The 2019 Oscars were Sunday, and with no host and a ceremony that ended before midnight, it was a night full of surprises and big wins. Black Panther picked up key wins in the technical categories and became the first Marvel movie to win an Oscar. Bohemian Rhapsody also picked up some big wins, but it was Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper who stole the show. Here are the top moments from the 91st Academy Awards, including Green Book’s Best Picture win:
Queen opens the show
Bohemian Rhapsody picked up nominations in major categories, so the Academy thought it would be fitting for Queen with frontman Adam Lambert open the show. The rock band only played two songs, “We Will Rock You” and “We Are The Champions.” The guest and nominees liked it, but it came off as more of a Grammy performance.
Luckily it was saved when Maya Rudolph, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey came out with stellar jokes and woman power.
“There is no host. There is no popular film award. Mexico is not paying for the wall,” Rudolph said. The whole bit solidified that they should host the ceremony.
No host. No problems.
The host controversy that started Oscars season off on the wrong foot worked out for the Academy in the end. The ceremony went by quickly, and there were no embarrassing mixups. It was nice to focus on the films and not on the spectacle of a ceremony.
Melissa McCarthy channels The Favourite
Before presenting Best Costume Design with Brian Tyree Henry, McCarthy walked out in a costume inspired by Olivia Colman’s Queen Anne. It was full of rabbits, and McCarthy used one of the rabbits as a puppet.
Ruth Carter took home the award, making that the first Oscar Marvel has won. “Marvel may have created the first black superhero, but through costume design we turned him into an African king,” Carter said. She also thanked the leading women for their empowering performances.
Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga perform “Shallow”
After the award for Best Visual Effects was announced, a piano was rolled out and microphones were carried to center stage. Then Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper walked up the steps from the audience and performed “Shallow” from A Star Is Born.
The performance was breathtaking, and it made everyone relive the first time they saw the film. It was Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper on stage, but it was Jackson Maine and Ally performing for the last time on stage. It was well-received, as everyone in attendance stood up.
Later, the song won Best Original Song. There was really no competition, but that didn’t make the win any less deserving. “Bradley, there is not a single person in this world that I could sing this song with,” Gaga said to her co-star.
Rami Malek wins Best Actor and Olivia Colman wins Best Actress
In one of the surprising turn of events, BAFTA winner Rami Malek picked up the Oscar for his performance as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody. “I think (Freddie Mercury) is looking down on me right now,” Malek said. He wished he could’ve told his younger self that this would happen many years later, and thanked Queen for letting him be part of the band’s history. “It is something I will treasure for the rest of my life,” Malek said.
Following Malek’s win, Olivia Colman was announced as the winner of Best Actress. She was absolutely dumbfounded, which gave way to the best speech of the night. “This is extremely quite stressful,” Colman said. “If I forget anyone I’m going to find you later and give you a massive snog.”
She thanked her co-stars Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone and tells Glenn Close this is “not how she imagined it would be.” She tells her kids she hopes they're watching because “this will never happen again.” But the way she ended her speech was sheer perfection: “Um, Lady Gaga.” Same, Olivia.
Alfonso Cuarón wins Best Director
Alfonso Cuarón won Best Director for his achievements on Roma, which won Best Foreign Language Film. It is the fifth time in six years a Mexican director has won the top award, including himself for Gravity in 2014. He shares that achievement with Guillermo del Toro who won for Shape of Water last year and Alejandro Iñárritu who won back-to-back years. Cuarón also became the first person to win in this category and Best Cinematography.
Green Book wins Best Picture
Julia Roberts presented the final award of the night: Best Picture. The coveted award went to the controversial and divisive Green Book.
The relatively all-white cast and crew walked on stage to accept the award. “We made this film with love and we made it with tenderness and we made it with respect,” one of the producers said. “All of this is thanks to Viggo Mortensen.”
