Reinvented Oscars hands Nomadland win on diversity-packed night
By Jill Serjeant
Reuters
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Nomadland, the story of van dwellers in America, won the best picture Oscar and two other Academy Awards on a triumphant night for women that also saw a return to Hollywood glamour after a long pandemic shutdown.
In a major upset, Britain s Anthony Hopkins won the best actor trophy for his role as a man battling dementia in The Father. The Oscar had been widely expected to go to the late Chadwick Boseman for his final film, Ma Rainey s Black Bottom.
China native Chloe Zhao was named best director for Searchlight Pictures Nomadland, making her the first Asian woman and only the second woman ever to take home the trophy. Kathryn Bigelow was the first in 2010.
The ceremony was filmed like an actual movie
And the ceremony was held in-person in two Los Angeles locations.
Initially, the organizers had a strict no-Zoom rule: In mid-March, producers Steven Soderbergh, Jesse Collins, and Stacey Sher encouraged nominees to travel to LA, and said “there will not be an option to Zoom in for the show.”
“We are going to great lengths to provide a safe and ENJOYABLE evening for all of you in person, as well as for all the millions of film fans around the world,” they wrote, “and we feel the virtual thing will diminish those efforts.”
This photo, captured from the Twitter account of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) on April 26, 2021, shows Youn Yuh-jung with her new best friend
SEOUL: Youn Yuh-jung has won best supporting actress at this year’s Academy Awards for her performance in the immigrant film “Minari,” becoming the first South Korean to win an acting Oscar.
At the awards ceremony held at Union Station in Los Angeles, California, on Sunday (U.S. time), Youn was awarded Best Actress in a Supporting Role, beating Maria Bakalova for “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” Glenn Close for “Hillbilly Elegy,” Olivia Colman for “The Father” and Amanda Seyfried for “Mank.”
After years of criticism for a lack of diversity, this year s slate of nominees contained some notable firsts. It was the first time an all-Black producing team was nominated for best picture, the first time two actors of Asian descent received a nod for best actor and the first year that two women were nominated for best director. When the winners were revealed, it reflected this spirit of inclusion.
Chloe Zhao took home the best directing trophy, becoming the second woman to claim the title. Her film, Nomadland, also snagged the top prize of the night, best picture.
However, in a strange balk of tradition, the award was not presented last. Instead it was handed out before the best actress and best actor awards. It is unclear why the Academy made this change.