Oscars 2016: the winners, losers, and best performances of the 88th Academy Awards (2024)

Chris Rock forgot that Hollywood’s racism is bigger than black and white

One way Chris Rock proved how much Hollywood needs black actors on Oscar night was with an extended clip showing what some of last years best movies could have been like if they employed actors of color. For Joy, Rock had Whoopi Goldberg, in a janitor’s jumpsuit, interrupt the scene where Jennifer Lawrence demonstrates Joy Mangano’s new Miracle Mop. Later, Leslie Jones mauls Leonardo DiCaprio in a scene from The Revenant, accusing the newly-minted Oscar winner of ignoring her calls. It was devastating commentary that jibed perfectly with Rock’s thesis for the night: Black people want opportunities.

Things got muddled with the clip’s final scene, though. In a spoof on The Martian, Rock himself plays NASA botanist Mark Watney, who’s just been marooned on Mars. "I’m right here, motherfuckers!" he shouts, as Jeff Daniels and Kristen Wiig debate leaving their black astronaut there to rot. The punchline here is that The Martian wouldn’t have been much of a movie if Watney were black. The trouble here is that, though the film received plenty of criticism for its treatment of people of color, black people weren’t erased. Donald Glover’s character is the one who devises the plan to rescue Watney, and it’s hard to believe Chiwetel Ejiofor’s mission director wouldn’t be in the room. The film is actually exceptionally diverse, but it was Asian roles like Mindy Park, played by Mackenzie Davis, that were whitewashed or miscast. But Rock wasn’t hosting to expose that kind of erasure.

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Morgan Freeman went to the Oscars just to nab a handful of Girl Scout cookies

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

After presenting the Academy Award for best picture to the team behind Spotlight, Morgan Freeman took a little time to grab some Girl Scout cookies out of Chris Rock's hand and leave immediately.

Obviously there's a lot to respect about this move, despite the fact that the cookies he grabbed appear to be Shortbreads (the broccoli of Girl Scout cookies) even though Chris Rock had a box of Thin Mints in the very same hand.

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Sam Smith's vague, inaccurate Oscars acceptance speech was a missed opportunity

If you stayed up extra-late flipping through Twitter after last night’s Oscars telecast, your commitment to the social conversation was rewarded with one of the greatest clapbacks in recent Oscar memory. "Hey @SamSmithWorld, if you have no idea who I am, it may be time to stop texting my fiancé. Here’s a start:"

The tweeter in question is Dustin Lance Black, the openly gay winner of the 2008 Oscar for best original screenplay for Milk. The fiancé is Tom Daley, the studly British Olympic diver who’s dated Black for roughly three years. The recipient is Sam Smith, the young crooner who had a rough night last night despite adding his first Oscar (for best original song) to his packed mantlepiece.

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Leonardo DiCaprio's Best Actor win was the most-tweeted Oscars moment ever

Last night, Leonardo DiCaprio finally won his first Oscar after being nominated on six separate occasions. While the win was expected, it was still big news, and it became the catalyst for more than 440,000 tweets per minute. This deluge of tweets made Leo's win the most-tweeted minute of an Oscars telecast ever, The Hollywood Reporter reports. It was also the most-talked about moment on Facebook across the US last night.

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Senator Claire McCaskill celebrates the Oscars with Mad Max cosplay

Kris Connor/Getty Images

Mad Max's multiple Oscar wins drew deserved cheers from the Academy Award audience last night, but support for the movie also came from an unexpected source — democratic senator from Missouri, Claire McCaskill. McCaskill, who was diagnosed with breast cancer this week, tweeted a picture during the Oscars that showed her in full Mad max garb, wearing chains around her neck and Tom Hardy's distinctive face grate contraption over her mouth and nose.

McCaskill's homage was particularly fitting on a night when Mad Max swept the board for production awards, taking the Best Costume Design, Production Design, Makeup & Hairstyling, Film Editing, and both Sound Mixing and Editing statuettes. Describing her mood as "fierce," McCaskill's picture also came a day after she publicly thanked people for their warm wishes and support, after she announced she was fighting cancer on February 23rd. The senator seemingly enjoyed the Oscars at home with her family — complete with costume — but dressed in her Mad Max mask, McCaskill could've cleaned up on the Hollywood red carpet.

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Did the thank-you ticker make Oscars speeches any better?

Despite winners getting the chance to thank every single person and corporate entity they could think of ahead of time, the ticker didn’t seem to significantly change the way the speeches played out. Winners still took the opportunity to verbally thank the Academy, as well as the other names you’d expect to hear — their families, studios and production companies, and the colleagues they worked with who aren't up on stage.

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Mad Max: Fury Road wins most awards of the night with six Oscars

The biggest win of the evening may have gone to Spotlight, but it was another film entirely that really won this year's Oscars. Mad Max: Fury Road took home six awards over the course of the night, far surpassing any other film (its closest competitor was The Revenant, which earned just three). George Miller's post-apocalyptic action film nearly swept all the below-the-line categories, including Best Costume Design, Production Design, Makeup & Hairstyling, Film Editing, and both Sound Mixing and Editing. The only exceptions were Best Cinematography, which The Revenant's Emmanuel Lubezki took home for a record third year in a row, and Visual Effects, which Ex Machina won in what was one of the biggest upsets of the night. Along the way, Fury Road also helped shut out Star Wars: The Force Awakens from receiving any of the Oscars it was nominated for.

Fury Road electrified critics when it came out last May, with Miller's creative vision incorporating bold cinematography, electrifying chase sequences, and one of the most compelling action heroes in years in the form of Charlize Theron's Imperator Furiosa. It received numerous accolades from critic's associations and 10 Oscar nominations, second only to The Revenant's 12, but despite that it seemed to lose steam towards the end of the season, as attention turned towards the Best Picture battle between Revenant, Spotlight, and The Big Short. Some felt it was due to the film being released so early in the year — often death for films with Oscar aspirations — but clearly Miller's fantastical world made a lasting impression on Academy voters.

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And now, Leo congratulating Leo

After all, who knows you better than all the people you pretended to be one time? They've been with you like a second set of footprints in the sand as you've wandered through 20 years of Oscar-less desert.

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Spotlight wins Oscar for Best Picture

Leave it to good old-fashioned journalism to throw off The Revenant's big night: Spotlight just won the Academy Award for Best Picture. It was a clear upset victory, with The Revenant having earned several awards throughout the evening, most notably the first Academy Award for star Leonardo DiCaprio. Spotlight not only beat out Alejandro Iñárritu's revenge film, but audience favorites like Mad Max: Fury Road and The Martian, as well as critical darlings Room and Brooklyn.

While the Best Picture race seemed to be clearly leaning in The Revenant's favor just a few weeks ago, the picture became muddied when The Big Short took home the top honor at the Producers Guild Awards, and Spotlight then won the Screen Actors Guild honor for best ensemble cast. Both awards have been Oscar Best Picture predictors in the past, making it clear that Revenant didn't have everything sewn up as neatly as it may have seemed. Continuing in the tradition of films like All The President's Men, Spotlight utilized a stellar cast — with Oscar-nominated performances from Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams — and solid direction from Tom McCarthy to tell the true story of The Boston Globe investigative unit that broke the story of widespread sexual abuse by Catholic priests in the area. It's the kind of film that often serves as catnip for Academy voters, letting them show that they care about pressing social issues, while also celebrating quality filmmaking.

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Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs calls on Hollywood to be inclusive at the Oscars

With this year's Oscars tackling Hollywood's lack of diversity head on, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, took the stage to state how important diversity is in Hollywood. With this year's ceremony as a jumping off point, she called on everyone in the industry to take steps to make way for more inclusive filmmaking going forward.

"Our audiences are global and rich in diversity," she said, "and every facet of our industry should be as well." Boone Isaacs' speech comes as only the latest from the Academy after it faced heavy criticism for the overwhelmingly whitewashed nominee field. After the nominees were announced last month, she came forward saying she was "heartbroken and frustrated" by the lack of people of color at the awards.

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Brie Larson wins Best Actress for Room

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Larson beat out Saiorse Ronan (Brooklyn) and Charlotte Rampling (45 Years), as well as previous Academy Award winners Cate Blanchett (Carol) and Jennifer Lawrence (Joy). While accepting her first Academy Award, she took a moment to thank her nine-year-old co-star Jacob Tremblay, calling him "my partner through this in every way possible." She also thanked "the moviegoers and the people who go to the theater," as well as the Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals.

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It's finally happened: Leonardo DiCaprio wins Best Actor

As sure as the Sun, the Moon, and most basic laws of modern physics, Leonardo DiCaprio has won the Academy Award for best actor for his work in The Revenant. Presenter Julianne Moore, who won best actress at last year's awards, waited a respectable amount of time before announcing DiCaprio's name, as if to see if she could make time itself pause briefly in anticipation.

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Oscars 2016: Ennio Morricone wins Best Original Score for The Hateful Eight

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Famed Italian composer Ennio Morricone just won the Oscar for Best Original Score for his work on Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight. It's his first competitive Oscar after six nominations, though he did win an Honorary Academy Award in 2007 for his achievements in the field.

"There isn't a great soundtrack without a great movie that inspires it," Morricone said while accepting his statue onstage.Morricone managed to beat industry titan John Williams, who scored Star Wars: The Force Awakens, for the award. The other contenders were Carter Burwell for Carol, Thomas Newman for Bridge of Spies, and Jóhann Jóhannsson for Sicario.

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Alejandro Iñárritu wins Best Director for The Revenant

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In what many observers might have called inevitable, the Academy has awarded Alejandro Iñárritu with the Oscar for Best Director for The Revenant. The win makes Iñárritu only the third director to take home back-to-back Best Director trophies.

"I'm very lucky to be here tonight, but many others haven't had the same luck," said the director, addressing the #OscarsSoWhite controversy. Iñárritu faced stiff competition from the likes of Tom McCarthy for Spotlight, Lenny Abrahamson for Room, George Miller for Mad Max: Fury Road, and Adam McKay for The Big Short. The revenge epic was nevertheless the stronger movie in the eyes of the Academy. The director took home the Best Director Oscar for Birdman last year.

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Watch Lady Gaga's emotional performance of 'Til It Happens to You' at the 2016 Oscars

Lady Gaga took the stage alongside dozens of survivors of sexual abuse for her performance of "Til It Happens to You" at tonight's Academy Awards. Gaga and power ballad master Diane Warren are nominated on behalf of The Hunting Ground, a documentary about a series of sexual assaults on American college campuses. She was visibly emotional for much of the performance, and she was joined on stage by the aforementioned survivors. They clasped hands for the song's dramatic finale before receiving a standing ovation. (She lost the Oscar for Best Original Song to Sam Smith and Jimmy Napes' "Writing's on the Wall" a few minutes later.)

Her performance was introduced by Vice President Joe Biden, a veteran advocate for women's rights. "Too many women and men on and off of college campuses are still victims of abuse," said Biden. "Take the pledge: I will intervene in situations where consent has not or cannot be given. We must, and we can, change the culture."

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Amy wins the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature

Amy won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature tonight. The Asif Kapadia-directed documentary, which gave viewers a behind-the-scenes look at Amy Winehouse's life, beat out Matthew Heineman's Cartel Land, Joshua Oppenheimer's The Look of Silence, Liz Garbus' What Happened, Miss Simone?, and Evgeny Afineevsky's Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom.

Amy has won several other awards leading up to tonight, but this is its most high-profile win so far. While accepting the Oscar with producer James Gay-Rees, Kapadia said, "This film is all about Amy about showing the world who she really was. Not the tabloid version, the real girl, the beautiful spirit... This is for Amy's fans who loved her through thick and thin. That was all she really needed."

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Mark Rylance wins Best Supporting Actor for Bridge of Spies

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In one of the few surprises of the night, Mark Rylance has won Best Supporting Actor for his work in Bridge of Spies. Rylance beat out Christian Bale (The Big Short), Tom Hardy (The Revenant), Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight), and Sylvester Stallone (Creed), the presumed frontrunner who won the Golden Globe for his role earlier this year. While this is his first Academy Award nomination, Rylance has a storied career for his work on stage, including two Olivier Awards and three Tony Awards.

In his acceptance speech, Rylance thanked his fellow nominees and director Steven Spielberg, who he called an "honor" to work with. "I've always just adored stories," he said. "Hearing them, seeing them, being in them."

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Watch The Weeknd reenact the 'Earned It' video on the Oscar stage

The Weeknd performed his Oscar-nominated smash "Earned It" alongside a small platoon of dancers, gymnasts, and trapeze artists at tonight's Academy Awards, a performance that had a lot in common with the song's official music video. The Canadian pop star (aka Abel Tesfaye) and co-writers Belly, Stephan Moccio, and Jason Quenneville are nominated for their contribution to last year's BDSM blockbuster Fifty Shades of Grey. If "Earned It" manages to take home the prize, it'll be the second major award the song has won in recent weeks: Tesfaye won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance earlier in February.

"Earned It" is the most commercially successful song nominated tonight by a wide margin. It peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard charts after being released in December 2014, the first in a series of hits that vaulted Tesfaye from minor stardom to a place among pop's elite. His stripped-down, glamorous performance of "Can't Feel My Face" and "In the Night" at the Grammys a few weeks ago served as a field test for tonight's similar turn on stage. We still have to wait a while to find out if Tesfaye will take home a prize tonight as well.

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Inside Out wins the Oscar for Best Animated Feature

Disney / Pixar

Pixar's Inside Out just took home the Oscar in the Best Animated Feature category. The Pete Docter-directed film, which was a critical and commercial hit for the studio, chronicled the emotions of a young girl. Inside Out has picked up dozens awards since its release last summer, including the Golden Globe for best animated picture. Toy Story's Woody and Buzz Lightyear announced the category, so Inside Out's win made for one big Pixar reunion.

Inside Out was up against a stacked lineup for the award, including Charlie Kaufman's puppet-starring Anomalisa, Brazilian director Alê Abreu's Boy and the World, Shaun and the Sheep Movie, and Studio Ghibli's final feature When Marnie Was There. Though all films have been highly praised by critics, Inside Out had by far the widest release of any of its competitors, and its emotional appeal, plus that Pixar brand recognition was likely catnip to Academy voters.

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BB-8, R2-D2, and C-3PO show up on stage to celebrate John Williams

Star Wars: The Force Awakens has yet to win an Oscar tonight, losing out to both Mad Max and Ex Machina, but there's still one very important award left: Best Original Score. The nomination, turns out, is the 50th for John Williams —€” his first being 1967's Valley of the Dolls. (In total, he's won five statuettes so far.)

Who better to remind you of this important note than BB-8, R2-D2, and C-3PO? No one, that's who. And they're right — Threepio does bear a striking resemblance to the night's little take-home award.

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Ex Machina wins the Oscar for Best Visual Effects

A24

Ex Machina's subtle sci-fi effects won over Hollywood this year, netting it the 2016 Oscar for Best Visual Effects. It was a bit of a surprise win for the movie. Ex Machina was nominated for two awards tonight, including Best Original Screenplay (which it lost to Spotlight). As a relatively under-the-radar film, it easily could have been overshadowed here by bigger names like, you know, Star Wars. It also won over Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, and The Revenant.

The team behind Ex Machina's VFX — Andrew Whitehurst, Paul Norris, Mark Ardington, and Sara Bennett — specifically called out Alicia Vikander's performance as Ava in the movie. Vikander's eerie persona and careful movements were certainly crucial in selling the team's effects, which had most of her body replaced with metal, wires, and mesh. It's the type of effect that you stare at for an entire movie without being totally aware it's in front of you, but the Academy was apparently cognizant enough of the work behind Ava's look to vote Ex Machina to victory.

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Oscars 2016: All of the winners from the 88th Academy Awards

The Academy Awards took place once again at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California. While a few awards in the acting categories were all but locks, its one of the most competitive Oscars in recent memory, with The Revenant, The Big Short, Spotlight and even Mad Max Fury Road serious contenders for major trophies. Here are all the big winners of the night, updated as they come in.

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Emmanuel Lubezki wins Best Cinematography Oscar for The Revenant

Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki just won an Oscar for his work on The Revenant, setting a new Oscar record in the process. This is the third year in a row Lubezki has taken home the award for Best Cinematography, having won the last two years for 2013's Gravity and 2014's Birdman. He's the only filmmaker to have won the award three times in a row, and is only one win away from matching the all-time record in the category altogether.

It'd be hard for anyone to argue Lubezki's work in The Revenant wasn't deserving. He and director Alejandro Iñárritu shot the film usually only natural light, giving The Revenant a haunting, ethereal glow even as the film depicted some truly savage imagery and environments. He also won out over some of the very best cinematographers working today, including Ed Lachman's subtle, classical work in Carol, John Seale's audacious collaboration with director George Miller on Mad Max: Fury Road, and Sicario's formidable D.P. Roger Deakins, who still hasn't taken home an Oscar after 13 nominations. Basically, all of the nominated films this year were stunning, so if The Revenant — or any of the other nominees — are still playing in theaters in your area, they're worth watching on as big a screen as possible.

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Chris Rock and Whoopi Goldberg add diversity to Joy, The Martian, The Revenant in Oscars parody

Diversity has been the running theme of Chris Rock’s hosting material during the Academy Awards. To demonstrate how much this year’s nominated films would have benefitted from black actors, he gave us a look at Joy, The Revenant ,and more films featuring guest roles from Whoopi Goldberg, SNL's Leslie Jones, and Tracy Morgan. The bit was worth it just to see Jones maul Leonardo DiCaprio as the bear in The Revenant.

Chris Rock rounded out the clip by playing Matt Damon's character in The Martian — the stranded astronaut Mark Watney. While Rock asked NASA for help getting off Mars, Jeff Daniels and Kristen Wiig debated whether or not it was worth "spending 2500 white dollars to save one black astronaut." Check out the video in the clip above.

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Stacey Dash just wished everyone at the Oscars a happy Black History Month

During an Oscar broadcast that's so far devoted to sending up Hollywood's whiteness, Chris Rock invited none other than Stacey Dash onstage as the Oscars' new director of its "Minority Outreach Program" and to wish the audience a Happy Black History Month. It was about as weird as you can imagine.

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