Oscars 2017: Politics takes centre stage, Trump in the spotlight

At the 89th Academy Awards in Los Angeles, politics were repeatedly invoked

President Donald Trump was in the spotlight at the 89th Academy Awards on Sunday, where politics were repeatedly invoked on the Oscar stage.

Host Jimmy Kimmel wasted no time jabbing gently but persistently at the president, welcoming the crowd by saying the ceremony was being watched in “225 countries that now hate us.”

The political asides injected some unpredictability into what otherwise felt like a preordained evening.

Mahershala Ali of “Moonlight” and Viola Davis of “Fences” won Oscars in the supporting-acting categories, capping an awards season for both stars that has already included nearly every preliminary honor.

Few surprise winners were named in other categories, and the ceremony kicked off with another Oscar staple—a musical number, this one from Justin Timberlake, singing, “Can’t Stop the Feeling!”

“La La Land” is the favorite to win best picture, though it lost in several categories early in the evening, including best editing. The escapist musical was nominated for 14 Oscars, tying a record set by “All About Eve” and “Titanic.”

Mr. Kimmel took a page from previous host Ellen DeGeneres’s playbook, venturing into the audience for several segments and delivering one-liners that veered between family-friendly (an exchange with pint-sized “Lion” star Sunny Pawar) and the edgy (a shout-out to O.J. Simpson). He brought a group of unsuspecting tourists into the Dolby Theatre to meet A-listers like Denzel Washington, and dropped Junior Mints and other concession-stand candy from the ceiling.

But the crowd appeared most energized by the political punctuation marks of the evening. Presenter Gael Garcia Bernal said he is “against any form of wall that wants to separate us.” Producer Rich Moore, accepting the best animated feature award for “Zootopia,” said the message of the family film—“tolerance being more powerful than fear of the other”—had new resonance.

Mr. Kimmel honored Meryl Streep, nominated for a record 20th Academy Award this year, by jokingly calling her “overrated”—a nod to a tweet of Mr. Trump’s about the actress. The room gave her a standing ovation.

Asghar Farhadi, the Iranian director kept from attending the Academy Awards by President Donald Trump’s immigration ban, won best foreign-language film for “The Salesman.”

Anousheh Ansari, an astronaut who was the first Iranian in space, accepted the Oscar on Mr. Farhadi’s behalf and read a statement from the director.

Mr. Farhadi said in the statement that he wasn’t attending out of respect for the people in the seven countries named in the executive order, who are “disrespected by the inhumane law.”

“Dividing the world into the ‘us’ and ‘our enemies’ categories creates fear,” he said.

Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif tweeted his congratulations to “The Salesman” team and their “stance against #MuslimBan.”

The wins of Mr. Ali and Ms. Davis mark the first time since 2007 that two actors of color have taken home Oscars in the same evening.

For the past two years, the Academy has nominated all-white slates of actors, inspiring a backlash against “Oscars So White” that consumed the organization and prompted the induction of more diverse members.

“Remember last year when it seemed like the Oscars were racist?” Mr. Kimmel joked. “That’s gone, thanks to [Mr. Trump].” 

“O.J.: Made in America,” the eight-hour examination of O.J. Simpson, won best documentary. Director Ezra Edelman dedicated the award to Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown, whom Mr. Simpson was accused and acquitted of murdering. “This is for them and their families,” Mr. Edelman said, adding, “This is for the victims of police violence, police brutality.”

Cheryl Boone Isaacs, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, praised the diversity of this year’s nominees, saying, “Tonight is proof that art has no borders, art has no single language and art does not belong to a single faith.”

Mr. Kimmel introduced her with another joke at President Trump’s expense, calling Ms. Isaacs “a president who still believes in arts and sciences.”

Source: The Wall Street Journal