COVID Themed Oscars Bring Shock and Controversy

By Kevin Conley II, Staff Contributor 

The Oscars have come and gone, now for the 93rd time. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Academy was forced to make drastic changes to account for their limited capabilities. After being delayed nearly two months, the Oscars took place at the Union Theater instead of the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Most attendants, including the cast and crew members, were not wearing masks and the show wasn’t released virtually.

 First off, previous Oscar winner Regina King made her directorial debut in last year’s Amazon Prime exclusive “One Night in Miami…” She introduced the Academy Awards and presented the first two categories.

 Emerald Fennell, best known for playing Duchess Camilla in “The Crown,” won the award for “Best Original Screenplay” for her film “Promising Young Woman,” a film about a woman seeking out men who prey on her in bars. She wrote and directed the movie while she was seven months pregnant.

Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller were awarded “Best Adapted Screenplay” for “The Father,” a film about an elderly man struggling with Alzheimer’s.

“Another Round” won “Best International Film” of the year. The winning film centers around a man struggling with alcohol addiction. 

Daniel Kayuula, the breakout star of “Get Out,” won his first Oscar for “Best Supporting Actor” in “Judas and the Black Messiah.”

 Netflix’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” took home the Oscar for “Best Make-Up and Hair Design.”

The winners for “Best Director and Picture” were announced earlier in the night than usual. It was given to Chloe Zhao for “Nomadland,” a film about a woman living a simplistic lifestyle after losing her job in the 2009 Great Recession. Zhao is the first Asian woman and the second woman ever to win “Best Director and Picture.”

 Nicolas Becker, Jaime Baksht, Michelle Couttolenc, Carlos Cortés and Phillip Bladh won the award for best sound for their film “Sound of Metal.”

Yuh-Jung Youn won the award for “Best Supporting Actress” in “Minari,” a movie about a Korean family moving to Arkansas in the 1980s to start a farm. She is the first Korean performer to win an acting award in the Oscars.

 Some other awards include Disney Pixar’s “Soul” for “Best Animated Feature Film,” “Two Distant Strangers” by Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe for “Best Live-Action Short Film,” “Colette” by Anthony Giacchino and Alice Doyard for “Best Documentary,” “Tenet” by Christopher Nolan for “Best Visual Effects,” Herman Mankowitz for “Best Production Design” and “Best Cinematography,” “Sound of Metal” for “Best Sound” and “Best Editing” and H.E.R. for “Best Original Song” for “Judas and the Black Messiah.”

To each viewer’s surprise, “Best Picture” was announced earlier in the night whereas traditionally, the winner of the said category is the last to be announced. This year, however, the Academy opted to announce the award before “Best Actor and Actress.”

“The Father,” “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Mank,” “Minari,” “Nomadland,” “Promising Young Woman,” “Sound of Metal” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7” competed for the top prize this year, but it was ultimately “Nomadland” that went home with the gold. 

Francis McDormand pulled an upset in the “Best Actress” category. Pundits considered the field to be the most unpredictable of the year. While Andra Day won the Golden Globe for “Best Actress in a Motion Picture,” drama for her portrayal of the jazz singer and civil rights icon, Billie Holiday, in Hulu’s “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” Carey Mulligan’s win for “Best Actress” at the Critic’s Choice Awards gave her frontrunner status in the race. However, Viola Davis’ win at the SAG Awards for her role in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” led many to believe she was on track for an upset. 

According to the online betting site, GoldDerby, pundits ranked McDormand as the second least likely to win, just in front of Vanessa Kirby for her role as a grieving mother who loses her baby in “Pieces of a Woman.” McDormand became the second woman behind Margaret Hepburn to win more than two Oscars in the “Best Actress” category. McDormand won previously for her role in “Fargo” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” 

The most memorable award was the “Best Actor” announcement. Due to wild speculation, the late Chadwick Boseman was expected to win “Best Actor” for his role in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”Ultimately, it was not Boseman’s name announced in the envelope, but rather Anthony Hopkins for his role in “The Father.” Hopkins declined to attend the ceremony in person and was prohibited from chiming in via Zoom, bringing the ceremony to an abrupt halt. Hopkins was said to be asleep when the announcement came. At 83 years old, Hopkins is the oldest man to win an Oscar. 

Hopkins’ win remained highly controversial as many on Twitter claim that Boseman’s performance was far more deserving. Others alleged that the Academy’s choice to announce the “Best Actor” winner at the end of the ceremony was too “emotionally manipulative” and a way of using the actor’s death as bait to entice viewers to watch. 

And watch they did not. According to Nielsen, the Academy Awards suffered the worst ratings in the ceremony’s 93-year history, garnering fewer than ten million viewers. 

Still, with upcoming films like “Dune,” “Killers of the Flower Moon” and Steven Speilberg’s remake of the classic “West Side Story” on the horizon, some cautiously hope for a return to normalcy in the following year.