The 91st Oscars are taking place tonight at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood and airing live on ABC.  While no one will host the show, the 91st Oscars must go on.

I’ll be providing live updates throughout the evening both here and on Twitter at DanielleSATM.

Winners

• Performance by an actress in a supporting role: Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
  
• Best documentary feature: Free Solo; Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Evan Hayes and Shannon Dill
• Achievement in makeup and hairstyling: Vice; Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia DeHaney
• Achievement in costume design: Black Panther, Ruth Carter
• Achievement in production design: Black Panther; Production Design: Hannah Beachler, Set Decoration: Jay Hart
• Achievement in cinematography: Roma, Alfonso Cuarón
• Achievement in sound editing: Bohemian Rhapsody, John Warhurst and Nina Hartstone
  
• Achievement in sound mixing: Bohemian Rhapsody; Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin and John Casali
• Best foreign language film of the year: Roma, Mexico
• Achievement in film editing: Bohemian Rhapsody, John Ottman
• Performance by an actor in a supporting role: Mahershala Ali, Green Book
• Best animated feature film of the year:  Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse; Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
• Best animated short film: Bao, Domee Shi and Becky Neiman-Cobb
• Best documentary short subject: Period. End of Sentence., Rayka Zehtabchi and Melissa Berton
• Achievement in visual effects: First Man; Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles and J.D. Schwalm
  
• Best live action short film: Skin, Guy Nattiv and Jaime Ray Newman
• Original Screenplay: Green Book; Written by Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly
• Adapted Screenplay: BlacKkKlansman, Written by Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee
• Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score): Black Panther, Ludwig Goransson
  
• Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song): “Shallow” from A Star Is Born; Music and Lyric by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt
• Performance by an actor in a leading role: Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
• Performance by an actress in a leading role: Olivia Colman, The Favourite
• Achievement in directing: Roma, Alfonso Cuarón
• Best motion picture of the year: Green Book; Jim Burke, Charles B. Wessler, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly and Nick Vallelonga, Producers
  

Queen (featuring Adam Lambert) starts the show with a standing ovation for a medley of songs that include “We Will Rock You” and “We Are The Champions.”  Reminder, the Academy wanted to shorten the show.  Yes, Bohemian Rhapsody made a lot of money even though it’s a bad movie.  But they belong at the Grammy Awards, not the Oscars.

Maya Rudolph, Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler get the show started.  WHY COULD THEY NOT BE THE HOSTS?!?

I should have gone with my gut feeling and predicted Regina King.  An excerpt of her speech:

To be standing here representing one the greatest artists of our time, James Baldwin — it’s a little surreal. James Baldwin birthed this baby and Barry, you nurtured her, you surrounded her with so much love and support, so it’s appropriate for me to be standing here because I’m an example of what it looks like when support and love is poured into someone.

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi dedicates the Free Solo win to “everyone who believes in the possible.”

Melissa McCarthy and Brian Tyree Henry went all out to present costume design.  I wouldn’t expect anything less from them!

Ruth Carter was long overdue for a win in costume design.  So thrilled for her!  I had the honor of speaking with her last October during the Chicago International Film Festival.  Her speech:

Wow, wow, I got it. Wow, this has been a long time coming. Spike Lee, thank you for my start. I hope this makes you proud. Marvel may have created the first black superhero but through costume design, we turned him into an African king. It’s been my life’s honor to create costumes. Thank you to the Academy. Thank you for honoring African royalty and the empowered way women can look and lead onscreen.

Thank you to my crews around the world who helped bring Wakanda to life. Our genius director, Ryan Coogler, you are a guiding force. Thank you for your trust and understanding my role in telling the African-American story. Adding vibranium to costumes is very expensive so thank you Victoria Alonso, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Jeffrey Chernov, Bob Iger and Nate Moore. My career is built with passion to tell stories that allow us to know ourselves better. This is for my 97-year-old mother watching in Massachusetts. Mom, thank you for teaching me about people and their stories. You are the original superhero. Thank you.

Hannah Beachler became the first African-American to be nominated for Production Design with Black Panther.  With the win, she sets history!

New Orleans, you hear me? Okay, I gotta put these on and I don’t even know where I put my speech because I put it in the phone and now I can’t find it. I’m really shaking hard. Okay. I love you. I want to thank all of the nominees in this category for the extraordinary worlds that they built this year. So honored to be a part of that. I want to thank the Academy, thank you so much. Ryan Coogler. I stand here stronger than I was yesterday. I stand here with agency and self-worth because of Ryan Coogler. You not only made me a better designer, a better storyteller, a better person, I stand here because of this man who offered me a different perspective of life, who offered me a safe space, who’s patient and gave me air, humanity and brotherhood. Thank you, Ryan. I love you. I am stronger because Marvel, who gave me the opportunity to do my best, who supported the vision of this film, and lifted us up every day. Victoria Alonso, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, and the man with the best laugh ever, Nate Moore. Thank you. And it was brought stronger because of an art department crew who lead with their hearts and brought their experiences, talent, courage, humility, and hard work to the table. Supervising art director Alan Hook and set decorator Jay Hart, thank you. I’m stronger today because of this wonderful cast who every day stepped into this world and breathed life into it. Because of Ruth Carter and Rachel Morrison and everything they did behind the camera with me. I am stronger because of a woman who supported me every day, that I wanted to give up, this is for you, my friend, Carol Trevino. Rest in power. I’m stronger because of my family who supported me through the [unintelligible] of time. I give this strength to all of those who come next, to keep going, to never give up. And when you think it’s impossible, just remember to say this piece of advice I got from a very wise woman: I did my best, and my best is good enough. Thank you.

In presenting the Oscar for cinematography, Tyler Perry makes a dig at the Academy’s original choice to present during commercial.  Alfonso Cuarón takes what is expected to be the first of several wins.

Thank you so much. This is an amazing honor. Thank you, Academy. To create a single frame of film, as you well know, requires the work of a lot of people, very hard work. So I want to thank Yalitza Aparicio and Marina de Tavira before anybody else. The amazing cast and crew, Gabriela Rodríguez and Nicolás Celis as producers, Participant and Netflix, Technicolor and Arri.

If this film was created by my own memories, the film was crafted through the memories of what this great master of cinematography has given to us. It is well-known that in Billy Wilder’s office there was a sign that said “What would Lubitsch have done?” And for me, it was what would “Chivo Lubezki would have done?” So this is for you, too, Chivo.

Bohemian Rhapsody with their first wins of the night.  I’ll just stop now.  Love the music, not the film.

Roma becomes the first win for Mexico in nine nominations for Foreign Language film.

Keegan-Michael Key does the Mary Poppins thing to do in coming down from above while introducing Bette Midler and “The Place Where Lost Things Go” from Mary Poppins Returns.

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse deserved the win for Best Animated feature.

Christopher Miller:

Thank you, Sony. We share this with our fellow producers, cast, crew. There’s 800 filmmakers who pushed boundaries and took risks to make people feel powerful and seen.

Phil Lord:

So when we hear that somebody’s kid was watching the movie and turned to them and said, “He looks like me.” Or, “They speak Spanish like us,” we feel like we already won.

Peter Ramsey:

To our audience, thank you so much. We love you and we just want you all to know we see you, you’re powerful. This world needs you, okay, this world needs you. So please, we’re all counting on you. Thank you.

First Man is the most underappreciated film of 2018 so if Best Visual Effects is the only win for the film, I’ll take it.  This film is a cinematic masterpiece!

Spike Lee FINALLY wins an Oscar.  This is his first win in five nominations.

Alright. Alright. I want to thank Tonya, Jack and Satchel. The word today is irony. The date the 24th. The month February, which also happens to be the shortest month of the year, which also happens to be Black History Month. The year 2019, the year 1619. History, Herstory. 1619 to 2019, 400 years. 400 years our ancestors were stolen from Mother Africa and brought to Jamestown, Virginia, enslaved. Our ancestors worked the land from can’t see in the morning to can’t see at night. My grandmother, Zimmie Shelton Reatha, who lived to be 100 years young, who was a Spelman College graduate even though her mother was a slave. My grandma who saved 50 years of Social Security checks to put her first grandchild – she called me Spikie Poo – she put me through Morehouse College and NYU Grad Film. NYU!

Before the world tonight, I give praise for our ancestors who helped build this country and [unintelligible] today along with the genocide of its native people. If we all connect with our ancestors, we will have love, wisdom, we will regain our humanity. It will be a powerful moment. The 2020 presidential election is around the corner. Let’s all mobilize. Let’s all be on the right side of history. Make the moral choice between love versus hate. Let’s do the right thing! You know I had to get that in there!

A great score reminds us that bad things can happen in the ocean.

It’s no surprise that Shallow won.  Lady Gaga is now halfway towards completing an EGOT.

John Bailey admitted that not everyone would be honored during the In Memoriam reel.  Stanley Donen just died and didn’t make it in.

I’d rather Rep. John Lewis be introducing The Hate U Give.  That would be a much better film.

Olivia Colman is the first big shock of the night when it seemed like Glenn Close was all set to take Best Actress for The Wife.  This win guarantees that The Favourite will not be shut out.  Glenn Close: always a bridesmaid, never a bride.

Green Book is not the best picture this year. Sorry.

The 91st Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network.