Oscars 2018: The leadup and the rundown on the 90th annual Academy Awards – The Verge

At this year’s Oscars, diverse forces agitated for change

2018-03-05T19:16:43-05:00

Last night at the 90th annual Academy Awards, Best Actress award-winner Frances McDormand used her acceptance speech to champion inclusion riders, obscure contract clauses that actors could put in their contracts requiring the demographics of the cast and crew to meet certain diversity goals. She explained backstage that after 35 years in the industry, she had only learned about inclusion clauses last week, but believes they could be a game-changer for an industry that has often been criticized for its lack of diversity. "It changes now," she said. "And I think the inclusion rider will have something to do with that."

McDormand's speech was …

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The man who stole Frances McDormand’s Oscar streamed it to Facebook

2018-03-05T15:23:22-05:00

Frances McDormand should have taken home the Oscar for Best Actress last night - literally because she did, in fact, win the category. Instead, her award was swiped off her table during the Governors Ball celebration after the ceremonies. Variety reports that Terry Bryant, 47, was arrested and charged with grand theft shortly after posting a Facebook video of himself drinking and galavanting around with the giant gold statue. Subtle.

"My team got this tonight," Bryant says in the video, which is still available on Facebook thanks to the merciful internet gods. "This is mine. We got it tonight, baby." Bryant then smooches the statue several …

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A cost-benefit analysis says a Jet Ski won’t shorten Oscar speeches

2018-03-05T13:04:04-05:00

It's an Academy Award tradition for hosts, participants, and viewers alike to complain that the awards ceremony is too long. At the 90th annual Oscars ceremony on Sunday night, host Jimmy Kimmel made a joke out of the long-running complaint, dangling the prospect of an $18,000 Jet Ski as a prize for the winner who gave the shortest acceptance speech. It was a charming gag, but if the Academy is serious about shortening the speeches, a Jet Ski isn't going to do it. It's just not valuable enough.

The Jet Ski did find a home with Phantom Thread costume designer Mark Bridges. And offering a prize as an incentive is a better approach than the wr …

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The 2018 Oscars’ running Jet Ski gag was pure genius

2018-03-05T02:00:20-05:00

After a contentious year in Hollywood - the year of the Harvey Weinstein accusations and the seemingly endless accusations that followed, the year of #MeToo and Time's Up - it was inevitable that the 2018 Oscars would be somewhat political. And they were, with both grave, serious commentary on diversity and inclusion in Hollywood, and copious derisive jokes aimed at Mel Gibson, "white people with clipboards," and Donald Trump.

But the real star of the night was a green Jet Ski, awarded at the end of the evening to Phantom Thread costume designer Mark Bridges to commemorate the fact that his acceptance speech was the shortest one of the nigh …

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Frances McDormand champions ‘inclusion riders’ during her Best Actress speech

2018-03-05T00:19:23-05:00

Frances McDormand won the 2018 Oscar for Actress in a Leading Role for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. During her acceptance speech, she set her Oscar statuette down on the floor beside her, then commanded all the other women nominees in the room to stand up in solidarity.

"If I could have all the women stand up with me in this moment," she said, waving them to their feet. "Look around, everybody, look around, ladies and gentlemen, because we all have stories to tell, and we all have projects we need to finance."

She encouraged people to discuss future women-centric projects seriously during meetings, rather than during drinks t …

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Guillermo del Toro wins Best Director and Best Picture Oscar for The Shape of Water

2018-03-04T23:43:41-05:00

Sunday night at the 90th annual Academy Awards, Guillermo del Toro's swoony merman fantasy The Shape of Water took home the awards for Directing and Best Picture. Previously in the evening, the film also won for Original Score and Production Design. The film's four wins came out of a slate of 13 overall nominations.

In his Directing acceptance speech, the Mexico-born filmmaker followed the lead of many other winners, immediately pivoting to issues of diversity and inclusion. "I am an immigrant," he said, name-checking Salma Hayek, Gael García Bernal, and several other Mexican artists who were present in the room. "And in the last 25 years, …

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Netflix’s House of Cards season 6 will focus on Claire Underwood’s rule

2018-03-04T23:38:22-05:00

During the Academy Awards, Netflix aired a teaser for the sixth and final season of House of Cards. It's going to be the first season since lead actor Kevin Spacey, who played conniving politician Frank Underwood, got booted from the show by Netflix following sexual assault allegations.

In the teaser, Robin Wright's character Claire Underwood is the one in command, sitting behind the desk her husband once occupied in the Oval Office. With a confident smile, she says, "We're just getting started." Netflix's tagline reads, "Hail to the Chief."

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Roger Deakins wins Cinematography Oscar for Blade Runner 2049

2018-03-04T23:21:10-05:00

Roger A. Deakins has long been considered one of the best cinematographers in the world, but while he's being nominated for 13 Oscars, he had yet to win. That changed Sunday night when Deakins won for Achievement in Cinematography for his work on Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049.

Deakins' work was up against a number of truly visually arresting films, including the luxuriant photography in The Shape of Water, Hoyte van Hoytema's visceral IMAX work in Dunkirk, and the atmospheric work of Darkest Hour. Also nominated in the category was Rachel Morrison, for the bleak visuals of Netflix's film Mudbound. Morrison is the trailblazing cinemat …

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Get Out wins the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay

2018-03-04T23:11:22-05:00

In an emotional acceptance speech at the 2018 Oscars, writer-director Jordan Peele said he nearly stopped scripting his debut feature, Get Out, 20 times, because he thought it was an impossible film to write, and he wouldn't be able to get it made even if he did write it. The film, which won Best Original Screenplay, is a racially charged horror story about a black photographer (Daniel Kaluuya) meeting his white girlfriend's family and uncovering an eerie plot. It's Peele's first writing and directing project, and it makes him the first black winner in the category, and only the fourth nominated, after John Singleton, Spike Lee, and Suzanne …

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Blade Runner 2049 wins the Oscar for Best Visual Effects

2018-03-04T22:24:13-05:00

Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049 was a visual feast of a film, and on Sunday night, it took home the Oscar for Achievement in Visual Effects. Visual effects supervisors John Nelson, Paul Lambert, and Richard R. Hoover, plus special effects supervisor Gerd Nefzer, all took the stage to accept the award.

The film was up against a powerhouse lineup of films, including Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Kong: Skull Island, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and War for the Planet of the Apes. The Blade Runner sequel was nominated for five Academy Awards going into the evening's ceremonies, though they were entirely in technical categories: in addition to vi …

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