High Point University

The 2020 Academy Awards: fashionable, heartfelt, shocking

Natalie Portman sported her embroidered cape of snubbed female directors at the 2020 Oscars. Photo by @AndreaMandell

By Emma Ralls

A&E Editor

On Feb. 9, the 92nd Academy Awards ceremony took place in Los Angeles, California. The awards show had no single host to guide the night; instead, multiple celebrities divided up hosting duties.

This approach was successfully brought back after 30 years for the 2019 Oscars. Compared to 2018’s airing, views increased by 2.9 million. Viewership reports prove that it was a smart choice for this year’s show to adopt the same procedure.

There were many iconic fashion moments at this year’s Academy Awards. Natalie Portman wore a black and gold Dior gown, embroidered with the names of female directors who were snubbed from the awards show. The ceremony marked the second consecutive year in which all best director nominees were male. Portman’s cape included directors Greta Gerwig, Lorene Scafaria, Lulu Wang and Marielle Heller.

When asked about her cape on the carpet, Portman said, “I wanted to recognize women who were not recognized in a subtle way.”

Later, writer and director Spike Lee made a touching tribute to the late Kobe Bryant. He donned a purple suit with lapels of numbers two and four to represent Bryant’s jersey number.

Joaquin Phoenix took home his first Oscar for winning Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in “Joker.” It was his third time being nominated in the category. During his acceptance speech, he honored his late brother River Phoenix.

“When he was 17, my brother wrote this lyric,” said Phoenix. “It said, ‘Run to the rescue with love, and peace will follow.'”

Renée Zellweger won Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance as Judy Garland in “Judy.”When asked backstage about how this win felt different from her Best Supporting Actress win in 2004 for “Cold Mountain,” Zellweger said that she had a different perspective.

“[I am] a little more present now,” said Zellweger. “I think that the time away, and the time in-between, has helped me to appreciate it in a different way. What it represents is a little bit different.”

James Corden and Rebel Wilson had a hilarious moment when they took the stage to announce the nominees for Best Visual Effects. The two, who starred together in the 2019 adaptation of “Cats,” appeared in full “Cats” costume and makeup. The star-studded audience erupted in applause and laughter, and the duo joked about the bad ratings “Cats” received.

One of the night’s major and controversial moments was when “Parasite” made Oscar history and snagged four awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best International Feature Film and Best Original Screenplay. “Parasite” was the first non-English film in history to win the Oscar for Best Picture.

Its director and producer, Bong Joon-ho, was humbled to win these awards. He paid tribute to fellow nominee Martin Scorsese, admitting that he studied Scorsese’s works for filmmaking inspiration.

There were several musical performances at this year’s Academy Awards, including Elton John, Idina Menzel and Cynthia Ervio. John won Best Original Song, earning his second Oscar. Marshall Mathers, known as Eminem, also performed. The rapper dubbed the performance as his redo from 2002 when he won an Oscar for Best Original Song for “Lose Yourself” and did not attend the ceremony.

This year’s Academy Awards was one that will not be forgotten for years to come.