Vox - Oscars 2018: winners, nominations, and biggest moments from the 90th Academy Awardshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52517/voxv.png2018-08-09T11:02:28-04:00http://www.vox.com/rss/stream/166861532018-08-09T11:02:28-04:002018-08-09T11:02:28-04:00The Oscars’ new “popular film” category is a bad idea from a panicked organization
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<img alt="82nd Annual Academy Awards - ‘Meet The Oscars’ New York" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/3sqZatc4iKVq9-A0OG3Mu8-ZnDQ=/33x0:3000x2225/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60768999/97052777.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>The Oscars have announced some radical changes to the annual awards ceremony. | Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>There are many reasons the new category is concerning, but three in particular stand out.</p> <p id="LzoW05">The new <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/8/8/17664416/oscar-changes-popular-film-telecast-runtime">Oscar awarding achievements in popular film</a> is a bad idea.</p>
<p id="W1hZ5n">Yes, I’m aware I’m saying that knowing essentially nothing about how the award will be defined and adjudicated; <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/academy-plans-three-hour-oscars-telecast-adds-popular-film-category-1133138">the press release</a> from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announcing the new category states that those details “will be forthcoming.” </p>
<p id="oJGBIP">But the announcement of a new category for “outstanding achievement in popular film” nonetheless feels like a panicked move by an Academy that’s worried <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/3/6/17081628/black-panther-oscars-2019-predictions"><em>Black Panther</em> won’t be nominated for Best Picture</a>, an echo of when they expanded the Best Picture category to 10 nominees in 2009<strong> </strong>in response to <em>The Dark Knight</em> and <em>Wall-E</em> being snubbed in that category. (The number of Best Picture nominees changed again two years later to “five to 10 nominees.”)</p>
<aside id="aTn79z"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"The case for Black Panther as a 2019 Oscar behemoth","url":"https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/3/6/17081628/black-panther-oscars-2019-predictions"}]}'></div></aside><p id="7L5aWW">To be sure, the announcement of this category is vague enough that it could mean just about anything. Hollywood stunt people have long wanted the awards to add a category for the best stunt coordination, and this could, theoretically, be that — popular films do often feature a lot of stunts, after all. Or “achievement in popular film” could just be a de facto special Oscar given to the year’s box office champ, along the lines of the existing <a href="http://www.oscars.org/governors/honorary">Honorary Awards</a>.</p>
<p id="T4EKjq">But c’mon. It’s not going to be that. It’s going to be the Oscars nominating a handful of the year’s biggest blockbusters, to make sure that the <em>Black Panther</em>s and the <em>Mission: Impossible</em>s of the world are nominated somewhere other than the sound and visual effects categories. </p>
<p id="ZwokQK">It’s going to feel like shameless pandering, and it’s just going to make the awards less meaningful. When blockbusters are good, <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/6/28/17508132/black-panther-oscar-campaign-predictions-kevin-feige">like <em>Black Panther</em></a>, they should be nominated for Best Picture, not some category created in a panic. </p>
<aside id="lRgqf0"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Marvel boss Kevin Feige hints at what a Black Panther Oscar campaign might look like","url":"https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/6/28/17508132/black-panther-oscar-campaign-predictions-kevin-feige"}]}'></div></aside><p id="tpvPAl">But my concerns about this category extend beyond, “This seems like it wasn’t really thought through.” Here are three of the most significant red flags raised by this vague announcement.</p>
<h3 id="a99XYe">1) This will make it harder for big movies to be nominated for Best Picture</h3>
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<img alt="lord of the rings" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/vVZ0CZQIBHxmKeoNof_-KPsQeGo=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/1398690/80417015.0.jpg">
<cite>New Line</cite>
<figcaption>Would <em>The Lord of the Rings</em> have succeeded at the Oscars had there been a popular film category?</figcaption>
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<p id="62kmYq">A common misconception about the Oscars is that they never nominate big hits. In truth, the Oscars <em>do</em> nominate big hits, especially if those big hits overlap with some of the Oscars’ favorite genres, like historical dramas (<em>Lincoln</em>) or musicals (<em>Chicago</em>) or epic romances (<em>Titanic</em>). </p>
<p id="a6m4Vp">The more accurate thing to say about the Oscars is that they rarely nominate big <em>popcorn</em> movies, which is true. But even there, it’s hard for the Academy to resist a true box office sensation that garners warm reviews, then takes off and becomes a big-time cultural touchstone. Everything from <em>Jaws</em> to <em>Star Wars</em> to the <em>Lord of the Rings</em> movies to <em>Get Out</em> would fit that description (as would <em>Black Panther</em>), and all of these examples were nominated for Best Picture. </p>
<p id="xfXxV1">In fact, <em>The Dark Knight</em> — the rare blockbuster with big box office, great reviews, and cultural touchstone status to not get a Best Picture nod — is the exception that proves the rule here. (It’s probably worth noting that <em>Dark Knight</em> is specifically a superhero film, and the Oscars have yet to nominate a superhero movie for Best Picture — which may be the impetus behind this move in some way.)</p>
<p id="AZ4LFA">And the idea of a “best popular film” category meant to honor movies like this specifically could, conceivably, lead to those movies then being in the conversation for other categories as well. After all, the Academy <a href="https://twitter.com/THR/status/1027278317316202496">has made clear</a> that movies nominated for the popular film award can also be nominated for Best Picture. If Oscar voters are watching <em>Black Panther </em>for awards consideration, rather than writing it off as “just another superhero movie,” this line of thinking goes, then they’ll realize it belongs in the conversation in other categories.</p>
<p id="TgVNsu">But we know how this will turn out because we’ve seen it happen literally within the past 20 years. </p>
<p id="xm94lj">The creation of the Best Animated Feature category was supposed to have a similar effect: As animated films became more and more popular and better and better made, the category was added to draw attention to the craftsmanship in that arena. Before it was first awarded in 2002, just one animated film had been nominated for Best Picture, <em>Beauty and the Beast</em>, nominated in 1992. </p>
<p id="Z7sTe9">But since then, only two animated films have been nominated — <em>Up </em>in 2010 and <em>Toy Story 3</em> in 2011 — and since Best Picture went from 10 guaranteed nominees to five to 10 nominees, no animated film has been nominated, even as movies like 2015’s <em>Inside Out</em> and 2017’s <em>Coco</em> have boasted both great reviews and great box office.</p>
<p id="v8k4p6">The same goes for the Foreign Language and Documentary categories. The former will occasionally see a Best Picture nomination — most recently with <em>Amour</em>’s nomination in 2013 — but no foreign language film has actually won Best Picture. (Ironically, <em>Slumdog Millionaire</em>, which features the most non-English language work of any Best Picture winner, was ineligible for the category, having been produced by an American studio.) And no documentary has <em>ever</em> been nominated for Best Picture.</p>
<p id="ctJlhN">No matter the intentions behind specialized categories like this, they just end up segregating the films they’re meant to honor, keeping them from the “real” categories. Would <em>Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King</em> have won Best Picture if the popular film category had existed? Maybe — but it would have added another major hurdle.</p>
<h3 id="RQifYg">2) How is the Academy going to determine which movies are “popular”?</h3>
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<img alt="The men watch bombers overhead in Dunkirk." data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/l-bKNvNVsZMwg5X2zIL9msWc1eo=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8866485/dunkirk6.jpg">
<cite>Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., Ratpac-Dune Entertainment LLC and Ratpac Entertainment, LLC</cite>
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<em>Dunkirk</em> was one of the 30 top-grossing movies of 2017. Would that have qualified it for the popular film award?</figcaption>
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<p id="6q93d5">Here’s an arbitrary metric the Academy could use: “Popular” movies are the top 30 grossers at the domestic box office for the year. (There are problems with this metric, which I’ll get to, but go with me for the moment.)</p>
<p id="fmbD5c">So assume that five of the year’s top grossers are nominated for Best Popular Film. In the majority of years, several Best Picture nominees are <em>already</em> among the year’s most popular films. Among the 2018 nominees, for instance, both <em>Dunkirk</em> and <em>Get Out</em> were in the top 30, and both were already there when nominations were announced. In 2017 and 2016, three of the Best Picture nominees were among the year’s top grossers. And in 2013 and 2011, a five-nominee popular film<strong> </strong>category could be completely filled with Best Picture nominees. (Did you know <em>Black Swan</em> was among the top 30 grossers of 2010? You do now!)</p>
<p id="kxuy8K">So just using box office grosses will be a problem because it will likely lead to a lot of Best Picture nominees tacking on another second-tier nomination. And that’s to say nothing of the fact that when Oscar voting is going on, in early January, the total grosses of many of the preceding year’s holiday films still aren’t known. </p>
<p id="5rkbwO"><em>The Greatest Showman</em>, for instance, is <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/3/9/17029684/greatest-showman-musical-success-explained-efron-jackman-box-office-circus-musical">by any definition</a> a “popular” film, but it would have been excluded from voting for a prospective 2018 award by virtue of how slow its box office ascent was. When Oscar voting was going on, it wasn’t yet the blockbuster it became.</p>
<aside id="0a12tT"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"How The Greatest Showman rewrote the stars to become a monster success","url":"https://www.vox.com/2018/3/9/17029684/greatest-showman-musical-success-explained-efron-jackman-box-office-circus-musical"}]}'></div></aside><p id="UU8VQB">So “popular” will likely end up being defined as “vaguely genre-y,” except the Academy can’t <em>say</em>, “This award is for sci-fi, horror, fantasy, action, superhero, and comedy films,” for fear of further segregating those films from consideration in other categories, when they already struggle to get noticed, to say nothing of the fear of defining movies in those genres as “not good enough to be the Best Picture.”</p>
<p id="6rI7nd">Intriguingly, when the Oscars launched, the very first ceremony, held in 1929, awarded the “Outstanding Picture” and the “Unique and Artistic Picture.” The former went to <em>Wings</em> — now recognized by the Academy as the “first” Best Picture winner — and the latter went to the masterful <em>Sunrise</em>, which was an artistically ambitious silent romance. <em>Sunrise</em> is a better movie than <em>Wings</em>, but they’re both worth watching, and they show how <em>some</em> sort of split in the “Best Picture” category could work quite well.</p>
<p id="VhRqCs">The Academy immediately dropped the “Unique and Artistic” category, but it’s not hard to imagine that if it split Best Picture in two again, rather than creating some new “popular film” category, it could find a way to honor both the populist and artistic qualities of the year’s movies in a more elegant fashion.</p>
<h3 id="3xIPK4">3) This is happening awfully quickly, and it’s hard to imagine it’s been well thought through</h3>
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<img alt="90th Annual Academy Awards - Backstage" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/rkLgGiH0AL1YOx9rm9gNlTuDqGg=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/11946785/927377898.jpg.jpg">
<cite>Matt Petit/A.M.P.A.S. via Getty Images</cite>
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<em>The Shape of Water</em> is the reigning Best Picture winner.</figcaption>
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<p id="k2Uzan">The “popular film” award has received most of the attention when it comes to the various changes the Academy plans to make, but it was only one of those changes. </p>
<p id="5Za6If">Indeed, at least one change — the 2020 awards will be held in early February, instead of late February — is, to my mind, unambiguously a good one. Shorten awards season! Please! But both the popular film category and the idea of making sure the Oscars last just three hours (by awarding several technical prizes during commercial breaks) seem like disasters waiting to happen.</p>
<p id="hzW2xU">How much of this has been thought through? The popular film category will most likely happen at the 2019 Oscars; it’s hard to imagine the Academy announcing this change without intending to implement it as soon as possible. The Academy is therefore going to be rapidly adding an entire new category with an incredibly vague definition and no clear indication of who will vote for the nominees. The idea is already a bad one, but combining it with a rushed process should stand to only make things worse.</p>
<p id="tGIBAQ">All of these proposed changes are symptoms of the same problem: The Oscars’ ratings have gotten softer and softer in recent years, and they’re in danger of ceasing to be the premier awards show. If the awards can be shortened, if they can reward bigger movies, if awards season itself can be shorter — maybe they can be salvaged.</p>
<p id="Y7DaJI">And sure. I could see that happening. This <em>seems</em> like a bad idea to me right now, but lots of things that seemed like bad ideas to me at the time turned out to be okay, particularly in the movie industry, where bad ideas can be salvaged almost as a matter of course. Who wanted a fourth <em>Mad Max</em> movie, after all? Certainly not me!</p>
<p id="dMsv2I">But the Oscars’ pursuit of ratings at the expense of everything maddening and frustrating and occasionally wonderful about the Oscars is only going to dilute the Oscars. The Oscars are a big, dumb, archaic tradition that dates from a time when the movies were the biggest, and sometimes the only, game in pop culture. </p>
<p id="f0hOJH">Trying to impose top-down changes, instead of counting on the continued diversification of the organization’s membership creating changes from the bottom up, feels desperate and covered in flop sweat. Let the Oscars be the Oscars — the lively, ridiculous Oscars — instead of trying to make them into some pale shadow of themselves.</p>
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https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/8/8/17664682/oscars-popular-film-category-2019Emily St. James2018-03-07T10:09:56-05:002018-03-07T10:09:56-05:00Why The Shape of Water is a natural choice for Best Picture
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<img alt="The Shape of Water" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/umWVMS8gMsxL3JPQu4fkZK_2FBs=/265x0:1705x1080/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58904683/shapeofwater1.0.jpg" />
<figcaption><em>The Shape of Water</em> won four Oscars, including Best Picture, at the 2018 Academy Awards. | 20th Century Fox</figcaption>
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<p>It’s a safe choice for an industry that wants to signal its values.</p> <p id="K07T3q"><em>The Shape of Water</em> was the most-nominated film at the Oscars on Sunday night, and it won in four categories: Production Design, Original Score, Director, and the all-important Best Picture.</p>
<p id="vxEzvR">A fantastical, watery romance between a mute woman and a fish-man, <em>The Shape of Water</em> is directed by <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/3/5/17079808/oscars-2018-guillermo-del-toro-director">Guillermo del Toro</a>, a beloved director of movies in many genres — horror (<em>The Devil’s Backbone</em>), gothic romance (<em>Crimson Peak</em>), action/sci-fi (<em>Pacific Rim</em>), comics (<em>Hellboy</em>), and fantasy (<em>Pan’s Labyrinth</em>).</p>
<p id="sAsWNd"><em>The Shape of Water</em> feels like his most accessible film in a while, fish-man romance notwithstanding. Somewhere between a fairy tale, a fable, and a fantasy, it’s garnered <a href="http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-shape-of-water">strong reviews from critics</a> and <a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=theshapeofwater.htm">done well at the box office</a>. With a cast including Richard Jenkins, Sally Hawkins, and Octavia Spencer (all of whom were nominated for Oscars for their roles), it’s a film that’s easy to love.</p>
<aside id="J4tGKR"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"The Shape of Water, from Guillermo del Toro, is a beautiful adult fairy tale about a fish-man","url":"https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/9/12/16288080/shape-of-water-del-toro-review-tiff"}]}'></div></aside><p id="G9mqDy">It also makes perfect sense as a Best Picture winner in 2018. Though the past few years of nominees were smaller independent features like <em>Moonlight</em> and <em>Spotlight — </em>the kinds of picks that genuinely surprised many prognosticators — <em>The Shape of Water</em> feels in many ways like a classic Academy pick. It’s a beautifully shot movie with a story that follows the traditional arcs of a fairy tale romance. </p>
<p id="mQEonW">And it’s also a tribute to “the power of cinema,” something the Academy loves to honor. The Oscars, after all, are professional guild awards that Hollywood awards to its own. And for films like <em>The Artist</em> (2012) and <em>Argo </em>(2013), that proclivity to praise films about moviemaking resulted in Best Picture awards.</p>
<p id="9Q2bDp"><em>The Shape of Water</em> <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/3/1/17040692/oscar-shape-of-water-best-picture-win-lose-fish-man">wears its classic Hollywood influences</a> on its sleeve, up to and including a story that <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-guillermo-del-toros-black-lagoon-fantasy-inspired-shape-water-1053206">openly riffs on</a> the 1954 sci-fi-horror classic <em>The Creature From the Black Lagoon, </em>a black-and-white dance sequence straight out a Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire picture, and a main location <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/9/12/16288080/shape-of-water-del-toro-review-tiff">set over a cinema</a> that’s playing Henry Koster’s 1960 biblical epic <em>The Book of Ruth</em>. Though it’s not a movie <em>about</em> the movies, it certainly calls to Hollywood history for its look, its story, and many of its character details.</p>
<p id="DW0voG">And yet, it’s thoroughly a movie made for 2018. In talking about the film throughout awards season, del Toro has been clear that he sees it as an allegorical film about embracing the other. Hawkins’s character is a mute woman, Jenkins’s is a closeted gay man, Spencer’s is a black woman, and the fish-man is, well, a fish-man. The film’s only villain is played by Michael Shannon: an angry, bitter, cruel boss-man who’s certain of his own superiority to everyone who isn’t a white man like himself, and whose religion hasn’t helped him learn anything like love. </p>
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<img alt="Sally Hawkins in The Shape of Water" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/D2XWu5k4C9j4vrISdH71Q9giH04=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/9282661/hawkins.jpg">
<cite>Fox Searchlight Pictures</cite>
<figcaption>Sally Hawkins in <em>The Shape of Water.</em>
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<p id="ftLxZh">The lines aren’t hard to draw: Though <em>The Shape of Water </em>is set half a century ago, it’s obviously meant as a commentary — from a Mexican director, no less — on the noxious nature of ideologies that leave no room for empathy. You can’t exactly call it political, but its social commentary has political ramifications.</p>
<p id="uMjKfQ">Del Toro <a href="https://www.npr.org/2017/12/01/567265511/guillermo-del-toro-says-shape-of-water-is-an-antidote-for-today-s-cynicism">explained it to NPR this way</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p id="DftwQz">The movie is about connecting with “the other.” You know, the idea of empathy, the idea of how we do need each other to survive. And that’s why the original title of the screenplay when I wrote it was <em>A Fairy Tale for Troubled Times</em>, because I think that this is a movie that is incredibly pertinent and almost like an antidote to a lot of the cynicism and disconnect that we experience day to day.</p></blockquote>
<p id="6K2cSi">In the wake of movements like #OscarsSoWhite and #TimesUp, which have been critical of Hollywood’s lack of inclusion of women and people of color — an exclusion that flies in the face of Hollywood’s supposed progressivism — the Oscars ceremony made a conscious effort to celebrate and spotlight the contributions of those people who have historically been excluded. That’s especially important in an industry rocked by revelations of sexual assault and harassment during this awards season, beginning with the now-disgraced former powerhouse producer Harvey Weinstein.</p>
<p id="TpQn58">The ceremony was indicative of how the Academy likely wants to be seen: as making sincere strides toward a more open, equitable, safe workplace for people who don’t belong to its historically largest demographic. </p>
<p id="etmV3r">A movie like <em>Get Out</em>, which explicitly and powerfully confronts progressive racism, may have been a stronger statement about the Academy’s direction. But it’s easy to see how <em>The Shape of Water</em> is a strong consensus pick. It’s still a movie about the power of cinema, but it is also critical of prejudices of many sorts, and thus feels like a statement too.</p>
<p id="PhtKlv">Is <em>The Shape of Water</em> the year’s best picture? That’s up for debate, but what it definitely is not is a surprise, given the Academy’s past, present, and imagined future. Whether it ultimately indicates a return to form or a move toward something new for the Academy remains to be seen.</p>
https://www.vox.com/2018/3/5/17079236/shape-of-water-best-picture-oscars-why-wonAlissa Wilkinson2018-03-06T16:10:02-05:002018-03-06T16:10:02-05:00How to watch this year’s Oscar-winning short films
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<img alt="Dear Basketball, Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405, and The Silent Child won at the Oscars." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/yEGGqrrh8zrVoTjmeA9-F4n6GM0=/100x0:1700x1200/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58928155/shorts.0.jpg" />
<figcaption><em>Dear Basketball, Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405</em>, and <em>The Silent Child</em> won at the Oscars. | Dear Basketball; Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405; The Silent Child</figcaption>
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<p>This year’s winners were about basketball, deafness, and an outsider artist.</p> <p id="gL9akt">Short films usually fly under the average moviegoer’s radar, during awards season and the rest of the year alike. But every year, the Academy Awards offers a reminder of short films’ ability to showcase a stunning variety of filmmaking techniques and themes — and their runtime doesn’t take away from their power.</p>
<p id="9bPsMy">The Oscars honor three short films each year: one animated, one live action, and one documentary. Here’s a guide to this year’s winners and how to watch them.</p>
<aside id="58dWtT"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Oscars 2018: winners, nominations, and biggest moments from the 90th Academy Awards","url":"https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/1/22/16922112/oscars-2018-winners-nominees-biggest-moments-90th-academy-awards"}]}'></div></aside><h3 id="4I40yY"><em>Dear Basketball </em></h3>
<p id="PExfWx"><strong>Winner: </strong>Best Animated Short Film</p>
<div id="RJMnQ9"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vA3Pqne28PE?rel=0&" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="syNbmo"><strong>What it’s about: </strong>Basketball star Kobe Bryant narrates the film, which is based on <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180119180935/https://www.theplayerstribune.com/dear-basketball/">a letter he wrote to the Players’ Tribune in 2015</a> announcing his retirement from the sport. The film was directed and animated by Glen Keane, who has animated characters at Disney in movies like <em>The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, </em>and <em>Tangled. </em>For years,<em> </em>Keane has been recognized as one of the most important animators in the field, receiving a number of accolades.</p>
<p id="hVsaZI"><em>Dear Basketball</em> recounts Bryant’s love affair with basketball from his childhood through his 20 years as a professional player; the short plays like a tribute to his own career in the NBA. With <em>Dear Basketball</em>’s win, Bryant became the first NBA player to receive an Oscar. It’s also Keane’s first Oscar.</p>
<p id="GO6QZ8"><strong>How to watch it: </strong><em>Dear Basketball</em> is available to stream on <a href="http://go90.com">go90.com</a> and to purchase digitally as part of the Oscar-nominated shorts collection on <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/oscar-nominated-short-films-2018-select-animation-live/id1353787023">iTunes</a>.</p>
<h3 id="hOpBBv">
<em>Heaven </em><em>I</em><em>s a Traffic Jam on the 405 </em>
</h3>
<p id="uEArTb"><strong>Winner:</strong> Best Documentary Short Subject</p>
<div id="pQRBhC"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F8IedHc7txs?rel=0&" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="E228PW"><strong>What it’s about: </strong>The artist Mindy Alper, whose celebrated body of work includes painting and sculpture that often depicts people in complex relationships to one another, with both humor and dark emotions included in equal measure. Alper’s life includes a history of mental illness that at times has left her without the ability to speak.</p>
<p id="MeZ9ZJ">For <em>Heaven </em><em>I</em><em>s a Traffic Jam on the 405</em>, filmmaker Frank Stiefel spent many hours with Alper, letting her tell her story and explain her work. The result is a look at how mental illness and art-making can interact in often profound ways. For Alper, art-making is a way of working through her experiences, and it fills that function for those who experience her art too.</p>
<p id="JimlGw"><strong>How to watch it: </strong><em>Heaven </em><em>I</em><em>s a Traffic Jam on the 405 </em>is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09M3C4VD1Fg&t=7s">available to stream on YouTube</a>.</p>
<h3 id="pB2EKx"><em>The Silent Child </em></h3>
<p id="sm3a4B"><strong>Winner: </strong>Best Live Action Short Film</p>
<div id="xcN4b3"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IxwBd9OMOC4?rel=0&" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="cKoLV5"><strong>What it’s about: </strong>Produced partly to raise awareness about the abilities and needs of deaf children, <em>The Silent Child</em> tells the story of a young deaf girl named Libby (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8576008/?ref_=tt_cl_t2">Maisie Sly</a>), whose hearing parents and siblings live a busy life around her from which she feels largely excluded. The family hires a young woman named Joanne (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2053650/?ref_=tt_cl_t1">Rachel Shenton</a>) to help Libby get ready for school, but balks when Joanne says that Libby ought to be able to both read lips and communicate in sign language, believing that she must learn only to read lips and speak in order to lead a “normal” life.</p>
<p id="HF9XSq">The film, directed by Chris Overton, was written by Shenton, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/mar/05/uk-oscar-winners-sign-language-speech-raises-profile-of-silent-disability">who gave her acceptance speech at the Oscars</a> entirely in British Sign Language (BSL). (Shenton learned sign language at the age of 12 to communicate with her father after he went deaf.) The signed speech was the fulfillment of a promise that Shenton made to Sly, who is deaf and was in the audience.</p>
<p id="180UNl"><strong>How to watch it: </strong><em>The Silent Child </em>is available digitally to purchase on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkIbPTV1NIE">YouTube</a> and <a href="https://play.google.com/store/movies/details?id=YkIbPTV1NIE">Google Play</a>, and as part of the Oscar-nominated shorts collection on <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/oscar-nominated-short-films-2018-select-animation-live/id1353787023">iTunes</a>.</p>
https://www.vox.com/2018/3/6/17087144/short-films-oscars-streaming-dear-basketball-heaven-405-silent-childAlissa Wilkinson2018-03-06T14:20:01-05:002018-03-06T14:20:01-05:00How to watch the Oscar-winning movies, from The Shape of Water to Get Out
<figure>
<img alt="Oscars 2018" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/73JIaRCpour0y8vV6pxZaYHXmq0=/100x0:1700x1200/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58926045/headshots_1516725047242.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Focus/Universal/Fox Searchlight</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Most are available to stream at home.</p> <p id="6fIrSf">No one film dominated the 2018 Oscars ceremony. <em>The Shape of Water </em>was the big winner with four awards (including Best Picture), and most films won only one or two.</p>
<aside id="2bBI0O"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"8 winners and 2 losers from the 2018 Oscars","url":"https://www.vox.com/2018/3/5/17079238/oscars-2018-winners-losers-lady-bird-shape-water-haddish-rudolph-kimmel-kobe-bryant"}]}'></div></aside><p id="sOdgf7">For movie lovers, that’s great news: It means the ceremony served up a diverse list of films to watch, if you’d like to catch up with the year in cinema. Here’s how to watch all of the Oscar-winning films — most of which you can fire up and enjoy at home tonight.</p>
<h3 id="E0GmBx"><em>A Fantastic Woman </em></h3>
<p id="LD1lsT"><strong>Won: </strong>Best Foreign Language Film</p>
<div id="4oAChN"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PJHex4ZitgA?rel=0&" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="0B8aLV"><strong>How to watch: </strong><em>A Fantastic Woman</em> is currently in theatrical release.</p>
<h3 id="7fyWDv"><em>Blade Runner 2049 </em></h3>
<p id="AWIhWh"><strong>Won: </strong>Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects</p>
<div id="WpsKAP"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gCcx85zbxz4?rel=0&" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="kfcH7q"><strong>How to watch: </strong><em>Blade Runner 2049</em> is available digitally to rent or purchase on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mw3l3n-wv2A">YouTube</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/store/movies/details?id=mw3l3n-wv2A">Google Play</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Blade-Runner-2049-Ryan-Gosling/dp/B0765NT2ST/ref=sr_1_1?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1520349647&sr=1-1&keywords=blade+runner+2049">Amazon</a>, and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/blade-runner-2049/id1288813671">iTunes</a>.</p>
<aside id="BTjFUs"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Blade Runner 2049 isn’t a sci-fi masterpiece, but it’s trying really hard to replicate one","url":"https://www.vox.com/2017/10/3/16403178/blade-runner-2049-review-bible-gosling-villeneuve-spoilers"}]}'></div></aside><h3 id="vJA0Xi">
<em>Call Me </em><em>b</em><em>y Your Name </em>
</h3>
<p id="wqLgXv"><strong>Won:</strong> Best Adapted Screenplay</p>
<div id="SK9RzJ"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z9AYPxH5NTM?rel=0&amp;start=12" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="K7uzaJ"><strong>How to watch: </strong><em>Call Me </em><em>b</em><em>y Your Name</em> is currently in theatrical release and available digitally to purchase on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48o3YYnEUQ4">YouTube</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/store/movies/details?id=48o3YYnEUQ4">Google Play</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Call-Your-Name-Armie-Hammer/dp/B0791VJLVB/ref=sr_1_1?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1520349667&sr=1-1&keywords=call+me+by+your+name">Amazon</a>, and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/call-me-by-your-name/id1300348171">iTunes</a>.</p>
<aside id="Qb2oOR"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Call Me by Your Name is an erotic film in every sense of the word. It’s also a masterpiece.","url":"https://www.vox.com/2017/11/21/16552862/call-me-by-your-name-review-timothee-chalamet-armie-hammer"}]}'></div></aside><h3 id="lmq1Q6"><em>Coco </em></h3>
<p id="ng35ho"><strong>Won: </strong>Best Animated Feature Film, Best Original Song</p>
<div id="Q79BxI"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Rvr68u6k5sI?rel=0&" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="0HPdLH"><strong>How to watch: </strong><em>Coco</em> is available digitally to purchase on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVFVtJcxXWE">YouTube</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/store/movies/details?id=UVFVtJcxXWE">Google Play</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Coco-Theatrical-Verision-Anthony-Gonzalez/dp/B0779FK899/ref=sr_1_2?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1520349695&sr=1-2&keywords=coco">Amazon</a>, and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/coco-2017/id1307301491">iTunes</a>.</p>
<aside id="FzREoC"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data="{"stories":[{"title":"Pixar's Coco is sweet, visually stunning, and much too predictable","url":"https://www.vox.com/2017/11/21/16679186/coco-review-pixar"}]}"></div></aside><h3 id="EwI5Mi"><em>Darkest Hour </em></h3>
<p id="Eyvvhu"><strong>Won: </strong>Best Actor (Gary Oldman), Best Makeup and Hairstyling</p>
<div id="9PVcKh"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eFFj2gS9UWs?rel=0&" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="edzx6P"><strong>How to watch: </strong><em>Darkest Hour</em> is currently in theatrical release and available digitally to rent or purchase on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCoGxrUg9FM">YouTube</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/store/movies/details?id=WCoGxrUg9FM">Google Play</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Darkest-Hour-Gary-Oldman/dp/B078R5T25R/ref=sr_1_1?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1520349730&sr=1-1&keywords=darkest+hour">Amazon</a>, and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/darkest-hour/id1309380440">iTunes</a>.</p>
<aside id="lufbzE"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"In Darkest Hour, Gary Oldman shines as Winston Churchill. But history takes a hit.","url":"https://www.vox.com/2017/11/21/16680158/darkest-hour-review-gary-oldman-joe-wright-winston-churchill"}]}'></div></aside><h3 id="f5qnnU"><em>Dear Basketball </em></h3>
<p id="V9duJA"><strong>Won: </strong>Best Animated Short Film</p>
<div id="osqwHD"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vA3Pqne28PE?rel=0&" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="fymc2x"><strong>How to watch: </strong><em>Dear Basketball</em> is available to stream on <a href="http://go90.com">go90.com</a> and to purchase digitally as part of the Oscar-nominated shorts collection on <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/oscar-nominated-short-films-2018-select-animation-live/id1353787023">iTunes</a>.</p>
<h3 id="ieXuWx"><em>Dunkirk </em></h3>
<p id="2O78sd"><strong>Won: </strong>Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Editing</p>
<div id="ahgq19"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/T7O7BtBnsG4?rel=0&" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="sVVE6z"><strong>How to watch: </strong><em>Dunkirk</em> is available to digitally rent or purchase on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOJhvgczBNk">YouTube</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/store/movies/details?id=yOJhvgczBNk">Google Play</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dunkirk-Fionn-Whitehead/dp/B076R3KYJN/ref=sr_1_1?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1520349766&sr=1-1&keywords=dunkirk">Amazon</a>, and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/dunkirk-2017/id1300354540">iTunes</a>. </p>
<aside id="xIzWhw"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data="{"stories":[{"title":"Dunkirk turns a WWII battle into a symphony. It's Christopher Nolan's masterpiece.","url":"https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/7/17/15984026/dunkirk-review-nolan-rylance-hardy-styles-spoilers"}]}"></div></aside><h3 id="04LS6l"><em>Get Out </em></h3>
<p id="aSsA04"><strong>Won: </strong>Best Original Screenplay</p>
<div id="Ecz3bf"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sRfnevzM9kQ?rel=0&amp;start=63" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="cpSJ7P"><strong>How to watch: </strong><em>Get Out</em> is available to stream on <a href="https://order.hbonow.com/?r=hbonow&mboxSession=5858661820f24c0f8cca57918c661223">HBO Go and HBO Now</a> and to digitally rent or purchase on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfLSryEaAfw">YouTube</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/store/movies/details?id=YfLSryEaAfw">Google Play</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y1H48K7">Amazon</a>, and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/get-out/id1202441786">iTunes</a>.</p>
<aside id="Mk0mi9"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data="{"stories":[{"title":"Get Out is a horror film about benevolent racism. It's spine-chilling.","url":"https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/2/24/14698632/get-out-review-jordan-peele"}]}"></div></aside><h3 id="TU529B">
<em>Heaven </em><em>I</em><em>s a Traffic Jam on the 405 </em>
</h3>
<p id="hFjKu2"><strong>Won: </strong>Best Documentary Short Subject</p>
<div id="ab6nwC"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/09M3C4VD1Fg?rel=0&" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="kn69tO"><strong>How to watch: </strong><em>Heaven </em><em>I</em><em>s a Traffic Jam on the 405 </em>is available to stream on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09M3C4VD1Fg">YouTube</a>.</p>
<h3 id="bHESf1"><em>I, Tonya </em></h3>
<p id="ua9PZm"><strong>Won: </strong>Best Supporting Actress (Allison Janney)</p>
<div id="rPS7S9"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/g7y_NMeAM8s?rel=0&" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="yXBI5t"><strong>How to watch: </strong><em>I, Tonya</em> is currently in theatrical release and digitally available to purchase on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNwFekmlk5M">YouTube</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/store/movies/details?id=aNwFekmlk5M">Google Play</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/I-Tonya-Margot-Robbie/dp/B07893YKZL/ref=sr_1_1?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1520349793&sr=1-1&keywords=i%2C+tonya">Amazon</a>, and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/i-tonya/id1315794540?mt=6&gclid=CjwKCAiAlfnUBRBQEiwAWpPA6UMyTt13rKe4WNz88hyQWCsmFNPGxl8eJ01ieBf68YeHulkPm9C1bBoChfkQAvD_BwE">iTunes</a>.</p>
<aside id="H0DwWP"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"I, Tonya is the film about a 1994 figure-skating scandal that America needs in 2017","url":"https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/9/14/16301552/i-tonya-harding-kerrigan-review-tiff"}]}'></div></aside><h3 id="9LFvP4"><em>Icarus</em></h3>
<p id="ZPyvcc"><strong>Won: </strong>Best Documentary Feature</p>
<div id="tCZ2O7"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qXoRdSTrR-4?rel=0&amp;start=21" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="gm4hI4"><strong>How to watch: </strong><em>Icarus</em> is available to stream on <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80168079">Netflix</a>.</p>
<h3 id="SeKpfB"><em>Phantom Thread </em></h3>
<p id="agSvH7"><strong>Won:</strong> Best Costume Design</p>
<div id="7QZd5b"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xNsiQMeSvMk?rel=0&amp;start=18" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="hsikFn"><strong>How to watch: </strong><em>Phantom Thread</em> is currently in theatrical release.</p>
<aside id="PemBMU"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Phantom Thread tells a sumptuous story of fashion and kink that keeps viewers at a distance","url":"https://www.vox.com/2017/12/18/16691986/phantom-thread-review-daniel-day-lewis-vicky-krieps-lesley-manville"}]}'></div></aside><h3 id="knYcke"><em>The Shape of Water </em></h3>
<p id="sGm4Gw"><strong>Won: </strong>Best Picture, Best Director, Best Production Design, Best Original Score</p>
<div id="daqBgs"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XFYWazblaUA?rel=0&amp;start=23" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="xwQUKN"><strong>How to watch: </strong><em>The Shape of Water </em>is in theatrical release and available digitally to purchase on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnIIyjTDlYU">YouTube</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/store/movies/details?id=VnIIyjTDlYU">Google Play</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Shape-Water-Sally-Hawkins/dp/B078HLD83H/ref=sr_1_1?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1520349824&sr=1-1&keywords=the+shape+of+water">Amazon</a>, and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/the-shape-of-water/id1325404789">iTunes</a>.</p>
<aside id="PI6HTO"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Why The Shape of Water is a natural choice for Best Picture","url":"https://www.vox.com/2018/3/5/17079236/shape-of-water-best-picture-oscars-why-won"}]}'></div></aside><h3 id="ORnca7"><em>The Silent Child</em></h3>
<p id="NWtmEE"><strong>Won:</strong> Best Live Action Short Film</p>
<div id="WIKOe8"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IxwBd9OMOC4?rel=0&" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="180UNl"><strong>How to watch: </strong><em>The Silent Child </em>is available digitally to purchase on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkIbPTV1NIE">YouTube</a> and <a href="https://play.google.com/store/movies/details?id=YkIbPTV1NIE">Google Play</a>, and as part of the Oscar-nominated shorts collection on <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/oscar-nominated-short-films-2018-select-animation-live/id1353787023">iTunes</a>.</p>
<h3 id="eRLf1w"><em>Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri</em></h3>
<p id="guEt8L"><strong>Won:</strong> Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor</p>
<div id="2DFzRb"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Jit3YhGx5pU?rel=0&" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="Ffq7uy"><strong>How to watch: </strong><em>Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri</em> is in theatrical release and available digitally to purchase on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuvYj0-h-Lk">YouTube</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/store/movies/details?id=ZuvYj0-h-Lk">Google Play</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Three-Billboards-Outside-Ebbing-Missouri/dp/B077PL4NPZ/ref=sr_1_1?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1520349841&sr=1-1&keywords=three+billboards+outside+ebbing">Amazon</a>, and <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/three-billboards-outside-ebbing-missouri/id1313637060">iTunes</a>.</p>
<aside id="NhAnF2"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"How Three Billboards went from film fest darling to awards-season controversy","url":"https://www.vox.com/2018/1/19/16878018/three-billboards-controversy-racist-sam-rockwell-redemption-flannery-oconnor"}]}'></div></aside>
https://www.vox.com/2018/3/6/17085402/how-to-watch-oscar-winners-movies-2018-streamingAlissa Wilkinson2018-03-06T09:20:02-05:002018-03-06T09:20:02-05:00The case for Black Panther as a 2019 Oscar behemoth
<figure>
<img alt="Black Panther" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/LOBxS2o5J0YODQfcLL-D9muBs28=/521x0:1961x1080/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58915563/blackpanthermain__1_.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Imagine T’Challa clutching an Oscar in each hand. | Marvel Studios</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Will <em>Black Panther</em> get a Best Picture nomination? Its chances are stronger than you might think.</p> <p id="q048Py">The <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/1/22/16922112/oscars-2018-winners-nominees-biggest-moments-90th-academy-awards">2018 Oscars</a> are done with, consigned to the history books for the rest of time. And a ton of great people won their first awards there, from <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/3/5/17079808/oscars-2018-guillermo-del-toro-director">Guillermo Del Toro</a> to Jordan Peele, from 89-year-old James Ivory (the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/3/4/17057854/oscars-2018-winner-oldest-plummer-varda-ivory-saint-moreno">oldest winner ever</a>) to Allison Janney. </p>
<p id="cHAq8T">But there’s one thing the 2018 Oscars lacked: ratings. They were the least-watched Oscars ever, with just 26.5 million viewers. Yes, that beat out the other awards shows (like the Golden Globes and Grammys) this year, but it’s also over 5 million lower than the previous low (32 million in 2008) and 20 percent lower viewership than the Oscars saw in 2017.</p>
<aside id="rRrZRq"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"8 winners and 2 losers from the 2018 Oscars","url":"https://www.vox.com/2018/3/5/17079238/oscars-2018-winners-losers-lady-bird-shape-water-haddish-rudolph-kimmel-kobe-bryant"}]}'></div></aside><p id="cUSltG">On the one hand, this is just where TV is trending. Both <a href="http://variety.com/2018/tv/news/grammy-awards-viewership-ratings-down-bruno-mars-1202680032/">the Grammys</a> and <a href="http://deadline.com/2018/02/super-bowl-ratings-eagles-patriots-this-is-us-nbc-1202278181/">Super Bowl</a> were down significantly in the ratings<strong> </strong>this year as well, and live viewership is starting to become a niche thing. On the other hand, the Oscars have traditionally had an ace in the hole when ratings start to slump: When they nominate big, hit movies, and those big, hit movies have a good chance at winning the biggest prize of the night, viewership goes up.</p>
<p id="CUcNEE">The <a href="http://ew.com/movies/2018/02/21/titanic-mania-oscars-james-cameron/">most-watched Oscars ceremony ever</a> came 20 years ago, when <em>Titanic</em>, on its way to becoming the biggest film of all time, won the big prize. And the ceremonies in 2004 (when <em>Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King</em> won Best Picture), 2010 (when <em>Avatar</em> contended), and 2014 (when <em>Gravity </em>won seven Oscars but not Best Picture) all saw healthy viewership bumps. </p>
<p id="JTFdHG">So, clearly, all the Oscars need to help the 2019 awards avoid the ratings doldrums is a blockbuster nominee with a decent shot at winning Best Picture.</p>
<p id="sGa29H">It’s a good thing there’s already a 2018 blockbuster with rave reviews and massive box office to nominate, then! Here are the categories for which the Oscars <em>could</em> nominate <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/2/15/17008196/black-panther-review">Marvel’s <em>Black Panthe</em><em>r</em></a>, with reasonable arguments for why the Oscars <em>should</em> nominate it.</p>
<h3 id="hMbMt9">Best Picture</h3>
<p id="f957Iq">I’m calling it now: The Oscars <em>will</em> nominate <em>Black Panther</em> for Best Picture next year. Whether it’s as a movie that could win the whole thing, or as one of those “just happy to be here” nominees, remains to be seen. But seeing how often <em>Black Panther</em> was referenced at the 2018 Oscars, it’s clear<strong> </strong>everybody in Hollywood knows this is not just another superhero movie. It’s a cultural phenomenon — and the Oscars love nominating a cultural phenomenon. (See also: <em>Gone With the Wind</em>, <em>The Sound of Music</em>, <em>Jaws</em>, <em>Star Wars</em>, etc., etc., etc.)</p>
<p id="2zBWtC">The big thing standing in <em>Black Panther’</em>s way is its genre. No superhero movie has ever been nominated for Best Picture, and the <a href="https://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/oscars-to-go-with-10-nominees-for-best-picture-instead-of-five/">expansion to more than five nominees</a> in 2009 <em>happened</em> because <em>The Dark Knight</em> was snubbed for Best Picture that year, despite receiving nominations in eight other categories. And even though <em>Wonder Woman</em> was a similar, if smaller, cultural phenomenon in the summer of 2017, the Oscars snubbed it in <em>every</em> category.</p>
<p id="dbm720">But <em>Black Panther’</em>s secret weapon is its reviews, which are really, really good. If the Oscars need an excuse to get over their squeamishness about the film’s genre, all voters need to do is look at <em>Black Panther</em>’s scores on <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/black_panther_2018">Rotten Tomatoes</a> (97 percent) and <a href="http://www.metacritic.com/movie/black-panther">Metacritic</a> (88) to have those tastes validated. </p>
<p id="VxZ2cG">Now, high review scores don’t always result in Oscar success, and in many circumstances, I’d say the movie’s February release date works against it. But <em>Black Panther</em> needs to only look at the example of fellow February release <em>Get Out</em> for tips on how to stay in the conversation all year, thus making your movie an unlikely Oscar player. It shouldn’t be tough.</p>
<p id="TODwJB"><strong>How likely this</strong><strong> is</strong><strong>: </strong>I’d say pretty likely.</p>
<h3 id="heB8v1">Best Director</h3>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Ryan Coogler directs Chadwick Boseman on the set of Black Panther" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/k3QZL7BaO3_Hb_A8GN4_fCyJjuA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10287297/cooglersplained.jpg">
<cite>Marvel Studios</cite>
<figcaption>Ryan Coogler talks with Chadwick Boseman on the set of Black Panther.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="u5xnRD"><a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/2/24/17009100/ryan-coogler-explained-fruitvale-station-creed-black-panther-michael-jordan">Ryan Coogler</a> has made just three films — this one, <em>Creed</em>, and <em>Fruitvale Station</em> — and all three have been greeted with great reviews, many centering on his roving, kinetic camerawork and natural eye for creating memorable images. There are elements of his direction of <em>Black Panther</em> I’d quibble with (mostly in the action sequences), but when the Oscars nominate a blockbuster, they usually nominate its director, too. If <em>Black Panther</em> becomes a major Oscar favorite, then Coogler will, too.</p>
<p id="Pw0ON8"><strong>How likely this</strong><strong> is</strong><strong>: </strong>It depends on how well <em>Black Panther</em> is received by the Academy, but I’d lean toward “more likely than not.”</p>
<aside id="wamc7c"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Ryan Coogler’s meteoric rise from indie film to Black Panther, explained","url":"https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/2/24/17009100/ryan-coogler-explained-fruitvale-station-creed-black-panther-michael-jordan"}]}'></div></aside><h3 id="c4WYan">The acting categories</h3>
<p id="iyDdZS">Here’s where things will be slightly trickier for T’Challa and company. The Oscars’ acting branch, which votes for the actors nominated at the final awards, rarely rewards acting in blockbusters, because it’s not as obviously showy as the acting in smaller, less visual effects-dependent movies. </p>
<p id="xa7YTz">Indeed, blockbusters typically receive only one nod for one actor, usually in a supporting category, and usually a prior Oscar favorite. Look, for instance, at Alec Guinness in <em>Star Wars</em>, or Ian McKellen in <em>The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring</em>, or Heath Ledger in <em>The Dark Knight</em>. All prior Oscar nominees (and, in Guinness’s case, a prior winner) and all showy supporting performances.</p>
<p id="QmVnGU"><em>Black Panther</em> doesn’t <em>quite</em> have an actor who fits that profile (Forest Whitaker comes closest, but his role within the film is probably too minor, while Lupita Nyong’o’s role might be too quiet to attract Academy voters), but it <em>does</em> have an up-and-coming movie star, in a major supporting role, who gives the kind of flashy-but-deep performance that actors love. </p>
<p id="RoL9gf">I speak, of course, of Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger, and were I planning the movie’s Oscar campaign, he’s where I’d try to get it an acting nomination. (That <em>Creed 2</em> should be out before the end of the year may end up helping keep Jordan in the public eye as well.) </p>
<p id="tqtlFG"><strong>How likely this</strong><strong> is</strong><strong>: </strong>It’ll be an uphill climb, but I think Jordan <em>could</em> be nominated if everything breaks right. The Oscars like to nominate stars on the rise, and he fits that profile. The other performers will struggle with competition from other actors (Chadwick Boseman, in the always crowded Lead Actor field) or from within their own film (the many, many, many prominent supporting actresses in the movie, though there’s a chance Nyong’o, an Oscar winner, might benefit from the Academy already knowing and loving her). </p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Black Panther" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/W8EYmKsuzoPixI_elSr73g8SZZM=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10165911/blackpantherjordan__1_.jpg">
<cite>Marvel Studios</cite>
<figcaption>Michael B. Jordan would be a great nominee.</figcaption>
</figure>
<h3 id="0ey5z5">Best Adapted Screenplay</h3>
<p id="WzstUu">This will be another tricky category for <em>Black Panther</em>, but <em>Logan</em> just became the first superhero movie to land a nomination here, which helps quite a bit. It really depends on how crowded the field becomes. <em>Logan</em> secured a nomination thanks to how empty the Adapted field was this year. If something similar happens, <em>Black Panther</em> should waltz in.</p>
<p id="0ORUuw"><strong>How likely this</strong><strong> is</strong><strong>: </strong>This one is really dependent on what other movies are good in 2018. But it certainly wouldn’t shock me — Coogler’s work on the screenplay (along with Joe Robert Cole) is arguably better than his direction.</p>
<h3 id="A879IQ">Best Original Song</h3>
<p id="jm9YYY">Do you think the Academy would like to have Kendrick Lamar perform at the Oscars? I certainly do. There’s always the possibility the famously finicky music branch disqualifies his songs for some reason or another (probably if they rely too heavily on material produced for some other reason and not the film specifically), but that seems like an outside possibility to me.</p>
<p id="kdvZ4e"><strong>How likely this</strong><strong> is</strong><strong>: </strong>It depends on which song a theoretical <em>Black Panther</em> Oscar campaign chooses to focus on. “All the Stars” (the song from over the closing credits) strikes me as a classic Oscar nominee, and Lamar and SZA would light up a staid ceremony with their performance. I say: Why not!</p>
<h3 id="LwCbyP">The technical categories</h3>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/j8wmyhjvo307QZ41Ufj5SUDHHEE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10264815/lupita_nyongo_black_panther.jpg">
<cite>Marvel</cite>
<figcaption>Reward these costumes.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="BkwwuD">Here is where <em>Black Panther</em> stands to really clean up, so here are some quick thoughts on each of them.</p>
<p id="eUQqkm"><strong>Cinematography: </strong>Rachel Morrison just became the first woman nominated in this category for her work on <em>Mudbound</em>, and beautiful blockbusters (like this one) have a solid record in this category. She might become the first woman nominated in consecutive years in this category.</p>
<p id="8Ah25r"><strong>Editing: </strong>Here’s a category that’s not averse to a good blockbuster. Of the technicals, this is one of the more likely nominations.</p>
<p id="tdPHOs"><strong>Production Design: </strong>The beautiful world of Wakanda should secure a nomination here easily, even if the movie’s overlooked for Best Picture.</p>
<p id="Wc6iJj"><strong>Costume Design: </strong>See Production Design.</p>
<aside id="UidsgW"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Black Panther’s brilliant costume designer tells us how to make a supersuit","url":"https://www.vox.com/2018/2/21/17033754/black-panther-costumes-ruth-carter-interview"}]}'></div></aside><p id="g5AoIs"><strong>Makeup and Hairstyling: </strong>This is probably the least likely tech category for the film to compete in. Certainly its makeup and hairstyling are good, but this branch tends to go for showier work, often involving obvious prosthetics.</p>
<p id="fFDAug"><strong>Original Score: </strong>Ludwig Göransson’s work is strong enough to be nominated, but the music branch is famously unwelcoming to newcomers. This one might be a struggle.</p>
<p id="l3cbCq"><strong>Sound Mixing and Sound Editing: </strong>The sound branches love to nominate a good blockbuster. These are two other categories where the film might well be nominated without a Best Picture nomination.</p>
<p id="9nyJCm"><strong>Visual Effects: </strong>The movie’s CGI effects are sometimes dodgy, and they’re certainly not groundbreaking. But as another nomination to pad out the movie’s total, this isn’t unthinkable or anything. It would be a classic “nominated but didn’t win” nominee in this category.</p>
<h3 id="EPTROI">Todd’s definitive, probably inaccurate, one-year-out prediction of <em>Black Panther’</em>s Oscar nominations haul</h3>
<p id="SKtsCw">I’m going to predict 12 nominations. We’ll see how accurate I am, come next year! Those nominations will be: Picture, Directing, Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing, Production Design, Costume Design, Original Song, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, and Visual Effects.</p>
<p id="fPrWo3">Please screenshot this section of the article and congratulate me in January of 2019, when the nominations are announced, and I got none of this wrong.</p>
https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/3/6/17081628/black-panther-oscars-2019-predictionsEmily St. James2018-03-05T11:10:15-05:002018-03-05T11:10:15-05:00Jimmy Kimmel delivered a surprisingly pointed Oscars monologue
<figure>
<img alt="90th Annual Academy Awards - Show" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/AtDELbmaI4hA79Rr-KuaLdsdrvQ=/0x0:1983x1487/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58902821/927262138.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The host took on Hollywood harassment and inequity with straightforward candor.</p> <p id="Xcm7iB">Between #MeToo, Hollywood’s ongoing attempts to curtail harassment and abuse within its ranks, and that whole thing where last year’s Best Picture was <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/2/27/14748228/oscar-best-picture-moonlight-la-la-land-mixup-beatty-dunaway">accidentally awarded</a> to <em>La La Land</em> instead of <em>Moonlight</em>, Jimmy Kimmel had a laundry list of intimidating things he was expected to address during his second year in a row of hosting the <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/1/22/16922112/oscars-2018-winners-nominees-biggest-moments-90th-academy-awards">Oscars</a>. But in a monologue free of many bells and whistles — like, not even a <em>single</em> spontaneous burst into song — Kimmel managed to set ‘em up and knock ‘em down. </p>
<p id="uL9Bh9">After kicking off with a self-aware warning that announced winners maybe shouldn’t “get up right away” to accept their award, just in case of another mix-up, Kimmel took a pointed turn into the uglier side of Hollywood that the Harvey Weinstein allegations <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/10/6/16434750/harvey-weinstein-kevin-spacey-sexual-assault-allegations-hollywood">brought to light</a>. </p>
<p id="4RZubl">The Oscar, he mused, is “the most respected, beloved man in Hollywood,” because he “keeps his hands where you can see them, never says a rude word, and most importantly, no penis at all.” (A solid joke, but my personal favorite part was him grinning that Oscar is “literally a statue of limitations,” which is so dumb it circles all the way back around to excellent — a classification that also applies to Kimmel promising a jet ski to whoever gives the shortest acceptance speech.)</p>
<aside id="8vW7ei"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Jimmy Kimmel’s unexpected evolution","url":"https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/9/22/16345720/jimmy-kimmel-health-care-graham-cassidy-obamacare"}]}'></div></aside><p id="HO9k8i">From there, Kimmel delivered some truly scathing jokes at the expense of Hollywood and its most powerful creeps. The <a href="https://www.vox.com/a/sexual-misconduct-allegations-the-reckoning">reckoning</a> that followed the Weinstein allegations, Kimmel acknowledged, was “long overdue. We can’t let bad behavior slide anymore. The world is watching us, and we need to set an example.” Plus, he added, if they can help fix harassment in Hollywood, “women will only have to deal with harassment all the time at every other place they go!” </p>
<p id="Z126jx">But those were layup jokes compared to some of the others Kimmel had up his sleeve. For one, he said, Hollywood couldn’t possibly be surprised by all the allegations brought to light after Weinstein, since “we made a movie called <em>What Women Want</em>, and it starred <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/11/21/16686924/mel-gibson-hollywood-sexual-abuse-harvey-weinstein-kevin-spacey-louis-ck">Mel Gibson</a>.” </p>
<p id="t9pDHa">At one point, he even brought up Mark Wahlberg <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/1/10/16873808/mark-wahlberg-michelle-williams-all-money-in-world-reshoots-pay-gap">making millions for reshoots</a> on <em>All the Money in the World</em> while Michelle Williams made an $80 per diem, plus the fact that both are represented by the William Morris talent agency. “If we can’t trust agents, who can we trust?” Kimmel asked in faux surprise, shaking his head to a ripple of knowing laughs.</p>
<p id="Gl5A8x">It was a monologue perfectly suited to Kimmel’s typical straightforward, wry delivery. But it came with a hefty dose of the pointed bite he’s developed over the past year, as he’s tackled the Trump administration and Republicans’ attempts to repeal <a href="https://www.vox.com/2017/5/2/15513404/jimmy-kimmel-monologue-newborn-son-healthcare-surgery">health care</a> with <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/9/22/16345720/jimmy-kimmel-health-care-graham-cassidy-obamacare">more passion and severity</a> than he ever had allowed on <em>Jimmy Kimmel Live</em> before. So for the Oscars, just as with the weightier episodes of his show, that combination didn’t overall make for a <em>hilarious</em> monologue — but it sure did make for a relevant one. </p>
https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/3/4/17079126/oscars-2019-jimmy-kimmel-monologueCaroline Framke2018-03-05T11:08:29-05:002018-03-05T11:08:29-05:00Frances McDormand tells Hollywood how to support women with action rather than words
<figure>
<img alt="90th Annual Academy Awards - Show" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ta9z3D1_FczkizIeeNoOrkXwlGQ=/521x70:2192x1323/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58904375/927325044.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Best Actress winner told her peers to put their money where their mouth is with financing and an “inclusion rider.”</p> <p id="FSu47d">“And now I’d like to get some perspective,” Frances McDormand said, setting her newly minted <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/1/22/16922112/oscars-2018-winners-nominees-biggest-moments-90th-academy-awards">Oscar</a> for Best Actress on the floor, “because I’ve got some things to say.”</p>
<p id="nB9oiy">After a night that somehow managed to both <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/3/4/17079126/oscars-2019-jimmy-kimmel-monologue">acknowledge</a> and <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/3/4/17079660/oscars-2018-times-up">skirt</a> the big issues of the day — like #MeToo and Hollywood’s ongoing attempts to diversify its ranks — McDormand stared out at the rapt Academy Awards audience and decided she was going to be a little more direct. </p>
<p id="XF5Y9d">“If I may be so honored to have all the female nominees in every category stand with me tonight,” she said, imploring the room with her arms spread. “The actors ... the filmmakers, the producers, the directors, the writers, the <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/1/23/16922742/oscars-cinematography-woman-rachel-morrison-mudbound">cinematographer</a>, the composers, the songwriters, the designers! Come on!” </p>
<p id="C2vJBs">And lo, they did. After all, McDormand — displaying a canny sense of how Hollywood works — had encouraged Meryl Streep to stand, reasoning that “if you do it, everybody else will.”</p>
<p id="URmSnT">But McDormand wasn’t satisfied with just making the room erupt in cheers for the women nominees. “Look around, ladies and gentlemen, because we all have stories to tell and projects we need financed,” she said. “Don’t talk to us about it at the parties tonight; invite us into your office in a couple days — or you can come to ours, whichever suits you best —and we’ll tell you all about them.”</p>
<p id="TuO2fF">Going one step further into true industry inside baseball, McDormand left with an instructive mic drop: “I have two words to leave with you tonight ... <em>inclusion rider</em>.” </p>
<p id="goVOH3">The phrase might have sent plenty of confused people watching the ceremony straight to Google, but McDormand made a safe bet in assuming that the people in the room with her knew exactly what she was talking about. A “rider” is part of a contract in which someone can specify their individual needs or demands on a project; a powerful Hollywood player like, say, Streep, could fight for an “inclusion rider” to ensure that the project they’re signing on to will include a more gender- and race-inclusive talent pool.</p>
<p id="WDP64n">With this speech, McDormand didn’t just make a heartfelt speech celebrating the creative women in that room and beyond. She also laid out legitimate, practical ways that the industry can grow and change to support the talent it has so long ignored and abused. What she and many of those standing nominees know is that it’s easy for people to <em>say</em> they support women, and another thing for them to actually<em> </em>support women in practice. Hopefully, more powerful people will see McDormand’s speech and understand that they can — and should — work to bridge that gap.</p>
https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/3/5/17079834/oscars-2018-frances-mcdormand-inclusion-rider-best-actress-speechCaroline Framke2018-03-05T10:15:40-05:002018-03-05T10:15:40-05:00The Shape of Water, from Guillermo del Toro, is a beautiful adult fairy tale about a fish-man
<figure>
<img alt="The Shape of Water" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/RoFJsNbEm3ZXw9aKoKMjCL-o0Co=/283x0:1746x1097/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/56644307/shapecover.0.jpg" />
<figcaption><em>The Shape of Water</em></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The watery, bittersweet romance is rich, moving, and loaded with meaning.</p> <p id="4L3O1y">The opening shots of Guillermo del Toro’s gorgeous romance-fantasy <em>The Shape of Water</em> show Eliza (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1020089/?ref_=tt_cl_t3">Sally Hawkins</a>) going about her morning routine — boiling eggs, bathing, brushing her shoes, visiting her neighbor Giles (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0420955/?ref_=tt_cl_t6">Richard Jenkins</a>) before work — in her dingy but charming apartment above the Orpheum movie theater. The camera pans down and across the theater’s marquee. It is 1960, and the theater is playing <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Ruth"><em>The Story of Ruth</em></a>, Henry Koster’s biblical epic.</p>
<p id="erMU4X">That movie shows up several times in <em>The Shape of Water</em>, playing in the background of scenes and advertised on the Orpheum’s marquee, and though it doesn’t serve as del Toro’s primary symbolism, its story lurks around the edges of his film. The most famous passage from the Book of Ruth is when Ruth, who is a Moabite, entreats her Jewish mother-in-law, Naomi, to let her come to Israel with her, even after Ruth’s husband (Naomi’s son) has passed away. “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you,” <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ruth+1%3A16-17&version=ESV">Ruth says</a>. “For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.”</p>
<div class="c-float-right"><aside id="r3hX2O"><div data-anthem-component="ratingcard" data-anthem-component-data='{"rating":4}'></div></aside></div>
<p id="nSfrc2">The words are spoken between a widow and her mother-in-law, but most people know the passage as a familiar reading at weddings. The devotion it expresses — love that transcends the speaker’s home, family, and beliefs about the world — is the purest distillation of what it is to fall in love and give oneself over to the commitment that entails. </p>
<p id="AaiZMr">It can’t be an accident that <em>The Story of Ruth</em> is invoked in <em>The Shape of Water,</em> a film about the kind of love in which we both abandon ourselves and discover our true selves in the same moment. And del Toro imbues that idea with an additional insight: To love another, we have to learn to see the ways they’re different from us as well as the ways we’re profoundly the same.</p>
<h3 id="xhPjAF">
<strong>In </strong><em><strong>The Shape of Water</strong></em><strong>, an unlikely love story unfolds</strong>
</h3>
<p id="Tg7cNe"><em>The Shape of Water</em>, set in Cold War-era Baltimore,<em> </em>is full of characters who are different and lonely. </p>
<p id="dIMlB9">Eliza, besides being an orphan, is mute — she can hear, but she communicates through sign language with Giles and Zelda (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0818055/?ref_=tt_cl_t5">Octavia Spencer</a>), her co-worker at the research facility where they clean labs. Life seems to have passed right by Giles, a commercial artist whose skills are being phased out by a photo-mad advertising economy, and he’s nursing a hopeless crush on the handsome owner of the pie shop nearby. Zelda, already viewed with disdain by the lab’s white employees because she’s black, is married to a man she loves but who seems to see her as an inconvenience. Zelda and Eliza’s boss is security supervisor Strickland (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0788335/?ref_=tt_cl_t2">Michael Shannon</a>), an imposing and prejudiced man who carries around a cattle prod and is desperate to please his superiors, which he hides behind a blowhard demeanor. </p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Michael Shannon in The Shape of Water" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/5zclHyGMhj1OQAbiNlofvuLgPX4=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/9229777/shape1.jpg">
<cite>20th Century Fox</cite>
<figcaption>Michael Shannon in <em>The Shape of Water.</em>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="T9Mq7F">Strickland has traveled from the Amazon to the lab with a creature he calls “the Asset” (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0427964/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t1">Doug Jones</a>), an imposing water-dwelling creature that has gills like a fish but can stand like a man and has two breathing systems, though the above-water anatomy shuts down after too long without water. </p>
<p id="yLjVvn">The creature’s multiple breathing systems are being studied in the lab for their military applications by Dr. Hoffstetler (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0836121/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t4">Michael Stuhlbarg</a>), who is also a Soviet spy. Hoffstetler sees the Asset as a marvel. Strickland, a bigot, just calls it an “abomination.”</p>
<p id="P1lcmw">But Eliza has always been the outsider, and she is curious about the Asset. Over the course of many furtive visits to the lab by Eliza, they develop a connection. And when the lab’s and the military’s plans for the Asset become clear, she knows she can’t just sit by and watch. She has to take action.</p>
<h3 id="cYXLtk">
<em>The Shape of Water</em> is a fantasy tale with a central truth firmly rooted in reality</h3>
<p id="MXeORv"><em>The Shape of Water</em> is a fairy tale for adults (and has the R rating to prove it), and there’s a good reason it’s for adults. Young children aren’t born with prejudice; they have to learn it, and they learn from watching their elders treating those who are different like they are less-than. What <em>The Shape of Water </em>has to teach, however subtly, is much needed in a prejudiced world. It paints borders rooted deep in the American soul — between countries, races, abilities, and desires — with compassion and gentleness. </p>
<p id="efyWHg">The movie takes its name from Plato’s idea that in its purest form, water takes the shape of an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icosahedron">icosahedron</a>, a 20-sided polyhedron, evoking the idea that beauty, and humanity, has many faces. Like most fairy tales — which often involve glorious and beautiful beings who take on disguises to teach craven people a lesson — <em>The Shape of Water </em>is devoted to reminding us that everyone is beautiful, and that it’s those we cravenly consider maimed and strange and frightening who will inherit the earth. </p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Sally Hawkins and Octavia Spencer in The Shape of Water" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/lIqZ-Xf0fsn6DnhhRwakAexs3SA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/9229785/shape2.jpg">
<cite>20th Century Fox</cite>
<figcaption>Sally Hawkins and Octavia Spencer in <em>The Shape of Water.</em>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="dSXgTq">Del Toro always renders his films’ social critiques in fantastical and imaginative images, and <em>The Shape of Water</em> is among his best, with a creature that’s both fully reptilian and strangely human, a black-and-white dream dance sequence, and underwater imagery that verges on the balletic. The color palette leans heavily on greens, ranging from muddy to emerald — I suspect partly because green is the color of the sea and partly because it’s the combination of two primary colors, yellow and blue. (In a terrific visual joke, Strickland buys a Cadillac that is teal, the “color of the future,” and gets angry when people call it green.)</p>
<p id="fm3it5">And those images and colors are brought to life with a perfect cast. As a seething, disintegrating force of pure ego, Shannon is the definition of scenery-chewing. Jenkins gives one of the most empathy-stirring performances I’ve seen in a long time. And you could be forgiven for forgetting that Hawkins barely utters a word throughout the whole film: Her eyes and face and gestures do the work of thousands of lines of dialogue.</p>
<p id="hVUVlU">Fairy tales have happy endings; in <em>The Shape of Water</em>, it’s a bit more bittersweet, a fantasy that strikes a note of hope, and suggests that real love means crossing the divides we erect between us and those different from us. “Where you go, I will go,” Ruth tells Naomi. It is a difficult and beautiful dream — and del Toro makes it feel like just a bit less of a fantasy.</p>
https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/9/12/16288080/shape-of-water-del-toro-review-best-pictureAlissa Wilkinson