2017 Oscars – 89th Academy Awards Live Blog

02/26/2017 SirMac Awards Shows 35

I’m back again for the Oscars, which starts tonight at 830PM EST. Are you going to win your Oscar pool? As some of you may know, I’m primarily a movie blogger at macthemovieguy.com, and this is a huge night for me. I love spending tonight with MJ’s community, talking about the show, and all that happens within. I’m including my Oscar picks, so you can see how my predictions stack up tonight. Over on my website, I break down each category, and possible upsets, but here I’m just posting my picks in each category.

La La Land was the big winner of the evening, taking home six trophies, including Best Director and Actress, and for a few second Best Picture, but it was ultimately Moonlight that won Best Picture (and two other Oscars).

WINNERS LIST:
Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)
Makeup: Suicide Squad
Costume Design: Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them
Documentary Feature: OJ Made In America
Sound Editing: Arrival
Sound Mixing: Hacksaw Ridge
Supporting Actress: Viola Davis (Fences)
Foreign Language Feature: The Salesman
Animated Short: Piper
Animated Feature: Zootopia
Production Design: La La Land
Visual Effects: The Jungle Book
Film Editing: Hacksaw Ridge
Documentary Short: The White Helmets
Live Action Short: Sing
Cinematography: La La Land
Score: La La Land
Song: City of Stars (La La Land)
Original Screenplay: Manchester By The Sea
Adapted Screenplay: Moonlight
Director: Damien Chazelle (La La Land)
Actor: Casey Affleck (Manchester By The Sea)
Actress: Emma Stone (La La Land)
Picture: Moonlight?

Mac’s Oscar Predictions:
I got 18/24 correct.
BEST PICTURE: La La Land
BEST DIRECTOR:Damien Chazelle (La La Land)
BEST ACTRESS: Emma Stone (La La Land)
BEST ACTOR: Casey Affleck (Manchester By The Sea)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Viola Davis (Fences)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Moonlight
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Manchester By The Sea
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:La La Land
BEST COSTUME DESIGN:Jackie
BEST FILM EDITING: Arrival
BEST MAKEUP: A Man Called Ove
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: La La Land
BEST SCORE: La La Land
BEST ORIGINAL SONG: City Of Stars (La La Land)
BEST SOUND EDITING:Hacksaw Ridge
BEST SOUND MIXING: Hacksaw Ridge
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:The Jungle Book
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: Zootopia
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: OJ Made In America
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FEATURE: The Salesman
BEST ANIMATED SHORT: Piper
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT:The White Helmets
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT: Ennemis Interieurs

Our host tonight is Jimmy Kimmel. Expect a lot of Matt Damon jokes. We start out with Justin timberlake though, singing his way into the ceremony. It’s his Oscar nominated song Can’t Stop The Feeling. He’s still a good dancer, and a fantastic entertainer. I’m not a huge fan of the song, but it’s fun. He’s a wonderful way to start the party. The audience seems to be loving it.

I hope the other nominated songs get that much attention. LOL.

Justin introduces Jimmy, who jokes everyone is sitting down as he’s coming out. “Oh good, a sitting ovation.” Jimmy okes there’s a good chance he might get let back in the band (NSYNC). Jimmy says this is his first time at the Oscars. 225 countries watching the Oscars. “There’s only one Braveheart in this room, and he’s not going to unite us either.” LOL. Mel Gibson took that joke well. Jimmy wants to bury the hatchet with someone he’s had issues with. Matt Damon. “He made a Chinese ponytail movie instead.” LOL. He thanks Trump for making the Oscars seem less racist. He jokes about being grateful that Homeland Security let in Isabelle Huppert. He jokes about Meryl Streep being overrated, and this being her 20th nomination.

SUPPORTING ACTOR: Presented By Alicia Vikander
Nominees: Mahershala Ali (Moonlight), Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water), Dev Patel (Lion), Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals), Lucas Hedges (Manchester By The Sea)
WINNER: Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)
I’m 1/1 so far tonight. He was the frontrunner and he kept ahead of the pack. He’s overwhelmed. He thanks his teachers, Barry Jenkins, his fellow cast, his manager.

MAKEUP: Kate McKinnon and Jason Bateman
Nominees: A Man Called Ove, Star Trek Beyond, Suicide Squad
WINNER: Suicide Squad
Aww crap. I already missed one on the second category of the night. I think I was just hoping Suicide Squad wouldn’t be an Oscar winner. I’m now 1/2.

COSTUME DESIGN: Kate McKinnon and Jason Bateman… again
Nominees: Allied, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, Florence Foster Jenkins, Jackie, La La Land
WINNER: Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them
4th Win for Colleen Atwood. I should have bet on her apparenly. Even she seems surprised. Now I’m 1/3. Not going well for me.

“Doctor Strange was nominated for Visual Effects tonight, and was also nominated as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.”

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: Presented By Janelle Monae, Taraji P Henson, and Octavia Spencer
Nominees: OJ Made In America, 13th, I Am Not Your Negro, Life Animated, Fire At Sea
The three women actually introduce Katherine Johnson, who Taraji played in Hidden Figures. She gets a standing O from the audience. Duh. A rather long standing O too.
WINNER: OJ Made In America
Alright, I’m back. Got another category correct. They acknowledge Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman.

How Far I’ll Go from Moana- Presented By Dwayne Johnson
He sings a bit of You’re Welcome. The girl who plays Moana is here to sing, but Lin Manuel Miranda raps an intro for her. She’s definitely singing this live. Good for her. I love this song.

The President of the Academy, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, comes out on stage. She’s had a rough year. ‘Art has no borders.” So true.

Jimmy drops candy on the audience from above.

Sound Editing: Presented By: Sofia Boutella and Chris Evan
Nominees: Arrival, Deepwater Horizon, hacksaw Ridge, LaLa Land, Sully
WINNER: Arrival
I missed this category too. I loved Arrival though. That means I’m 2/5.

Sound Mixing: Still Presented by Sofia Boutella and Chris Evans
Nominees: Arrival, Hacksaw Ridge, La La Land, Rogue One, and 13 Hours
WINNER: Hacksaw Ridge
There was a scandal that caused one of the 13 Hours nominees to be disqualified. This is Kevin O’Connell’s 1st win and his 21st nomination. He just broke a really long losing streak. Congrats! I got another one right, so that makes me 3/6.

Governor’s Awards: Presented By Vince Vaughn
A bunch of special awards were given, one of them was Jackie Chan. Lynn Stalmaster, Anne Coates, and Frederick Wiseman were the other three. Frederick Wiseman couldn’t join us tonight, but the other three are, and are saluted again.

Supporting Actress: Presented By Mark Rylance
Nominees: Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures), Nicole Kidman (Lion), Viola Davis (Fences), Michelle Williams (Manchester By the Sea), Naomie Harris (Moonlight)
WINNER: Viola Davis (Fences)
Lots of great performances, but Viola’s is just next level. I’m so happy she won. This is her third nomination and first win. Huge standing O from the audience and her fellow nominees. She always gives such great speeches. This puts me at 4/7. Nobody dares to play her off. She could talk forever.

Jimmy jokes that Viola just got nominated for an Emmy for her speech. There’s a Hollywood tour bus they’re going to surprise later.

Charlize Theron talks about her inspiration, Shirley Maclaine. The first film she saw her in was The Apartment.

Best Foreign Language Film: Presented by Charlize Theron and Shirley Maclaine
Shirley gets a standing ovation.
Nominees: The Salesman, Toni Erdmann, Land Of Mine, A Man Called Ove, Tanna
WINNER: The Salesman
The director of The Salesman is protesting the ban of immigrants from certain countries, so someone else will be reading a statement from him. I totally predicted that would put his film over the edge, and he won, and I’m now at 5/8.

The Empty Chair from The James Foley Story- Dev Patel
Sting performs the Oscar nominated song that no one really saw coming.

The Tour bus is almost here.

BEST ANIMATED SHORT: Presented by Hailee Steinfeld and Gael Garcia Bernal
Nominees: Blind Vashya, Borrowed Time, Pear Cider and Cigarettes, Pearl, and Piper
WINNER: Piper.
Pixar wins! I’m now at 6/9, and these short categories usually kill me.

Gael says he’s against any form of wall that wants to separate us.

ANIMATED FEATURE: Still presented by Hailee Steinfeld and Gael Garcia Bernal
Nominees: Kubo and the Two Strings, Moana, My Life As A Zucchini, The Red Turtle, Zootopia
Winner: Zootopia
Speaking of tearing down walls… this is an appropriate win. It puts me at 7/10. Not too bad, now that I’m on a streak.

PRODUCTION DESIGN: Presented by Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan
These two again. LOL.
Nominees: Arrival, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, Hail Caesar, La La Land, and Passengers
WINNER: La La Land
Now I’m at 8/11. This is one of many categories I expect La La Land to win tonight. It was never going to win 14 Oscars. It will still likely be the big winner of the evening. These two need a Red Bull. Are they excited to win? I can’t tell. They’re being played off for being too boring. LOL.

I think these are real people on the tour bus. They seem really shocked. We’re going to run over time, but I don’t want this segment to end. The stars are doing a great job shaking hands and taking photos with these guys.

Now for a segment called “Movies From Around The World”. Lots of interviews with cinemagoers all over the world on what film does for them. We get it. Film is universal. They name their favorite American films. Some picks: Young Frankenstein, The Godfather, ET, The Big Lebowski, Suicide Squad, Citizen Kane, Goodfellas, The Graduate. Suicide Squad surprised me, but not the others. I don’t know why they subtitled the people speaking English. That was odd.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Presented By Felicity Jones and Riz Ahmed
Nominees: Deepwater Horizon, Doctor Strange, The Jungle Book, Kubo and the Two Strings, Rogue One
WINNER: The Jungle Book
I like this streak I’m on. That’s now 9/12 for me. I’m at a 75% success rate so far.

Seth Rogen’s idol is Michael J Fox, and his favorite movie as a kid was Back To The Future. They even got the DeLorean on stage for this.

FILM EDITING: Presented By Seth Rogen and Michael J Fox
Fox gets a standing O also. Seth jokes about singing Schyler Sisters from Hamilton, and then he does… and Fox joins in.

Nominees: Arrival, Hacksaw Ridge, Hell or High Water, La La Land, Moonlight
WINNER: Hacksaw Ridge
Well, my streak is broken. Another Oscar for Hacksaw Ridge. That puts me at 9/13. He thanks Mel, and his family.

Jimmy talks with Sunny Pawar from Lion. Jimmy lifts Sunny up like the Lion King and more candy falls from the sky.

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT: Presented By Salma Hayek and David Oyelowo
Nominees: Extremis, 4.1 Miles, Joe’s Violin, Watani: My Homeland, The White Helmets
WINNER: The White Helmets
OK, so I got another one. And in a hard category. That puts me at 10/14. Still not too bad, but I wish I was doing better. Still a lot of categories to go.

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM: Still Presented By Salma Hayek and David Oyelowo
Nominees: Ennemis Intérieurs, La Femme Et Le TGV, Silent Nights, Sing, Timecode
WINNER: Sing
Well, I was bound to miss one of the short categories. No way was I going to predict all three. That means I’m 10/15, now at a 66% prediction rate. He dedicates the award to kids, who can make this world a better place.

Sci Tech Awards: John Cho and Leslie Mann
This is a funny bit. Cho and Mann play dumb, and its hilarious. They should host the Oscars next year.

Javier Bardem’s idol is Meryl Streep, and the film he picked was Bridges Of Madison County.

CINEMATOGRAPHY: PRESENTED BY Javier Bardem and Meryl Streep
Nominees: Arrival, La La Land, Lion, Moonlight, Silence
WINNER: La La Land
Anther win for La La Land, and another one I got correct. That’s 11/16 for me. It’s a beautiful looking film. All of them are, actually. Great cinematography across the board.

Jimmy lends his condolences to the Swedish Cinematographer for the tragedy in Sweden last week.

Now MEAN TWEETS! YES!
“Samuel L Jackson has resting fart face.”

That was fun.

City Of Stars and Audition from La La Land- Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone come out to introduce their songs from La La Land.
John Legend performs City Of Stars and Audition. He’s at a piano, and dancers dance around him. Honestly, I think Audition is the better song. A cool little medley.

Jimmy calls Lin Manuel Miranda a national treasure.

ORIGINAL SCORE: Presented By Samuel L Jackson
Nominees: Lion, Jackie, Passengers, La La Land, Moonlight
WINNER: La La Land
What a shock. The movie about music wins Original Score. That puts me at 12/17.

ORIGINAL SONG: Presented By Scarlett Johansson
Nominees: City Of Stars (La La Land), Audition (La La Land), How Far I’ll Go (Moana), Can’t Stop The feeling (Trolls), The Empty Chair (The James Foley Story)
WINNER: City Of Stars (La La Land)
Another win for La La Land, and not a shock here either. Pasek and Paul have written some really great Broadway stuff. I love Dogfight. I’m now at 13/18. “This is dedicated to all the kids who sing in the rain, and all the moms who let them.” Best quote from a speech tonight.

In Memoriam- Jennifer Aniston
Sara Bareilles sings over the segment. Some greats are gone now. Gene Wilder, Patty Duke, Garry Marshall, Anton Yelchin, Mary Tyler Moore, Prince, John Hurt, Ken Howard, Curtis Hanson, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher. They didn’t have time to include Bill Paxton, but Jen mentioned him in her speech, and she got a bit choked up.

Jimmy Kimmel does a bit now about how he saw We Bought A Zoo, and no one was there watching the film.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: PRESENTED BY: Ben Affleck and Matt Damon
Everytime Matt Damon speaks the band tries to play him off. LOL.
Nominees: Hell or High Water, La La Land, The Lobster, Manchester By The Sea, 20th Century Women
WINNER: Manchester By The Sea
First Oscar win for Kenneth Lonergan. That puts me up to 14/19. I had a feeling La La Land would lose this one.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Presented By Amy Adams
Nominees: Arrival, Fences, Hidden Figures, Lion, Moonlight
WINNER: Moonlight
Barry Jenkins gets an Oscar tonight. I had a feeling this would win too. I’m doing pretty good actually. That gives me 15/20, so I’m back at 75%. If I can just get these last few categories…

We’re already six minutes over time, and Jimmy is still doing bits.

BEST DIRECTOR: Presented By Halle Berry
Nominees: Barry Jenkins (Moonlight), Kenneth Lonegran (Manchester By The sea) Denis Villeneuve (Arrival), Damien Chazelle (la La Land), Mel Gibson (HAcksaw Ridge)
WINNER: Damien Chazelle (La La Land)
He’s the youngest director to ever win this award. He thanks his fellow nominees, and his crew and cast. I’m now at 16/21.

BEST ACTOR: Presented By Brie Larson
Nominees: Casey Affleck (Manchester By The Sea), Denzel Washington (Fences), Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic), Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge), Ryan Gosling (La La Land)
WINNER: Casey Affleck (Manchester By The Sea)
YES! I was right! You have no idea how many people thought Denzel would win. Casey did a great job. He cites Denzel as an inspiration, thanks Kenneth Lonegran, and of course Matt Damon. That makes me 17/22.

BEST ACTRESS: Presented By Leonardo DiCaprio
Nominees: Emma Stone (La La Land), Isabelle Huppert (Elle), Natalie Portman (Jackie), Ruth Negga (Loving), Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins)
Winner: Emma Stone (La La Land)
It’s her time. She’s long been the frontrunner. She thanks her fellow nominees, family, Damien, and Ryan, as well as the crew.

BEST PICTURE: Presented By Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway
Nominees: Arrival, Fences, Hell Or High Water, Hacksaw Ridge, Manchester By The Sea, La La Land, Moonlight, Lion, Hidden Figures
WINNER: Moonlight
WOW.This is a HUGE f*ck up. They announce La La Land as the winner, the whole crew comes up on stage and halfway through their speech it is revealed that the wrong winner was announced. Moonlight actually won. I ended up with 18/24 predictions tonight. What a bizarre ceremony, but congrats to Moonlight.

That’s it for me. I hope you guys enjoyed it with me, especially that twist ending. Hopefully So You Think You Can Dance will be back this summer, and I’ll be back for that.

About SirMac 241 Articles
Contributor to mjsbigblog.com. EIC of macthemovieguy.com, Contributor at houseofgeekery.com. Holds a BA in Film from the University of Central Florida.
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