Viola Davis Acceptance Speech
After receiving her first ever Academy Award after three nominations, Viola Davis took her moment to make a speech about what it means to be an artist.
“There’s one great place with all the people with the greatest potential are gathered and that’s the graveyard,” began Davis. “People ask me all the time what kind of stories do you want to tell Viola and I say, ‘Exhume those bodies. Exhume those stories; the stories of the people who dream big and never saw those dreams to fruition, people who fell in love and lost.”
“I became an artist and thank God I did because we are the only profession that celebrates what it means to live a life,” she said.
Before finishing her speech by thanking “Fences” playwright August Wilson and her family.
Gary from Chicago
Host Jimmy Kimmel got a group of tourists who were on a tour of Hollywood got an unexpected surprise when their tour bus made a pit stop inside the Dolby Theatre during the Oscars.
In the group was an engaged couple that were fans of actor Denzel Washington. After Kimmel heard of their engagement and love for the Oscar-nominated actor, he suggested he be a part of their wedding.
Washington proceeded to officiate an impromptu wedding.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” Washington said. “You may kiss the bride.”
Mahershala Ali Becomes First Muslim to Win Acting Oscar
Breakout star Mahershala Ali took home the award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in “Moonlight.” This was Ali’s first nomination and is the first Muslim to win an Academy Award in an acting category.
“The Salesman” Director
Director for best foreign language film “The Salesman” Asghar Farhadi was absent from the award show in protest of President Trump's travel ban.
“Dividing the world into the us and our enemies categories fear,” Iranian-American engineer Anousheh Ansari said. “A deceitful justification for aggression and war. These wars prevent democracy and human rights in countries which have themselves been victims of aggression.”
Ansari concluded by saying: “Filmmakers can turn their cameras to capture shared human qualities and break stereotypes of various nationalities and religions. They create empathy between us and others. An empathy which we need today more than ever. Thank you on behalf of Mr. Farhadi.”
Best Picture Mix Up
In what is the most talked about event of the night, film to beat La La Land was first presented as the winner of Best Picture. As the films cast and crew filled the stage and began their acceptance speeches they were quickly notified that the award actually supposed to be given to “Moonlight.”
In an awkward mix of events, award presenter Warren Beatty came after the incident to clarify the mix up. “I opened the envelope and it said Emma Stone, ‘La La Land.’ That’s why I took such a long look at Faye [Dunaway]… I wasn’t trying to be funny. This is Moonlight the best picture.”