2020 marks the 92nd year of the Oscars. While the star-studded atmosphere was still the same, this year brought a new feeling to the awards show.
In this year’s Oscars, Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite” not only became the first South Korean film to win best international film, but it became the first foreign film to win Best Picture in the awards’ history, since the Oscars started in 1929. “Parasite” didn’t have easy competition, winning over “The Irishman,” “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood,” and many more acclaimed films.
As for the Best Actor and Best Actress awards, Joaquin Phoenix won for “Joker” and Renee Zellweger won for her portrayal of Judy Garland in “Judy,” respectively. Phoenix’s win in particular was monumental, as it was his first Oscar win after acting for over 30 years, and portrayals of comic book characters are typically overlooked by the Academy, save for Heath Ledger’s posthumous Best Supporting Actor win for playing the same character in 2008.
Aside from the awards themselves, there were a variety of musical performances as well. The awards started off with a performance from Janelle Monáe, singing “It’s A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” and her own single “Come Alive.” The show had a surprise performance from Eminem, with his 2003 Best Original Song, “Lose Yourself.” A heartfelt tribute to the lives the film industry lost the past year was also done by Billie Eilish, as well as a performance by Elton John of “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from his hit film “Rocketman,” which took home Best Original Song.
Although the show, like last year, didn’t have a host, many stars came on stage to tell some jokes and lighten the mood while handing out the awards. Chris Rock and Steve Martin, who have both hosted in the past, started off the night, taking jabs at Jeff Bezos underrepresentation of minority groups in the nominations in their opening monologue. The awards later saw stars Keanu Reeves and Diane Keaton, Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph, and Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus come up to present some awards.
While “Parasite” dominated headlines, there were many other big moments and firsts within the Oscars. Brad Pitt won Best Supporting Actor for his role in “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood”. This is Pitt’s second Oscar, but only his first for acting, winning the previous for helping produce “12 Years a Slave.”
This year also marks the first year the Oscars have ever had a woman, Eímear Noone, conduct the orchestra. And, to cap things off, while the orchestra played, Hildur Guðnadóttir took home the award for Best Original Score, the fourth women to ever do so. Lastly, “Ford v Ferrari” won awards for both sound editing and film editing, becoming the last film under the 20th Century Fox name to win an Oscar. The company was bought out by Disney last year and decided to change its name to 20th Century Studios.
With multiple moments etching themselves into awards history and winners using their acceptance speeches to push various agendas, the 92nd Oscars were a night full of memorable highlights.
Compare the recap of this year’s Oscars with Pulse Editor Andrew Bailey’s prediction of The Big Five winners down below.