Los Angeles : Singer-actress Lady Gaga took home her first Oscar in the Best Original Song category for “Shallow” — the popular track from the hit film, “A Star Is Born”.
Lady Gaga
The award went to Gaga and co-writers Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt and Anthony Rossomando. In her speech, she thanked her director and co-star Bradley Cooper, for “believing in us”.
“Bradley: there’s not a single person on the planet that could have sung this song with me but you,” said Gaga, who got emotional after the win.
“Thank you for believing in us. a And if you are at home and you’re sitting on your couch, and you are watching this right now, all I have to say is that this is hard work.
“I’ve worked hard for a long time, and a it’s not about winning. But what it’s about is not giving up. If you have a dream, fight for it. There’s a discipline for passion, and it’s not about how many times you get rejected or you fall down, or you’re beaten. It’s about how many times you stand up, and are brave, and you keep going.”
Cooper and Gaga’s duet on “Shallow” at the ceremony on Sunday night proved one of the major talking points of the 2019 show, due to the closeness of the pair.
Meanwhile, composer Ludwig Goransson won the best original score Oscar for “Black Panther”.
Goransson thanked director Ryan Coogler, recalling that 12 years ago, they were “sitting in our dorm at USC, writing the score for your first short film, and we’re here 12 years later celebrating one of the most important cinematic moments in history”.
He thanked the African musicians who played on the score (including vocalist Baaba Maal) as well as the London orchestra.
Regina King
Regina King won her first ever Oscar, taking home the Best Supporting Actress trophy for her role in “If Beale Street Could Talk”.
According to CNN, King is the third black actress to win both an Oscar and a Primetime Emmy, joining Halle Berry and Viola Davis.
Directed and written by Barry Jenkins, “If Beale Street Could Talk” is based on James Baldwin’s novel of the same name.
The “Jerry Maguire” actress, who was escorted to the stage by Chris Evans so that she doesn’t slip on the steps, thanked her mother — her date at the Academy Awards here on Sunday — and Baldwin, in her acceptance speech.
“James Baldwin birthed this baby. And Barry, you nurtured her, surrounded her with so much love and support. So, it’s appropriate for me to be standing here, because I’m an example of what it looks like when support and love is poured into someone.
“Mom, I love you so much. Thank you for teaching me that God is always leaning, always has been leaning in my direction,” said King, who was dressed in a white Oscar de la Renta dress with a thigh-high slit.
Emotional about her win, she was teary-eyed.
King was competing in the category with Amy Adams (“Vice”), Marina De Tavira (“Roma”) and Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone (“The Favourite”).
Oprah Winfrey was emotional about King’s victory.
“In tears watching Regina King. Such an authentic acceptance. Bravo to you! and Amen, God is good all the time,” Winfrey tweeted
Ruth E. Carter
Ruth E. Carter won Best Costume Design trophy at the 91st Academy Awards for her work on superhero film “Black Panther”, becoming the first black woman in history to win in the category.
According to ew.com, Carter is the first African-American woman to take home an Oscar in this category. She was competing with Mary Zophres for “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”, Sandy Powell for “The Favourite” and “Mary Poppins Returns” and Alexandra Byrne for “Mary Queen of Scots”.
Carter, a previous Oscar nominee for “Amistad” and “Malcom X”, worked on the costumes for the entire fictional nation of Wakanda in Ryan Coogler’s “Black Panther”, crafting everything from Chadwick Boseman’s superhero suit to the Dora Milaje’s colourful armour. The award is also the first Oscar won by Marvel Studios.
“Marvel may have created the first black superhero, but through costume design, we turned him into an African king,” Carter said in her acceptance speech.
“It’s been my life’s honour to create costumes. Thank you to the Academy, and thank you for honouring African royalty and the empowered way women can look and lead on screen.”
Carter also thanked Spike Lee, also a nominee this year for “BlacKkKlansman”, for giving her her “start” with “Malcolm X”.
“I hope this makes you proud,” she added.
The award was presented by Melissa McCarthy and Brian Tyree Henry. McCarthy was seen wearing a gigantic train covered in toy rabbit and holding a toy rabbit.
There was another win for “Black Panther” as Hannah Beachler and Jay Hart took the golden statuette for Best Production Design. Beachler became the first African-American to be nominated and to win an Oscar in production design.
Beachler gave a moving speech in which she thanked the cast and crew of “Black Panther”.
aI stand here with agency and self-worth because of (director) Ryan Coogler, who not only made me a better designer, a better storyteller, a better person,” she said adding that he offered her patience and “better perspective of life”.
She also shared the same advice she once received: “When you think things are impossible, remember I did my best, and my best is good enough.”
Mahershala Ali
Actor Mahershala Ali picked up an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Don Shirley in “Green Book” at the 91st Academy Awards.
Ali was competing with Adam Driver (“BlacKkKlansman”), Sam Elliott (“A Star Is Born”), Richard E. Grant (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”) and Sam Rockwell (“Vice”).
This is Ali’s second Oscar win, after he took the award in the same category in 2017 for “Moonlight”, becoming the first Muslim actor to win an Oscar, reports theguardian.com.
“Green Book”, backed by Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Entertainment’s Amblin Entertainment, is based on a true story of friendship and relationship between working class Italian-American bouncer, who becomes a driver of an African-American classical pianist on a tour of venues through the 1960’s American South.
Ali plays the role of jazz pianist Shirley in the Peter Farrelly-directed biographical drama. The award gala was held here on Sunday night, and aired in India on Monday morning on Star Movies.
Ali took the stage, where he first thanked the man he portrayed, saying, “Trying to capture Dr. Shirley’s essence pushed me to my ends, which is a reflection of the person that he was and the life that he lived, and I thank him.”
He went on to thank his co-star Viggo Mortensen, along with Farrelly, before dedicating the award to his grandmother, who “has been in my ear my entire life telling me, if at first I don’t succeed, try try again”.
Rami Malek
Actor Rami Malek received an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading role at the 91st Academy Awards ceremony for portraying the life of late Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody” with conviction.
“Bohemian Rhapsody”, which was released in India by Fox Star Studios, is a biopic on Mercury and the band Queen, and explores the rise of the band with a focus on the Indian-origin lead singer’s personal life, his sexuality and the way he dealt with his fame.
Malek expressed his gratitude to the rock band, thanking them for allowing him to be a “tiny part of your phenomenal history”. He also used his acceptance speech to address struggles of immigrants and the changing times in Hollywood.
“Oh my god,” Malek said as he got on the stage to receive the honour.
“My mom is in here somewhere. I love you. I thank my family. My dad didn’t get to see this, but I am sure he is looking down on me,a he said as the camera panned towards his visibly emotional family.
“This is a monumental moment. I am so appreciative to all of you, who have had a hand to get me here. People who took a chance on me.
“I may not have been the obvious choice, but I guess it worked out,a said Malek thanking Fox and “everyone who believed in me. It’s something I will treasure for the rest of my life,” the actor said.
Malek also thanked Queen, saying “thank you for making me a tiniest part of your phenomenal and extraordinary legacy”.
“I am forever in your debt. I would also like Ato thank my crew and cast. You are my equals and better. I could have not been here without you.”
Malek, who has Egyptian-American roots, remembered Mercury on stage.
“We made a film about a gay man, an immigrant, who lived his life just unapologetically himself,” Malek said during his acceptance speech.
“The fact that I’m celebrating him and this story with you tonight is proof that we’re longing for stories like this.”
“I am the son of immigrants from Egypt, a first-generation American.
“And part of my story is being written right now. And I could not be more grateful to each and every one of you, and everyone who believed in me for this moment. It’s something I will treasure for the rest of my life,” Malek added
He was pitted against Christian Bale (“Vice”), Bradley Cooper (“A Star Is Born”), Willem Dafoe (“At Eternity’s Gate”) and Viggo Mortensen (“Green Book”).
Olivia Colman
“The Favourite” star Olivia Colman was teary-eyed as she was announced the winner of the Best Actress in a Leading Role category at the 91st Academy Awards, marking her first Oscar.
“It’s genuinely quite stressful… This is hilarious. I got an Oscar,” Colman said in a wobbled way as she came to terms with her victory.
Colman was competing with Yalitza Aparicio (“Roma”), Glenn Close (“The Wife”), Lady Gaga (“A Star Is Born”) and Melissa McCarthy (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”).
In her acceptance speech, in which she tried to balance her tears with her humour, Colman thanked her costars, Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone, calling them “the two loveliest women in the world to fall in love with and to do to work with every day”.
Colman also ensured mentioning how Close was the frontrunner for the award in pre-Oscar talks.
“Glenn Close, you’ve been my idol for so long… This is not how I wanted to it,” the British actress said.
Colman plays Queen Anne in “The Favourite”, which has Weisz and Stone play royal cousins who are scheming rivals. It is a witty costume drama from director Yorgos Lanthimos.
It is being released in India by Fox Star Studios on March 1.
Green Book
“Green Book“, which explores race relations in the US in the 1960s, has been named as the Best Picture at the 91st Academy Awards.
The film beat back a string of formidable challengers to nab the top honour. It faced strong competition from “Roma”, “A Star is Born” and “Bohemian Rhapsody”. Other nominees were “Black Panther”, “BlacKkKlansman”, “The Favourite” and “Vice”.
“Green Book”, backed by Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Entertainment’s Amblin Entertainment, is based on a true story of friendship and relationship between a working class Italian-American bouncer, who becomes a driver of an African-American classical pianist on a tour of venues through the 1960’s American South.
“We made this film with love, tenderness, and respect,” said producer Jim Burke on Sunday night. “And it was all done under the direction of Pete Farrelly.”
Taking over, Farrelly gave special thanks to actor Viggo Mortensen.
“He’s right, this is, the whole story is about love, it’s about loving each other, despite our differences, and finding out the truth about who we are, we’re the same people,” he said. “This doesn’t start, by the way, without Viggo Mortensen. All these awards are because Viggo and Mahershala and Linda, but it started with Viggo.”
Producer Charles B. Wessler added: “I want to dedicate this to our great friend Carrie Fisher.”
The film also nabbed awards for supporting actor (Mahershala Ali) and original screenplay.-IANS
