Oscars 2018: Frances McDormand gets women to stand
There was no #MeToo or Time’s Up dress code. But the topic was, to no one’s surprise, a major theme of the evening.
- Frances McDormand speaks out
- Allison Janney brings the house down
- Aussie wins for Dunkirk
- Jimmy Kimmel’s opening
The 90th Academy Awards have been run and won, and this year without the drama that capped last year’s ceremony. The Shape of Water has won four Oscars, including best film. Other major winners were Frances McDormand (best actress); Gary Oldman (best actor); and Guillermo del Toro (best director for The Shape of Water).
Here’s the full list of Academy Award winners
Actor in a Supporting Role
Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Makeup and Hairstyling
Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski, and Lucy Sibbick, Darkest Hour
Documentary Feature
Icarus
Sound Editing
Richard King and Alex Gibson, Dunkirk
Sound Mixing
Mark Weingarten, Gregg Landarker, and Gary A. Rizzo, Dunkirk
Production Design
The Shape of Water (Production Design: Paul Denham Austerberry; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau and Jeff Melvin)
Foreign Language Film
A Fantastic Woman (Chile)
Actress in a Supporting Role
Allison Janney, I, Tonya
Animated Feature Film
Coco
Visual Effects
Blade Runner 2049 (John Nelson, Gerd Nefzer, Paul Lambert, and Richard R. Hoover)
Film Editing
Lee Smith, Dunkirk
Documentary Short Subject
Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405
Live Action Short Film
The Silent Child
Adapted Screenplay
James Ivory, Call Me by Your Name
Original Screenplay
Jordan Peele, Get Out
Cinematography
Roger A. Deakins, Blade Runner: 2049
Original Score
Alexandre Desplat, The Shape of Water
Original Song
“Remember Me,” Coco
Directing
Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water
Actor in a Leading Role
Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour
Actress in a Leading Role
Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Best Picture
The Shape of Water
No dress code, but plenty of #MeToo references
There was no #MeToo or Time’s Up dress code on the Oscar red carpet. But the topic was, to no one’s surprise, a major theme of the evening - from Jimmy Kimmel’s monologue, to an emotional appearance by three Harvey Weinstein accusers, to Frances McDormand’s calling all female nominees to rise with her in unison, AP reports.
Kimmel got right to it, addressing both sexual misconduct and the gender pay gap in his opening speech.
“Here’s how clueless Hollywood is about women,” Kimmel said. “We made a movie called ‘What Women Want’ and it starred Mel Gibson.”
Turning serious, Kimmel said the world was watching - and that Hollywood needed to set an example.
And then he quipped: “If we can stop sexual harassment in the workplace, women will only ever have to deal with harassment all the time, every place else they go.”
He also evoked the now-disgraced name of Harvey Weinstein, whose sexual misconduct - revealed late last year - launched the stunning reckoning that quickly spread to other areas of society. For years one of the biggest players at the Oscars, Weinstein has now been thrown out of the academy. Kimmel marvelled that the only other person ever kicked out was a character actor who shared screeners.
The most emotional #MeToo moment, though, came courtesy of actresses Ashley Judd, Annabella Sciorra and Salma Hayek, three women who were instrumental in the unfolding Weinstein revelations. They came onstage to introduce a montage that celebrated diversity - of all kinds - in cinematic storytelling. Said Judd, whose accusations were detailed in the very first New York Times article that broke open the Weinstein story: “The changes that we are witnessing are being driven by the powerful sound of new voices, of different voices, of OUR voices, joining together in a mighty chorus that is finally saying, ‘Time’s Up!”’ Sciorra, who told The New Yorker magazine that Weinstein had raped her and she’d kept it secret for many years, said: “This year many spoke their truth, and the journey ahead is long. But slowly a new path has emerged.”
And Hayek, who wrote a first-person piece in the Times calling Weinstein “my monster too,” saluted “those unstoppable spirits who kicked ass and broke through the ... biased perceptions against their gender, race and ethnicity to tell their stories.” A bit later, there was Frances McDormand, setting down her best-actress statuette on the floor so she could exhort all female nominees in the theatre to stand up in unison with her.
“Look around, ladies and gentlemen,” she said, pointing to them, “because we all have stories to tell and projects that need financing.” On the red carpet, one of many guests speaking about #MeToo was the founder of the movement, Tarana Burke.
“We did the dress code thing, and now we’re doing the work,” Burke told The Associated Press. “The plan is to continue to do this work to give people resources.” But elsewhere on the carpet, an uncomfortable drama was playing out, as a number of big stars appeared to spurn Ryan Seacrest, the E! red carpet host who has been accused of sexual misconduct - including groping - by a stylist who worked for him. Some stars did speak to him, including nominees Allison Janney, Christopher Plummer and Mary J. Blige, who noted in another interview that Seacrest was “fighting for his identity.” Seacrest has denied the allegations and E! has stood by him. But many on Twitter complained about reports that the network had instituted a 30-second delay to prevent awkward confrontations. (In the end, there were none.) The network said that it was “business as usual. As always, we tape multiple sources of content simultaneously to deliver the best possible show, and there are often brief delays between interviews.” Burke, before the awards, had said Seacrest shouldn’t be on the carpet, putting stars in an awkward position. “We shouldn’t have to make those choices of, ‘Do we or don’t we?”’ she told Variety.
E! was already under fire at the Golden Globes in January, where actress Eva Longoria used her interview to criticise the network over a pay equity dispute involving former anchor Catt Sadler, who quit after learning she was making much less than her male co-anchor.
How the Aussies fared
Lee Smith was a gangly, inquisitive 16-year-old when he scored his first job vacuuming and making coffee at a small production company, Film Production Services, in the northern Sydney suburb of Crows Nest.
Almost 40 years later Smith walked up the hallowed steps to the stage inside Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre to accept an Oscar today at the 90th Academy Awards ceremony for his editing on Christopher Nolan’s World War II epic, Dunkirk.
It was third time lucky for Smith, who was nominated but missed out on Oscars for The Dark Knight in 2009 and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World in 2004.
“I have been very intense up to this particular moment, so I feel so much better now,” a relieved Smith, who for months had been touted as favourite for the award, told reporters backstage.
Smith was Australia’s lone win, with Margot Robbie, for I, Tonya, missing out on best actress to Frances McDormand for her role in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
Smith beat another Australian editor, Melbourne-born Paul Machliss, who was nominated for Baby Driver.
Australian duo Josh Lawson and Derin Seale were bypassed in the live action short Oscar category for their comedy The Eleven O’Clock.
AAP
How the Oscars unfolded
4pm: That’s a wrap!
GTN: Oh, and Mark Bridges wins the jet ski for shortest speech!
GTN: Well, Stephen, that’s it for another year. It’s been a pleasure once more. Now I’m headed for a sugar coma after eating most of the Maltesers...
SR: Glynis, a pleasure working with you as always.
Frances McDormand inviting the female nominees and winners to stand provided the news at this year’s #oscars
— Stephen Brook (@ViscountBrooky) March 5, 2018
3.50pm: The Shape of Water in a boilover!
GTN: And now the Big One - with second timers and chancers Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway invited back to atone for last year’s, er, stuff up.
Dunaway: “Presenting is lovelier the second time around.”
GTN: HURRAH!! The Shape of Water wins best picture!!
SR: I prefer The Creature from the Black Lagoon from 1954. Much better ending.
GTN: But this is a love story! Love conquers all!
3.40pm: McDormand speaks out
SR: Gary Oldman, Frances McDormand. Both well deserved. Right now I am so glad I don’t have shares in Ladbrokes.
GTN: YES! Frances McDormand wins best actress!! Standing ovation.
“I’ve got some things to say.” Gets all women nominees to stand. Crowd goes wild. “We all have stories to tell and stories that need to be financed. Invite us into your office and we’ll tell you all about them. I have two words: Inclusion rider.”
Now that’s an Oscars moment, folks. pic.twitter.com/B7Pd2eNT5I
— Frank Pallotta (@frankpallotta) March 5, 2018
Best Actress winner Frances McDormand rallies the crowd. Presented by @ATT. #Oscars pic.twitter.com/6loAtYheKZ
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) March 5, 2018
Glynis Traill-Nash 3.30pm: Comedy duo
Another amazing duo: Jodie Foster and Jennifer Lawrence. Presenting best actress in a new move. This is the year of women, after all. Foster is on crutches - blames “Streep”. Jennifer Lawrence blames her for the stage trip the other year.
3.25pm: Best actor award goes to Gary Oldman
GTN: And... Gary Oldman wins best actor! No surprise there. What were the odds on that, Stephen?
SR: Not much. He was a very short-priced favourite.
SR: Lovely to see Daniel Day Lewis, the greatest actor of my generation, applauding Gary Oldman. Now he can walk away and make shoes.
SR: And lovely to hear Oldman thank his 99yo mum.
GTN: Takes the pressure off Christopher Plummer ...
Remember when the #Oscars used to be entertaining?
— Stephen Brook (@ViscountBrooky) March 5, 2018
Glynis Traill-Nash 3.20pm: Great company
Double trouble! Helen Mirren and Jane Fonda present best actor award - standing ovation. Fonda thinks the set reminds her of the Orgasmatron from Barbarella.
3.15pm: Shaping up
GTN: And Guillermo del Toro wins best director for The Shape of Water! His first Oscar! I am very excited about this. Finally.
SR: I know I’m in a minority here but I’d put The Shape of Water 9th of the 9 if I was asked to rank them. Just my opinion.
GTN: From memory, you didn’t like La La Land either, did you?
Guillermo Del Toro #Oscar for best director. "I am an immigrant," he said listing other immigrant artists in the audience. "The best thing our industry does is to help erase the lines in the sand when the world tries to make them deeper." pic.twitter.com/m1ibHPvpIX
— Raw Story (@RawStory) March 5, 2018
3.10pm: Final curtain
GTN: Eddie Vedder sings the In Memorium segment. Prepare for the weepfest ... Chuck Berry, Harry Dean Stanton, Jonathan Demme, Miriam Colon, Martin Landau, Roger Moore, Sam Shepard, Glenne Headley and Jerry Lewis closes as predicted. David Ogden Stiers had better be included next year.
SR: Obits: The great, great, great, great Harry Dean Stanton. He should have been nominated for Lucky.
SR: Glynis, did you know Roger Moore was no more? I didn’t. That’s sad. Now I best Google to make sure George Lazenby is still with us.
GTN: Me neither!! How is that even possible??
The Academy Award for Best Cool Dude I Want To Have A Drink With goes to Blade Runner 2049 cinematographer Roger A. Deakins #Oscars
— Stephen Brook (@ViscountBrooky) March 5, 2018
Glynis Traill-Nash 3.05pm: Walk-on performance
Christopher Walken presenting best original score. Maybe he’ll start dancing for some excitement.
Alexandre Desplat wins best original score for The Shape of Water! Showing “the beautiful melancholy of love” - spoken like a true Frenchman.
3pm: Tribute time
SR: They’ll do the obits thing soon. David Ogden Stiers, Major Winchester in MASH, is a late entry.
2.55pm: Jimmy not bringing it?
SR: Glynis, do you think Jimmy K is being overly subdued? There’s a certain lack of zing in this Oscars night. Understandable perhaps. But dull.
GTN: I do think things are a little subdued. Kimmel has had some appropriate digs, but it’s not a major lark, and everyone seems to be trying to make their points in a calm, respectful and professional manner. What we’re lacking here is, I think, the passion that should be the r
foundation of this industry. And, you know, some actual excitement. And FUN.
SR: Me too, re wanting more fun.
Glynis Traill-Nash 2.50pm: Predictions
OK, I’m with you on Gary and Frances, and I think they should both win. I actually think that Three Billboards will win best picture. And Guillermo del Toro best director for The Shape of Water, despite the film lagging seriously behind in the stakes at present.
Stephen Romei 2.45pm: The big four
We are getting towards the pointy end, so I’m going to list my tips for the big four awards.
Actor
Will win: Gary Oldman.
Should win (just, with Oldman second): Timothee Chalamet for Call Me By Your Name (he’s also in Lady Bird).
Actress
Will win: Frances McDormand
Should win: Margot Robbie
And now I’m going to go with what I think should happen (but it probably won’t)
Director
Will win: Christopher Nolan
Should win: Christopher Nolan
Film
Will win: Dunkirk
Should win: Dunkirk
2.40pm: Get in!
GTN: It’s our Nicole! Here to present set original screenplay in that stunning deep sea blue Armani Privé. Which will it be Stephen? Get Out or Ladybird? I loved both.
And the winner is. .. Jordan Peele for Get Out!! That creepfest satire was truly one of the most original concepts of the season, right?
SR: Yes indeed. It was ALMOST as innovative and perceptive as, well, any one of four episodes of Black Mirror.
Glynis Traill-Nash 2.40pm: Protest movement
And here is the Weinstein moment - Salma, Annabella Sciorra and Ashley Judd take to the stage to discuss #timesup and present a video segment about outsiders and diversity in film.
In the video, Geena Davis says of Thelma & Louise: “(At the time they said,) ‘This changes everything. We’re going to see so many more movies starring female characters.’ That didn’t happen.”
2.35pm: If only he was this good at the races
GTN: James Ivory wins adapted screenplay for Call Me by Your Name - you were on the money, Stephen!
SR: Glynis, how about best song? You know more about that than I do. How about This is Me from The Greatest Showman?
GTN: Well, that’s a good question, Stephen. Diane Warren has serious form here, having been nominated nine times. Maybe this will be her first win for “Stand up for something”? Even the title of that one would make sense this year. But the Coco number was super sweet and upbeat.
A great #oscar winner such as James Ivory for films incl best adapted screenplay Call Me By Your Name gets me teary in appreciation
— Stephen Brook (@ViscountBrooky) March 5, 2018
Stephen Romei 2.30pm: Another prediction
Best cinematography: if it goes, as I think it should, to the Dutch-Swedish cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, then the tide may well be shifting Dunkirk’s way, so to speak.
Glynis Traill-Nash 2.20pm: Child’s play
Ah, the Aussies missed out on best live action short, dammit. Goes to The Silent Child.
Stephen Romei 2.15pm: Who will win?
Best Original Screenplay is a tough one to call. I am thinking it will go to Greta Gerwig for Lady Bird. But I won’t be surprised if it goes to Jordan Peele for Get Out. Both are well written. Personally I’d give it to Get Out.
Glynis Traill-Nash 2.15pm: Stepping out
Presenters Maya Rudolph and Tiffany Haddish take off their shoes and swap for ugg slippers - and every woman in the audience wishes they could follow suit.
Stephen Romei 2.10pm: Prediction time
Best Adapted Screenplay should go to a film-maker better known for directing films based on great books: James Ivory. It was Ruth Prawer Jhabvala who wrote the scripts for the Ivory-directed A Room With a View, Howard’s End and The Remains of the Day.
But Call Me By Your Name is written by Ivory, from the novel by Andre Aciman.
Glynis Traill-Nash 2.10pm: Meanwhile, in a theatre nearby
So this year’s selfie moment is happening with a handful of stars heading into a film screening across the road from the Oscars ceremony. Gal, Margot and Lupita are among those handing out snacks. And the crowd goes wild ...
@jimmykimmel is my favorite Jimmy right now. pic.twitter.com/JTPLSXBBqW
— Beatriz Bezerra (@beabezerrab) March 5, 2018
2.05pm: More from Allison Janney
Allison Janney even gave credit to the bird. After winning the best supporting actress Oscar for her turn as the hard-as-nails, chain-smoking mother of Tonya Harding in “I, Tonya,” Janney began her speech by joking that she “did it all by myself.”
After the raucous laughs died down, she said there could be “nothing further from the truth.” Janney then credited her co-stars, the others who worked on the film, her family, and even the bird who nearly stole the show from its perch on Janney’s shoulder in “I, Tonya.”
The 58-year-old Janney was considered all but a lock for the win for “I, Tonya,” a dark comedy that follows the figure skater’s life leading up to the 1994 attack of rival Nancy Kerrigan. She won nearly every major award she’d been nominated for leading up to the Oscars, including a BAFTA, a Screen Actors Guild award, a Golden Globe and a Critics’ Choice prize.
2pm: Aussie grabs an Oscar
GTN: Go Aussies!! Lee Smith wins editing for Dunkirk!
1.55pm: Prediction time
SR: Ok, Australia should have its first win with film editing: Lee Smith for Dunkirk. Smith’s CV includes Dead Calm, Jane Campion’s The Piano and The Portrait of a Lady and all of Christopher Nolan’s films. An Oscar? Fair dinkum, it’s about bloody time.
GTN: Quite. And the pace of that film just did not let up.
1.45pm: Coco pops
GTN: You have an opinion on the best special effects I believe, Stephen? I step aside here...
GTN: Stephen, you are on a winning streak here. Coco it is! Poor Ferdinand.
SR: Oh well, at least Ferdy lives to not fight another day.
Philippa Hawker spoke to Daniela Vega, star of A Fantastic Woman, which just won best foreign language film at the Oscars https://t.co/5lZMCkjORi
— Ashleigh Wilson (@ashleighbwilson) March 5, 2018
Stephen Romei 1.35pm: Animated feature film.
Will win: Coco.
Should win: I preferred the pacifist bovine Ferdinand, not least for the comic turn by the German horses.
1.35pm: Allison Janney brings the house down
The best supporting actress
"I did it all by myself," Allison Janney jokes after winning the #Oscar for best supporting actress.
— Good Morning America (@GMA) March 5, 2018
"Nothing further from the truth," she adds. https://t.co/KGJMUsJlgf #Oscars pic.twitter.com/1HkC69fWhA
1.30pm: Best supporting actress: Allison Janney
GTN: ALLISON JANNEY!!
SR: Biggest certainty of the awards, on a night where, thus far, the certainties are winning. And fully deserved.
1.25pm: Actress honours
SR: Best Supporting Actress. Will win: Allison Janney. Should win: Allison Janney.
GTN: Rita Moreno - who won best supporting actress for West Side Story in 1962 - still has the moves! And is wearing the same dress she wore at that ceremony! What a woman. Presenting best foreign language film ...
SR: She looked great then. She looks great now.
1.20pm: PC brigade strikes again
SR: The song from Coco reminds me that Mexico-set movie got into trouble too, for purported cultural misappropriation. It’s an animated kids’ movie, by the way.
GTN: So, basically, we can only make documentaries now, right?
SR: Interestingly the American writer Lionel Shriver is saying the same thing about fiction. It’s being politically corrected to the point of extinction.
Here's what David Stratton had to say about A Fantastic Woman, which just won best foreign language film at the #Oscars90 https://t.co/6SJSVYKcGR
— Ashleigh Wilson (@ashleighbwilson) March 5, 2018
1.15pm: Glass act
GTN: Lupita Nyongo’o presents best production design to The Shape of Water - YES! (And can we just take a moment over her gold mesh Atelier Versace gown? Power!)
SR: Best foreign film is next. A Fantastic Woman is a moral.
1.05pm: Dunkirk in the mix
GTN: Dunkirk takes out sound editing and mixing categories. I know you’re gunning for it for the big one, Stephen, but my money’s still on The Shape of Water or Three Billboards. And I hope Shape of Water takes out production design ...
SR: Look, for me, Dunkirk is in a league of its own. It’s a masterpiece. The other 8 are good films.
12.55pm: This joke won’t get old ...
SR: Christopher Plummer is 88. Get over it Jimmy. It’ll be a looooooong night otherwise.
SR: Dunkirk receives its first Oscar. It should win lots more, including the big one.
12.35pm: Dressed for success
GTN: Wow - Gal Gadot working that flapper chic ... and Kazuhiro Tsuji wins best hair & makeup for Darkest Hour. Worth coming out of retirement for.
GTN: Eva Marie Saint ... in that red rose dress (her favourite she says!) in North by Northwest is one of my favourite fashion moments of all time.
GTN: Phew! Mark Bridges wins best costume for Phantom Thread.
I thought Gary Oldman unrecognisable as Churchill so hair and makeup #oscar deservedly goes to Darkest Hour
— Stephen Brook (@ViscountBrooky) March 5, 2018
12.25pm: Thread of a story
GTN: So, we’ve got the Costume Design award coming up soon. What’s interesting this year is that we have a fashion film in Phantom Thread. Beautiful, exquisite couture from the so-called Golden Age of Haute Couture. But will it win the category? Will it beat period drama (Victoria & Abdul) and the fantasy of Beauty and the Beast? Kind of embarrassing if not.
SR: A bloke uses needle and thread to create new life. Bah! Mary Shelley did that 200 years ago.
The #Oscars are making sure you know you have the right envelope this year. pic.twitter.com/S6QdGyDkEq
— Travon Free (@Travon) March 5, 2018
12.20pm: Best supporting actor: Sam Rockwell
GTN: Sam Rockwell wins!!
SR: And the bookies start crying. It could be one of those nights.
12.15pm: Our first major award
SR: Best supporting actor. Will win Sam Rockwell. Should win Woody Harrelson
GTN: And the first award for the night is best Actor in Supporting Role. Last year’s winner and presenter Viola Davis wins the colour for the night in that eye-watering shade of pink ...
12.15pm: Watch Jimmy Kimmel’s opening monologue
#Oscars host @JimmyKimmel doesn't waste time addressing Harvey Weinstein and envelopegate in his opening monologue https://t.co/Il0tZXcT7C pic.twitter.com/KOijZxLLho
— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) March 5, 2018
12.10pm: Harvey hammered
GTN: Kimmel tackles Weinstein straight off: “Oscar is the most beloved and respected man in Hollywood. There’s a very good reason why - he keeps his hands where you can see them, never says a rude word and has no penis at all. He is literally a statue of limitations. The kind of man we need more of in this town.”
SR: Yes, a super serious opening speech. Makes me nostalgic for Robin Williams. Or Billy Crystal.
Jimmy Kimmel failed last year to sort out #oscars awards mistake. Now setting right tone navigating sexual harassment issues in opening
— Stephen Brook (@ViscountBrooky) March 5, 2018
Glynis Traill-Nash 12pm: On with the show
And the ceremony is go!! Jimmy Kimmel, we’re ready...
11.55am: Stars collide
GTN: The Jennifers have arrived. Garner is in cobalt blue - she does love a bit of Old Hollywood glamour with lots of swagged chiffon and a bit of a train - while Lawrence looks every bit the fashion goddess in a pewter-sequinned gown by Dior - no surprises there given her previous form and work with the house.
SR: As the new film Red Sparrow shows, Jennifer Lawrence has outgrown the Hunger Games. She’s superbly poised.
GTN: Well, we are in the world of make believe.
Glynis Traill-Nash 11.50am: Colour splash explained
So, the Time’s Up movement called on women to wear colour today, saying: “Tonight our sisters will be wearing a festive array of colours and TimesUp pins, representing this vast movement of women everywhere.” So there you have it.
11.45am: A bit of perspective, people!
SR: As the tequila has been cracked (only metaphorically this end), I’ll mention something that bothers me about these Oscars. It’s the angry year. Frances McDormand leads the race (though Allison Janney makes her look like Mary Poppins). On screen that’s all fine. They are just films. It’s the public anger with the films I dislike. People are angry because a real mute wasn’t cast in The Shape of Water, because there are no female Spitfire pilots in Dunkirk, because a 17-year-old boy seduces a 24-year-old man in Call Me By Your Name, because the black lead in Get Out is English not American ... and so on. It’s like people have forgotten that films are made up, that actors act.
GTN: You make a good point. And how about the sea creature? Did they do open castings for salamanders? For mermen? I think not.
SR: Look, a lot of salamanders are outraged about that, and then further outraged that they are seriously misrepresented, anatomically speaking, by the human cast in the role, Doug Jones. As everyone knows, salamanders do not have hidden penises that emerge when required to have sex with cleaning women. That’s just not the salamander way.
GTN: You googled that, didn’t you?
Backstage at the #Oscars with #SamRockwell, #ChrisMessina, #MattRoss and pals pic.twitter.com/sFDei3JeHJ
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) March 5, 2018
11.35am: Get this party started!
GTN: Photos just through of Helen Mirren downing a shot of tequila on the red carpet. I love her even more.
SR: Me too! Shall we open our bottle now?
Helen Mirren takes a shot of tequila on the #Oscars carpet https://t.co/2xFYHDkscT pic.twitter.com/zTH83fxLov
— Variety (@Variety) March 5, 2018
Glynis Traill-Nash 11.25am: I, Margot
Our Margot has appeared on the ruby rug, in dazzling white custom Chanel with crystal bodice detailing - which seems to be a Thing today.
And the marvellous Laura Dern is also in white (Calvin Klein). She says Nicole Kidman is coming soon... Our Aussies are well represented this year on the red carpet. Abbie Cornish and Samara Weaving, who both appear in small roles in Three Billboards, look gorgeous, although Samara’s dress is a variation on a theme we’ve seen many, many times before.
Stephen Romei 11.20am: Name-dropping
May as well say this early. I have sat on a couch with Margot Robbie. Only once. She is beautiful and intelligent.
Margot Robbie has arrived at the 2018 #Oscars! pic.twitter.com/wxgLdcouoP
— best of margot (@bestofmargot) March 5, 2018
11.10am: A feast of fashion
GTN: Well, we asked for some fashion bonkers, and musician St Vincent has almost delivered. Could be more so, but this little black ensemble has the feeling of an 80s prom dress that has been been sliced off by a rotary blade. Also: sheer black stockings and pointy pumps. Love.
And what of eggs this season? Boiled for the sea creature, poached in Call me by Your Name, and omelette in Phantom Thread. Just hold the mushrooms.
SR: Yep, eggs are big this year. Indeed it was the early egg scene that turned me against Arnie Hammer in Call Me By Your Name.
11.05am: Smokin!
GTN: I do want to be Helen Mirren. And quite aside from her serious roles, I loved her in Red, where she plays an assassin with all her ageing assassin mates.
And will there be any wardrobe malfunctions or fashion disasters tonight? The only concern I currently have is that Allison Janney doesn’t trip over those sleeves on her Reem Acra gown when she climbs the stairs to claim her little gold man.
SR: If Allison Janney is still in character she will trip, smoke, swear and stick that little man in someone’s eye.
SR: Speaking of smoking, has anyone else noticed how important cigarettes (and cigars in The Darkest Hour) are in each on the nine nominated films? The ciggie break helps free the gill-man in The Shape of Water, cigarettes get everyone through hard times in all of the others. Is this some sort of cinematic comeback for tobacco?
10.55am: Mirren image
SR: Glynis, do you want to be Helen Mirren? What a woman she is. Ever since she starred opposite James Mason in the Australia-shot Age of Consent I have not been able to take my eyes off her.
GTN: The big names are flooding onto the red carpet. Salma Hayek has come across all Belle Epoque in mauve with crystal bodice detailing and yes, Helen Mirren in navy. So damn chic.
SR: Was that streaker behind David Niven the actor Peter Bowles? I think it may have been. To the Manor Born indeed.
10.40am: Remember when?
GTN: More than that, I long for this once more... Or at least something that fabulously bonkers. I’m almost sad that stylists have taken over dressing the stars.
SR: That is the bjorking best outfit ever.
Stephen Romei 10.35am: From the vault
But back to important stuff. I want to see this dress make a comeback:
And me too, re Margot Robbie as best actress.
Glynis Traill-Nash 10.30am: Fingers crossed
Some surprise winners would be great. In that alternate universe, I’d opt for Margot Robbie - such a truly unflattering performance - and Daniel Kaluuya for best acting, and Laurie Metcalfe and Woody Harrelson for supporting.
10.25am: Not-so-plain Jane
Here’s Jane Fonda. You’re welcome. #oscars pic.twitter.com/IQvblNJG9u
— Rebecca Keegan (@ThatRebecca) March 4, 2018
Stephen Romei 10.20am: Crash or crash through
Glynis, awards wise I think it will either be a year where most of the favoured nominees win, or a Crash-like year with some big surprises. I very much hope for the latter.
Glynis Traill-Nash 10.15am: Protest peters out?
So, early indicators seem that the blackout is waning - already we’ve got some colour
creeping in, and a few Time’sUp pins worn as the accessory du jour.
Stephen, on the film side of things, what are your predictions for the day? I’d have to say I’m going with the awards season flow on the acting nominations here - Frances McDormand and Gary Oldman for best, and Allison Janney and Sam Rockwell for supporting.
For best picture I’m torn between The Shape of Water and Three Billboards...
Stephen Romei 10.05am: Free the dresses!
I was wondering if men would be allowed in, full stop. I’m with you on the colour. Everyone should dress in whatever colour they like.
Glynis Traill-Nash 10am: Blackout looming?
Allowed to comment? Well, I think in an equitable society, yes. But I’m also intrigued about the blackout. This is the last chance of the awards season to make a stand. In a way I’d like to see the issue fought with colour. Bold, brash look-at-me colour...
Glynis Traill-Nash 9.55am: And we’re off
Morning, Stephen. We have Maltesers and Cheezels at the ready. Are you ready for what will undoubtedly be an intriguing 90th edition of the Oscars?
Stephen Romei 9.55am: Let’s do this
I’m as ready as Sally Hawkins is ready to get wet. The fashion side will be intriguing. Will it be another black out do you think? Are men allowed in?
We have Maltesers & Cheezels in 70s bowls - it must be the #Oscars! Live coverage at https://t.co/QOiZ6HMDvt... pic.twitter.com/wHLezDk3t0
— Glynis Traill-Nash (@GlynisTN) March 4, 2018
9.30am: Places, please
Not long now before the stars start arriving on the red carpet, and final preparations are in full swing.
E! red carpet host Giuliana Rancic posed for photos in front of fan stands wearing a flowing yellow dress. Journalists worked to get into their positions on the carpet, some snapping their last selfies before the show.
Pre-show festivities
No Academy Awards ceremony is complete without the preceding red carpet procession, which draws a parade of fashion stars and faux pas. This kicks off at 3.30pm Sunday local time, 10.30am AEDT.
Nominees
The announcement of Oscar hopefuls was made in late January. The Shape of Water leads the way with 13 nominations, from Dunkirk (eight) and Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri (seven).
Australian interest
Former Neighbours starlet Margot Robbie has received a best actress nomination for her stunning work in I Tonya. in which she played controversial American figure skater Tonya Harding. Australian Dunkirk editor Lee Smith has also been nominated for an Oscar for his work on the World War II epic.
Who leads the field?
The Australian’s crack field of movie critics — David Stratton, Stephen Romei and Philippa Hawker — have delivered their verdict on the best picture nominees. Read more here
Pass me the (correct) envelope please ...
Remember last year’s Oscars plot twist, in which La La Land was announced as the best picture winner, until it was realised that Moonlight had actually won? No? Here’s how that dramatic incident unfolded
In the bag?
Most of the major awards appear to be all sown up. Frances McDormand Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri; Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour), Allison Janney (I, Tonya) and Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards) all look like locks in the acting categories. Guillermo del Toro (Shape of Water) is expected to win best director.
Contenders for the top gong
Usually by now, a consensus favourite for best picture has emerged after months of guild and critics groups awards — or at least a frontrunner along with one or two potential underdogs. But not this year. Five films have a legitimate shot at the night’s top award: The Shape of Water; Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri; Get Out; Dunkirk; and Lady Bird.
Rarely, if ever, has the Academy Awards seen such an open field of contenders for its top award. A year after Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight shattered the overwhelming projection that La La Land would win — along with many traditional ideas about what “Oscar bait” looks like — pundits are wary of making an emphatic best-picture prediction.
“It’s very, very, very unpredictable,” says Sasha Stone, the longtime Oscar blogger who runs Awards Daily. “This would be one year I wish I could just opt out of the whole thing. I have no idea what’s going to win.”
Who’s appearing on stage
Sandra Bullock, Dave Chappelle, Christopher Walken, Rita Moreno and Helen Mirren are among the slate of stars set to appear as presenters.
Others include Jane Fonda, Matthew McConaughey, Lupita Nyong’o, Nicole Kidman, Jodie Foster, Ashley Judd and Eugenio Derbez. Chadwick Boseman, Mark Hamill, Gal Gadot, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Gina Rodriguez and Zendaya.
All five Oscar-nominated songs will be performed live on the show by their original singers, including Mary J. Blige, Natalia Lafourcade, Andra Day and Common.
The bling’s the thing
The Academy Awards are the holy grail of sparkle to some of the world’s top jewellers. But how does the process of getting the bling on all those famous necks, ears and wrists actually work?
One independent jeweller to the stars, Martin Katz, says the process has changed over the years. It used to be celebrities would come in personally and work out their red carpet pieces. Now, stylists are in charge. Katz says stylists often pull four to six different jewellery looks per gown per client. On average, Katz says most A-listers wear between $200,000 to $1 million worth of jewellery each for big red carpets.
Introducing Oscar
The statuette that everyone wants to get their hands on is made of gold-plated bronze on a black metal base, standing 34.3cm tall and weighing 3.856kg. The statuette itself is a stylised figure of a knight holding a crusader’s sword standing on a reel of film with five spokes signifying the five original branches of the Academy (actors, directors, producers, technicians and writers).
Why bad films win Oscars
The award-givers get it wrong. Frequently. It’s what they do. Support a big, sloppy, malformed cinematic sedative instead of championing genius, innovation and rigour.
Forrest Gump, Crash and now The Shape of Water is about to join an Oscar line-up of limp plots, bad scripts and annoying acting. Read more here
A subtle change for Hollywood
The Oscars may look much the same on the outside, but under the surface, everything is shifting. In just two years, the film academy has added about a fifth of its membership, ushering in an influx of people of colour, women and international voters.
At the same time, the person most responsible for tailoring the modern Oscar campaign and catering to the tastes of the academy — Harvey Weinstein — has been exiled from the institution he was once synonymous with.
The voters are different. Some of the major players are different. And the movies, too, are different. “It’s a year of unconventional kinds of movies being in contention,” says Scott Feinberg, the Hollywood Reporter’s awards pundit. “You do have a few of the kinds of movies that are much more in the mould of movies that won years ago.
“’Darkest Hour’ and ‘The Post’ are traditional Oscar bait. But now the academy is not the same academy that used to go for those kinds of movies. And you’ve got movies that wouldn’t have even been nominated, I don’t think, in the past because they would have been dismissed as genre movies — ‘Shape of Water’ and ‘Get Out’.”
Full list of nominees
BEST PICTURE
Call Me by Your Name
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
Get Out
Lady Bird
Phantom Thread
The Post
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
—
DIRECTING
Dunkirk
Get Out
Lady Bird
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water
—
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Timothée Chalamet, Call Me by Your Name
Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread
Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out
Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour
Denzel Washington, Roman J. Israel, Esq.
—
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water
Frances McDormand, Three Billboards
outside Ebbing, Missouri
Margot Robbie, I, Tonya
Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
Meryl Streep, The Post
—
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project
Woody Harrelson, Three Billboards
outside Ebbing, Missouri
Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water
Christopher Plummer, All the Money in the World
Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
—
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Mary J. Blige, Mudbound
Allison Janney, I, Tonya
Lesley Manville, Phantom Thread
Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird
Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water
—
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Call Me by Your Name
The Disaster Artist
Logan
Molly’s Game
Mudbound
—
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Big Sick
Get Out
Lady Bird
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
—
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
The Boss Baby
The Breadwinner
Coco
Ferdinand
Loving Vincent
—
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Blade Runner 2049
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
Mudbound
The Shape of Water
—
COSTUME DESIGN
Beauty and the Beast
Darkest Hour
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water
Victoria & Abdul
—
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Abacus: Small Enough to Jail
Faces Places
Icarus
Last Men in Aleppo
Strong Island
—
DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
Edith+Eddie
Heaven Is a Traffi c Jam on the 405
Heroin(e)
Knife Skills
Traffic Stop
—
FILM EDITING
Baby Driver
Dunkirk
I, Tonya
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
—
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
A Fantastic Woman
The Insult
Loveless
On Body and Soul
The Square
—
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Darkest Hour
Victoria & Abdul
Wonder
—
ORIGINAL SCORE
Dunkirk
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
—
ORIGINAL SONG
“Mighty River,” Mudbound
“Mystery Of Love,” Call Me by Your Name
“Remember Me,” Coco
“Stand Up For Something,” Marshall
“This Is Me,” The Greatest Showman
—
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Beauty and the Beast
Blade Runner 2049
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
—
ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Dear Basketball
Garden Party
Lou
Negative Space
Revolting Rhymes
—
LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
DeKalb Elementary
The Eleven O’Clock
My Nephew Emmett
The Silent Child
Watu Wote/All of Us
—
SOUND EDITING
Baby Driver
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
—
SOUND MIXING
Baby Driver
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
—
VISUAL EFFECTS
Blade Runner 2049
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Kong: Skull Island
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
War for the Planet of the Apes
Additional reporting: AP
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