Epic flub aside, 'Moonlight' wins Best Picture in politically charged show

LOS ANGELES — In a stunning upset, 'Moonlight,' a drama about a gay teenager in the inner city, scored Best Picture at the 89th Academy Awards beating out the heavily favored 'La La Land.' The low-budget film's victory was such a shock that presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway mistakenly read out 'La La Land's' name as the victor and the producers behind the film took the stage thank family and colleagues.

'La La Land,' a celebration of Los Angeles, had seemed like an insurmountable front-runner. It had previously picked up top prizes at the Golden Globes, the Producers Guild and the Directors Guild, and entered the evening with a record-tying 14 nominations.

This year's awards wasn't just about an Oscar flub for the ages. It was also one of the most politically charged telecasts in history, unfolding as much of Hollywood remains opposed to President Donald Trump. Winners and presenters used their time at the podium to vocalize their dissent, decrying the administration and its support of the Muslim ban, the border wall with Mexico, and other right-wing policies. Many of the A-listers sported pins for organizations like Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union that have been on the front lines of the culture wars currently roiling the country.

The telecast wasn't all about tearing down Trump and Trump-ism. It was also a celebration of diversity and inclusion, both in the selection of 'Moonlight,' a tender look at growing up gay in the inner city, and in the record-shattering number of black winners.

'La La Land' didn't go home empty-handed, picking up a leading six statues, including one for Damien Chazelle, the 31-year old wunderkind behind the film. He became the youngest-ever best director winner in history, and was honored for helping to revive the musical, a film genre that has fallen out of favor in a movie business obsessed with superheroes and franchises.

Best Actress winner Stone beat out the likes of Isabelle Huppert ('Elle') and Meryl Streep ('Florence Foster Jenkins') to earn her first Oscar for her singing and dancing turn in 'La La Land.'

'A moment like this is a huge confluence of luck and opportunity,' Stone said, while thanking Chazelle for casting her in the project. She becomes the first best actress winner for a musical since Liza Minnelli picked up the honor for 'Cabaret' in 1973.

Casey Affleck, sporting a scruffy beard and ruffled hair, picked up a best actor statue for his role as an emotionally damaged janitor in 'Manchester by the Sea,' coming out ahead of Denzel Washington, who had been favored to win for his work as a abusive patriarch in 'Fences.' The winner paid tribute to the man he beat in his acceptance speech.

'One of the first people who taught me how to act was Denzel Washington and I just met him tonight for the first time,' Affleck said. His award was one of two for the film, the first Oscars won by Amazon Studios, a streaming service that is helping to upend the old way of distributing and profiting from films.

Mahershala Ali and Viola Davis nabbed supporting acting honors. Ali was recognized for his work as a sympathetic drug dealer in 'Moonlight,' while Davis picked up her first statue after two previous nominations playing a long-suffering wife in 'Fences.'

Fighting back tears, Davis praised playwright August Wilson, the author of 'Fences,' for creating a work that 'exhumed and exalted the ordinary people.' She is now the first African-American to win acting prizes at the Oscars, Tonys, and Emmys.

Ali broke ground as well, becoming the first Muslim actor win an Oscar. In an emotional speech, Ali thanked his acting teachers, director Barry Jenkins, and paid tribute to his newborn daughter. Davis and Ali's wins come after two years of protests related to the lack of racial diversity among top acting nominees.

At midpoint, inclusion and racial politics have been part of the connective tissue of the awards show. Ezra Edelman, the director of best feature documentary winner 'O.J.: Made in America,' used his time at the microphone to dedicate his statue to ' ... the victims of police violence, police brutality, racially motivated violence and criminal justice.'

It also comes as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is trying to prove that it's heard the outrage and responded to the hurt expressed by the #OscarsSoWhite campaign. Seven of the twenty performers up for awards are actors of color, and films like 'Moonlight,' 'Hidden Figures,' and 'Fences' all deal with race in America. In response to the furor, the Academy has taken steps to shake up its membership roles, with the goal of doubling the diversity of the voting body by 2020.

Host Jimmy Kimmel wasted no time poking fun at the current White House occupant. 'This broadcast is being watched live by millions of Americans and around the world in more than 225 countries that now hate us,' he said.

'I want to say thank you to President Trump, remember last year when it seemed like the Oscars were racist?,' he added. 'That's gone, thanks to him.'

At times the broadcast played like voices of the opposition, as winners praised the immigrant experience, spoke out about the carnage in Syria, and hailed religious tolerance. In her remarks, Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs argued that art bridges cultural barriers and that the film business is a globalized one that draws power from diverse voices.

'Tonight is proof that art has no borders, art has no single language, and art does not belong to a single faith,' said Isaacs. 'For the power of art is that it shares all these things.'

The antipathy toward Trump was also evident in the selection of winners. Iranian director Asghar Farhadi picked up an Academy Award for best foreign-language movie for 'The Salesman,' but was not present at the ceremony in protest for the president's visa ban for citizens from Iran other Muslim countries. In a statement, Farhadi slammed the policy as inhuman and argued that 'dividing the world into the us and our enemies categories creates fear.'

The politicized tone extended to the commercials, with ads for Revlon and Cadillac seemingly more interested in discussing filling the social chasm between 'blue' and 'red' America than in hawking beauty products or SUVs. the New York Times, the subject of intense criticism from the president, who has labeled it 'fake news,' also took out a TV spot during the show, with the message that the truth is hard.

'La La Land' is trailed by 'Arrival,' an alien invasion thriller, and 'Moonlight,' a drama about a gay boy in Miami's inner city. Both films landed a total of eight Oscar nominations. Other notable Best Picture contenders include 'Hacksaw Ridge,' a World War II drama, 'Lion,' a tear-jerker about man who uses Google to find his long-lost family in India, and 'Manchester by the Sea,' a family tragedy from Amazon Studios, a streaming service that is helping to upend the movie business. Those three films each boast six nominations. 'Manchester by the Sea' picked up an original screenplay Oscar for Kenneth Lonergan, its writer and director. The film marks a comeback for Lonergan, who spent years in the professional wilderness after his previous film, 'Margaret,' became entangled in a legal fight.

'Moonlight,' a screen version of an unproduced play by Tarell Alvin McCraney, nabbed a best adapted screenplay statue for the playwright and writer and director Barry Jenkins.

'This goes out to all those black and brown boys and girls and non-gender confirming who don't see themselves we're trying to show you and us,' said McCraney.

Aside from 'La La Land' and 'Hidden Figures,' both of which crossed the $100 million mark domestically, this year's crop of nominees have been only modest box office performers. Blockbusters like 'Deadpool' and 'Star Wars: Rogue One' were shut out of the major categories, which means that many viewers will be unfamiliar with the films taking home top prizes. That could translate into lower ratings, a perpetual problem for an awards show with an aging audience. Last year's telecast, which was hosted by Chris Rock, had the smallest audience in eight years, with 34 million viewers.

'Zootopia,' was one of the few popular smashes to get awards love on Sunday. The animated allegory about animal cops and small-time crooks battling interspecies prejudices nabbed a best animated feature honor.

This is Kimmel's first turn as the show's emcee. The late night comic's show airs on ABC, the same network that broadcasts the Oscars. In an effort to appeal to younger crowds, the Oscars keeps cycling through hosts, such as Ellen DeGeneres, Seth MacFarlane, and Neil Patrick Harris, with few making return engagements.

'This is my first time here and the way you people go through hosts, it's probably my last time here,' Kimmel quipped during his opening monologue. The comic tried to strike a chummy tone throughout the program, joking with Jeff Bridges about his vape pen and papering the crowd at the Dolby Theater with Junior Mints and Red Vines. At another point he welcomed a bus filled with tourists into the theater, and let them take selfies with Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep.

The program began with a spirited rendition of Justin Timberlake's 'Can't Stop the Feeling,' the Oscar-nominated anthem from 'Trolls,' that had the well-heeled audience of A-listers shaking, clapping, and in the case of Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman, singing along.

In technical categories, 'Arrival' earned sound editing honors, while 'Hacksaw Ridge' nabbed the sound mixing statue. 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' and 'Suicide Squad' picked up awards for costume design and makeup, respectively.

LIST OF WINNERS

Best picture: 'Moonlight' (WINNER) 'Arrival' 'Fences' 'Hacksaw Ridge' 'Hell or High Water' 'Hidden Figures' 'La La Land' 'Lion' 'Manchester by the Sea'

Lead actor: Casey Affleck, 'Manchester by the Sea' (WINNER) Andrew Garfield, 'Hacksaw Ridge' Ryan Gosling, 'La La Land,' Viggo Mortensen, 'Captain Fantastic' Denzel Washington, 'Fences'

Lead actress: Emma Stone, 'La La Land' (WINNER) Isabelle Huppert, 'Elle' Ruth Negga, 'Loving' Natalie Portman, 'Jackie' Meryl Streep, 'Florence Foster Jenkins'

Supporting actor: Mahershala Ali, 'Moonlight' (WINNER) Jeff Bridges, 'Hell or High Water' Lucas Hedges, 'Manchester by the Sea' Dev Patel, 'Lion' Michael Shannon, 'Nocturnal Animals'

Supporting actress: Viola Davis, 'Fences' (WINNER) Naomie Harris, 'Moonlight' Nicole Kidman, 'Lion' Octavia Spencer, 'Hidden Figures' Michelle Williams, 'Manchester by the Sea'

Best director: 'La La Land,' Damien Chazelle (WINNER) 'Hacksaw Ridge,' Mel Gibson 'Moonlight,' Barry Jenkins 'Manchester by the Sea,' Kenneth Lonergan 'Arrival,' Denis Villeneuve

Animated feature: 'Zootopia,' Byron Howard, Rich Moore and Clark Spencer (WINNER) 'Kubo and the Two Strings,' Travis Knight and Arianne Sutner 'Moana,' John Musker, Ron Clements and Osnat Shurer 'My Life as a Zucchini,' Claude Barras and Max Karli 'The Red Turtle,' Michael Dudok de Wit and Toshio Suzuki

Animated short: 'Piper,' Alan Barillaro and Marc Sondheimer (WINNER) 'Blind Vaysha,' Theodore Ushev 'Borrowed Time,' Andrew Coats and Lou Hamou-Lhadj 'Pear Cider and Cigarettes,' Robert Valley and Cara Speller 'Pearl,' Patrick Osborne

Adapted screenplay: 'Moonlight,' Barry Jenkins; Story by Tarell Alvin McCraney (WINNER) 'Arrival,' Eric Heisserer 'Fences,' August Wilson 'Hidden Figures,' Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi 'Lion,' Luke Davies

Original screenplay: 'Manchester by the Sea,' Kenneth Lonergan (WINNER) '20th Century Women,' Mike Mills 'Hell or High Water,' Taylor Sheridan 'La La Land,' Damien Chazelle 'The Lobster,' Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou

Cinematography: 'La La Land,' Linus Sandgren (WINNER) 'Arrival,' Bradford Young 'Lion,' Greig Fraser 'Moonlight,' James Laxton 'Silence,' Rodrigo Prieto

Best documentary feature: 'O.J.: Made in America,' Ezra Edelman and Caroline Waterlow (WINNER) '13th,' Ava DuVernay, Spencer Averick and Howard Barish 'Fire at Sea,' Gianfranco Rosi and Donatella Palermo 'I Am Not Your Negro,' Raoul Peck, Remi Grellety and Hebert Peck 'Life, Animated,' Roger Ross Williams and Julie Goldman

Best documentary short subject: 'The White Helmets,' Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara (WINNER) '4.1 Miles,' Daphne Matziaraki 'Extremis,' Dan Krauss 'Joe's Violin,' Kahane Cooperman and Raphaela Neihausen 'Watani: My Homeland,' Marcel Mettelsiefen and Stephen Ellis

Best live action short film: 'Sing,' Kristof Deak and Anna Udvardy (WINNER) 'Ennemis Interieurs,' Selim Azzazi 'La Femme et le TGV,' Timo von Gunten and Giacun Caduff 'Silent Nights,' Aske Bang and Kim Magnusson 'Timecode,' Juanjo Gimenez

Best foreign language film: 'The Salesman,' Iran (WINNER) 'A Man Called Ove,' Sweden 'Land of Mine,' Denmark 'Tanna,' Australia 'Toni Erdmann,' Germany

Film editing: 'Hacksaw Ridge,' John Gilbert (WINNER) 'Arrival,' Joe Walker 'Hell or High Water,' Jake Roberts 'La La Land,' Tom Cross 'Moonlight,' Nat Sanders and Joi McMillon

Sound editing: 'Arrival,' Sylvain Bellemare (WINNER) 'Deep Water Horizon,' Wylie Stateman and Renee Tondelli 'Hacksaw Ridge,' Robert Mackenzie and Andy Wright 'La La Land,' Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan 'Sully,' Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman

Sound mixing: 'Hacksaw Ridge,' Kevin O'Connell, Andy Wright, Robert Mackenzie and Peter Grace (WINNER) 'Arrival,' Bernard Gariepy Strobl and Claude La Haye 'La La Land,' Andy Nelson, Ai-Ling Lee and Steve A. Morrow 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,' David Parker, Christopher Scarabosio and Stuart Wilson '13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi,' Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Mac Ruth

Production design: 'La La Land,' David Wasco, Sandy Reynolds-Wasco (WINNER) 'Arrival,' Patrice Vermette, Paul Hotte 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,' Stuart Craig, Anna Pinnock 'Hail, Caesar!,' Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh 'Passengers,' Guy Hendrix Dyas, Gene Serdena

Original score: 'La La Land,' Justin Hurwitz (WINNER) 'Jackie,' Mica Levi 'Lion,' Dustin O'Halloran and Hauschka 'Moonlight,' Nicholas Britell 'Passengers,' Thomas Newman

Original song: 'City of Stars,' 'La La Land' -- Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (WINNER) 'Audition (The Fools Who Dream),' 'La La Land' -- Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul 'Can't Stop the Feeling,' 'Trolls' -- Music and Lyric by Justin Timberlake, Max Martin and Karl Johan Schuster 'The Empty Chair,' 'Jim: The James Foley Story' -- Music and Lyric by J. Ralph and Sting 'How Far I'll Go,' 'Moana' -- Music and Lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Makeup and hair: 'Suicide Squad,' Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini and Christopher Nelson (WINNER) 'A Man Called Ove,' Eva von Bahr and Love Larson 'Star Trek Beyond,' Joel Harlow and Richard Alonzo

Costume design: 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,' Colleen Atwood (WINNER) 'Allied,' Joanna Johnston 'Florence Foster Jenkins,' Consolata Boyle 'Jackie,' Madeline Fontaine 'La La Land,' Mary Zophres

Visual effects: 'The Jungle Book,' Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones and Dan Lemmon (WINNER) 'Deepwater Horizon,' Craig Hammack, Jason Snell, Jason Billington and Burt Dalton 'Doctor Strange,' Stephane Ceretti, Richard Bluff, Vincent Cirelli and Paul Corbould 'Kubo and the Two Strings,' Steve Emerson, Oliver Jones, Brian McLean and Brad Schiff 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,' John Knoll, Mohen Leo, Hal Hickel and Neil Corbould