From the utterly-loathed “The Cobbler” to the critically-adored “Spotlight,” Tom McCarthy had one of the craziest years of any director in recent memory. In a shocking twist of a narrative that seemed to keep the excellent investigative journalism film on the outside, McCarthy’s “Spotlight” snuck up the middle and took Best Picture at the the 88th Academy Awards tonight. For much of the season, the momentum swung between “The Big Short” (the PGA winner) and “The Revenant” (which had big wins at the SAG and DGA), but it would seem they split the difference, leaving room for “Spotlight” to sneak in there for the win. In addition to the big prize, "Spotlight" only had one other award, for Best Original Screenplay.
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The other big narrative of the night was the “Witness me!” power of “Mad Max: Fury Road.” Many of us knew the George Miller directed film would sweep up in the tech categories, but not many predicted near domination and six awards in total. ‘Fury Road’ won a slew of awards including Best Costume, Production Design, Makeup & Hair, Editing and both Sound categories.
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The next big winner of the night was “The Revenant,” that won Best Director for Alejandro González Iñárritu, Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio and a third consecutive win for cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki. In the acting categories, there were few big surprises with Brie Larson winning Best Actress for “Room” and Alicia Vikander for “The Danish Girl,” but there’s usually always one big curveball. That turned out to be Mark Rylance winning Best Supporting Actor for “Bridge of Spies” over the presumed, sentimental winner Sylvester Stallone for “Creed.”
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While Adam McKay’s “The Big Short” was the Oscar frontrunner for much of the season, it didn’t have much of a chance to play the spoiler; the movie won only one award, for Best Adapted Screenplay. That was the show, really, other than Chris Rock who unfortunately failed to deliver any searing #OscarSoWhite jabs or laughs. The comedian, in my opinion anyhow, was sadly flat and immediately lost ground to seemingly more-at-ease comedians like Sacha Baron Cohen and Louie C.K. who stole laughs from him instantly. Further analysis and more on Monday. Share your thoughts below!
Best Picture
“The Big Short”
“Bridge Of Spies”
“Brooklyn”
“Mad Max: Fury Road”
“The Martian”
“The Revenant”
“Room”
“Spotlight”
Best Director
Adam McKay – “The Big Short”
George Miller – “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu – “The Revenant”
Lenny Abrahamson – “Room”
Tom McCarthy – “Spotlight”
Best Actress
Cate Blanchett – “Carol”
Brie Larson – “Room”
Jennifer Lawrence – “Joy”
Charlotte Rampling – “45 Years”
Saoirse Ronan – “Brooklyn”
Best Actor
Bryan Cranston – “Trumbo”
Matt Damon – “The Martian”
Leonardo DiCaprio – “The Revenant”
Michael Fassbender – “Steve Jobs”
Eddie Redmayne – “The Danish Girl”
Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Jason Leigh – “The Hateful Eight”
Rooney Mara – “Carol”
Rachel McAdams – “Spotlight”
Alicia Vikander – “The Danish Girl”
Kate Winslet – “Steve Jobs”
Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale – “The Big Short”
Tom Hardy – “The Revenant”
Mark Ruffalo – “Spotlight”
Mark Rylance – “Bridge Of Spies”
Sylvester Stallone – “Creed”
Best Original Screenplay
Matt Charman, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen – “Bridge Of Spies”
Alex Garland – “Ex Machina”
Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley, Ronnie del Carmen – “Inside Out”
Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer – “Spotlight”
Jonathan Herman, Andrea Berloff, S. Leigh Savidge, Alan Wenkus – “Straight Outta Compton”
Best Adapted Screenplay
Adam McKay and Charles Randolph – “The Big Short”
Nick Hornby – “Brooklyn”
Phyllis Nagy – “Carol”
Drew Goddard – “The Martian”
Emma Donoghue – “Room”
Best Cinematography
Ed Lachman – “Carol”
Robert Richardson – “The Hateful Eight”
John Seale – “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Emmanuel Lubezki – “The Revenant”
Roger Deakins – “Sicario”
Best Film Editing
Hank Corwin – “The Big Short”
Margaret Sixel – “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Stephen Mirrione – “The Revenant”
Tom McArdle – “Spotlight”
Maryann Brandon and Mary Jo Markey – “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”
Best Foreign Language Film
“Embrace Of The Serpent” (Colombia)
“Mustang” (France)
“Son Of Saul” (Hungary)
“Theeb” (Jordan)
“A War” (Denmark)
Best Documentary Feature
“Amy”
“Cartel Land”
“The Look Of Silence”
“What Happened, Miss Simone?”
“Winter On Fire: Ukraine’s Fight For Freedom”
Best Animated Feature
“Anomalisa”
“Boy & The World”
“Inside Out”
“Shaun The Sheep Movie”
“When Marnie Was There”
Best Costume Design
Sandy Powell – “Carol”
Sandy Powell – “Cinderella”
Paco Delgado – “The Danish Girl”
Jenny Beavan – “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Jacqueline West – “The Revenant”
Best Production Design
Rena DeAngelo, Bernhard Henrich, Adam Stockhausen – “Bridge Of Spies”
Michael Standish and Eve Stewart – “The Danish Girl”
Colin Gibson and Lisa Thompson – “Mad Max: Fury Road”
Celia Bobak and Arthur Max – “The Martian”
Jack Fisk and Hamish Purdy – “The Revenant”
Best Original Score
Thomas Newman – “Bridge Of Spies”
Carter Burwell – “Carol”
Ennio Morricone – “The Hateful Eight”
Johann Johansson – “Sicario”
John Williams – “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”
Best Original Song
“Earned It” from “Fifty Shades Of Grey”
“Manta Ray” from “Racing Extinction”
“Simple Song No. 3” from “Youth”
“Til It Happens To You” from “The Hunting Ground”
“Writing’s On The Wall” from “Spectre”
Best Visual Effects
“Ex Machina”
“Mad Max: Fury Road”
“The Martian”
“The Revenant”
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”
Best Sound Mixing
“Bridge Of Spies”
“Mad Max: Fury Road”
“The Martian”
“The Revenant”
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”
Best Sound Editing
“Mad Max: Fury Road”
“The Martian”
“The Revenant”
“Sicario”
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”
Best Live-Action Short Film
“Ave Maria”
“Day One”
“Everything Will Be Okay”
“Shok”
“Stutterer”
Best Animated Short Film
“Bear Story”
“Prologue”
“Sanjay’s Super Team”
“We Can’t Live Without Cosmos”
“World Of Tomorrow”
Best Documentary – Short Subject
“Body Team 12”
“Chau, Beyond The Lines”
“Claude Lanzmann: Spectres Of The Shoah”
“A Girl In The River: The Price Of Forgiveness”
“Last Day Of Freedom”
Best Makeup And Hairstyling
"Mad Max: Fury Road"
"The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared"
"The Revenant"