Oscars Did the Right Thing

Veteran director Spike Lee earned his first Oscar at the 91st Academy Awards Sunday night.

Lee, who has been nominated five times, won an Oscar for best adapted screenplay for his film “BlacKkKlansman.” During his speech he paid homage to his grandmother and took a moment to honor Black History Month. Lee also brought up the 2020 presidential election, nodding to his critically acclaimed film, “Do the Right Thing.”

“The 2020 presidential election is around the corner. Let’s all mobilize, let’s all be on the right side of history. Make the moral choice between love versus hate. Let’s do the right thing! You know I had to get that in there,” Lee said.

The absence of a host was overshadowed by many breakthroughs and firsts for the award show. Rami Malek won his first Oscar for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in the biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody.” In his speech he referenced being a first-generation American, the son of Egyptian immigrants.

Regina King kicked off the night with her first Oscar win for best supporting actress for “If Beale Street Could Talk.” Mahershala Ali became the second black actor with multiple Oscars for best supporting actor in “Green Book.” Ali previously won for “Moonlight.”

“Green Book” won best picture, despite controversy surrounding the film. Its top two competitors fell short of breaking barriers in the category. “Black Panther” aimed to be the first superhero movie and “Roma” aimed to be the first foreign-language film, to win the award.

Marvel’s “Black Panther” still won for costume design and production design. Ruth E. Carter and Hannah Beachler became the first black women to win in these categories, respectively.

The main takeaway of the night was diversity, and the Academy deliverd.

For a full list of winners visit:

https://oscar.go.com/news/winners/oscar-winners-2019-live-updates-to-come