British actress Olivia Colman has won best actress at the Oscars for playing Queen Anne in The Favourite, while Green Book has unexpectedly taken home the gong for best picture.
The BBC says the 45-year-old’s acceptance speech “charmed the ceremony”. After receiving a standing ovation, she told the audience: “This is hilarious – I’ve won an Oscar!”
She said “this is not going to happen again”, promised a “massive snog” to anyone she forgot to mention and blew a raspberry when told to wind up her speech.
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Bohemian Rhapsody won the most awards in total with four but Green Book upset the odds by grabbing best picture, which had been expected to go to Roma. The latter film took three, the same total awarded to Black Panther. The Washington Post says Green Book’s win was a “somewhat shocking moment” for a “polarising film”.
Rami Malek won best actor for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody. He told the ceremony: “I think about what it would have been like to tell little bubba Rami that one day this might happen to him, and I think his curly-haired little mind would have been blown.”
Commentators have pointed out that this year's winners were more diverse than they were a few years ago when the #OscarsSoWhite campaign was born. Spike Lee won his first competitive Oscar. The director - who won an honorary Oscar in 2016 - took best adapted screenplay for BlacKkKlansman, which tells the true story of a black police officer who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan.
The Guardian says it was a mostly “apolitical night” but some winners made standout statements. In his speech, Lee encouraged the audience to “regain our humanity” at the next US election. He added: “Let’s all mobilise and be on the right side of history. Make the moral choice between love versus hate.”
The director Rayka Zehtabchi, who took home the Oscar for best documentary short for Period, said: “I can’t believe a film about menstruation just won an Oscar.”
CNN points out that although Bohemian Rhapsody won four Oscars, there was no mention of its director, Bryan Singer, explaining: “Here's why: Singer was fired from the project just weeks before the completion of filming… after he was accused of sexual abuse, allegations that the filmmaker has denied.”
The other notable aspect of this year’s ceremony was its lack of host after comedian Kevin Hart pulled out from the role following a row about old homophobic tweets. Instead, a procession of stars presented individual awards. The New York Times quipped: “And the Oscar for best Academy Awards host goes to … nobody!”
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