Moonlight wins Best Picture

African-American coming-of-age tale ‘Moonlight’ won the Oscar for best picture on February 26 on a big night for Hollywood diversity that was overshadowed by an embarrassing onstage gaffe over the top award.
In a mishap that caused uproar and confusion, presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway initially announced that romantic musical ‘La La Land’, the presumed favourite for best picture, had won. As the casts of both films stood awkwardly on stage, Beatty explained he had been given the wrong envelope to open.
It was the first time in living memory that such a major mistake had been made at the Academy Awards, Hollywood’s biggest night. It even eclipsed the prior three hours of a show peppered with jokes about US President Donald Trump.
Officials from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and accountants Price Waterhouse Cooper who oversee the ballots, were not immediately available to comment.
“Is that the craziest Oscar moment of all time?” Emma Stone, who won the best actress Oscar for her ‘La La Land’ role as a struggling actress, told reporters backstage “It’s a very strange happening for Oscar history.”
‘Moonlight’, about a young boy struggling with poverty in Miami, also brought a supporting actor Oscar for first timer Mahershala Ali, a best adapted screenplay statuette.
Viola Davis won for her supporting role as a long suffering housewife in African-American family drama ‘Fences’.
The recognition for both the actors and their films made a stark contrast to the 2016 Academy Awards when no actors of colour were even nominated.
‘Moonlight’ producer Adele Romanski said she hoped the movie would inspire ‘little black boys and brown girls and other folks watching at home who feel marginalised’.
‘La La Land’ went into the Oscars with a leading 14 nominations and emerged with six, including for its score and theme song ‘City of Stars’. ‘La La Land’ director Damien Chazelle, 32, became the youngest person to ever win a best director Oscar.
Elsewhere, ‘Manchester by the Sea’ star Casey Affleck was named best actor. 
“Man, I wish I had something better and more meaningful to say...I’m just dumbfounded that I’m included,” said Affleck, who played a heart-broken father in the movie.
Several celebrities wore blue ribbons at the event in support of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) advocacy group that worked to get Trump’s bid to ban travellers from seven majority Muslim nations blocked in US courts. But for the most part, speeches at the ceremony were mild or made general pleas for tolerance rather than directly attacking Trump. 

Source: Reuters

Moonlight wins Best Picture

African-American coming-of-age tale Moonlight won the Oscar for best picture on February 26 on a big night for Hollywood diversity that was overshadowed by an embarrassing onstage gaffe over the top award. In a mishap that caused uproar and confusion, presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway initially announced that romantic musical La La Land, the presumed favourite for best picture, had won. As the casts of both films stood awkwardly on stage, Beatty explained he had been given the wrong envelope to open. It was the first time in living memory that such a major mistake had been made at the Academy Awards, Hollywoods biggest night. It even eclipsed the prior three hours of a show peppered with jokes about US President Donald Trump. Officials from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and accountants Price Waterhouse Cooper who oversee the ballots, were not immediately available to comment. Is that the craziest Oscar moment of all time? Emma Stone, who won the best actress Oscar for her La La Land role as a struggling actress, told reporters backstage Its a very strange happening for Oscar history. Moonlight, about a young boy struggling with poverty in Miami, also brought a supporting actor Oscar for first timer Mahershala Ali, a best adapted screenplay statuette. Viola Davis won for her supporting role as a long suffering housewife in African-American family drama Fences. The recognition for both the actors and their films made a stark contrast to the 2016 Academy Awards when no actors of colour were even nominated. Moonlight producer Adele Romanski said she hoped the movie would inspire little black boys and brown girls and other folks watching at home who feel marginalised. La La Land went into the Oscars with a leading 14 nominations and emerged with six, including for its score and theme song City of Stars. La La Land director Damien Chazelle, 32, became the youngest person to ever win a best director Oscar. Elsewhere, Manchester by the Sea star Casey Affleck was named best actor. Man, I wish I had something better and more meaningful to say...Im just dumbfounded that Im included, said Affleck, who played a heart-broken father in the movie. Several celebrities wore blue ribbons at the event in support of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) advocacy group that worked to get Trumps bid to ban travellers from seven majority Muslim nations blocked in US courts. But for the most part, speeches at the ceremony were mild or made general pleas for tolerance rather than directly attacking Trump. Source: Reuters