Yet another year where the Academy decided to split their votes between Director and Best Picture. The Revenant’s Alejandro Innaritu won Best Director, and Spotlight won the very well-deserved Best Picture. I really, really hoped that Spotlight would win BP, so that makes me happy. So happy I can accept Innaritu’s win.
Best Director: Alejandro Innaritu, his fourth Oscar overall. He’s the first consecutive Best Director winner in decades, and the first Hispanic director to win back-to-back Oscars. Innaritu said at the beginning, “I can’t believe this is happening…” Yeah, me too. I thought it might be Tom McCarthy for Spotlight, but nope. Innaritu thanked crew members, and told Leo DiCaprio “you are the revenant.” He thanked Tom Hardy (and we finally got a Tom Hardy cutaway), the multi-racial cast. Then he made a statement about “the color of our skin becoming as irrelevant as the length of our hair.” While I’m not a believer in Innaritu, I’m glad he made a larger statement about diversity.
Best Picture: Spotlight was one of my favorite films of the year – it had a great ensemble, a tight script and it was just really well-done overall. I enjoyed that the producers were throwing shade at the Vatican all over the place: “Pope Francis, it’s time to protect the children.”
Anyhoodle… not the best but not the worst Oscars ever. We’ll have full Oscar fashion coverage tomorrow (or in just a few hours, actually), so come back in the morning!
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Yassss! Just how I wanted it!
Spotlight is a more relevant film and as a Catholic myself, I hope everyone watches it. Yet Iñárritu is a brilliant director! I adored his speech, I know that he is not liked around here but his speeches are always on point and they really mean a lot to us Mexicans. He is not faking it, he is part of that diversity you are talking about.
I’m happy for him. I believe him. It’s awesome having a Mexican director win 2 in a row, but I was shocked he won. It’s really awesome to not see another white dude getting Best Director. Now we need some women directors!
I like Iñarritu he really is a brilliant director & I really did love his speech, he took a stand for diversity.
I’m just curious how a movie can basically not win any other awards but take Best Picture?
The academy wishes to spread the wins often these days, especially in a year with no clear frontrunner and it loves Mad Max obviously but does not quite consider it best picture winner so it got lot of other wins. Screenplay win is pretty important award for Spotlight as well.
Yes, it does appear to want to spread around its wins for everyone this year, except for black people of course.
It’s about the voting system. I’m talking out of my ass, but as far as I know, they don’t vote for one, but rank them instead. The prediction is Spotlight probably didn’t have the most #1s, but since nobody hated it, those #2 and #3 spots gave it the edge in the end.
Morgan Freeman paused for a “are you effing joking” moment.
It’s Iñarritu.
Don’t forget Chivo Lubezki also won Cinematography, third In a row! I love Deakins work, but Chivo is also very good. Two Mexican wins. Not bad for practically only white nominees.
I call Deakins the Susan Lucci of the Academy.
While I liked the story Spotlight dealt with, I don’t think the movie itself was worthy of BP.
The Revenant is the most overrated movie of the year. I’m meh on both of these choices.
I’m just curious how a movie can basically not win any other awards but take Best Picture?
Preferential balloting. You get weighted depending on where you are ranked. Many people liked the Revenant but few loved it. It may have gotten some number one votes but it also had a lot of number five votes. More people rated Spotlight higher.
It didn’t win the PGA award for an interesting reason; it wasn’t well produced! It went way over burget so much so that even as a box office hit it will just break even. Studios hate that!
George Miller was robbed!!
+1
I think it won because: 1) They had to have a “morally important issue ” movie win to counterbalance the negative morality of “Oscars so White”. 2) In the last couple of weeks before voting closed, the legit Media (CNN, NBC, etc) were pumping up this film as an example of the importance of journalists. Some even comparing it to Watergate’s “All the Presidents Men”!
Easiest $100 met (sorry my buds) I’ve ever won. LOL.
I cried all the way thru Spotlight. It was an important story to tell, even more so because this sort of thing happens all the time and victims still aren’t believed.
Innaritu is so supremely overrated. If it wasn’t going to be McKay for Big Short, it should have been McCarthy for Spotlight or Miller for Mad Max.
Spotlight as Best Picture is a pretty safe choice right? I feel like it was more about message than if it was really the best film. it was a good film. But the best film? It was only better than the Revenant. And Brooklyn.
Yeah the Revenant is no Amores Perros.
Wait, are you being serious?
I enjoy some of his movies but it’s just enjoyment. His movies are overworked. Amores perros is good in pieces. Revenant and Birdman are hack frill movies.
He is a brilliant director no doubt. Enjoyed the last bit of his speech, that our colour becomes irrelevant just like the length of our hair ( something like that ). Look forward to his next movie, let’s see if he advocates for a more diverse cast. I liked the fact in Revenant they didn’t replace the Indigenous Peoples with white actors/actresses.
Spotlight although a very good movie wasn’t a worthy win. The directing wasn’t sharp and the dialogue could have been better. Loved the fact that the pope was called out.
From the movies that were nominated it should have been Revenant, Room or Mad Max. Charlize was excellent and deserved a nomination at least. I’m over Cate Blanchett, Jlaw and Winslet.
The directing of Spotlight was unobtrusive. It served the story. Why do we always think that the Scorsese style of look at me look at me directing should win every year? It was well directed.
thank you
Nuance and subtlety are rarely appreciated in Hollywood. “Best” is synonym of “most”.
I love subtlety and but in this case the directing was sort of flat and stiff. to me it wasn’t executed as well as the other movies. Room is a prime example where it wasn’t Scorsese style but the directing did justice to the movie and story, not the same with spotlight.
I can never understand how a movie wins Best Movie, yet the director Oscar goes to someone else.
I agree that the colour of our skin ought to be irrelevant, but just look at that cast photo.
But weren’t they portraying actual people?
I’m all for diversity in casting but weren’t the actual Boston Globe reporters white?
Do you mean the “Spotlight” cast photo? and if so – are you serious? You realize it’s a true story and those were real people? the casting director did a stellar job, in fact. http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/spotlight/
Yeah, I’m all for diversity and colourblind casting but not when the characters are REAL, living people.
I loved Spotlight so I’m very happy it took home the grand prize!
I’m bummed Mad Max didn’t win BP. Spotlight was great, an important story told very well, but it also felt a little stale. The influence of other, better films like All The President’s Men loomed large. It’s not going to be a classic, down the line it’s unlikely to be remembered. I would have loved to see Max win since it would have been a real change from the usual type of film the Academy chooses. Not just a blockbuster but a risky, exciting, brilliantly made blockbuster.
I agree with all of this. I guess the good thing about Spotlight winning is its more immediate truth to power kind of impact. Really driving the point home in terms of exposing the corruption within / harm caused by a major institution. Which in a way MM is also about. But yes I agree with the adjective stale for Spotlight. A perfectly well done film but cinematically, it’s a little votive candle in the window whereas MM is a smartly arranged fireworks show that takes your breath away.
SAME
ITA, I was blown away by Mad Max, it was soso good! But 6 Oscars ain’t bad.
You guys don’t know how happy it made me that Spotlight got the best picture award. I was hoping for it, but preparing for it to go to sad boy lost in the woods after Iñarritu won best director (which should have gone to Miller) anyway yay for Spotlight!
Yes, I was basically hoping it would be anyone but Boy Drama though I have a special place in my heart for Mad Max
I still haven’t seen Birdman, but I agree Spotlight was a fine film. I enjoyed Liev Schrieber’s very serious and grounding performance. He was a standout in that! But ensemble casts are great because they give everyone someone to like.
It’s ironic that Spotlight won BP on the same day that Cardinal George Pell had to give evidence at the child abuse royal commission in Rome.
I was pleased with how the Oscar love got spread out between Mad Max, The Big Short, Innaritu and Spotlight.
Out of the frontrunners, The Big Short had the most disappointing night. Not as bad as The Martian and Carol though – they both went 0/6, ouch.
I cried because Miller and Mad Max did not win. But AGI is funny and that bloated mess of a movie will be forgotten in like a year anyway so Revenant can have its wins now. Spotlight won becuase of preferential voting and how the other 2 were very divisive.
Iñarritu did have some challenges while filming this. I don’t think it is that far fetched that he won it to be honest.
Iñarritu did have some challenges while filming this. I don’t think it is that far fetched that he won it to be honest.
P.s: Not sure if Kaiser wants to check the spelling of Alejandro’s last name and change the double N for the double R. If not too bothered please ignore this comment 🙂
So did Miller for MadMax. Be cold is more worthy than being hot in desert, I guess…
Personally, think that Miller did a better job, MadMax was amazing and the Revenant meh.
But…. Lone guy alone in the cold seems to be better than feminist movie in the desert…
Color me SHOCKED that Innaritu won again. His win & the Best Supporting Actor win surprised me. I got the impression that Best Director would go to anyone but AGI.
Max won more than any other film this year and 6/10 is a pretty great result. Especially for a such a non-Oscary movie! A lot of people were predicting a Revenant sweep but it ran 3/12 and two of those were considered shoo-ins (Leo and cinematography). Of the top three frontrunners, Spotlight was the one I preferred so I’m fine with its win for BP. I do wish Miller had won, though especially since they decided to split pic and director again this year. Oh well.
Leo wn his Oscar. Can we be done with him now?
I must confess to having something of a crush on Alejandro Inarritu! Am I alone in this, ladies?
Would rather have sex with him than Leo but thats not saying much.
I do too! But I have a bigger crush on Cuarón.
No, you are not alone. I loved his speech too!
No.Me too.
I wouldn’t have sex with any of them but I like the trio of director-friends: Guillermo del Toro, Alejandro Inarritu, and Alfonso Cuarón. They’re responsible for breathing life back into films (past 10 years or so).
I’m so glad Spotlight won! It was the most interesting of the bunch and the only one I would watch again.
Iñarritu has my heart cause he wouldn’t let himself played off and he made his point about OscarsSoWhite until he was good and ready ( and Kudos for him cause i know often us Latinos as a whole – not I but I see with my family) don’t speak up on Injustice against black people like we should cause the aim as a whole is to keep your head down and “model Minority” it up in there and not make waves but that always comes at the expense of Black People
And stll look at how Hispanics in the broad name of “Mexicans” are called out names and being treated by the awful Trump in this presidential run.
The scapegoats are mainly hispanics to him. What a world.
The Big Short was Best Picture in my mind!
Yes. It’s Inarritu.