Oscars 2022 live: ‘CODA’ wins best adapted screenplay, supporting actor for Troy Kotsur
Oscars 2022: ‘CODA,’ Will Smith look to continue winning ways
USA TODAY film critic Brian Truitt offers his predictions for the 94th Academy Awards, airing live Sunday evening on ABC from Los Angeles.
Entertain This!, USA TODAY
Celebrities have picked their formal wear, the red carpet is rolled out and golden dudes are ready to be engraved. Because it’s Oscar night once again.
The 94th Academy Awards are honoring the best of the best movies had to offer last year, and Hollywood is coming together – and navigating a whole bunch of COVID-19 protocols and testing – to celebrate a new crop of winners joining the Oscar pantheon.
There are some interesting story lines in the major categories, starting with best picture. The Netflix Western epic “The Power of the Dog” dominated as an early favorite but the heartwarming Apple TV+ dramedy “CODA” has come on strong in recent weeks as a likely winner of Oscar’s biggest prize.
“King Richard” star Will Smith is expected to grab his first Academy Award win for best actor – though he faces competition from Andrew Garfield (“tick, tick … BOOM!”) and Denzel Washington (“The Tragedy of Macbeth”), who defeated Smith in the category 20 years ago.
Oscars ceremony: Mila Kunis honors Ukrainians ‘who find strength to keep fighting’
Oscar winners 2022: Who won at the Academy Awards? See the list
Led by Ukrainian American actress Mila Kunis, the Academy Awards paid tribute to those affected by the events in Ukraine. “We’d like to have a moment of silence to show our support for the people of Ukraine currently facing invasion, conflict and prejudice within their own borders,” read a card presented on screen.
Here are all the highlights and winners from Sunday’s Oscar ceremony:
‘Brave enough to be out in Hollywood’: What Ariana DeBose, Kristen Stewart’s Oscar nods means
The Sundance favorite about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival took home the Oscar for top doc. “This is such a stunning moment for me right now,” says an overwhelmed Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, who made his directorial debut with the film.
‘Belfast,’ ‘CODA’ takes screenplay honors
Kenneth Branagh wins his first Oscar for original screenplay for “Belfest.” This is an an enormous honor for my family,” Branagh says, and a tribute to his “amazing” Irish hometown. Then Sian Heder took adapted screenplay for “CODA,” its second Oscar of the night. “I’m so glad I dressed as a disco ball,” she quips.
Stephanie Beatriz, Diane Guerrero and other stars perform an all-star rendition of their No. 1 hit from “Encanto,” “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” but for some extra spice, Megan joins the team-up for an Oscar-inspired rap in the middle of it.
‘Cruella’ rules the costume design category
Jenny Beavan wins her third Oscar for costume design for “Cruella,” following previous wins for “Room with a View” and “Mad Max: Fury Road.” She’s wearing a two-toned, Cruella-inspired outfit. “It’s a little sad putting this with my hair,” Beavan says. “I think Emma Stone hyperventilating over some of her fittings with such joy was one of the highlights of my career.”
Japanese filmmaker – and best director nominee – Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s three-hour emotional drama became a word-of-mouth hit and expectedly wins its category. “Oh, this is Oscar,” a wide-eyed Hamaguchi says, clutching his new hardware.
With fellow celebrities such as co-star Marlee Matlin clapping in American Sign Language, Kotsur took the stage to accept his Oscar – the first for a deaf male actor. “It’s amazing to be here on this journey. I can’t believe I’m here,” Kotsur says through an interpreter. He paid special thanks to his dad, “the best signer” in his family who was no longer able to after a car accident paralyzed him from the neck down. “Dad, I learned so much from you. I’ll always love you. You’re my hero.” Kotsur also dedicated his Oscar win to the Deaf and disabled communities: “This is our moment.”
It’s got a ton of great Lin-Manuel Miranda songs and now an Oscar to its credit: “Encanto” takes the trophy for best animated feature. “I’m so proud to be a part of a film that puts beautiful, diverse characters at its center,” says producer Yvett Merino.
Sorry, “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” you’re going home with no Oscars. Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi spectacle nabs the honor for best visual effects.
The sci-fi film snags another technical achievement: best cinematography for Greig Fraser. “I’m so happy this is early because I can get to the bar,” he quips, thanking his family for letting “a middle-aged man go out and play in the sand dunes for six months.”
Another Anita, another Oscar: Sixty years after Rita Moreno won the same category for her role in the original “West Side Story,” DeBose follows suit. “Yikes! What is this?” she says. “Now you see why Anita wants to be in America because even in this weary world we live in, dreams come true.” The first Afro-Latina and first openly queer woman of color to win an acting Oscar, DeBose also paid tribute to Moreno: “Your Anita paved the way for tons of Anitas like me.”
With her fellow hosts, Schumer’s bringing the jokes in the opening monologue. She quips that the Golden Globes should be in the “In Memoriam” segment (“They didn’t have any Black members!”) and also pointed out the threesome was hired because together “it’s cheaper than hiring one man.” Adds Sykes: “We’re going to have a great night. And for those in Florida, we’re going to have a gay night.”
This is how you start an epic awards show: Introduced by Venus and Serena Williams, Beyoncé opens the ceremony performing her nominated song “Be Alive” in a lavish production in Compton where the Williams sisters grew up.
The sci-fi epic garnered honors for best original score, film editing, production design and sound in a ceremony before the main event. “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” nabbed the Oscar for makeup and hairstyling, “The Long Goodbye” starring Riz Ahmed won best live-action short, “The Windshield Wiper” won best animated short and “The Queen of Basketball” was named best documentary short subject.
Jane Campion poised for first directing win for ‘The Power of the Dog’
The “Power of the Dog” filmmaker took home her first Oscar in 1994 for original screenplay (“The Piano”), and after winning the top Directors Guild prize, she’s likely to nab best director on Sunday. (She’s the only woman in Oscar history to receive multiple Oscar nominations for directing.) Her competitors are Kenneth Branagh (“Belfast”), Ryusuke Hamaguchi (“Drive My Car”), Paul Thomas Anderson (“Licorice Pizza”) and Steven Spielberg (“West Side Story”).
Oscar host Amy Schumer made headlines this past week expressing her hope that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy could beam in via satellite during the Oscars to highlight the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Penn took it a step further Saturday in a CNN interview, threatening to “smelt” his Oscars (for “Milk” and “Mystic River”) “in public” if the Ukraine leader doesn’t appear. All eyes will be on the Academy ceremony to see if it happens, but in an interview with USA TODAY, Schumer’s fellow host Wanda Sykes expressed doubt: “He’s pretty busy, I don’t know if he has time for our little movie show.”
Kotsur has run the table on the way to Oscar night and is expected to snag the best supporting actor trophy, which would make him the second deaf actor (and first male) to win an Oscar. (The first was his “CODA” co-star Marlee Matlin for “Children of a Lesser God” in 1987.) The supporting actor field features Kotsur as well as Ciarán Hinds (“Belfast”), J.K. Simmons (“Being the Ricardos”) and “Power of the Dog” co-stars Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee.
‘It would be a historic moment’: ‘CODA’ star Troy Kotsur talks best picture Oscar chances
‘The Power of the Dog’: Oscar nominee Kodi Smit-McPhee deconstructs twist ending, sexuality
The “West Side Story” star has picked up every piece of hardware so far (SAG, Critics Choice, British Academy Film Awards) and is poised to take best supporting actress Sunday night. If it holds to form, DeBose will be the first Afro-Latina and first openly queer woman of color to win an acting Oscar. But first, she’ll need to be victorious in a category that includes Kirsten Dunst (“The Power of the Dog”), Jessie Buckley (“The Lost Daughter”), Judi Dench (“Belfast”) and Aunjanue Ellis (“King Richard”).
‘The Power of the Dog’: Kirsten Dunst on her ‘cathartic’ Oscar-nominated role
‘I did it in the dark’: Aunjanue Ellis gets candid about her career before Oscar
The wildest acting category this Oscar season has been best actress, with lots of contenders and just five slots. Stewart and Cruz were snubbed by SAG but earned Academy Award nominations alongside Colman and Kidman, and Chastain – an outside contender late last year – has late momentum going into Oscar night. This would be Chastain’s first Oscar win, after previously being nominated for “The Help” (2011) and “Zero Dark Thirty” (2012).
With his iconic “Training Day” performance, Denzel Washington upended “Ali” star Smith 20 years ago at the Academy Awards. They face each other again Sunday – Washington for “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” Smith for “King Richard” – but Smith is expected to come out on top this time. (Fun fact: He also picked up a Razzie this weekend, but a good Razzie.) Also up for best actor: Andrew Garfield (“tick, tick … BOOM!”), Javier Bardem (“Being the Ricardos”) and Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Power of the Dog”).
Jane Campion’s Western “The Power of the Dog” has gone from early front-runner for best picture to mere contender this awards season, being passed by “CODA” late in the game. The Sundance favorite about a deaf fishing family and their hearing daughter won best cast at SAG and an all-important Producers Guild Award (a bellwether since the PGA uses the same preferential ballot as the Oscars). Those two will be competing for the prized Academy Award against coming-of-age dramas “Belfast” and “Licorice Pizza,” Japanese film “Drive My Car,” sci-fi epic “Dune,” musical redo “West Side Story,” sports biopic “King Richard,” disaster satire “Don’t Look Up” and noir remake “Nightmare Alley.”
Sunday will add a 94th film to Oscar’s history of best picture winners. And in honor of tonight’s Academy Awards, we watched all the past 93 best pictures and ranked them, from worst to best, with many of them available on demand and streaming if you want to binge a few before the main event tonight. What’s No. 1? Here’s a hint: Leave the gun, take the cannoli.
Ranked: All 93 Oscar best picture winners (yes, all of them)
‘It’s crazy that she wasn’t invited’: ‘West Side Story’ star Rachel Zegler will attend Oscars
ABC will broadcast the Oscars live Sunday, and the show also is available for streaming on abc.com if you have your TV provider information. If you’re looking for red-carpet action/Oscar hype, ABC has two “On the Red Carpet Live! Countdown to the Oscars” pre-shows starting at 1 EDT/10 PDT on the network and 4:30 EDT/1:30 PDT on the streaming service ABC News Live, while E!’s “Brunch at the Oscars” pre-show starts at 2 EDT/11 PDT, with arrivals on “E! Live from the Red Carpet” at 5 EDT/2 PDT. ABC’s traditional “Oscars Red Carpet Show” airs at 6:30 EDT/3:30 PDT.
Will they roast the stars? Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall dish on hosting the Oscars
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