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 Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron was chosen as best director for
"Roma," his sentimental black-and-white journey back to his
childhood, and the film won two other Oscars, including for best
foreign language.
In the biggest upset of the night, Britain's Olivia Colman won
her first Oscar for her role as petulant monarch Queen Anne in
Fox Searchlight period comedy "The Favourite," beating presumed
front-runner Glenn Close, who starred in "The Wife."
"It's genuinely quite stressful! This is hilarious," said a
visibly shocked Colman. "Glenn Close - you have been my idol for
so long, and this is not how I wanted it to be," she told her
fellow actress, sitting in the audience.
Rami Malek won for his role as late Queen frontman Freddie
Mercury in 21st Century Fox musical "Bohemian Rhapsody." The
film was the biggest overall winner, with four Oscars, and it
also stamped its mark on the show when the group became the
first rock band to open an Academy Awards show.
"I may not have been the obvious choice, but I guess it worked
out," said Malek, who had been favored to win the award.
OSCARS NOT SO WHITE
It was also a big night for diversity, with Oscars going to
black supporting actors Mahershala Ali and Regina King, while
Spike Lee won for adapted screenplay for his Ku Klux Klan movie
"BlacKkKLansman." Malek was born in the United States to
Egyptian parents.
"Black Panther," with a predominantly black cast, came away with
three Oscars, including costume design, for its vision of a
fictional glorious African kingdom of Wakanda.
"Green Book" a Universal Pictures film about an unlikely
friendship between a black pianist and his white driver touring
the segregated U.S. South in the 1960s, also won for original
screenplay and supporting actor for Ali.
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The wins came despite a slew of negative publicity around both
"Green Book" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" in recent months.
The family of the late pianist Dr. Don Shirley has said that his
portrayal in "Green Book" contained inaccuracies, and in January
accusations surfaced of sexual impropriety by director Peter
Farrelly in the 1990s. Farrelly apologized for his conduct.
"I think we brought great honor to Dr. Shirley," screenwriter
Nick Vallelonga told reporters on Sunday about the criticism.
"Bohemian Rhapsody” director Bryan Singer was accused in January
of sexual misconduct involving underage men in the 1990s.
Singer issued a statement denying the accusations.
The Oscar ceremony went ahead without a host for the first time
since 1989 and instead was filled with powerhouse music
performances from Queen, Bette Midler and Jennifer Hudson. Lady
Gaga and Bradley Cooper performed an intimate duet of "Shallow"
from "A Star is Born," which brought Gaga her first Oscar.
"I have worked hard for a long time and it's not about winning,
it's about not giving up," said a tearful Gaga. "It's not about
how many times you get rejected. ... It's about how many times
you are brave and you keep on going."
(This version of the story fixes typographical error in "Black
Panther" in 9th paragraph)
(Additional reporting by Nichola Groom, Lisa Richwine, Alex
Dobuzinskis; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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