A hostless Oscars ceremony didn’t deter viewers on Sunday.
As younger viewers spend less time watching traditional TV and more time online, awards ceremonies, and other major live events, have seen a downturn in viewership.
This year, the Oscars telecast benefited from star-powered musical performances from Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper from “A Star is Born” as well as Jennifer Hudson’s rendition of “I’ll Fight” from the documentary “RGB.”
Although some wondered if not having a host would deter folks from tuning in, it seemed the show did just fine without an usher to direct the audience from category to category. Instead of a monologue, the show started with a concert-like performance from Adam Lambert and Queen and small bit of banter between Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph.
The night was narrated by Randy Thomas, who has been the announcer for the program for the last 10 years, bridging each award seamlessly into the next.
The whole ceremony, which started a half hour earlier than usual, clocked in at 3 hours and 20 minutes, about 40 minutes shorter than last year.
Without a host, the broadcast allowed for slightly longer bits between presenters, including a hilarious exchange between Melissa McCarthy (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”) and Brian Tyree Henry (“Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse”) ahead of the announcement for best costume design.
The awards ceremony itself was a celebration of diversity and inclusivity as a breadth of winners took home the coveted statuette.
In the four top acting categories, two winners were black, one was of Egyptian descent and the other was British.
In addition, for the first time awards for best costuming and best production went to African American nominees. Ruth Carter took home the Oscar for best costuming for her work on “Black Panther,” and Hannah Beachler for production design, also for her work on the super hero film.
Other firsts of the night included Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma” winning for best foreign film, marking the first time a Mexican film has ever won in the category.
Spike Lee was greeted with a standing ovation as the film industry veteran took the stage to claim his first Oscar for best adapted screenplay for his work on “BlacKkKlansman.” Lee has previously been nominated for best documentary feature in 1998 for “4 Little Girls” and best original screenplay in 1990 for “Do the Right Thing.” He received an honorary Oscar in 2016 for his directorial accomplishments.
For a full list of the 91st Academy Award winners click here.
Source:CNBC
