rehearsals at the Dolby Theatre Saturday afternoon, handing over a thick black envelope with a category name in a font large enough to see from the front row. “It’s like a little clutch purse.”
“It’s all gonna be fine,” Saint said, patting Natoli’s hand. “Well, I’m gonna be fine. I don’t know about you.”
8:46: Mary J. Blige just took everyone to church with her song “Mighty River,” from the movie “Mudbound.” She’s the first person to be nominated in a song and acting category for the same film.
8:41: “Icarus” wins for best documentary feature. The Netflix film, directed by Bryan Fogel, centers on doping in Russian sports.
“We hope ‘Icarus’ is a wake-up call — yes, about Russia, but about the importance of telling the truth,” Fogel said.
8:32: Mark Bridges of “Phantom Thread” wins for best costume design.
[ The Oscar for costume design always goes to the prettiest clothes. But are they truly the best? ]
8:27 p.m. “Darkest Hour” won for best makeup and hair styling. Gary Oldman convinced makeup artist Kazuhiro Tsuji to come out of movie retirement to work on “Darkest Hour” and transform the actor into Winston Churchill — no easy task. Tsuji agreed and his work was stunning. No wonder he got the Oscar, which is his first after three nominations.
The sillicone prosthetics he designed were hand-painted with veins and moles, and they were so fragile that a new (ideally identical) set had to be applied each day. Tsuji also designed Oldman’s wig using baby hair in order to get Churchill’s wispy strands just right. He shared the award with David Malinowski and Lucy Sibbick.
8:24: In addition to the promise of a water scooter for the night’s shortest speech, Kimmel added another incentive for award winners whose speeches go too long: Lakeith Stanfield of “Get Out” will run out on stage and yell “get out!” Just like his character in “Get Out.”
Jordan Peele was quite amused by the bit.
8:18:Sam Rockwell wins best supporting actor for “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”
Rockwell won best supporting actor for playing Jason Dixon, a racist and volatile police officer, in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” This is the actor’s first Oscar.
In a film that was polarizing for audiences, Rockwell’s character was especially divisive for having a somewhat heroic arc. Academy voters didn’t seem to mind, however, rewarding the actor for playing a character who was as brutal as he was unintentionally funny.
MONOLOGUE:
[ Jimmy Kimmel’s Oscars monologue takes aim at Trump, Pence and Harvey Weinstein ]
8:15: Jimmy Kimmel cleared the air, that’s for sure.
First things first: He directly made mention of last year’s best picture flub. “This year, when you hear your name called, don’t get up right away. Just give us a minute. We don’t want to have another thing.”
He tried to explain what happened during the best picture mix-up of 2017 by saying the accountants had wanted to perform some comedy with him, but he refused, so they tried to do “comedy on their own.”
Kimmel also spent considerable time talking about Hollywood’s reckoning with sexual harassment and abuse. He pointed to the Oscars statue on the stage, saying, “Oscar is the most beloved and respected man in Hollywood, and there’s a very good reason: He keeps his hands where you can see them, never says a rude word and most importantly, no penis. He is literally a statue of limitations.”
Kimmel even dropped the H-word — Harvey Weinstein — when he said that Weinstein was only the second person expelled from the Academy. The first was expelled in 2004 for sharing screeners.
“The world is watching us. We need to set an example,” he said of workplace misconduct. “The truth is if we are successful, women will only have to deal with harassment all the time every other place they go.”
And Kimmel also reiterated his incredulity about Mark Wahlberg making more than $1 million for reshoots of “All the Money in the World” while Michelle Williams got $80 a day. They were represented by the same agency.
“This one shook me because if we can’t trust agent,” Kimmel said to a laughing crowd, “who can we trust?”
8:04: The Oscars kicked off with an old-timey newsreel featuring highlights from the red carpet and a few lame jokes. Sample: Armie Hammer was born when a witch put a curse on a Ken doll.
Only a couple minutes in, and there’s already been a dig at President Trump. After showing Lupita Nyong’o, the announcer mentioned that she was born in Mexico and raised in Kenya. “Let the tweetstorm from the president’s toilet begin,” he said
RED CARPET:
[ Ryan Seacrest’s Oscars red carpet pretended that sexual harassment doesn’t exist ]
7:45: Best director nominee Greta Gerwig said her film “Lady Bird” focuses on a mother and a daughter because “it’s the most complex, rich, beautiful relationship that there is.”
The only woman nominated in the category, Gerwig would be the second female director to ever win. (Kathryn Bigelow won for “The Hurt Locker” in 2010.) “Lady Bird” is inspired by Gerwig’s experience growing up in Sacramento, and she had some choice advice for her 17-year-old self. “Be nicer to your mom,” she said, laughing.
7:45: Lin-Manuel Miranda is starring in Disney’s upcoming “Mary Poppins Returns,” and he just gave us a heads-up that the trailer will air during the Oscars telecast.
Miranda plays Jack the Lamplighter, and Emily Blunt plays Mary Poppins.
7:44: Husband-and-wife writer team Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon are still jazzed that they won best original screenplay at the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday for “The Big Sick”; they’re nominated for an Oscar in the same category, along with “Get Out,” “Lady Bird,” “The Shape of Water” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”
“All these award show are fun, but when you win, it’s more fun,” Nanjiani said. “It’s like, way more fun.”
7:38: Matthew McConaughey had some nice things to say about his movie son, Timothée Chalamet, in “Interstellar.” McConaughey said he’s not at all surprised by Chalamet’s nomination for “Call Me By Your Name.”
“I saw natural talent and real confidence,” the best actor winner said.
He’s also seen “Call Me By Your Name” and said, “It’s a fierce performance … There’s not a false moment in it and he’s here to stay.”
He also responded to the fact that Chalamet claimed McConaughey is his spirit animal. McConaughey has no idea what that means, but he’s flattered all the same.
7:35: One moment in particular from Taraji P. Henson’s red carpet interview with Ryan Seacrest is prompting some thinking-face emojis.
A clip circulating on Twitter shows Henson telling Seacrest, “You know what, the universe has a way of taking care of the good people.”
She then lightly grabs his chin and squints at Seacrest, “You know what I mean?”
“I agree,” a grinning Seacrest responds.
What the clip doesn’t show is what Seacrest and Henson were chatting about and what happened after. The two were talking about Mary J. Blige — Henson is introducing Blige’s song during the ceremony.
“She is having such an amazing year, she exudes it,” Henson said, before telling Seacrest about karma. After that comment, the actress gushes more about Blige. Seacrest gives Henson a compliment. The actress then gives Seacrest a big hug.
7:32: “Call Me by Your Name” star Timothée Chalamet, the youngest best actor nominee in nearly 80 years, could barely believe he was at the Oscars.
“I’m talking to Michael Strahan. My mom’s here,” he said in awe. “I’m very happy to be here.”
Strahan came prepared with a video message from Harry Shifman, Chalamet’s former teacher at the famous LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York. After Shifman and current students congratulated Chalamet, who won best male lead at the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday, the actor was nearly moved to tears.
“I literally would not be acting without that man, without that school, without public arts funding,” he said.
7:28: Best director front-runner Guillermo del Toro talked to Michael Strahan about his best picture nominee, “The Shape of Water.” Strahan wanted to understand what exactly audiences should get out of a movie about a mute woman who falls for a fish-man.
A lot of artists would say that it’s up to the viewer, but del Toro is clearly used to this.
“Empathy for the other,” del Toro said. He explained that he wanted to make a movie like “Beauty and the Beast” — with a twist. In del Toro’s movie, the beast doesn’t have to transform.
7:23: Margot Robbie, nominated for her lead role in “I, Tonya,” spoke to Michael Strahan about the stress of doubling as a producer on the film.
“If it had gone badly, it really would’ve been my fault,” she joked.
Tonya Harding is infamous for her connection to the 1994 attack on figure skater Nancy Kerrigan. Robbie said it’s important to see rough-edged characters like Harding on screen.
“I think seeing female protagonists who are strong in some ways but extremely flawed in other ways is a more accurate portrayal of what women are like in real life,” she said.
7:21: “I chose my date extremely well,” presenter Ashley Judd said of Mira Sorvino.
Both women were among the first to come forward with allegations against Harvey Weinstein, which set off a tidal wave of accusations against the studio honcho and became the impetus for the Time’s Up movement.
“I want people to know that this movement isn’t stopping,” Sorvino said. “We’re going forward until we have an equitable and safe world for women.”
When asked how she finally found the courage to speak out about Weinstein, Judd responded that she’s been telling her story since it happened in 1997. Like Sorvino, she stayed on message, drawing attention to the big donations that have come in to the Time’s Up legal defense fund, which pays legal fees for women across all industries who have been victimized by sexual harassers. She referred to herself and the other women who have come forward as “the phoenixes who can light the way” for other women.
7:17: E! has taken a lot of flak for keeping Ryan Seacrest on the red carpet despite the sexual harassment allegation against him, which he has denied. But the network made sure to bring up the Time’s Up movement.
“Only 4 percent of directors are female as of 2017, which is not a significant change within the last 10 years” TV reporter Kristin dos Santos lamented in between celebrity interviews. “I find those statistics really alarming because we’re seeing this change, but we need to take the next step, which is more jobs for females.”
She added that this year, “Lady Bird” director Greta Gerwig will serve as an inspiration to young girls who dream of directing films. “I hope a lot of young girls are watching tonight, and they see that it’s a valid career option to be a director,” dos Santos said. “Go for it. Follow your dreams.”
Later, Dos Santos segued from a conversation about Rita Moreno’s gown and said it was “perhaps an opportune moment to point out there are no hispanic or Asian actors nominated this year.”
However, she said, “We have seen an increase in black actors, directors and writers,” thanks to the changing demographics in academy membership. “We’re seeing now an Oscars that’s not so male, not so old and not so white.”
7:15: Whoopi Goldberg is one of only 12 people to ever EGOT, or win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. She called the experience of attending the Oscars “a little nutty.”
“But then I walk around and see all the newbies, and I’m thrilled for them,” the veteran actress said. “So it’s great, you know?”
7:03: Tiffany Haddish, who boisterously announced Oscar nominations back in January, will present tonight. She arrived on the red carpet dressed in a gown that paid homage to her late father’s native country, Eritrea.
“He said one day I would end up here, and if I ever end up at the Oscars, to honor my people,” Haddish told Michael Strahan. “So I’m honoring my fellow Eritreans.”
Haddish rose to fame last summer after her memorable performance in “Girls Trip” (many thought she was snubbed for a best supporting actress nomination). She told Strahan that it’s a dream come true to be at the Oscars, and that she’d like Meryl Streep to play her mother in a possible sequel.
“I have not bumped into Meryl Streep yet, but I am looking for her and we will have a conversation,” Haddish said.
7:02: Best actor nominee Daniel Kaluuya told Michael Strahan that “Get Out,” which is up for best picture, “stands the test of time.”
“When you see that, it’s like a song that you love,” Kaluuya said.
He also commended best director nominee Jordan Peele for taking a risk with the project, adding, “It was saying the stuff that people say privately. It was articulating the stuff we don’t even communicate, we don’t even conversate, but we share in a look.”
7:00: It’s a huge night for Mary J. Blige, up for for best supporting actress and best original song for “Mudbound” — making her the first person to be nominated in a song and acting category for the same film.
When Ryan Seacrest asked her how she feels about getting a nod for her song “Mighty River,” she said, “It means so much because this is what I’ve been doing for 25 years, and for the Oscars to recognize me as a songwriter, it’s the cherry on top of a 25-year music business cake.”
Blige also gave some additional love to Seacrest, gushing to him about how much she enjoys watching “Live with Ryan and Kelly.” “I love y’all, you have so much fun together.”
6:58: Former Oscar winners are taking to social media to congratulate this year’s nominees — while also reminiscing about that one time they took home their own trophies.
Reese Witherspoon posted a photo on Instagram of herself accepting her Oscar for best actress in 2006 for “Walk the Line.”
“Overwhelmed, excited and truly humbled, I will never forget that moment,” she wrote. “I am thinking about every nominee today and congratulating them on the incredible hard work that got them to this place. Have a great night! You are all winners.”
Anne Hathaway also chimed in, though her post was a little less buoyant. She admitted that when she won for “Les Miserables” in 2013, she had laryngitis, her dress drew awkward attention to her nipples and her haters were out for blood.
But! “It was still the best,” she wrote. “To all the nominees, I hope you have a BLAST tonight.”
6:52: Michael Strahan spoke to “Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman about how best actor nominee Denzel Washington helped pay for Boseman to attend a prestigious summer program at the University of Oxford in the late ‘90s. Boseman recently spoke with Washington about it.
“It was a fun conversation,” Boseman told Strahan. “The first thing he said was, ‘You owe me money.’”
Strahan asked Boseman to do a little something for his screaming fans, most of whom know him for his leading role as T’Challa in the record-breaking Marvel film. Boseman saluted them in traditional Wakandan fashion by crossing his arms over his chest and yelling, “Wakanda forever!”
6:45: Rita Moreno arrived at the Oscars wearing the same dress she wore when she won an Academy Award for best supporting actress in 1962 for “West Side Story.” Seacrest was shocked it looked so good, considering some of his clothes look terrible after a year or two. (That’s sort of an awkward admission considering he usually wears his own label on the red carpet.)
“It was just hanging in my closet,” Moreno said in a “this old thing” kind of way.
Seacrest and Moreno reminisced about her big win all those years ago, and the E! host wondered why she kept her acceptance speech so short — she spoke for only 15 seconds.
It turns out she had no idea she was going to win. She was sure Judy Garland had the category on lock. The dress was made in the Philippines, which is where Moreno was shooting a movie at the time. She decided to fly in just in case, she said. Good thing she did.
6:40: Salma Hayek, who will present tonight, spoke with ABC’s Michael Strahan about how her 10-year-old daughter perceives Hayek’s outspokenness regarding the #MeToo movement.
“She already called herself a feminist, even before all this,” Hayek said. “She identifies with it, and she’s very proud of it. I feel relieved that I know the new generations will have it easier.”
The New York Times published a piece by Hayek in December titled “Harvey Weinstein Is My Monster Too,” which detailed the actress’s years-long struggle with the producer’s harassment.
6:37: Bradley Whitford is the kind of guy who might make an off-the-cuff statement, but he kept things innocuous during his question-and-answer session with Ryan Seacrest. Whitford appeared with “Get Out” co-stars Lil Rel Howery and Betty Gabriel and stayed on topic, strictly talking about the movie.
What appealed to Whitford about the script? After first reading it, he said, “I walked out of the room and said to my fiance, ‘This is unlike any script I’ve ever read. This could be incredibly brilliant or it could really not work.’”
Luckily it was the former: “What Jordan did was a miracle,” he said.
6:31: Adam Rippon, Olympics breakout social media star, arrived on the red carpet dressed in a “S&M, bondage-inspired ensemble” by Jeremy Scott.
“Do we need to say, ‘Mr. Grey can see you now?’” “Access Hollywood” co-host Kit Hoover joked, in possibly the only “Fifty Shades of Grey” reference at the Oscars.
“I, for a moment, was like, ‘Maybe it’ll be too much,’” Rippon admitted.” But then I was like, what I wear on the ice is a lot more. This is almost reserved.”
The hosts asked Rippon and his best friend/fellow skating star Mirai Nagasu who they were most excited to see — Rippon was psyched to see Allison Janney, while Nagasu went with Hugh Jackman from “The Greatest Showman.”
6:25: Andy Serkis, who plays bad guy Ulysses Klaue in “Black Panther,” told Ryan Seacrest that the Marvel movie is resonating with so many people because “it is literally about building bridges, not walls. That’s what is contained in the story.”
He added that the representation in the movie will be normalized for young black children growing up. “Of course, it’s also about celebrating that we have a great, diverse ensemble cast, and when I think about all the outreach stuff that’s going on – kids having tickets paid for them – young black kids who see this movie will say, what’s the big deal.”
6:06:Gael García Bernal, set to join Natalia Lafourcade and Miguel in performing the nominated song “Remember Me” from the animated film “Coco,” told Ryan Seacrest that best director nominee Guillermo del Toro was an early influence in his career.
“Growing up in Mexico, not many people were making films,” García Bernal said. “I knew, ‘Guillermo, yeah, he’s making films.’ He’s a neighbor. We’re from the same city, Guadalajara.”
“Coco” is nominated for best animated feature film. Del Toro’s “The Shape of Water” earned 13 nominations, the most of any film.
6:03:The filmmakers behind “Last Men in Aleppo” arrived at the Oscars, despite the fact that producer Kareem Abeed earlier said he had been denied a visa to enter the United States for the ceremony.
Abeed, who is Syrian, told Deadline that the State Department had reversed its earlier decision and granted visas to him and two Syrian cinematographers who worked on the film.
“Up until the last minute, we had no hope,” Abeed told the outlet. “On the last day of February, we got a visa and it really surprised us.”
“Last Men in Aleppo,” nominated in the best feature documentary category, is about the Syrian civil war and the search-and-rescue missions by a group of volunteer aid workers.
5:45: Ryan Seacrest returned to co-host E!’s red carpet special a week after his former stylist, Suzie Hardy, publicly accused the former E! News anchor of sexual misconduct. Seacrest has denied the allegations and E! says an investigation has cleared him. He started the night slow with smaller interviews — Miguel and Diane Warren, both of whom worked on nominated original songs — and went on to speak with a number of male acting nominees.
Kelly Ripa, who works with Seacrest on “Live with Kelly and Ryan,” interrupted his interview with Gael García Bernal to applaud the host’s red carpet interviewing so far. His red carpet co-host Giuliana Rancic remarked, “Great interview, by the way,” after Seacrest spoke to “Black Panther” actor Andy Serkis.
E! switched back to Rancic and co-host Kristin dos Santos after showing footage of #MeToo leaders Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino arriving on the red carpet together.
“I think they’re making a statement by showing up together,” dos Santos said. “Women in film, making great strides.”
5 p.m.: Many questions will be answered tonight: Will “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” or “The Shape of Water” win best picture, or could voters throw a curveball and award “Get Out” or “Dunkirk”? Are Frances McDormand, Gary Oldman, Allison Janney and Sam Rockwell still all locks for the acting prizes? Just how many jokes will there be about last year’s jaw-dropping best picture mix-up?
Plus, it has been a very strange award season so far with the Me Too movement and Hollywood’s sexual misconduct reckoning at the forefront of so many people’s minds. The Time’s Up initiative to fight sexual harassment and abuse will be recognized at some point during the Oscars ceremony, and the topic will likely affect the red carpet, particularly with the recent controversy surrounding E! red carpet host Ryan Seacrest.
COMPLETE COVERAGE:
On the Oscars red carpet, the fashion statements were personal, not political
Ryan Seacrest’s Oscars red carpet pretended that sexual harassment doesn’t exist
Jimmy Kimmel’s Oscars monologue takes aim at Trump, Pence and Harvey Weinstein
Jimmy Kimmel might be America’s conscience but he’ll still do anything for a laugh.
Oscars: 8 things to watch, from Jimmy Kimmel’s monologue to Beatty and Dunaway’s return
The Oscar for best original song is a garbage category
Oscars 2018 FAQ: Where to watch the show and red carpet on TV and online
The publicity bonanza that is the Oscars swag bag
Quiz: How many best picture Oscar winners have you seen?
The Oscars always get it wrong. Here are the real best pictures of the past 42 years.
The Oscar for costume design always goes to the prettiest clothes. But are they truly the best?
This year’s Oscar nominees are more diverse, but has Hollywood really changed?
Let’s block ads! (Why?)
