History’s most iconic people and events have long been celebrated in the film industry, especially when it comes time to honoring the best efforts by the cast and crew during awards seasons. That has certainly been true throughout this past year, but the awards ceremonies have also been leaving their own marks on Hollywood. Minorities were notably honored last night at the 2019 Academy Awards, whose ceremony was broadcast live from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on ABC.
Director Peter Farrelly’s biopic, ‘Green Book,’ was one of the most celebrated films during the 91st Oscars. The movie was honored with the highest award of the night: Best Picture. It was also recognized in the Best Original Screenplay category, for the script that was penned by Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie and Farrelly.
Mahershala Ali was also named Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of musician Dr. Don Shirley in the biopic. This marks his second win the category, after he was previously honored with the Academy Award in 2017 for his turn in the coming-of-age drama, ‘Moonlight.’ Ali, who was the front-runner in the category, became the second black actor to win two Oscars, after Denzel Washington won for his turns in ‘Glory’ and ‘Training Day.’
The musical biopic, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ was another one of the most celebrated movies during the 2019 Oscars ceremony. Rami Malek was honored with the Best Actor award, for his portrayal of Queen’s lead singer, Freddie Mercury. During his acceptance speech, Malek spoke about how humbled he was to be on the Academy Award stage, especially since he’s the son of immigrants from Egypt. The actor, who’s also best known for his Emmy Award-winning role of as Elliot Alderson on the USA thriller series, ‘Mr. Robot,’ was also the front-runner in his category before his name was called last night.
Writer-director Barry Jenkins’ crime drama, ‘If Beale Street Could Talk,’ also helped take a stand for the inclusion of minorities at the Oscars. Regina King, who was also widely considered to be a front-runner, was named the Best Supporting Actress for her turn as Sharon River in the movie.
While Jenkins was nominated in the Best Adapted Screenplay category for his work on the film’s script, the award ended up being presented to the writers of ‘BlacKkKlansman’ instead. Legendary filmmaker, Spike Lee, won his first competitive, nonhonorary Academy Award for his work on the script for the biographical drama, which he collaborated on with Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott. The movie’s screenplay is based on the 2014 book of the same name by Ron Stallworth.
Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron took home three Oscars for his drama, ‘Roma,’ including Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Foreign Language Film. The filmmaker previously won two Academy Awards in 2014 for his sci-fi thriller, ‘Gravity,’ including Best Director and Best Film Editing.
‘Black Panther’ also made history at this year’s Oscar ceremony for being the first Marvel film to win an award. Hannah Beachler was honored with the Best Production Design trophy, while Ruth E. Carter was recognized in the Best Costume Design category. The duo became the first African-American women to win in their respective fields. Beachler, who’s the first-ever female production designer of a Marvel movie, also became the first African-American to ever be nominated in her category. The duo also became just the second and third black women to win non-acting Academy Awards.