Chloé Zhao and ‘Nomadland’ Make History with Oscars Wins
BY SCOTTIE KNOLLIN
THE CEREMONY
Hollywood returned to a glamorous, if muted, version of normalcy with the 93rd Academy Awards. Set mostly at Los Angeles’ historic Union Station, the live ceremony was presented as if it were a glimpse into a real-life film set. Presenters were part of the “ensemble cast”. Regina King opened the show with remarks on how the “set” was following COVID-19 protocols, including all guests being required to wear masks when the cameras were not filming.
Though the evening began with a red carpet and over two hundred nominees and guests were in attendance, there were moments during the show that still reminded viewers at home that we’re not quite back to our routines just yet. In fact, due to travel restrictions, many of the year’s nominees were unable to make the trek to Hollywood for the biggest night in show business. To accommodate those and allow for them to not be sequestered at home on a Zoom call, producers set up several filming locations across the world. Live streams took place in London, Paris, and Sydney, among others.
As the most accessible Oscars ceremony in modern history, due to the fact that nearly every nominated film is available to stream from home in some fashion, ABC and The Academy were pinning its hopes on the updated format and competitive year to draw an audience where other awards shows have failed. Going into the evening, “Nomadland” was the favorite, having won the most precursor awards of any other film. Other categories, like Best Supporting Actor and Best Original Screenplay also seemed like locks for their eventual winners: Daniel Kaluuya and Emerald Fennell, respectively.
The night lent itself to a number of welcomes surprises, like H.E.R. picking up the Best Original Song award over the often-nominated-but-never-won Diane Warren, and Frances McDormand winning Best Actress in one of the night’s most-hyped categories. Before Oscars Sunday, each nominated actress had won one of the televised or festival precursor awards, meaning there was no clear frontrunner. The ceremony itself surprised audiences at home when Best Picture was announced third to the last category of the evening. Since 1944, the top prize has been presented at the end of the ceremony. The change in format left Best Actress and Best Actor as the final two categories. Most have presumed that the show’s producers assumed the late Chadwick Boseman would win Best Actor for his work in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and that his winning would be a somber but celebrated way to close out the show. Instead, Anthony Hopkins was named the winner for “The Father”. The legendary actor was not in attendance, leaving the ending the show to be somewhat lackluster.
Complete in nearly its scheduled three-hour timeframe, the 93rd Academy Awards breathed fresh air into the celebration of the art of filmmaking, opting for a more intimate roll out of presenters and nominees. For the past few decades, clips of scenes from nominated works would highlight each nominee as their names were read. This year, presenters would offer anecdotes about nominee’s first jobs in cinema or they would share a sometimes unscripted toast to the power of the nominee’s work. For cinephiles, this format may have proved worthy of praise. For casual fans, this format may have proved boring and unentertaining. Either way, the fact that the Oscars were able to be presented in-person and with as much flair is a testament to the dedication in celebrating the best in film and small sign that life is slowly on its way back.
THE HISTORY
Among the nominees and winners, the night set out to make history during several categories. Here’s a rundown of some of the historic moments:
Yuh-Jung Youn, Best Supporting Actress winner for “Minari”, is the first Korean performer to win an acting Oscar
Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson, Best Makeup & Hairstyling winners for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”, are the first Black women to win the makeup and hairstyling Oscar
Ann Roth, Best Costume Design winner for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”, is the oldest woman to ever win a competitive Oscar; she is 89
Chloé Zhao, Best Director winner for “Nomadland”, is the second woman and first woman of color to win the directing Oscar
“Nomadland” is also the second film directed by a woman and the first directed by a woman of color to win the Best Picture Oscar
FULL LIST OF WINNERS:
Best Picture
NOMADLAND
Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, Mollye Asher, Dan Javney, Chloé Zhao, producers
(Searchlight Pictures)
Best Director
Chloé Zhao
NOMADLAND
(Searchlight Pictures)
Best Actress
Frances McDormand
NOMADLAND
(Searchlight Pictures)
Best Actor
Anthony Hopkins
THE FATHER
(Sony Pictures Classics)
Best Supporting Actress
Yuh-Jung Youn
MINARI
(A24)
Best Supporting Actor
Daniel Kaluuya
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
(Warner Bros.)
Best Original Screenplay
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
Emerald Fennell
(Focus Features)
Best Adapted Screenplay
THE FATHER
Christopher Hampton, Florian Zeller
(Sony Pictures Classics)
Best Animated Feature
SOUL
Pete Docter, Dana Murray
(Pixar)
Best Production Design
MANK
Donald Graham Burt (production designer)
Jan Pascale (set decorator)
(Netflix)
Best Cinematography
MANK
Erik Messerschmidt
(Netflix)
Best Costume Design
MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
Ann Roth
(Netflix)
Best Film Editing
SOUND OF METAL
Mikkel E.G. Nielsen
(Amazon Studios)
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Mia Neal, Jamika Wilson
(Netflix)
Best Sound
SOUND OF METAL
Phillip Bladh, Nicolas Becker, Jaime Baksht, Michellee Couttolenc, Carlos Cortés
(Amazon Studios)
Best Visual Effects
TENET
Andrew Jackson, Andrew Lockley, Scott Fisher, David Lee
(Warner Bros.)
Best Original Score
SOUL
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
(Pixar)
Best Original Song
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
”Fight for You”
Music by H.E.R. and Dernst Emile II
Lyric by H.E.R. and Tiara Thomas
(Warner Bros.)
Best Documentary Feature
MY OCTOPUS TEACHER
Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed, Craig Foster
(Netflix)
Best International Feature
ANOTHER ROUND
(Denmark)
Best Animated Short
IF ANYTHING HAPPENS I LOVE YOU
Will McCormack, Michael Govier
(Netflix)
Best Documentary Short
COLETTE
Anthony Giacchino, Alice Doyard
(Time Travel Unlimited)
Best Live-Action Short
TWO DISTANT STRANGERS
Travon Free, Martin Desmond Roe
(Dirty Robber, NowThis)
