Oscars 2018: 'The Shape of Water' Wins Best Picture

HOLLYWOOD, CA — Sunday's 90th Academy Awards were a night of very few surprises, a relief to many after last year's chaotic ceremony culminating with the award for Best Picture handed out for the wrong film.

There were some notable firsts in the Academy Awards 90-year history, however. With the Best Picture Award, "The Shape of Water" became the first science fiction film to take home the top prize. And the first history-making moment of the night came when Jordan Peele won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for "Get Out," making him the first black writer to win the award in the Academy's 90-year history. One of the strongest themes proved to be the case for diversity.

Still, in a year shaken by Hollywood's sexual harassment scandal and an award season full of political statements, the Academy Awards went in an understated direction with few overtly political speeches and few tearful displays. Heavily favored nominees won in just about every category. Award season darling "The Shape of Water" lived up to expectations, earning Best Director for Guillermo del Toro in addition to the Best Picture prize. Gary Oldman won the Lead Actor Award for his transformative role as Winston Churchill in "The Darkest Hour." In the Best Supporting Actor and Actress categories Sam Rockwell and Allison Janney completed their sweeps of the award season. And the most animated speech came from Lead Actress winner Frances McDormand, who plopped her Oscar on the ground and called on every female nominee in every category to stand and be seen.

McDormand, who took home the Lead Actress role for her role as the vengeance-crazed mother of a murdered daughter in "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," famously shies away from outspoken commentary. But Sunday night was different, she acknowledged.

"If I may be so honored to have all the female nominees in every category stand with me in this room tonight," she said. As the women stood she called on everyone to "Look around, ladies and gentlemen because we all have stories to tell and projects we need financed. Don't talk to us about it at the parties tonight. Invite us into your office or you can come to ours, whichever suits you best. And we'll tell you all about them."

Frances McDormand accepts the award for best performance by an actress in a leading role for "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri." (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Oldman, who was unrecognizable as the older and portly Churchill, thanked his mother for his award.

"She is 99 years young next birthday and she is watching the ceremony from the comfort of her sofa," he said. "Thank you for your love and support. Put the kettle on. I'm bringing Oscar home."

Actor Gary Oldman accepts Best Actor for 'Darkest Hour' onstage during the 90th Annual Academy Awards (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

In winning the prize for Best Screenplay, Peele didn't acknowledge his historic achievement. He did, however seek to inspire other writers.

“This means so much to me. I stopped writing this movie about 20 times because I thought it was impossible. I thought it wasn't going to work,” said Peele. “I thought no one would ever make this movie. But I kept coming back to it because I knew that if someone would let me make this movie that people would hear it, and people would see it. So I want to dedicate this to the people who raised my voice and let me make this movie.”

Peele was nominated for two other awards for "Get Out," a biting satire about racism in even the most liberal corners of America.

Jordan Peele accepts the award for best original screenplay for "Get Out" at the Oscars on Sunday, March 4, 2018, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

The other historic first of the night, "The Shape of Water" becoming the first science fiction film to win the top prize, was almost a sure thing after the film garnered a leading 13 nominations.

Del Toro, dedicated his directing Oscar for the film to young artists everywhere.

"I want to dedicate this to every young filmmaker, the youth that is showing us how things are done, really they are, in every country in the world," he said. "I was a kid, with movies, growing up in Mexico I thought this would never happen. It happens. I want to tell you, everyone that is dreaming up a parable, of using fantasy to tell the stories about things that are real in the world today, you can do it. This is a door. Kick it open and come in."

Director Guillermo del Toro attends the 90th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre on March 4, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Matt Sayles/A.M.P.A.S via Getty Images)

The 90th Academy Awards got off to a brisk start with a brief intro that dove directly into the events that roiled the entertainment industry over the last year. Jimmy Kimmel, host of the Oscars for the second consecutive year, wasted no time in addressing last year’s historic Oscar flub and the sexual harassment scandal that upended the industry since then.

Unlike most years, when the Oscars open with larger than life musical numbers or skits, Kimmel began the ceremony with a retro newsreel opening that lampooned his performance in 2017, when the award for Best Picture was handed out to the wrong film.

“He presided over the most calamitous finale in Oscar history. Will he spoil the ceremony for a second time?” Kimmel asked in an old-timey newsman's voice.

“This year, when you hear your name called. Do not get up right away,” Kimmel joked with the nominees.

So many of tonight’s nominees are making history, Kimmel said pivoting to some to the more serious topics of the night.

“Only 11 percent of movies are directed by women and that is nuts,” said Kimmel. "We still have a very long way to go in that department and a very long way to go when it comes to equal pay.”

Kimmel also addressed the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements against sexual harassment and inequality, including a nervously received quip about disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein, who was thrown out of the Academy last year in light of the sexual harassment and assault allegations against him.

But Kimmel tried to keep the mood upbeat, saying, "Things are changing for the better. It's a positive change. This is a night for positivity."

One of the most notable moments of the night came when three women who helped bring down producer Harvey Weinstein took the stage together. Ashley Judd, Anabella Sciorra and Salma Hayek — three women who alleged Weinstein sexually abused them — acknowledged the watershed movement behind Time's Up.

“This year, many spoke their truth. The journey ahead is long, but slowly, a new path has emerged,” said Sciorra.

“The changes we're witnessing are being driven by the powerful sound of new voices, of different voices, of our voices joining together in a mighty chorus that is finally saying time’s up,” said Judd.

Actors Ashley Judd, Annabella Sciorra and Salma Hayek speak onstage during the 90th Annual Academy Awards (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

The awards kicked off with the Best Supporting Actor category, with Rockwell taking home the prize for his portrayal of Officer Jason Dixon, a deeply flawed and transformative character caught in the turmoil of a mother's quest to bring her daughter's killer to justice in "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri."

For the 49-year-old character actor, the win for his portrayal of a police officer in the crime drama was the first Oscar of his career, on his first nomination.

Sam Rockwell, winner of the award for best performance by an actor in a supporting role for "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

In an exuberant acceptance speech, he thanked his parents for their love of movies that was passed on to him. He said when he was 9 years old he was called into the principal's office at school, only to find his father there, telling him they had to go see his grandmother.

"I got in the car and I said, `What's wrong with grandma?' and he said, `Nothing. We're going to the movies,"' Rockwell said.

He hailed all of his castmates in "Three Billboards," and gave high praise to writer-director Martin McDonagh.

"Martin McDonagh, I wouldn't be standing here if it wasn't for you," he said. "I want to do 10 other movies with you."

The Best Supporting Actress went to Janney for her singularly brutal and darkly humorous performance as Tonya Harding's abusive mother in "I, Tonya.''

Janey got the biggest laugh of the night with her acceptance speech.

"I did it all by myself," she quipped before going onto thank the cast and crew. In particular, Janney praised "I, Tonya" screenwriter Steven Rogers.

"Steven Rogers, look what you did," she said. "Look what you did. You're a brilliant writer. Thank you for the gift of LaVona. I did not see this coming, you did. You give new meaning to the word `friend."'

Allison Janney, winner of the award for best performance by an actress in a supporting role for "I, Tonya"(Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

In other early awards presented Sunday night at the Dolby Theatre, Basketball great Kobe Bryant and Glen Keane won Best Animated Short for "Dear Basketball," animated short based on the Bryant's retirement announcement.

"As basketball players we are really supposed to shut up and dribble," joked Bryant before thanking his wife and daughters.

Disney/Pixar's "Coco" won the Oscar for best animated film, while Chile's "A Fantastic Woman" was named best foreign language film.

The trio of Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski and Lucy Sibbick won the prize for makeup and hairstyling for their work on "Darkest Hour," transforming Oldman into British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

Mark Bridges won his second career Oscar for costume design for "Phantom Thread." He previously won in the category for "The Artist." The Oscar for documentary feature went to "Icarus," a probing look at doping by Russian athletes.

Director Christopher Nolan's war epic "Dunkirk" swept the sound categories, with Alex Gibson and Richard King winning for sound editing and Mark Weingarten, Gregg Landaker and Gary Rizzo winning for sound mixing.

"The Shape of Water," the night's top nominee with 13, won an early prize for production design for production designer Paul Austerberry and set decorators Jeffrey Melvin and Shane Vieau.

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Here is a complete list of nominations and winners for the 90th Oscars:

Best Picture

Winner: "The Shape of Water"

Nominee:

• "Call Me by Your Name," Peter Spears, Luca Guadagnino, Emilie Georges and Marco Morabito
• "Darkest Hour," Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce, Anthony McCarten and Douglas Urbanski
• "Dunkirk," Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan
• "Get Out," Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Edward H. Hamm Jr. and Jordan Peele
• "Lady Bird," Scott Rudin, Eli Bush and Evelyn O'Neill
• "Phantom Thread," JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson, Megan Ellison and Daniel Lupi
• "The Post," Amy Pascal, Steven Spielberg and Kristie Macosko Krieger
• "The Shape of Water," Guillermo del Toro and J. Miles Dale
• "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin and Martin McDonagh

Lead Actor

Winner: Gary Oldman, "Darkest Hour"

Nominees:

• Timothee Chalamet, "Call Me by Your Name"
• Daniel Day-Lewis, "Phantom Thread"
• Gary Oldman, "Darkest Hour"
• Daniel Kaluuya, "Get Out"
• Denzel Washington, "Roman J. Israel, Esq."

Lead Actress

Winner: Frances McDormand, "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Nominees:

• Sally Hawkins, "The Shape of Water"
• Frances McDormand, "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"
• Margot Robbie, "I, Tonya"
• Saoirse Ronan, "Lady Bird"
• Meryl Streep, "The Post"

Supporting Actor

Winner: Sam Rockwell, "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Nominees:

• Willem Dafoe, "The Florida Project"
• Woody Harrelson, "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"
• Richard Jenkins, "The Shape of Water"
• Christopher Plummer, "All the Money in the World"
• Sam Rockwell, "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"

Supporting Actress

Winning: Allison Janney, "I, Tonya"

Nominees:

• Mary J. Blige, "Mudbound"
• Allison Janney, "I, Tonya"
• Lesley Manville, "Phantom Thread"
• Laurie Metcalf, "Lady Bird"
• Octavia Spencer, "The Shape of Water"

Director

Winner: "The Shape of Water," Guillermo del Toro

Nominees:

• "Dunkirk," Christopher Nolan
• "Get Out," Jordan Peele
• "Lady Bird," Greta Gerwig
• "Phantom Thread," Paul Thomas Anderson
• "The Shape of Water," Guillermo del Toro

Animated Feature

Winner: "Coco," Lee Unkrich, Darla K. Anderson

Nominees:

• "The Boss Baby," Tom McGrath, Ramsey Ann Naito
• "The Breadwinner," Nora Twomey, Anthony Leo
• "Coco," Lee Unkrich, Darla K. Anderson
• "Ferdinand," Carlos Saldanha
• "Loving Vincent," Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman, Sean Bobbitt, Ivan Mactaggart, Hugh Welchman

Animated Short

Winner: "Dear Basketball," Glen Keane, Kobe Bryant

Nominees:

• "Dear Basketball," Glen Keane, Kobe Bryant
• "Garden Party," Victor Caire, Gabriel Grapperon
• "Lou," Dave Mullins, Dana Murray
• "Negative Space," Max Porter, Ru Kuwahata
• "Revolting Rhymes," Jakob Schuh, Jan Lachauer

Adapted Screenplay

Winner: "Call Me by Your Name," James Ivory

Nominees:

• "Call Me by Your Name," James Ivory
• "The Disaster Artist," Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber
• "Logan," Scott Frank & James Mangold and Michael Green
• "Molly's Game," Aaron Sorkin
• "Mudbound," Virgil Williams and Dee Rees

Original Screenplay

Winner: "Get Out," Jordan Peele

Nominees:

• "The Big Sick," Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani
• "Get Out," Jordan Peele
• "Lady Bird," Greta Gerwig
• "The Shape of Water," Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor
• "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," Martin McDonagh

Cinematography

Winner: "Blade Runner 2049," Roger Deakins

Nominees:

• "Blade Runner 2049," Roger Deakins
• "Darkest Hour," Bruno Delbonnel
• "Dunkirk," Hoyte van Hoytema
• "Mudbound," Rachel Morrison
• "The Shape of Water," Dan Laustsen

Best Documentary Feature

Winner: "Icarus," Bryan Fogel, Dan Cogan

Nominees:

• "Abacus: Small Enough to Jail," Steve James, Mark Mitten, Julie Goldman
• "Faces Places," Agnes Varda, JR, Rosalie Varda
• "Icarus," Bryan Fogel, Dan Cogan
• "Last Men in Aleppo," Feras Fayyad, Kareem Abeed, Soren Steen Jepersen
• "Strong Island," Yance Ford, Joslyn Barnes

Best Documentary Short Subject

Winner: "Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405," Frank Stiefel

Nominees:

• "Edith+Eddie," Laura Checkoway, Thomas Lee Wright
• "Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405," Frank Stiefel
• "Heroin(e)," Elaine McMillion Sheldon, Kerrin Sheldon
• "Knife Skills," Thomas Lennon
• "Traffic Stop," Kate Davis, David Heilbroner

Best Live Action Short Film

Winner: "The Silent Child," Chris Overton, Rachel Shenton

Nominees:

• "DeKalb Elementary," Reed Van Dyk
• "The Eleven O'Clock," Derin Seale, Josh Lawson
• "My Nephew Emmett," Kevin Wilson, Jr.
• "The Silent Child," Chris Overton, Rachel Shenton
• "Watu Wote/All of Us," Katja Benrath, Tobias Rosen

Best Foreign Language Film

Winner: "A Fantastic Woman" (Chile)

Nominees:

• "A Fantastic Woman" (Chile)
• "The Insult" (Lebanon)
• "Loveless" (Russia)
• "On Body and Soul (Hungary)
• "The Square" (Sweden)

Film Editing

Winner: "Dunkirk," Lee Smith

Nominees:

• "Baby Driver," Jonathan Amos, Paul Machliss
• "Dunkirk," Lee Smith
• "I, Tonya," Tatiana S. Riegel
• "The Shape of Water," Sidney Wolinsky
• "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," Jon Gregory

Sound Editing

Winner: "Dunkirk," Alex Gibson, Richard King

Nominees:

• "Baby Driver," Julian Slater
• "Blade Runner 2049," Mark Mangini, Theo Green
• "Dunkirk," Alex Gibson, Richard King
• "The Shape of Water," Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira
• "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," Ren Klyce, Matthew Wood

Sound Mixing

Winner: "Dunkirk," Mark Weingarten, Gregg Landaker, Gary A. Rizzo
Nominees:

• "Baby Driver," Mary H. Ellis, Julian Slater, Tim Cavagin
• "Blade Runner 2049," Mac Ruth, Ron Bartlett, Doug Hephill
• "Dunkirk," Mark Weingarten, Gregg Landaker, Gary A. Rizzo
• "The Shape of Water," Glen Gauthier, Christian Cooke, Brad Zoern
• "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," Stuart Wilson, Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick

Production Design

Winner: "The Shape of Water," Paul D. Austerberry, Jeffrey A. Melvin, Shane Vieau

Nominees

• "Beauty and the Beast," Sarah Greenwood; Katie Spencer
• "Blade Runner 2049," Dennis Gassner, Alessandra Querzola
• "Darkest Hour," Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
• "Dunkirk," Nathan Crowley, Gary Fettis
• "The Shape of Water," Paul D. Austerberry, Jeffrey A. Melvin, Shane Vieau

Original Score

Winner: "The Shape of Water," Alexandre Desplat

Nominee:

• "Dunkirk," Hans Zimmer
• "Phantom Thread," Jonny Greenwood
• "The Shape of Water," Alexandre Desplat
• "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," John Williams
• "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," Carter Burwell

Original Song

Winner: "Remember Me" from "Coco," Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez

Nominees:

• "Mighty River" from "Mudbound," Mary J. Blige
• "Mystery of Love" from "Call Me by Your Name," Sufjan Stevens
• "Remember Me" from "Coco," Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez
• "Stand Up for Something" from "Marshall," Diane Warren, Common
• "This Is Me" from "The Greatest Showman," Benj Pasek, Justin Paul

Makeup and Hair

Winner: "Darkest Hour," Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski, Lucy Sibbick

Nominees:

• "Darkest Hour," Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski, Lucy Sibbick
• "Victoria and Abdul," Daniel Phillips and Lou Sheppard
• "Wonder," Arjen Tuiten

Costume Design

Winner: "Phantom Thread," Mark Bridges

Nominees:

• "Beauty and the Beast," Jacqueline Durran
• "Darkest Hour," Jacqueline Durran
• "Phantom Thread," Mark Bridges
• "The Shape of Water," Luis Sequeira
• "Victoria and Abdul," Consolata Boyle

Visual Effects

Winner: "Blade Runner 2049," John Nelson, Paul Lambert, Richard R. Hoover, Gerd Nefzer

Nominees:

• "Blade Runner 2049," John Nelson, Paul Lambert, Richard R. Hoover, Gerd Nefzer
• "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Jonathan Fawkner, Dan Sudick
• "Kong: Skull Island," Stephen Rosenbaum, Jeff White, Scott Benza, Mike Meinardus
• "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," Ben Morris, Mike Mulholland, Chris Corbould, Neal Scanlon
• "War for the Planet of the Apes," Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett, Joel Whist

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City News Service contributed to this report.

Photos: Guillermo del Toro and the cast and crew of "The Shape of Water" accept the award for best picture at the Oscars on Sunday, March 4, 2018, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)