LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 25: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) In this handout photo provided by A.M.P.A.S., Riz Ahmed attends the 93rd Annual Academy Awards at Union Station on April 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Matt Petit/A.M.P.A.S. via Getty Images)

Delayed by two months and swapping its usual home at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, for Union Station in Downtown LA, the 93rd annual Academy Awards have finally taken place.

Despite the disruptions of the lingering pandemic, Hollywood managed to put its best foot forward rustling up plenty of old school glamour as the stars celebrated a strange year in film.

Proceedings kicked off with a much smaller (and shorter) red carpet than normal, but the nominees didn’t disappoint delivering glitz and glamour in equal measure. Prior to the ceremony guests were controversially warned that comfy clothes are absolutely off the table – that’s life at the 2021 Academy Awards for you.

Dress To Impress

In a letter to this year’s Oscar nominees, the show’s producers announced several key changes including the evening’s dress code.

“We’re aiming for a fusion of Inspirational and Aspirational, which in actual words means formal is totally cool if you want to go there, but casual is really not,” the letter read.

They needn’t have worried with the stars turning it on as the world tuned in to the 93rd annual Academy Awards. Amongst the field of stars, some shine brighter than others with Leslie Odom Jr., Riz Ahmed, and Steven Yeun flexing their sartorial muscles.

There were plenty of dice rolls on the red carpet too, with Colman Domingo’s flamingo pink Versace suit and Alan Kim’s shorts suit, proving that not even a pandemic can dampen an Oscar red carpet.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 25: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) In this handout photo provided by A.M.P.A.S., Colman Domingo attends the 93rd Annual Academy Awards at Union Station on April 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Matt Petit/A.M.P.A.S. via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 25: In this handout photo provided by A.M.P.A.S., Leslie Odom Jr. attends the 93rd Annual Academy Awards at Union Station on April 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Matt Petit/A.M.P.A.S. via Getty Images)
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 26: Sacha Baron Cohen (L) and Isla Fisher attend a screening of the Oscars on Monday April 26, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Rick Rycroft-Pool/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 25: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) In this handout photo provided by A.M.P.A.S., Riz Ahmed attends the 93rd Annual Academy Awards at Union Station on April 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Matt Petit/A.M.P.A.S. via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 25: Daniel Kaluuya wearing Bottega Veneta attends the 93rd Annual Academy Awards at Union Station on April 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Chris Pizzello-Pool/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 25: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) In this handout photo provided by A.M.P.A.S., Riz Ahmed attends the 93rd Annual Academy Awards at Union Station on April 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Matt Petit/A.M.P.A.S. via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 25: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) In this handout photo provided by A.M.P.A.S., honoree Tyler Perry attends the 93rd Annual Academy Awards at Union Station on April 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Matt Petit/A.M.P.A.S. via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 25: Brad Pitt poses in the press room at the Oscars on Sunday, April 25, 2021, at Union Station in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello-Pool/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 25: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) In this handout photo provided by A.M.P.A.S., (L-R) Steven Yeun and Joana Pak attend the 93rd Annual Academy Awards at Union Station on April 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Matt Petit/A.M.P.A.S. via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 25: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) In this handout photo provided by A.M.P.A.S., Trent Reznor attends the 93rd Annual Academy Awards at Union Station on April 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Matt Petit/A.M.P.A.S. via Getty Images)

And The Oscar Goes To…

A strange year in cinema was reflected in a field of nominees that, while strong, was perhaps less commercial than in years gone by. David Fincher’s Mank – the biopic of Citizen Kane writer Herman J Mankiewicz – led with 10 nominations but failed to pick up wins in any of the major categories.

History made

Instead, the Academy Award for Best Picture went to red hot favourite, Nomadland, directed by Chloé Zhao. Zhao also picked up the Oscar for Best Director, making her the first woman of colour, and second woman overall to win that award.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 25: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) In this handout photo provided by A.M.P.A.S., Chloé Zhao accepts the Directing award for ‘Nomadland’ onstage during the 93rd Annual Academy Awards at Union Station on April 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Todd Wawrychuk/A.M.P.A.S. via Getty Images)

Completing a hat trick of wins for Nomadland was Frances McDormand who won Best Actress – her fourth Oscar win in total – for her role in the film.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 25: Frances McDormand and Chloe Zhao, winners of Best Picture for “Nomadland,” pose in the press room at the Oscars on Sunday, April 25, 2021, at Union Station in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello-Pool/Getty Images)

While the Oscars has long suffered from the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag hangover, this year’s nominees and winners reflected a welcome push toward diversity. Joining Zhao in the winners circle was style icon (and wearing Bottega Veneta, of course) Daniel Kaluuya, who won Best Supporting Actor for his role as Black Panther leader Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 25: Daniel Kaluuya wearing Bottega Veneta, winner of Actor in a Supporting Role for “Judas and the Black Messiah”, poses in the press room during the 93rd Annual Academy Awards at Union Station on April 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Chris Pizzello-Pool/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, South Korean actress Youn Yuh-jung became the first Asian actress to win an Oscar since 1957 and the second in history for her role in Minari.

Biggest Shock

Arguably the biggest shock of the 2021 Academy Awards came in the Best Actor category. The late Chadwick Boseman was odds on favourite to take home the trophy for his final cinematic role, playing a down on his luck trumpeter in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

Boseman had already won the Golden Globe and SAG Award, withstanding a late awards season push by Riz Ahmed who starred in The Sound of Metal. However the fairytale ending wasn’t to be for the Boseman family, instead veteran Anthony Hopkins won Best Actor for his moving turn as an elderly man suffering from dementia in the drama The Father.

Awkward Ending

Hopkins’ win was met with mild confusion in the room, Oscars producers had seemingly buillt toward a posthumous victory for Chadwick Boseman by making the Best Actor award the final category of the evening.

To make matters worse, Hopkins was one of the few celebrities who didn’t attend the ceremony, or appear via videolink, leaving presenter Joaquin Phoenix to awkwardly wrap up the broadcast.

The 93rd Academy Awards: ALL THE WINNERS

Best Picture
The Father
Judas and the Black Messiah
Mank
Minari
Nomadland – WINNER
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best actress in a leading role
Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Andra Day, The United States vs Billie Holiday
Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman
Frances McDormand, Nomadland – WINNER
Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman

Best actor in a leading role
Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Anthony Hopkins, The Father – WINNER
Gary Oldman, Mank
Steven Yeun, Minari

Best original screenplay
Judas and the Black Messiah
Minari
Promising Young Woman – WINNER
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best adapted screenplay
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
The Father – WINNER
Nomadland
One Night in Miami
The White Tiger

Best international feature film
Another Round – WINNER
Better Days
Collective
The Man Who Sold His Skin
Quo Vadis, Aida?

Best actor in a supporting role
Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7
Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah – WINNER
Leslie Odom, Jr, One Night in Miami
Paul Raci, Sound of Metal
Lakeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah

Best makeup and hairstyling
Emma
Hillbilly Elegy
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – WINNER
Mank
Pinocchio

Best costume design
Emma
Mank
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – WINNER
Mulan
Pinocchio

Best Director
Thomas Vinterberg, Another Round
Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman
David Fincher, Mank
Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
Chloé Zhao, Nomadland – WINNER

Best sound
Greyhound
Mank
News of the World
Sound of Metal – WINNER
Soul

Best live-action short film
Feeling Through
The Letter Room
The Present
Two Distant Strangers – WINNER
White Eye

Best animated short film
Burrow
Genius Loci
If Anything Happens I Love You – WINNER
Opera
Yes-People

Best animated feature film
Onward
Over the Moon
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Soul – WINNER
Wolfwalkers

Best documentary short
Colette – WINNER
A Concerto Is a Conversation
Do Not Split
Hunger Ward
A Love Song for Latasha

Best documentary
Collective
Crip Camp
The Mole Agent
My Octopus Teacher – WINNER
Time

Best visual effects
Love and Monsters
The Midnight Sky
Mulan
The One and Only Ivan
Tenet – WINNER

Best actress in a supporting role
Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy
Olivia Colman, The Father
Amanda Seyfried, Mank
Youn Yuh-Jung, Minari – WINNER

Best production design
The Father
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank – WINNER
News of the World
Tenet

Best cinematography
Judas and the Black Messiah
Mank – WINNER
News of the World
Nomadland
The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best film editing
The Father
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal – WINNER
The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best original score
Da 5 Bloods
Mank
Minari
News of the World
Soul – WINNER

Best original song
Husavik, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
Fight For You, Judas and the Black Messiah – WINNER
Io Sì (Seen), The Life Ahead
Speak Now, One Night in Miami
Hear My Voice, The Trial of the Chicago 7

topics: academy awards, Oscars, OscarsSoWhite, hollywood, chadwick boseman, trending

The Terracotta Is An Island Escape In A Glass
What Is The $13,000 NFT That Louis Vuitton Just Dropped (And How To Get One)
Risky Business: Only Tom Cruise Could Have Stolen The Show At Victoria Beckham’s Own Birthday Party
Maison Crivelli Takes An Aromatic Trip Down Memory Lane But Exactly Where Is Top Secret
New Kicks On The Block: R.M.Williams Is Expanding Their Well-Heeled Footprint
TOD’S Launches Limited Edition Collection As Part Of Its Partnership With The 2024 Venice Biennale