Oscars 2021 – live: Winners, acceptance speeches and highlights from the Academy Awards
Chloé Zhao wins Best Director while Frances McDormand earns Best Actress prize
Road movie Nomadland won the top prize at the 93rd Academy Awards, which fulfilled many expectations but threw in a couple of surprise wins in an unusual ceremony.
The film’s director Chloe Zhao also made history, becoming the first woman of colour to win the award for directing, and the second woman in history — and the film scooped the Best Actress prize for its star Frances McDormand.
Sir Anthony Hopkins won the Best Actor Oscar — his first since The Silence of the Lambs in 1992 — for his performance in The Father, about a man slipping into dementia, defeating presumptive favourite Chadwick Boseman, who died last year aged 43 following a private four-year battle with colon cancer.
Daniel Kaluuya, who was born in London to Ugandan parents, is the first black British winner of the best Supporting Actor prize for his turn as community organiser and member of the Black Panther Party Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah.
There were a number of surprise wins. David Fincher’s Mank led the pack with 10 nominations, but ultimately won two.
Due to coronavirus, the Oscars moved out of their usual venue, the Dolby Theatre, and were based out of Los Angeles’s Union Station instead. The ceremony’s format was overhauled too, with attendees observing social distancing and some joining via video link from other parts of the world.
Nomadland had been a favourite to win Best Picture; it fulfilled that expectation, beating The Father, Judas and the Black Messiah, Mank, Minari, Promising Young Woman, Sound of Metal, and The Trial of the Chicago 7.
Minari actor Youn Yuh-jung also won over the crowd in her acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actress, which was presented to her by Brad Pitt. “Mr Brad Pitt, finally, nice to meet you!” she told him after making her way onto the stage. She then proceeded to acknowledge the ways in which her name has been mispronounced throughout the awards season, telling the crowd: “Tonight, you are all forgiven.”
With her win, Youn became the first Korean actor to take home an Academy Award.
Follow our liveblog for highlights from the ceremony and the buzz-worthy aftermath.
With Daniel Kaluuya picking up his first Academy Award, many Brits have remembered the actor’s humble beginnings as Posh Kenneth on the Bristol-set teen drama Skins.
The in memoriam tribute serves a worthy cause but it’s often a segment that makes headlines for the wrong reasons.
This year, viewers are criticising the Academy for omitting Arrested Development star Jessica Walter, who died in March, and Naya Rivera, who died in July 2020, from the contentious segment.
Oscar viewers criticise ‘disrespectful’ omission of Jessica Walter and Naya Rivera from ‘in memoriam’ segment
Songwriter Adam Schlesinger was also missing from segment
In the wake of Riz Ahmed’s loss in the Best Actor category, fans have dug up a photograph of the British actor posing next to a car with a number plate reading: “IM SAD”.
The hilarious photo has since gone viral on social media in the context of Ahmed’s loss to Anthony Hopkins.
In case you missed it, here’s your comprehensive guide to what went down at this year’s Oscars and what everyone’s talking about in the aftermath.
The six biggest talking points from last night’s Oscars
This was always going to be an unusual year, but ‘unusual’ doesn’t have to be mean ‘mostly unbearable’
Although it’s been a while since Tom Cruise has been recognised at the Academy Awards, the three-time nominee still made headlines yesterday.
Cruise reportedly “saved a cameraman” during a stunt on a train when filming Mission: Impossible in Yorkshire.
Tom Cruise ‘saves cameraman’ during tricky Mission Impossible stunt
Hollywood star is known for going to extremes during production for the action film franchise
The 58-year-old has previously been feted with Oscar nominations for his roles in Born on the Fourth of July (1990), Jerry Maguire (1997) and Magnolia (2000).
Although Glenn Close lost out on Best Supporting Actress, the nominee still made history last night – although perhaps in the way she would’ve liked to.
Her loss to Minari star Yuh-Jung Youn meant that Close has now become the most Oscar-nominated female actor to never win. She is also the only living actor to have lost eight times, tying with the late British actor Peter O’Toole.
Find out what else she was nominated for, and which other actors have received multiple nominations but zero wins.
Glenn Close makes Oscar history as she loses again with no wins
Best Supporting Actress award went to Minari’s Yuh-Jung Youn
While the Oscars are all about celebrating the best films of the year, the Razzies look to award the worst.
As is customary on Oscars-eve, the “winners” of the Razzies were announced on Saturday (24 April).
Sia’s controversial film Music picked up three “dishonours”, including Worst Director for Sia, Worst Actress for Kate Hudson and Worst Supporting Actress for Maddie Ziegler.
See here for the other films and actors to have come out on top, or rather, on the bottom.
The Razzies have just named the worst film and actor of the year
An unexpected contender beat out Robert Downey Jr, Adam Sandler and Kristen Wiig for Worst Actor
Oscar winner Yuh-Jung Youn – who won for her supporting role in Minari – has spoken about her history-making victory.
As reported by Indie Wire, the 73-year-old – who is the first Korean to win an acting Oscar – said: “I don’t believe in competition in my field, because we are comparing different roles. I’m just lucky tonight. Luckier than the other nominees.”
Who said actors aren’t humble?
Amid all the speeches and red carpet interviews, there were a fair few of memorable quotes during the ceremony.
Here’s our pick of the bunch.
‘My mum met my dad, they had sex’: The 8 best quotes from the Oscars
The 93rd Academy Awards veered from the sublime to the ridiculous, with moments varying from passionate speeches and bizarre dance interludes.
Harrison Ford made everyone chuckle when he began his speech by rattling off a list of scathing criticisms he had received about his cult classic Blade Runner.
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