Chloe Zhao s Nomadland, a wistful portrait of itinerant lives on open roads across the American West, won best picture Sunday at the 93rd Academy Awards, where the China-born Zhao also became just the second woman to win best director, and the first woman of color.
The Nomadland victory, while widely expected, nevertheless capped the extraordinary rise of Zhao, a lyrical filmmaker whose winning film is just her third, and which with a budget less than $5 million (€4.1 million) and featuring a cast populated by non-professional actors ranks as one of the most modest-sized movies to win Hollywood s top honour. Zhao s next film, Marvel s Eternals, has a budget approximately 40 times that of Nomadland. Only Kathryn Bigelow, 11 years ago for The Hurt Locker, had previously won best director.
The Oscars Embraced Diversity, but Not as Much as It Could Have
Adam B. Vary, provided by
April 26, 2021
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After the humiliating back-to-back scandal of #OscarsSoWhite for the 2014 and 2015 Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences set itself to aggressively increasing representation within its membership. By expanding the perspectives of its voters, the hope was that a greater diversity of voices could find recognition at the Oscars.
Five years later at the 93rd Oscars, several major milestones were indeed achieved for representation. Yuh-jung Youn (“Minari”), winner for best supporting actress, was the first Korean actor to ever win an Oscar, and only the second Asian woman. Chloé Zhao was the second woman ever to win best director, and the first woman of color. Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson were the first Black women to win makeup and hairstyling. And with Daniel Kaluuya (“Judas and the Black Messiah”) winning best supporting ac
The 93rd Oscars honored Hollywood's best and brightest after the weirdest year in film. Here is who won, how to watch the winners and the ceremony and everything that went down at the ceremony,
Oscars: Even the Best Picture Nominees Didn’t Know About Wild Change in Announcement Order IndieWire 2 hrs ago
While it was widely expected for “Nomadland” to win Best Picture at the Oscars Sunday night, one piece of the film’s win did come as a major surprise when exactly during the show the top Oscar was handed out. The 2021 ceremony marked the first time in nearly five decades that Best Picture was not presented at the very end of the ceremony.
Sunday’s statuette shuffle surprised even the “Nomadland” filmmakers, producer Dan Janvey told reporters in the virtual backstage press area. “It surely was a surprise. I think a lot of us grew up watching the Oscars and have gotten used to that being last. It was incredibly fun that they shook it up,” he said.
‘Nomadland’ wins best picture at a social-distanced Oscars
Producers Peter Spears, from left, Frances McDormand, Chloe Zhao, Mollye Asher and Dan Janvey, winners of the award for best picture for Nomadland, pose in the press room at the Oscars on Sunday, April 25, 2021, at Union Station in Los Angeles. Photo: AP
AP
AP
Chloé Zhao s Nomadland, a wistful portrait of itinerant lives on open roads across the American West, won best picture Sunday at the 93rd Academy Awards, where the China-born Zhao became the first woman of color to win best director and a historically diverse group of winners took home awards.