89TH  OSCARS® IN PICTURES
By Iride Aparicio

The Red Carpet 89TH OSCARS®              Photo by: Matt Petit//@A.M.P.A.S

HOLLYWOOD, CA –  The evening of February 26, 2017, started like any other Oscars® night. With a crowd of movie fans screaming at the corner of Hollywood and Highland,   celebrities arriving at the DOLBY® Theatre, and female movie stars displaying their jewelry and designers’ gowns as they walked on the Red Carpet stopping when the press  asked them questions. 

Inside the building, the celebrities were welcomed by statues of Oscars® of different sizes. There was a tall one standing in front of a wall constructed by three rows of white cardboard inverted triangles. And inside each space between the triangles, stood a small Oscars ® statuette. There were three whole rows of them.  (see photograph)

The parade of  celebrities, guests and movie stars  lasted over an hour. And this year the women jewelry, and their gowns, many of them white, silver, gold or  black, were fabulous.

  SOFIA BOUTELLA           Photo By: Mike Baker@A.M.P.A.S.

HAILEE STEINFELD        Photo by: Mike Baker@A.M.P.A.S.

CYNTHIA  ERIVO                Photo by:Mike Baker@A.M.P.A.S.  

Academy President CHERYL BOONE & STANLEY ISAACS Arriving at The Dolby® theatre                                                 Photo by: Aaron Pool@A.M.P.A.S.

Pricewaterhouse Copper Representatives arrive carrying the bags containing the names of the winners.         Photo by: Mike Baker/@ A.M.P.A.S. 

WOLFGANG  PUCK displays the food. Photo by:Phil McCarlen/@A.M.P.A.S.

Inside the auditorium, Oscar® 89th opened with nominee/singer JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE dancing down the isles of the DOLBY® theatre singing “Can’t stop the feeling”  from the animated film “Trolls”
   

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE       Photo: Image Group LA/@A.M.P.A.S.

The Host for the 89Th Academy Awards was TV Host/comedian JIMMY KIMMEL

JIMMY KIMMEL Host the 89th Oscars® Photo: Mark Suban/@A.M.P.A.S.

JIMMY KIMMEL managed to keep the show pleasant for everyone. As Host, he brought class to the ceremony.  Surprises, by a shower of candy bags falling from the roof of the teatre on the audience, and laughter byhaving a group of tourists walk on the stage of the DOLBY® theatre, allowing them to photograph and even shake hands with the stars sitting on the front rows.And he added a "touch of politics", when in his opening monologue told the audience that the broadcast of  Oscars® this year was watched by two hundred countries who hate us.

Politics were also “touched lightly” by Mexican Director and Actor GAEL BERNAL who as presenter declared to be a “Migrant worker", and as a Mexican, and human being, to be against the wall,”

The Latino nominee that night was composer/actor  LIN MANUEL MIRANDA (Creator of the hit musical “Hamilton,”)  who rapped the introduction to  “How Far I will Go” his Oscar® nominated song  for the movie “MOANA, that was interpreted by AULI’I CRAVALHO during the  Oscar® ceremony.

Left, Photo of LIN MANUEL MIRANDA on stage.  Photo credit: Aaron Poole/@A.M.P.A.S.

The evening continued with the following nominations and Oscars® winners:
Visual  Effects: “The Jungle Book” ROBERT LEGATO, ADAM VALDEZ, ANDREW R. JONES and DAN LEMMON. Live Action Short Film” “Sing” KRISTOL DEAK and ANNA UDVARDI. Animated Short Film:”Piper” ALAN BARILLARO and MARK SONDHEIMER. Animated Feature Film “Zootopia” BYRON HOWARD, RICH MOORE and CLARK SPENCER.
 Make up and Hair Styling “Suicide Squad” ALESSANDRO BERTOLAZZ,GI and GIORGIO GREGORINI and CHRISTOPHER NELSON. Film Editing: “Hacksaw Ridge” JOHN GILBERT. Documentary Feature: “O.J.: Made in America” EZRA EDELMAN and CAROLINE WATERLOW. Documentary (Short Subject) “The White Helmets” ORLANDO VON EINSIEDEL and JOANNA NATASEGARA. Costume Design: “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” COLLEEN ATWOOD.                                     
Original Song: “City of Stars” from La La Land” music by JUSTIN HURWITZ, lyrics by BEN PASEK and JUSTIN PAUL. Original Score “La La Land” JUSTIN HURWITZ. Sound Editing “Arrival” SYLVAIN BELLERMARE. Sound Mixing: “Hacksaw Ridge” KEVIN O’CONNELL, ANDY WRIGHT, ROBERT MACKENZIE and PETER GRACE. Cinematography: “La La Land” LINUS SANDGREN. Production Design:”La La Land” DAVID WASCO, SANDY REYNOLDS WASCO. Original Screenplay  “Manchester by the Sea” KENNETH LONERGAN. Adapted Screenplay “Moonlight” by BARRY JENKINS, story by TARELL ALVIN McCRANEY. Foreign Language Film:”The Salesman” Iran. Directing DAMIEN CHAZELLE, “La La Land”

The Best supporting Actress role, went to Actress VIOLA DAVIS, for her performance in the film “Fences.”  In her acceptance speech she said: “I became an artist, and thanks God I  did, because we (artists) are the only profession to celebrate what it means to live a life”.

VIOLA DAVIS  Photo: Scott Diussa/@A.M.P.A.S.

The Oscar® for Best Supporting Actor this year went to MAHERSHALA ALI, who was born in Oakland and grew up in Hayward, for his role in the film “Moonlight” (Buttoning his Jacket as he walked to the stage he said” My grandma would want me to button up.”

MAHERSHALA ALI  Photo: Phil McCarlen @A.M.P.A.S.

The Oscar® for Best Actor went to CASEY AFFLECK for his role in “Manchester by the Sea.” “One of the first people who taught me how to act was DENZEL WASHINGTON,” he said “and I just met him tonight for the first time.”

CASEY AFFLECK  Photo By: Aaron Poole/@A.M.P.A.S.

The Oscar® for Best Actress went to EMMA STONE for her performance in “LA LA LAND”  After thanking a few people in her acceptance speech she said: “I am going to find you all individually, and I’m gonna thank you, along with my friends that I love so much. I’m gonna hug the hell out of you when the feeling reenters my body.”

EMMA STONE holding her award.       Photo by: Phil McCarten/@A.M.P.A.S.

With fourteen nominations, including one for "Best Picture", everybody expected “La La Land” to win the award, so it was no surprise to the audience that after actor WARREN BEATTY after looking at the card inside the red envelope for a few seconds, handled  it  to actress FAYE DUNAWAY, for her to read it, she announced loud and clear “La La Land as the “Best Picture”

FAY DUNAWAY & WARREN BEATTY  Photo by: Phil McCarten/@A.M.P.A.S.

Her announcement was followed by pandemonium, as the two tabulators of Pricewaterhouse Cooper raced on the stage to stop the acceptance speech of the “La La Land” producer JORDAN HOROWITZ.

Priccewaterhouse representative checks envelope.  Photo Phil McCarten/@A.M.P.A.S.

It had been discovered by the tabulators (the only one who knew the winners)  that  Presenter WARREN BEATTY had been given the wrong envelope, (He was given the  copy of the envelope for Best Actress instead of  the envelope for Best Picture. It had STONE’s name in it and the name “La La Land” because that was the name of the picture where she had acted) Immediately after, producer JORDAN HOROWITZ grabbed the microphone, and told the audience: Guys, guys, I’m sorry no, there’s a mistake. “Moonlight, you guys won the best picture.

MARC PLAT  repeated to the audience:  “Moonlight won.”

The audience look startled at the stage.    Photo: Phil McCarten/@A.M.P.A.S.

MATT PLAT repeated “Moonlight Won”

JORDAN HOROWITZ addressed the audience again from the stage:  “This is not a joke.” he said as he invited  BARRY JENKINS to come to the stage and handled him his Oscar® statuette.

 
Writer/Director GARRY JENKINS receives the Best Picture Award for “Moonlight”       Photo by: Phil McCarteen/@A.M.P.A.S.   

“Even in my dreams, this cannot be true” said the astonished JENKINS from the stage.

He probable had forgotten that Hollywood is the place for dreamers, and that this time, his dream had come true.

Live telecast LA/@A.M.P.A.S.