The 91st Academy Awards were handed out on Sunday, February 24, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California. Presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Oscars “recognize and uphold excellence” in movies.
The months leading up to the ceremony were marred with controversy, as noted by Variety , from the academy’s failed proposal to add a popular film category to the ballot; to the organization’s decision to hand out several awards during the commercial breaks of ABC’s live telecast, which was overturned after protests; to another abandoned initiative in which only two of the five tunes nominated for best original song would have been performed live at the ceremony.
However, the most talked about issue that plagued this year’s Academy Awards was the subject of its host. In December, it was announced that Kevin Hart would serve as the emcee. But after homophobic tweets that the comedian had made it the past resurfaced, he dropped out of the gig. As a result, the Academy decided to go without a host for the 2019 broadcast.
After all was said and done, though, the Oscars seemed to go off without a hitch.
The rock band Queen, with Adam Lambert on lead vocals, opened up the show with a performance of “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions,” both of which are featured in the Academy Award-winning film, Bohemian Rhapsody .
Then, Saturday Night Live vets Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Maya Rudolph took the stage for a short opening monologue and to present the evening’s very first award, Actress in a Supporting Role, which went to If Beale Street Could Talk star Regina King.
Other highlights of the night included Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s show-stopping performance of “Shallow” from A Star Is Born , Mike Myers and Dana Carvey re-enacting dialogue from Wayne’s World as they introduced Best Picture nominee Bohemian Rhapsody , and Spike Lee jumping into Samuel L. Jackson’s arms onstage after winning the Oscar for Writing (Adapted Screenplay) for BlacKkKlansman .
As for the awards, many different films were honored. Bohemian Rhapsody was the winningest movie, with a total of four Oscars, and Black Panther , Roma , and Green Book all earned three Academy Awards.
Below is the complete list of winners at the 91st Academy Awards.
BEST PICTURE Green Book
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Mahershala Ali, Green Book
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE Olivia Colman, The Favourite
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
CINEMATOGRAPHY Roma , Alfonso Cuarón
COSTUME DESIGN Black Panther , Ruth Carter
DIRECTING Roma , Alfonso Cuarón
DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE) Free Solo
DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT) Period. End of Sentence.
FILM EDITING Bohemian Rhapsody , John Ottman
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM Roma (Mexico)
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING Vice , Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe, and Patricia Dehaney
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE) Black Panther , Ludwig Goransson
Music (Original Song) “Shallow,” from A Star Is Born , music and lyric by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, and Andrew Wyatt
PRODUCTION DESIGN Black Panther , Production Design: Hannah Beachler; Set Decoration: Jay Hart
SHORT FILM (ANIMATED) Bao
SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION) Skin
SOUND EDITING Bohemian Rhapsody , John Warhurst and Nina Hartstone
SOUND MIXING Bohemian Rhapsody , Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin, and John Casali
VISUAL EFFECTS First Man , Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles, and J.D. Schwalm
WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY) BlacKkKlansman , Written by Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee
WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY) Green Book , Written by Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, and Peter Farrelly
