It was the evening that saw Frances McDormand’s win celebrated and that of Kobe Bryant criticized. It was also the evening that Mark Bridges won both an Oscar and a jet-ski. Here, Savoir Flair recaps the six must-know moments from the 90th Academy Awards.
The Opening Act
Harvey Weinstein, harassment in Hollywood, unequal pay, and an inevitable reference to last year’s Best Picture mix-up – returning host Jimmy Kimmel had plenty to address in his opening monologue, but he did so with a rather relevant and frills-free approach. And audiences loved it.
The easy highlight, however, had to be when Kimmel promised a jet-ski (hilariously presented game-show style by Helen Mirren) to whomever had the shortest acceptance speech – and he had a stopwatch on hand to prove it.
The Surprise Appearance
Baskets of candy, a six-foot sub, and hot dog cannons in tow, Kimmel led A-listers like Emily Blunt, Ansel Elgort, and Lupita Nyong’o to TCL Chinese Theatre in order to surprise unsuspecting moviegoers who thought they were there to watch A Wrinkle in Time. While the moment hasn’t quite broken Twitter the way Ellen DeGeneres did by taking that selfie back in 2014, it made for a comedic break in the Oscars telecast.
This was not your average screening of #WrinkleInTime… #Oscars @GalGadot @AnselElgort @MargotRobbie @HamillHimself @RealGDT #EmilyBlunt @Lupita_Nyongo @ArmieHammer @Lin_Manuel @IamGuillermo @ChineseTheatres pic.twitter.com/CdpwRO6NS0
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) March 5, 2018
The Controversial Win
The irony of Kobe Bryant – an athlete who was charged with sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman in Colorado in 2003 – winning an Oscar for his animated short film Dear Basketball on a night strongly themed around the Time’s Up movement was not lost on anyone.
The "Huh?" Moment
Everyone – and their mother – loves Frances McDormand, so we were thrilled when she won the Best Actress award for her role in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Her acceptance speech was as stirring as her performance and celebrated all the female nominees of the night.
However, the internet was baffled when she ended it with what sounded like, “I have two words to leave with you tonight: inclusion writer.” Turns out, she actually said “inclusion rider”, which we now know is a clause that an actor can insist be inserted in their contract requiring a diverse cast and crew to be hired around them.
#InclusionRider pic.twitter.com/kdp6UcgIqs
— Ethan Warren (@ethanrawarren) March 5, 2018
The Flawless Finish
Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty graciously returned as presenters for the Best Picture category for a second time and, this time around, things went off without a hitch. The Shape of Water was clearly the big winner of the night, having been nominated for 13 awards and winning four.
The Ultimate Victory
A blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment came towards the very, very end of the show, with costume designer Mark Bridges winning the aforementioned jet-ski. And the length of his speech? An impressively brief 36 seconds.
