The 93rd Academy Awards offered a few historic moments, as Chloé Zhao became the first Chinese woman and the first woman of color to be awarded Best Director for her work on "Nomadland," which also took Best Picture.
This year, the ceremony had been delayed for two months. Instead of opting for acceptance speeches via Zoom, the Oscars had two in-person locations: the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, and some overseas nominees participated from London and Paris. Attendees were tested for COVID-19 before the scaled-down ceremony.
Here are some of the interesting moments from this years' Academy Awards:
THE BEST
Regina King's Opener
Regina King began the show with a bang holding her own Oscar statue. Her monologue touched upon the verdict in Derek Chauvin's trial and shone a light on the rough year that had just passed.
Daniel Kaluuya and Youn Yuh-Jung's speech
After hearing Daniel Kaluuya's speech, his mother looked visibly mortified. He made his speech a memorable affair as he concluded by joking, "It’s incredible. My mom and my dad had sex, and I’m here! It’s incredible!”
After Kaluuya, Youn Yuh-Jung's Speech was the only other one to draw serious laughs from the audience. She called out Brad Pitt, who handed the award to the actress saying, "Mr. Pitt... Finally. Where were you during filming?"
Glenn Close' Da Butt
The 74-year-old Oscar nominee Glenn Close danced to Da Butt and naturally, Oscars attendees went wild, applauding the 8-time Academy Award nominee.
THE WORST
No order
Traditionally, the Oscars have begun with Best Supporting Actor, and finished with Best Picture. For some reason, producers didn't have Best Picture as the last award and instead placed Best Actor there.
Best actor confusion
As the best actor was announced at the end, it prompted many to speculate that Chadwick Boseman would win posthumously. However, Anthony Hopkins won, and he wasn't there to accept the award and the show abruptly ended.
No movie clips
This year, no montages or movie clips were shown of the nominated films. The presenters narrated mini stories for the nominees and this added more duration to an already-long show.
