The Oscars were looking to win back audiences after years of falling ratings. Will Smith will undoubtedly have ensured the buzz. While the comedian Chris Rock had just made a joke about the shaved head of his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, suffering from alopecia, a significant loss of hair, the American actor stood up and gave him a slap in the face of dumbfounded spectators.
Both the audience and viewers initially believed it was staged, but when he took the stage nearly an hour later to receive the Best Actor Oscar, Will Smith left no doubt about the spontaneity of his gesture.
“I want to apologize to the Academy” of the Oscars, launched in tears the actor. “Love Makes You Do Crazy Things”, said Will Smith after receiving his statuette. He was awarded for his role in The Williams Method, where he plays the coaching father of tennis champions Serena and Venus Williams. ” Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family”he launched in the form of a confession.
The triumph of “CODA”
The ceremony was also marked by the coronation of CODA, French film remake The Aries Family, which notably won the best film and the best adapted screenplay.
By receiving the supreme award of the Oscars, CODAa low-budget film about the complicated life of a deaf family and their hearing daughter, defied the odds and left many competing heavyweights in the dust.
This victory allows Apple TV + to become the first streaming platform to win the Oscars in the flagship category of best feature film. Director Sian Heder also won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay and actor Troy Kotsur, deaf from birth, the trophy for Best Supporting Actor.
New Zealand filmmaker Jane Campion won the Best Director Oscar for The Power of the Dog who was nominated in twelve categories. She becomes the third woman in history to be crowned with this prestigious award, just one year after Chloé Zhao for Nomadland. The pioneer was Kathryn Bigelow, for Minesweepersin 2010. Jane Campion had already been rewarded in 1994 by the Oscar for best adapted screenplay for The piano lesson.
Jessica Chastain best actress
American Jessica Chastain wins Best Actress Oscar for In the eyes of Tammy Faye and his role as a televangelist with a big heart and outrageous makeup. The 45-year-old actress has twice been an unsuccessful Oscar nominee, first for The colour of feelings then for Zero Dark Thirty. She finally won on Sunday in a tight competition against four other stars, Penélope Cruz (Parallel Mothers), Kristen Stewart (Spencer), Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos) and Olivia Colman (The Lost Daughter).
West Side Story, Steven Spielberg’s remake, has to settle for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for American Ariana DeBose. At 31, she succeeds Rita Moreno, a native like her from Puerto Rico, who had already received an Oscar in 1962 for the role of Anita in the original version of the film. She asserted herself on stage as Afro-Latino and queer. ” To anyone questioning their identity who finds themselves in the gray zone, I promise you, there is a place for us”claimed Ariana DeBose on stage, in a reference to the song of West Side Story, Somewhere (There’s a Place for Us).
Dunethe science fiction film by Denis Villeneuve, who was not nominated in any major category, won four technical Oscars including that of special effects.
At last, Drive My Cara three-hour river feature film by Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi, was named the Oscar for best international film.
The ceremony dedicated a minute of silence to the war in Ukraine and called for support for Ukrainians.
Awards
- Best film : CODA
- Best Director: Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
- Best Actress: Jessica Chastain, In the eyes of Tammy Faye
- Best Actor: Will Smith The Williams Method
- Best Supporting Actor: Troy Kotsur, CODA
- Best Supporting Actress: Ariana DeBose, West Side Story
- Best International Film: Drive my car (Japan)
- Best animated film: Charm
- Best Documentary: Summer of Soul
- Best Original Screenplay: Belfast
- Best Adapted Screenplay: CODA
- Best song : No Time To Die, the Billie Eilish
- Best Sound: Dune (Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill and Ron Bartlett).
- Best editing: Dune (Joe Walker).
- Best Original Score: Dune (Hans room).
- Best decor: Dune.
- Best makeup and hairstyles: In the eyes of Tammy Faye (Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram and Justin Raleigh).
- Best Animated Short Film: The Windshield Wiper (Alberto Mielgo and Leo Sanchez).
- Best documentary short: The Queen of Basketball (Ben Proudfoot).
- Best short fiction film: The Long Goodbye (Aneil Karia and Riz Ahmed).