Our Favorite Oscars Moments
By Natalie Issa
Ah, the Oscars. As the biggest and glitziest night in the movie industry, there's always some buzz surrounding the nominees. But this years Academy Awards was surrounded in even more buzz than usual (if that's even possible) concerning Leonardo DiCaprio's nomination (spoiler alert: OUR BOY WON!!) and how Chris Rock would address the "Oscars So White" controversy.
All of this resulted in a night of killer hits and a few misses. But mostly hits. Here's a few of our favorite moments from last night.
1. Chris Rock's opening monologue. When the Oscars started, two things were certain. First, Chris Rock would not shy away from the Oscars So White controversy. And second, he would straddle the line between funny and slightly risqué to bring attention to a big issue. Chris did not disappoint, saying, "Why this Oscars? It's the 88th Academy Awards. Which means this whole no black nominees thing has happened at least 71 other times."
2. Alicia Vikander's win for Best Supporting Actress in The Danish Girl. Who doesn't love the adorable and classy Alicia Vikander? She looked like a modern Belle from Beauty and the Beast, practically skipping up the stairs when she was announced as the winner of Best Supporting Actress. Alicia thanked the wonderful Eddie Redmayne during her speech, saying, "Eddie, thanks for being the best acting partner. I couldn't have done it without you. You've raised my game."
3. The hilarious sketch inserting black actors in Oscar nominated movies. They included Whoopi Goldberg, Tracy Morgan, Leslie Jones, and Chris Rock himself in a clip that put these actors in various roles in The Danish Girl, The Revenant, The Martian, and Joy. Our favorite was Chris Rock's spoof of The Martian, which implied that NASA wouldn't bother bringing a black astronaut back to Earth due to how much it would cost in "white dollars".
4. Mad Max: Fury Road's 6 Oscar wins. This amazing film took home the most Oscars of the night, winning Best Costume Design, Makeup & Hairstyling, Production Design, Film Editing, and both Sound Mixing and Editing. The crazy amount of wins is also a defining moment for Australian film.
5. R2-D2, BB-8, and C-3PO's adorable little cameo. They showed up to party to honor John William's 50th Oscar nomination, while R2-D2 and BB-8 pointed out C-3P0's striking resemblance to the famous Oscar statuette. We completely agree with them, by the way.
6. Chris Rock's daughter's Girl Scout troop showing up to sell girl scout cookies. These adorable girls scouts handed out cookie boxes to celebrities such as Charlize Theron, Kate Winslet, and Henry Cavill while Chris Rock shouted, "Let's get this money. LET'S GET THIS MONEY!" By the end of the night, the troop raised a whopping $65,243.
7. Inside Out's win for Best Animated Film. We were thrilled to see that one of our favorite animated movies of 2015 won, and were even more thrilled to hear Director Pete Docter's speech in which he pleaded with struggling teens to make art. "Anyone out there who is in junior high or high school [who is] working it out, suffering," Docter said, "There are days you're gonna feel sad… that's nothing you can choose. But you can make stuff. Make films, draw, write. It'll make a world of difference."
8. The touching video honoring those we lost in the film industry. Faces such as Alan Rickman, Leonard Nimoy, David Bowie, and Christopher Lee graced the screen as David Grohl sang a beautiful rendition of "Blackbird". It was a lovely tribute to the men and women who dedicated their lives to cinema.
9. Lady Gaga's moving performance of her Oscar-nominated song "Til It Happens to You" from The Hunting Ground. The Hunting Ground documents the issue of sexual assault on college campuses, and Lady Gaga's heart-wrenching song depicts these victim's struggles. Perhaps one of the most moving moments was when the curtains behind the piano parted, and dozens of sexual abuses victims bravely flooded the stage. It was a heartbreaking and courageous moment shining light on an important issue.
10. And finally, Leonardo DiCaprio's long-awaited Oscar win!!! !!! !!! !!! LEO!!! FINALLY!!! WON!!! After 6 nominations, Leo DiCaprio finally received his well-deserved Oscar for Best Actor in The Revenant. But instead of taking the moment all for himself, he took the opportunity to shed light on the issue of global warming. "Let's not take this planet for granted," DiCaprio said. "I do not take this moment for granted."
While some may see the Academy Awards as a way for Hollywood to simply "pat itself on the back", we don't see it that way. It's an opportunity to honor good, beautiful, heart-wrenching art. Because that's what cinema is-- an art form. So congratulations to those who won, and we definitely can't wait to see what next year's Academy Awards brings.
(Image via movieweb.com)
Photo used under Creative Commons from timsackton