The 2018 Oscars ceremony took place just last night (4th March) at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. As always, there's been a lot of talk over which films and individuals would take away the golden statuettes for the various categories. Even though it might've been pretty easy to guess the winners for some of the categories (with thanks to how well they've faired throughout award season), it was still an exciting night.
However, if we take a closer look at the winners and losers (Meryl Streep and John Williams) of the night, we'll be able to see the significance they have for the history of the Oscar awards. Jordan Peele, James Ivory and the aforementioned Streep and Williams each made history last night.
Jordan Peele received an award for his film 'Get Out', making him the first black male to have won in the category for best original screenplay. Alongside 'Get Out' were 'Lady Bird', 'The Shape of Water', 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' and 'The Big Sick'. 'Get Out' has also made history for being the first horror film to have won the category.
On the other hand, one of the most acclaimed films, 'Call Me By Your Name' headlined by Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer, was a favourite to win, although the production only came away with the award for best adapted screenplay. James Ivory received the award. At 89 years of age, Ivory is the oldest person to have ever been awarded an Oscar.
Those who left the ceremony with no wins also broke records. Meryl Streep, one of the industries biggest names, has been nominated for an Oscar the most number of times (21) as an actress, although she's only ever won 3 throughout her career. Unfortunately for Streep, the award for best actress went to Frances McDormand for her performance in 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri'. The downside of being the person with the most nominations is that Streep is also considered as the actress who has lost the most too.
Despite those impressive figures, no one could possibly even think about beating John Williams' whopping 46 nominations and 5 wins as a composer. Williams, who worked on the sound track to 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' lost out this year to Alexandre Desplat for his work on 'The Shape of Water'. There's not long to go before Williams reaches his 50th nomination, will he be able to win another?, we wonder.
In other news, Sebastián Lelio's 'A Fantastic Woman' became the first Chilean film to win the award for best foreign language film.
The big winner of the night
Mexican producer, director and screenplay writer, Guillermo del Toro, certainly stole the show last night with 4 wins from 13 nominations for 'The Shape of Water': best director, best film, best soundtrack and best set design. 'The Shape of Water' broke a record of its own for being the first science-fiction film to have won in the best film category. Del Toro gave an emotional acceptance speech: "I am an immigrant, like many, many of you, and in the last 25 years, I've been living in a country all of our own... because I think the greatest thing that our industry does is erase the line in the sand".
Del Toro's win makes him the fourth Mexican director to win an Oscar in the past 5 years. Alfonso Cuarón won in 2014 with 'Gravity', Alejandro González Iñárritu won in 2015 and 2016 for 'Birdman' and 'The Revenant'. Following his win the, 'The Shape of Water' director has been thoroughly congratulated on Twitter and throughout the internet.
