Hollywood handed out its top awards Sunday night at the Academy Awards, during a contested and chaotic Oscars ceremony. The night was already under criticism for handing out many of the craft awards for Editing and Score during the 4 o’clock hour when many stars were still on the red carpet, before the broadcast started (those awards were then edited into the live broadcast, seeming to save all of 2 minutes total). Things took a turn for the weird when Will Smith, moments before winning best actor, took the stage to slap Chris Rock for making a joke about wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair loss due to alopecia.
The evening brought to an end one of the longest awards seasons thus far, which usually kicks off in early September with the Venice and Toronto international film festivals. But many of the top winners of the night, including best picture winner “CODA” and best documentary winner “Summer of Soul," have been on the campaign trail since Sundance 2021. Finally, Hollywood’s brightest stars can take a break from the red carpet, and film fans can move on to a new crop of contenders soon.
Speaking of “CODA,” the little indie that took the night’s top award, it became the first film that debuted at Sundance to win best picture. Apple took a $25 million gamble acquiring the film at the festival, and it paid off as “CODA,” written and directed by Sian Heder, is the first best picture winner from a streamer. It also won best adapted screenplay for Heder and best supporting actor for Troy Kotsur, the first deaf man to win the award. Stream this heartwarming family film on Apple TV+.
