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Sunday, February 9, 2020

The 92nd Annual Academy Awards: Results and Reactions

Did a Parasite Make a Joker of 1917? 

By Chris Sabga

Another year, another Oscars...


Before the Show 

No Host (Again)

For the second year in a row, there will be no one hosting the Academy Awards. Last year's ceremony moved at a much quicker pace because of it. Let's hope that holds true this year too.

Any Potential Surprises?

"1917" seems like the safe bet to win Best Picture, but last-minute buzz is pegging a historic upset victory for "Parasite," which would make it the first foreign language film ever to emerge victorious in the top category. We'll see...

The Wall Street Journal is betting big on Scarlett Johansson to win Best Actress for "Marriage Story," but very few people are buying any stock in "ScarJo" – every other pundit considers Renée Zellweger a lock for "Judy."

Full results are listed at the end.  

The Oscar Ceremony

Best Oscar Speeches: Taika Waititi's tribute to his mother after winning Best Adapted Screenplay for "Jojo Rabbit" was sincere, heartfelt, and funny.

I loved the speech for "Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)." It started with Frank Capra and ended with words of encouragement.

Laura Dern: "They say never meet your heroes, but if you're blessed, you get them as your parents." Beautifully stated! (Her mom and dad are, famously, Diane Ladd and Bruce Dern.)

Best Presenters: It was nice to see Shia LaBeouf and Zack Gottsagen from the wonderful – and snubbed – "The Peanut Butter Falcon" presenting the award for Best Live Action Short.

Best Moments: Give Steve Martin and Chris Rock their own comedy special! They landed some great but acidic jokes about Jeff Bezos' wealth and (the lack of) black nominees.

It was awesome to see Chrissy Metz – Kate from "This Is Us" – performing "I’m Standing With You" from her powerful film "Breakthrough." Toby was obviously too busy doing CrossFit to be there!

Best Dressed: Rebel Wilson and James Corden stole the show dressed as cats from – what else? – the notorious cinematic flop "Cats."

Biggest Surprise: According to my Oscar pool, "Ford v Ferrari" racing past "1917" in the Sound Editing category was a surprise – to me.

But "Parasite's" Bong Joo Ho upsetting "1917's" Sam Mendes for Best Director was the biggest surprise of the night...

...until "Parasite" won for Best Picture.

Overall: "1917" was considered the favorite, but in a truly stunning turn of events, "Parasite" scored massive upsets in the Best Director and Best Picture categories. It now stands as the first foreign language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Full Results

Best Picture: Parasite

Best Actor in a Leading Role: Joaquin Phoenix, Joker

Best Actress in a Leading Role: Renée Zellweger, Judy

Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Laura Dern, Marriage Story

Best Director: Bong Joo Ho, Parasite

Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 4

Best Adapted Screenplay: Jojo Rabbit

Best Original Screenplay: Parasite

Best Foreign Language Film: Parasite (South Korea)

Best Documentary Feature: American Factory

Best Original Song: "(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again," Rocketman

Best Original Score: Joker

Best Cinematography: 1917

Film Editing: Ford v Ferrari

Costume Design: Little Women

Makeup and Hairstyling: Bombshell

Production Design: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Sound Editing: Ford v Ferrari

Sound Mixing: 1917

Visual Effects: 1917

Best Documentary Short: Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)

Best Animated Short: Hair Love

Best Live Action Short: The Neighbors’ Window