Guillermo del Toro’s outcast fantasy wins best picture in a ceremony that called for more representation and female empowerment in Hollywood
A battle cry for inclusion: The Shape of Water triumphs in Oscars of seismic change
The Shape of Water, a romantic fable about a janitor who falls in love with a sea creature, has swept top honours at the Oscars in a ceremony that turned into a battle cry for inclusion and female empowerment.
Guillermo del Toro’s cold war-era fantasy about the triumph of outcasts fended off the satirical horror Get Out and the drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, to take best picture and director, continuing a winning streak for Mexican film-makers in Hollywood.
The 90th Academy Awards turned Sunday night’s ceremony in Los Angeles into a celebration and exhortation of representation and inclusion, after a year marked by seismic cultural change in Hollywood that rippled across the world.
Play Video 1:05 'Stand with me': Frances McDormand gets every female Oscar nominee on their feet – video
Frances McDormand, who won the best actress award for playing a grieving, furious mother in Three Billboards, created one of the night’s most memorable tableaux by asking all the female nominees in the Dolby theatre to stand up. “Look around,” she said. “We all have stories to tell and projects we need financing.”
She finished her speech saying: “I have two words to say: inclusion rider”, a reference to a little known contract clause that lets actors demand diversity on both sides of the camera. Backstage, she stressed this is a new era. “We’re not going back. It changes now ... power in rules.”
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The acting awards went as expected. Gary Oldman won best actor for depicting Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour. “Put the kettle on,” he told his 99-year-old mother, watching on the sofa at home. “I’m bringing Oscar home.”
Sam Rockwell won best supporting actor for playing a racist cop in Three Billboards and Allison Janney won best supporting actress for playing an unforgiving mother in I, Tonya.
Greta Gerwig’s acclaimed coming of age story Lady Bird and Steven Spielberg’s The Post left empty-handed, though Jordan Peele’s Get Out won best original screenplay, prompting a rapturous standing ovation that cemented his elevation to Hollywood’s elite. Christopher Nolan’s war epic Dunkirk and Paul Thomas Anderson’s dark romance Phantom Thread took a clutch of technical awards.
James Ivory, 89, became the oldest winner of an Oscar for the gay coming of age drama Call Me by Your Name, in the best adapted screenplay category.
A crystal stage, clips of classic films and appearances by veteran stars projected a nostalgic glow, but the ceremony crackled with contemporary politics and social activism related to sexual misconduct and immigration rights.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ashley Judd, Annabella Sciorra and Salma Hayek. Photograph: Craig Sjodin/Getty Images
Salma Hayek, Ashley Judd and Annabella Sciorra, who went public with allegations of sexual misconduct against the disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein, jointly presented an emotional montage that channelled the anger and hope of the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements. The movement’s leaders had decided to stand down for the night, in contrast to the Golden Globes, whose attendees expressed solidarity by wearing black, but Hollywood’s mood of reckoning still permeated proceedings.
Along with jewellery, the traditional gift bags for top nominees included pepper spray and a “phobia-relief” therapy session. On the red carpet, most stars shunned the E! News presenter Ryan Seacrest because of sexual harassment accusations, which he denies.
The host, Jimmy Kimmel, joked in the opening monologue that the Oscar statue set an example for Hollywood: “He keeps his hands where you can see them, never says a rude word, and literally doesn’t have a penis.” This was the year that men screwed up so badly “women started dating fish”, he said, referencing The Shape of Water.
Kimmel also addressed last year’s fiasco, when the wrong best picture was announced. “This year, when you hear your name called, don’t get up right away,” he told the audience. “Give us a minute.”
Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, who initially, incorrectly announced La La Land instead of Moonlight the winner last year, surprisingly returned to present the best picture award – this time without a hitch.
Del Toro’s victory was the fourth time a Mexican director has taken Oscar honours in the last five years, following Alfonso Cuarón in 2014 and Alejandro González Iñárritu in 2015 and 2016.
“I am an immigrant,” said Del Toro in a veiled rebuke to President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. “The greatest thing art does and our industry does is erase the lands in the sand. We should continue doing that when the world tells us to make them deeper.”
Backstage, the director said artists have to honour their roots and said he would be bringing his statues to his parents in Mexico. “I’m going home with these two babies.”
Play Video 0:35 'Representation matters': Coco director thanks the people of Mexico – video
Coco, about a Mexican boy’s journey to the underworld, won best animated film and best original song, prompting cries of “Viva Mexico” from the stage. Latino talent triumphed again when the Chilean drama A Fantastic Woman, starring trans actor Daniela Vega in the lead, won best foreign film. The drama was the first Oscar winner to feature both a transgender storyline and star an openly trans performer.
Weinstein, an Oscar svengali who in previous years was thanked more times than God, was nowhere in sight, banished from the Academy last October after multiple allegations of his predations triggered the #MeToo avalanche.
But a jarring moment came when the retired basketball star Kobe Bryant won an Oscar for an animated short based on his farewell letter to the sport, prompting accusations of double standards among Oscar voters, given a rape accusation made against Bryant in 2003 – a case that was dropped when his accuser refused to testify and settled out of court.
Amazon’s The Big Sick and Netflix’s Mudbound won nothing, but Netflix’s film about Russian doping, Icarus, took best documentary, suggesting the Academy’s resistance to streaming services is weakening.
Blade Runner 2049 won two Oscars, with veteran cinematographer Roger Deakins collecting his first statue after 13 previous nominations.
Kimmel promised a jet ski to the winner who made the shortest speech, weaving in a quiz show vibe to balance the politics. The show ended with Mark Bridges, the Phantom Thread costume designer, scooting across the stage atop the machine. His speech had clocked in at just over 30 seconds.
The Shape of Water has won the Oscar for best picture at the 90th Academy Awards, defeating strong competition from Get Out, Lady Bird and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri in what had been considered the closest Oscar race in many years.
The award was presented by Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, who had been involved in last year’s mix-up over La La Land and Moonlight. Acknowledging the fiasco in 2017, Beatty said: “It’s so nice seeing you again”; Dunaway added: “Presenting is lovelier second time around.” On receiving the award, del Toro, said: “I want to dedicate this to the young film-makers; the youth who are showing [us] how things are done.”
Play Video 2:52 Seven must-see moments from the Oscars 2018 - video
The cold war-set fantasy thriller stars Sally Hawkins as a mute cleaning woman who discovers a bizarre aquatic-human hybrid in a tank at a secret government lab, and helps it escape. Directed by Guillermo del Toro, it led to the Mexican film-maker’s first nomination for best picture – though Del Toro was also nominated in 2007 for best original screenplay and best foreign language film for Pan’s Labyrinth.
Having led the nominations list with 13, The Shape of Water had been considered a strong candidate for the best picture Oscar, and it also won best film at the Critics’ Choice awards and the Producers Guild awards. However, it had lost out to Three Billboards at both the Golden Globes and the Baftas.
The Shape of Water review – an operatic plunge into Guillermo del Toro's immersive cinema Read more
The film’s success has come in spite of it being the subject of a plagiarism controversy in recent weeks. After the nominations were announced, the family of late playwright Paul Zindel launched legal action over “glaring similarities” between The Shape of Water and Zindel’s 1969 play Let Me Hear You Whisper. The film’s studio, Fox Searchlight, has denied the allegations.
Jakarta, CNN Indonesia -- Kemenangan The Shape of Water yang fenomenal di musim penghargaan baik Golden Globes 2018 dan Oscar 2018 berbau 'anyir.' Film cinta antara makhluk laut dan manusia itu menang di tengah isu penjiplakan.Film garapan Guillermo del Toro yang mengisahkan cinta seorang wanita pekerja kebersihan dan makhluk laut itu disebut mirip dengan sejumlah karya yang sudah rilis sebelumnya.Sejumlah karya yang disebut mirip dengan The Shape of Water adalah sebuah film pendek rilisan 2015 asal Belanda dan sebuah pementasan teater pada 1969.Film pendek yang disebut mirip dengan The Shape of Water bertajuk The Space Between Us dan dibuat oleh pelajar film Belanda bernama Marc S Nollkaemper.Film berdurasi 13 menit itu mengikuti kisah seorang wanita yang jatuh cinta dengan makhluk mirip ikan di fasilitas penelitian. Mirip dengan inti cerita The Shape of Water.Di sisi lain, cerita dalam The Shape of Water pun dianggap mirip dengan kisah pementasan drama berjudul Let Me Hear You Whisper (1969) karya pemenang Pulitzer Prize Paul Zindel, yang telah wafat pada 2003.Pertunjukan tersebut kemudian diadaptasi menjadi film TV pada 1990 yang dibintangi oleh Jean Stapleton.Kisahnya berfokus pada seorang wanita pembersih yang bekerja di laboratorium tempat seekor lumba-lumba yang dia sukai akan dibunuh karena penyakit otak.Sutradara Prancis Jean-Pierre Jeunet juga baru-baru ini mengatakan kepada Ouest France bahwa dia terganggu dengan sebuah adegan di The Shape of Water yang menampilkan kemiripan dengan adegan di film Delicatessen (1991).Adegan yang diributkan itu adalah sebuah reka pasangan yang duduk bersama dan melakukan sejumlah gerakan koreografi dengan latar film lawas.Dalam The Shape of Water, tarian ini dilakukan menggunakan kaki, sementara di Delicatessen lebih mengeksplorasi gerakan tubuh bagian atas.Hanya saja, baik Del Toro maupun pihak rumah produksi Fox Searchlight membantah tuduhan itu.Kepada, Del Toro mengatakan belum pernah mendengar tentang karya-karya tersebut sebelum membuat film The Shape of Water. Dia menekankan rekam jejaknya yang bersih."Saya telah berkarier di dunia film selama 25 tahun dan punya reputasi yang kuat," kata Del Toro."Saya selalu menjadikan topik keterbukaan dalam karier saya, tentang pengaruh saya dalam film yang saya buat, dalam komentar di DVD, Twitter, pameran museum saya. Saya selalu terbuka tentang apa yang saya cinta, dan saya tidak masalah mendiskusikannya dan bagaimana mereka bertrasnformasi dalam film-film saya," kata Del Toro.
Netizen Kaitkan 'The Shape of Water' dan Cinta Marissa Haque
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Kemenangan 'The Shape of Water' di Oscar 2018 jadi pro-kontra netizen. Namun tak semuanya serius. Ada pula yang mengaitkannya dengan Marissa Haque. (dok. Fox Searchlight)
Jakarta, CNN Indonesia -- Kemenangan The Shape of Water sebagai Film Terbaik Oscar 2018 jadi perbincangan netizen. Sebagian ada yang menyetujui, ada pula yang menolak, namun ada juga yang membuatnya jadi guyonan.
The Shape of Water yang digarap oleh Guillermo del Toro itu mengisahkan cerita cinta seorang wanita yang bekerja sebagai janitor pada makhluk laut, setengah-ikan.
Konsep yang berbeda dan kejelian Del Toro menggarap film tersebut diyakini netizen layak mendapatkan piala Oscar.
"Oscar tahun kemarin banyak yang bilang rasis dan tahun ini film terbaiknya The Shape Of Water. Yang sudah nonton ini film pasti paham kenapa menang dan banyak yang mengunggulkan," cuit akun @AnggaFabresya.
"Tidak heran The Shape of Water menang banyak Oscar, filmnya bagus gitu," tambah akun @senduparasnya.
Dalam ajang Piala Oscar 2018, Guillermo del Toro bukan hanya memenangi piala pertamanya di ajang film tertinggi tersebut, namun juga mengalahkan Christopher Nolan yang dikenal dengan kepiawaiannya membuat film.
Pada Oscar yang diselenggarakan Minggu (4/3) malam waktu Los Angeles, Nolan kalah dari Del Toro dalam kategori Sutradara Terbaik. Pun, film Nolan 'Dunkirk' kalah dari karya Del Toro, The Shape of Water.
"Guillermo del Toro memang sutradara hebat sih, selalu detail kalau mengarahkan karakter kayak Hobbit, Hellboy, Julia. Di Pacific Rim juga detailnya terasa, mungkin pasarnya tidak seperti Christoper Nolan, tapi eksekusi detail jadi kelebihan Guillermo," ujar akun @CaesarioSD.
Di sisi lain, ada beberapa netizen yang kurang setuju atas keputusan penyelenggara Academy Award yang memberikan kemenangan besar pada The Shape of Water, sejumlah empat piala.
"Kok enggak terima ya The Shape of Water dapat Best Picture," cuit @benwa_99.
Namun menariknya, terdapat sejumlah netizen yang justru membuat guyonan terkait film tersebut. Netizen menjadikan The Shape of Water sebagai guyonan mulai dari mengaitkan dengan kisah cinta Marissa Haque-Ikang Fawzi, hingga legenda Danau Toba.
"Konon akan ada The Shape of Water versi Indonesia yang akan diperankan oleh Marissa Haque, karena dia juga jatuh cinta sama ikan. Ikan Fauzi," cuit akun @handokotjung.
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