Twitter is meme-ing Daniel Kaluuya's acceptance speech
Toward the end of Daniel Kaluuya's poignant best supporting actor acceptance speech for "Judas and the Black Messiah," he made a comment about his parents having sex, which made his mother and sister, who were both in the crowd, cringe.
"My mom, my dad — they had sex. It's amazing I'm here," Kaluuya said.
The camera cut to Kaluuya's sister, who had her head in her hands, and his mother, Damalie Namusoke, who appeared to mouth, "What is he on about?"
The strange comment became meme fodder immediately, with tweets saying Kaluuya's speech was a roller coaster for Namusoke and that she'd, er, deal with Kaluuya when they got home.
How the best picture front-runner defies Hollywood ageism
"Nomadland," Chloé Zhao's portrait of the itinerant life, explores themes that are typically ignored by mainstream narrative movies. How often does Hollywood survey the scars of the Great Recession, the fragility of the gig economy or the gaps in the social safety net?
But it is almost as unusual to see an American movie centered on an ordinary older woman, according to film historians and gender equity advocates — in this case, a fiercely independent wanderer named Fern, played by Oscar-winning actor Frances McDormand, 63.
"It is extremely rare to see a woman in her 60s in the lead role, especially one who is allowed to look her age on screen," Turner Classic Movies host Alicia Malone told me in February.
Chloé Zhao makes Oscars history
"Nomadland" auteur Chloé Zhao just made history as the first woman of color to win the best director prize at the Oscars. It's a huge moment.
Zhao is only the second woman to receive the award, joining "The Hurt Locker" director Kathryn Bigelow.
In an earnest and heartfelt acceptance speech, Zhao said she believed that all people are born with goodness in their hearts — and dedicated her trophy to the people who "hold on to" that goodness.
"Parasite" mastermind Bong Joon Ho, who won the award last year, introduced the category.
Black women land historic Oscars win for makeup and hairstyling
Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson have become the first Black women to win an Academy Award for best makeup and hairstyling. Both women worked on the Oscar-nominated film "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" alongside Sergio Lopez-Rivera.
"I also stand here as Jamika and I break this glass ceiling with so much excitement for the future," Neal said in her acceptance speech. "I can picture Black trans women standing up here. And Asian sisters. And our Latina sisters. And indigenous women. And I know that one day it won't be unusual or groundbreaking. It will just be normal."
'Another Round' director honors deceased daughter in emotional acceptance speech
Amid his euphoria over winning the Oscar he had dreamed about since childhood, "Another Round" director Thomas Vinterberg became emotional remembering the person he most wished was there to celebrate with him.
Vinterberg's daughter, Ida, 19, died in a car accident on May 4, 2019 — four days into filming the Danish drama about four friends experimenting with alcohol.
Vinterberg had the small, socially distanced crowd at Union Station pealing with laughter during the first half of his acceptance speech for best international feature film. Then he turned serious.
"We wanted to make a film that celebrates life, and then four days after shooting, the impossible happened. An accident on a highway took my daughter away. Someone looking into a cellphone. We miss her, and I love her."
Ida Vinterberg had been scheduled to act in the movie. Her father called the finished film, starring "Hannibal's" Mads Mikkelsen, a "monument" to his daughter.
"So, Ida, this a miracle that just happened, and you are a part of this miracle," Vinterberg said.
Follow along by marking off the winners
We're keeping a running list of all the winners of the night.
Also on display tonight: media marketing synergy!
Viewers tonight got a sneak peek at the 2021 movie adaption of "West Side Story" and a peek into Disney’s marketing strategy.
"West Side Story" is being released by 20th Century Studios, which is owned by the Walt Disney Co., which, of course, owns ABC.
Now, ABC isn't alone in this strategy, but keep an eye out for a lot more corporate synergy coming our way.
We already saw an ad for a special Disney-themed episode of "American Idol."
And the winner of biggest controversy going into the Oscars is ...
For all the accolades, best picture favorite "Nomadland" has delivered one of the few Oscars controversies this awards season — all over its depiction of Amazon.
The Chloé Zhao-directed drama chronicles the struggles of Fern (Frances McDormand), an aging widow who lives out of a van and drives across the American heartland in search of seasonal work. As a member of Amazon's "camperforce," Fern often gets "good money" from the temporary work packaging orders at one of the tech giant's Texas warehouses, where she is seen trading breezy banter with her co-workers.
The retail giant granted permission to the crew to film those scenes on location, leaving "Nomadland" open to suspicions that Zhao would have to put the daily grind inside the warehouse in soft focus.
The depiction also doesn't quite match up with the dangerous conditions described in the pages of the 2017 nonfiction book by Jessica Bruder of the same name, which inspired the film. Amazon continues to be at the center of controversy off screen over its efforts to crush unionization attempts by its workers and allegations of unsafe working conditions in its fulfillment centers.
"One could easily come away from the movie having a benign view of the toll Amazon takes on its workers, including the temporary ones," ProPublica reporter Alec MacGillis wrote in the Los Angeles Times.
Daniel Kaluuya lands supporting actor award for 'Judas'
Daniel Kaluuya just won the best supporting actor trophy for his galvanizing portrayal of Black Panthers leader Fred Hampton in Shaka King's "Judas and the Black Messiah."
Kaluuya was previously nominated for his breakout role in Jordan Peele's horror-comedy "Get Out."
In his acceptance speech, Kaluuya said he shared his honor with co-star and fellow nominee LaKeith Stanfield, who portrayed FBI informant William O'Neal.
He also paid tribute to Hampton, who was killed during a police raid in 1969: "What a man. What a man. How blessed we are we lived in a lifetime where he existed."
'Another Round,' a paean to being drunk, wins international feature Oscar
"Another Round," the charming but bittersweet tale of a group of buddies who start experimenting with low-level drunkenness every day of their lives, won the Oscar for best international feature film.
The dramedy, directed by Thomas Vinterberg and Mads Mikkelsen, was Denmark's submission in the category.
In his acceptance speech, Vinterberg paid tribute to his late daughter, Ida, who died in a car accident in 2019. Vinterberg appeared to fight back tears as he said he made this movie for her, "as her monument."
"You're part of this miracle," Vinterberg said, later adding: "This one is for you."