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 In a major upset, Britain's
Anthony Hopkins won the best actor trophy for
his role as a man battling dementia in "The
Father." The Oscar had been widely expected to
go to the late Chadwick Boseman for his final
film, "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom."
China native Chloe Zhao was named best director
for Searchlight Pictures' "Nomadland," making
her the first Asian woman and only the second
woman ever to take home the trophy. Kathryn
Bigelow was the first in 2010.
Zhao thanked the nomadic community for "teaching
us the power of resilience and hope and
reminding us what true kindness looks like."
Frances McDormand, one of the few professionals
in the film in which several people played
versions of themselves, won her third Oscar.
Social distancing forced a rethink of the
ceremony, moving it to Union Station in downtown
Los Angeles.
After strict COVID-19 testing and quarantine
protocols, nominees and their guests walked the
red carpet, mostly maskless. They sat in a
cabaret-style room inside the Mission
Revival-style rail station or chatted in an
outdoor courtyard.
The prospect of all four acting honors going to
people of color for the first time was not
realized. But 15 women won a record 17 Oscars,
the Film Academy said, including for sound
("Sound of Metal"), production design ("Mank"),
original screenplay ("Promising Young Woman")
and documentary feature ("My Octopus Teacher.")
The national reckoning about systemic racism in
the United States was also a theme following the
murder conviction last week of a white police
officer who knelt on the neck of Black man
George Floyd.
"As a mother of a black son, I know the fear
that so many live with, and no amount of fame or
fortune changes that," said Regina King, who
directed "One Night in Miami," about four black
icons at the height of the 1960s civil rights
movement.
Youn Yuh-jung, 73, won the best supporting
actress Oscar for her role as a cantankerous
grandmother in immigrant tale "Minari."
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 Youn, the first South Korean
actor or actress to win an Oscar, joked about
people mispronouncing her name.
"Tonight you are all forgiven," she said. "Me
being here, I cannot believe it."
The ceremony for the highest honors in the movie
business took place after a turbulent year for
the industry that shuttered production and movie
theaters for months and saw studios delay the
release of some blockbusters by more than a
year. "This was indeed a hard
year for everyone, but our love for movies
helped to get us through it," said presenter
King, opening the ceremony, which had no host
for the third straight year.
McDormand made a passionate plea for people to
return to theaters.
"One day, very soon, take everyone you know into
a theater, shoulder to shoulder in that dark
space, and watch every film that's represented
here," she said.
Britain's Daniel Kaluuya was named best
supporting actor for his role as 1960s Black
Panther activist Fred Hampton in "Judas and the
Black Messiah."
The movie "Soul," the first from Disney's Pixar
to feature a black lead character, won best
animated feature, while Denmark's "Another
Round" took the prize for best international
feature.
The winners were chosen in a secret ballot by
the 9,000 members of the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Additional
reporting by Maria Caspani, Lisa Richwine,
Nichola Groom and Dan Trotta; Editing by
Jonathan Oatis and Gerry Doyle)
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