2018 Academy Awards Wrap-Up

The 90th Academy Awards took place Sunday, March 4 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. “The Shape of Water” was the stand-out film, but empowering speeches and musical performances capped the exciting night.

This year’s Academy Awards was a bit different from those in the past. There were more performances than usual with Miguel, Common and Mary J. Blige all hitting the stage, among others.

Another difference this year’s grand movie show had was a prize for the winner with the shortest acceptance speech. Late-night television personality and this year’s Oscar host, Jimmy Kimmel offered a jet-ski to whoever gave the shortest speech. At the end of the night, it ended up going to Mark Bridges, who won best costume design for his work in the film “Phantom Thread.”

The night was ultimately about the actors, artists, composers, directors and designers who put together amazing films over the last year, though.

Jordan Peele, who was best known for his comedy skits not too long ago, made history with his thriller “Get Out.” Peele became the first African-American to win an Oscar for best original screenplay.

In his acceptance speech, Peele admitted that he didn’t think anybody would want to help him make the film, but said he was thankful he received it. After his speech, Peele tweeted, “I just won an Oscar. WTF!?!”

NBA and Los Angeles Lakers’ legend, Kobe Bryant won an Oscar for best animated short film. He wrote and narrated the winner, “Dear Basketball,” while Glen Keane directed Bryant’s ode to basketball.

Best actress in a leading role went to Frances McDormand for her role in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” McDormand used her acceptance speech to praise all the women nominated.

“Look around, ladies and gentlemen,” McDormand told the crowd after asking every female nominee in every category to stand up, “We all have stories to tell and projects we need financed. Invite us into your office in a couple days — or you can come to ours, whichever suits you best — and we’ll tell you all about them.”

The big winner on the night, though, was “The Shape of Water,” recipient of the best picture Oscar. The human-creature romance film won a four of the 13 Oscar’s it was nominated for. Its four awards and 13 nominations were both the most of all movies.

Guillermo Del Toro won best director for putting together the film. “The Shape of Water” also brought home Oscar’s for production design and music score.