Hollywood News

Oscars 2018 Top Moments: When #TimesUp & Kobe Bryant Both Won

By Silverscreen India Staff

The 90th Academy Awards happened at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on March 4 (March 5 in India). The big winners of the night were The Shape Of Water, Dunkirk, Blade Runner 2049, Darkest Hour and Coco.

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But apart from the *actual* winners, here are some top moments from the awards function that made this year’s Oscars even more relevant.

In case you missed it, you can follow the live updates of the Academy Awards function here.

When Ashley Judd, Annabella Sciorra, and Salma Hayek addressed the Harvey Weinstein case on stage

Being three of Harvey Weinstein’s most prominent accusers, Judd, Sciorra and Hayek spoke about the #TimesUp and #MeToo initiative, and how this new movement is here to stay.

“The changes we are witnessing are being driven by the powerful sound of new voices, different voices, of our voices, who are joining together in a mighty chorus that is finally saying ‘Time’s Up’. We work together to make sure that the next 90 years empower these limitless possibilities of equality, diversity, inclusion, intersectionality. That’s what this year has promised us,” Judd said.

When Best Actress winner Frances McDormand emphasised on ‘inclusion riders’ in her acceptance speech

After winning her second Oscar ever, McDormand requested all the female Oscar nominees to stand up and honour each other.

“Look around, ladies and gentlemen, because we all have stories to tell and projects we need financed. Don’t talk to us about it at the parties tonight; invite us into your office in a couple days — or you can come to ours, whichever suits you best —and we’ll tell you all about them. I have two words to leave with you tonight … inclusion rider.”

‘Inclusion Rider’ refers to the top line cast and crew who have the power to make it part of their contract to hire a diverse crew around them.

When Ryan Seacrest returned as one of the red carpet hosts

Last week, in an exclusive interview with Variety, stylist Suzy Hardy accused Seacrest of unwanted and aggressive sexual advances, including groping her vagina, while she worked with him on E! News between 2007 – 2013. In November last year, Seacrest took the allegation public, announcing in a statement that an investigation was underway with respect to a misconduct complaint against him made by “someone that worked as a wardrobe stylist for me nearly a decade ago at E! News.” He called her claims “reckless allegations.”

Taraji P Henson, however, at the Oscars red carpet, threw shade at Seacrest. “The universe has a way of taking care of good people. Know what I mean?” she said while touching his chin.

Kobe Bryant’s Dear Basketball wins Oscar shortly after rape accusations resurface

Kobe Bryant’s film Dear Basketball won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short, but the win brought sharp criticism to the Academy, coming as it did amid the rise of the #MeToo and Time’s Up movement. Bryant was arrested in 2003 after a 19-year-old accused him of rape, an encounter he described as consensual. The case was dropped the following year after the woman said she was unwilling to testify in court.

Shashi Kapoor and Sridevi honoured at the Oscars

Shashi Kapoor, who died on December 4 last year, and Sridevi, who died on February 24 this year, were honoured at the Oscars. They were a part of a montage of several stars who had passed away in the last one year. Eddie Vedder sang ‘Room At The Top’ originally sung by Tom Petty, who died last year.

Jordan Peele became the first African-American to win an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay

Jordan Peele’s horror film Get Out won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, making him the first African-American to win the award. In his acceptance speech, he said that he wrote the script 20 times.

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“I stopped writing this movie about 20 times because I thought it was impossible. But I kept coming back to it because I knew if someone let me make this movie, people would hear it and people would see it,” he said.

Rita Moreno wore the same dress she wore to the Oscars in 1962

Moreno wore this black and gold number with matching black, arm-length gloves when she won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Anita in West Side Story. Moreno presented the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film to Chilean entry, A Fantastic Woman.

Host Jimmy Kimmel talks about Harvey Weinstein in his opening monologue

Opening the Oscars, Kimmel said: “The Academy took action last year to expel Harvey Weinstein from their ranks. There were a lot of great nominees, but Harvey deserved it the most. What happened with Harvey and what’s happening all over was long overdue. We can’t let bad behaviour slide any more. The world is watching us,” he said.

However, he ended his monologue with a bit of humour. “We need to set an example and the truth is if we are successful here, if we can work together to stop sexual harassment in the workplace, women will only have to deal with harassment all the time at every other place they go.”

Candies were distributed, again

Last year, candies were dropped from the ceiling for all those attending the awards. This year, Kimmel presented lunch boxes full of potato chips, gummy bears, Listerine strips and KIND granola bars to those attending for he does not want them to go hungry.

Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway return…but don’t goof up this time

Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty
Credits: Entertainment Weekly

Unlike last year’s goof-up, when Beatty accidentally announced La La Land as the big winner, this year the two stars of Bonnie and Clyde returned only to read out the correct winner’s name. And the Oscar went to Guillermo Del Toro’s The Shape of Water.

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Silverscreen India Staff is a at Silverscreen India, and can be reached by email at contact@silverscreen.in