Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen star in Green Book, Golden Globe winner for Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy), playing at the Salmar Classic Jan. 11 to 17. (File photo)

VIDEO: ‘Green Book’ wins best picture at Academy Awards

Alfonso Cuaron, Olivia Colman and Remi Malek take home directing and acting awards

“Green Book” is the winner of the Academy Award for best picture.

The film from Universal Pictures stars Mahershala Ali as an African-American concert pianist in the 1960s and Viggo Mortensen as his driver. It won three Oscars on Sunday, including best supporting actor for Ali and best original screenplay.

___

8:10 p.m.

Alfonso Cuaron is the winner of the Academy Award for best director.

It’s the second time Cuaron has won an Oscar as best director. He previously won in 2014 for “Gravity.” His film “Roma” is based on his childhood in Mexico and the woman who raised him.

Cuaron has also won two Oscars Sunday night, as well as the best foreign language film for Mexico, its first.

The writer-director dedicated his speech to domestic workers, noting that tens of millions of them work around the world with any rights.

___

___

8 p.m.

Olivia Colman is the winner of the best actress Academy Award for “The Favourite.”

It’s the first Oscar in her first nomination for Colman, who plays Queen Anne. She has won four British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards and two Golden Globes throughout her career.

She beat out Glenn Close, who was considered the front-runner going into Sunday’s Oscars. Colman gave a special shout-out to Close, who she said she has admired all her life.

She thanked “The Favourite” director Yorgos Lanthimos, as well as her co-stars Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz.

Colman also thanked her children, who she said she hoped were watching at home. She says, “This is not going to happen again.”

___

7:50 p.m.

The usually straight-faced Spike Lee was all smiles in the wings of the Dolby Theatre after coming off stage carrying his first competitive Oscar, for adapted screenplay for “BlacKkKlansman.”

“Guys! Guys!”, he shouted, gesturing for his peers to join him for a photo as he held his Oscar in one hand and the notes he’d just read onstage in the other.

Then he noticed someone was missing: Samuel L. Jackson, who had just presented him with the award and whose arms he’d leaped into on stage.

“Sam!” He called, as Jackson made his way to Lee’s side.

___

7:45 p.m.

Rami Malek has rocked us, and the film academy, to a best actor Oscar win for his portrayal of Queen’s Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

Malek won his first Oscar Sunday night. He was the only first-time nominee in the category.

The actor thanked his mother, who was in the audience Sunday, and also paid tribute to his later father, who he said didn’t get to see him become a film star.

___

7:35 p.m.

History has been made by women at the 91st annual Academy Awards.

With the win of Jamie Ray Newman and Guy Nattiv for live action short film, 13 women captured Oscars on Sunday. The Academy says the previous record was set in 2007 and matched in 2015.

Lady Gaga’s win with Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt put the number at 14.

History-makers were among the winners. Ruth E. Carter and Hannah Beachler became the first African-Americans to win in their respective categories. Carter was awarded for costume design, and Beachler for production design.

— Nekesa Mumbi Moody and Brooke Lefferts at the Oscars.

___

7:25 p.m.

“Shallow” from “A Star Is Born” has won the Academy Award for best original song.

“Shallow” was written by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt. Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper perform it in the film. The song won two Grammy Awards earlier this month.

Gaga effusively thanked the academy and her co-winners, as well her sister and Cooper.

She says it was not about winning, but it was about not giving up and all the times people have to get up after they are knocked down.

The best original score winner was “Black Panther” composer Ludwig Goransson.

___

7:15 p.m.

“BlacKkKlansman” is the winner of the best adapted screenplay Academy Award, delivering Spike Lee his first competitive Academy Award.

Lee started out his acceptance speech with some profanity, telling producers not to start the clock on his speech. Winners have been allotted 90 seconds for their speech from the time their names are called.

Lee ready from a two-page letter that tied together history and the years 1619 and 2019, along with his own story.

The writer-director shares the award with Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott.

Lee received the award from Samuel L. Jackson, who has appeared in Lee’s film. Jackson ribbed Lee at the outset of his presentation along with actress Brie Larson, reciting the score of the Knicks game, who notched a rare win Sunday night.

___

7:10 p.m.

“Green Book” has won the Oscar for original screenplay.

The winners are Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie and Peter Farrelly.

“Green Book” is based on the real-life story of Vallelonga’s father, who drove African-American pianist Don Shirley on a tour through the Deep South in the 1960s and is played by Viggo Mortensen in the film.

“Green Book” is also nominated for best picture, and has already won the best supporting actor Oscar for Mahershala Ali, who played Shirley in the film.

___

6:55 p.m.

“First Man” is the winner of the Oscar for visual effects, beating out films about the Avengers and Han Solo.

Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles and J.D. Schwalm take the trophy for recreating Neil Armstrong’s moon landing. It’s the second Oscar for Lambert and Hunter, the first for the other two men.

Other nominees in the category were “Avengers: Infinity War,” ”Christopher Robin,” ”Ready Player One,” and “Solo: A Star Wars Story.”

___

6:35 p.m.

Even among A-List actors it’s good to be a rock star.

During the commercial break after “Bohemian Rhapsody” won Oscars for sound editing and sound mixing, Rami Malek ran from his front-row seat to congratulate the real-life members of Queen.

Sitting several rows back were guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor when Malik, who played their late lead singer Freddie Mercury, raced over to embrace them.

May, with his unmistakable silver curly hair and sparkly tuxedo, has been sought out by members of the Oscar audience throughout the evening.

He, Taylor and Adam Lambert had opened the Oscar show with a rousing version of Queen’s “We Will Rock You” that had the star-studded audience dancing, clapping, grinning and singing along.

— Andrew Dalton (@andyjamesdalton on Twitter) inside the Dolby Theatre

___

6:30 p.m.

Everyone’s favouriteneighbourhood webslinger is now an Oscar winner — “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” has won the best animated feature Academy Award. It is the first Marvel superhero film to win an Oscar.

The ground-breaking and mind-bending film about multiple spider-heroes from multiple universes gives Sony Pictures its first Oscar for animated feature, a category that has been dominated by Disney for its 18-year existence.

___

6:25 p.m.

Mahershala Ali is the winner of the Academy Award for best supporting actor. The win comes for his performance in “Green Book.”

It’s the second Oscar for Ali, who won in the same category in 2017 for “Moonlight.” In “Green Book” he plays Don Shirley, an African-American classical pianist, who tours the Deep South.

He thanked Shirley at the outset of his acceptance speech, saying telling Shirley’s story pushed him as an actor.

Ali dedicated his win to his grandmother, who he said is always pushing him to remain positive.

___

6:05 p.m.

Mexico’s “Roma” is the winner of the best foreign language film at the Oscars.

Other films of director Alfonso Cuaron have won Academy Awards, but “Roma” now becomes the first film from Mexico to win the Oscar for best foreign language film. The movie’s dialogue is in Spanish and Mixtec.

It is Cuaron’s second win of the night. Earlier in the ceremony, he won the best cinematography award.

___

5:45 p.m.

In a seeming nod to “The Favourite” and its Queen Anne’s affection for bunnies and elaborate dress, Melissa McCarthy had her audience roaring with laughter as she came out to present the award dressed in a huge, white queen’s gown covered with stuffed rabbits.

The laughter continued as McCarthy explained that a costumer’s job is to present authentic dress for actors but “never distract from the story.”

She presented the award with Brian Tyree Henry, who was also decked out in an elaborate period dress.

Laughter resumed as she struggled to open the winner’s envelope with a bunny puppet attached to one of her hands.

The Oscar went to Ruth E. Carter, costumer for “Black Panther.

Carter says: “Marvel may have created the first black superhero but through costume design we turned him into an African king.”

— Andrew Dalton (@andyjamesdalton) and John C. Rogers at the Oscars.

___

5:40 p.m.

“Black Panther” has won the Academy Award for production design and made Oscar history for the second time Sunday evening.

Production designer Hannah Beachler is the first African-American winner in the category. Her win came moments after “Black Panther” costume designer Ruth E. Carter became the first black winner in that category.

Beachler wins the Oscar along with set designer Jay R. Hart.

Beachler broke down in tears during her acceptance speech, which started out with her thanking “Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler.

___

5:30 p.m.

Ruth E. Carter has won the Academy Award for costume design and made Oscar history.

Carter is the first African-American costume designer to win the category. Carter has previously been nominated for her work on “Amistad” and “Malcolm X.”

She took the stage saying “Wow, wow, I got it.” She said the award has been a long time coming.

Carter thanked Spike Lee, who provided her career start with his 1988 film “School Daze.”

___

5:15 p.m.

“Free Solo” has won the best documentary feature Academy Award.

The film follows elite rock-climber Alex Honnold’s attempt to ascend the famed El Capitan rock formation at Yosemite National Park without ropes.

The film was directed and co-produced by the husband-and-wife team of Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin. Vasarhelyi thanked National Geographic, and specifically called them out for hiring female directors. She ended her speech by saying the film is “for everyone who believes in the impossible.”

___

5:10 p.m.

Regina King is the winner of the Academy Award for best supporting actress. The win comes for her performance in “If Beale Street Could Talk.”

It’s the first Oscar and first nomination for King, who has won three Emmy Awards for her work on television.

King thanked author James Baldwin, whose novel is the basis for the film from director Barry Jenkins.

The actress thanked her mother, who was in the audience, and said she is an example of what happens when someone is supported and loved.

___

5 p.m.

Queen with Adam Lambert has kicked off the Academy Awards with a rocking performance of “We Will Rock You.”

The intro is a tribute to best picture nominee the Freddie Mercury biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Lambert transitioned into “We Are the Champions” for the second song of the opening number, which drew applause from acting nominees Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga.

Jennifer Lopez and her boyfriend, former pro baseball player Alex Rodriguez, sang along to the opening act, which ended in a shimmering wall of sparks falling on the Oscars stage.

Glenn Close was especially enthusiastic, stomping and singing along with every word in the front row. Three seats down, Rami Malek had a huge grin. Malek is nominated for best actor for his portrayal of Mercury.

The Associated Press

Most Read