The 89th Academy Awards 2017 is over and has brought surprising but well-deserved wins.
The awards show took a step back from topics at other awards shows, giving the honorees and presenters an opportunity to vent their red-hot anger at President Trump’s policies, including his travel ban and his plan to build a wall on the border with Mexico.
The academy puts on a show that only Hollywoodknew to do what was entertaining. The Oscars made everyone forget all about politics as the red carpet rolled out and the glitz and glamor of the night unfolded as candy and snacks were attached to parachutes falling from the ceiling.
All night there was so much reckless jokes flying from host Jimmy Kimmel, although the most notorious of these was when presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway named “La La Land” as the best picture winner, when in fact it was “Moonlight.”
Oscar Awards 2017 – Full List of Winners
1. Best Actor: Casey Affleck “Manchester by the Sea”.
Born Caleb Casey McGuire Affleck-Boldt in August, the talented American actor began his acting career in 1975 as a child due to the friendship between his mother and Patty Collinge, a Cambridge-area casting director. He appeared in the 1988 PBS TV movie Lemon Sky and the ABC miniseries The Kennedys of Massachusetts (1990) in addition to local weather commercials and additional films. However, Casey didn’t start thinking about an acting career until he was in high school.
Casey Affleck got his big break in the industry in 2007 after playing the role of Robert Ford in the western drama. The assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford. His outstanding performance in the film earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
In the early 2010s, he went on to hit a string of successful films, receiving particular praise for his role as an outlaw in the indie film Aren’t They Saints? .
In 2016, Casey Affleck starred in the drama film Manchester by the Sea and received over 40 awards for his superb performance as Lee Chandler, including the 2017 Academy Award for Best Actor.
2. Best Actress: Emma Stone “La La Land”
Emma Stone is considered one of the most talented actresses of her generation. She is currently number one on Forbes’ list of highest paid actresses, having earned $26 million from the film musical La La Land.
Born on November 6, 1988, the actress – whose birth name is Emily Jean Stone – began her acting career when she was only four years old, but at this age it was too early to know for sure what acting branch she wanted to build. As she got older, she decided to focus on musical theater and took vocal training courses for many years. This went against her original plan to break into sketch comedy.
In search of her acting dream, Emma moved to Los Angeles with her mother from her birthplace in Scottsdale, Arizona as a teenager. She landed a few small television roles but finally had her big break with her first starring role in the 2010 teen comedy Simply A. Emma’s outstanding performance in the film earned her nominations for various awards, including a BAFTA Rising Star Award and a Golden Globe Award for the best actress. This big break opened doors for many more achievements in her career. One of the most recent was the hugely successful 2016 musical film La La Land .
3. Best Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali “Moonlight”
Mahershala Ali was born on February 16, 1974 and works in the American entertainment industry as an actor and rapper. His name at birth was Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore, but he later converted from Christianity to Islam, dropping his surname “Gilmore” and adopting Ali.
The actor went by his full name, MahershalalhashbazAli, until he decided to shorten it to Mahershala Ali in 2010 for ease of pronunciation, in addition to other factors that necessitated the change.
Ali’s acting career began with roles in the American television series Crossing Jordan and Menace Matrix before he later got a chance to play the role of Richard Tyler in the sci-fi television series The 4400, which launched his career to greater heights thereafter.
After his performance as Juan, a drug dealer, in the film Moonlight Ali was acclaimed by critics worldwide and won many awards including Best Supporting Actor at the 89th Academy Awards. This made him the first actor from the Muslim community to win an Oscar for acting.
4. Best Supporting Actress: Viola Davis “Fences”
Viola Davis is one of the few Black American women who, against all odds, managed to reach the pinnacle of their acting career. She was born on August 11, 1965 in Rhode Island, South Carolina. While still in high school, Viola discovered that she had a knack for acting. She then enrolled at Rhode Island College to study theater. After graduating in 1988, the talented actress transferred to the famous Juilliard School of Performing Arts in New York City, from where she graduated in 1993.
Viola Davis launched her acting career in 1996 with Seven Guitars, a tragic comedy directed by August Wilson , and in 1999 began her accolades, first an Obe Award for her performance as Ruby McCollum in Everybody’s a Ruby .
She played both supporting and supporting roles in various films and television series throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s before returning to work in August Wilson’s stage drama in 2001. King Hedley II, which earned her her first Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Play. Seven years later, she broke into the industry with multiple nominations for her supporting role in the drama Doubt (2008). More great performances and awards followed!
In 2017, Davis received her first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Rose Maxson in the film adaptation of Fences .
5. Best Animated Feature Film: “Zootopia”
6. Best Animated Short Film: “Whistler”
7. Best Camera: “La La Land”
Born on December 5, 1972, Swedish cinematographer Linus Sandgren won the Oscar for his work on La La Land alongside twenty-three other awards and multiple nominations. He shot the film in the classic Cinemascope ratio of 2.55:1.
8. Best Costume Design: “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”
The costumes used in the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them were designed by Colleen Atwood. This makes her the first person to ever win an Oscar for a film in the Harry Potter franchise.
Collen had previously been nominated in the category 12 times, the most recent win being her fourth.
9. Best direction: Damien Chazelle ”La La Land”
Damien Chazelle is the American director who won the Oscar for Best Director in 2017 for the film La La Land, which was also written by him. Born on January 19, 1985, the award-winning director, writer and producer is best known for his 2014 film, Whiplash. His Oscar win makes him the youngest winner in the Best Director categories.
The Harvard graduate moved to Los Angeles after graduating to stimulate interest in producing his musical La La Land.
10. Best Documentary (Feature): “OJ Made in America”
11. Best Documentary (Short Subject): “The White Helmets”
12. Best Editing: ”Hacksaw Ridge”
Mel Gibson’s 2016 war drama Hacksaw Ridge was edited by John Gilbert, who did such a great job that he received the Academy Award for Best Film Editing, among many other awards.
The award-winning editor is a member of American Cinema Editors.
13. Best Foreign Language Film: “The Salesman”
14. Best Makeup and Hairstyling: “Suicide Squad”
15. Best Music (Original Score): “La La Land”
16. Best Music (Original Song): “City of Stars” from La La Land Music by Justin Hurwitz; Texts by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
17. Best Picture: “Moonlight”
18. Best Production Design: “La La Land”
19. Best Live Action Short Film: “Singing”
20. Best Sound Editing: “Arrival”
That award went to Sylvain Bellemare, a Canadian sound editor and sound designer. In 2016 he won the BAFTA Award for Best Sound for the film Arrival, alongside Claude La Haye and Bernard Gariépy Strob.
21. Best Sound Mixing: “Hacksaw Ridge”
Kevin O’Connell took the award with him for this film. Before that, he eventually won his first Oscar for Hacksaw Ridge. Previously , Kevin had been nominated 20 times without a win.
Kevin O’Connell (L) and Andy Wright (R)
22. Best Visual Effects: “The Jungle Book”
23. Best Adapted Screenplay: “Moonlight”
24. Best Original Screenplay: “Manchester by the Sea”