SPOTLIGHT wins Best Picture, MAD MAX nabs six at last night’s Academy Awards

Last night’s Academy Awards ceremony started off with a bang, as Chris Rock laid into the Academy and the #Oscarsowhite debate in equal turn, giving the most blistering and entertaining opening monologue I’ve heard in years. It helps that Rock isn’t a song and dance man, so the Academy had to avoid one of its ongoing worst impulses this time around. The rest of the show didn’t quite live up to that opening, including a few jokes that fell flat. For example, the Stacey Dash bit ended up being a funny idea that just ended being “too deep a cut” for the audience in attendance. Still, we got Rock interviewing theater-goers in Compton, so there were a few other high marks.

As for the actual winners? There were a few genuine surprises. Ex Machina taking the VFX prize stunned many, as it seemed like the least likely winner compared to Star Wars: The Force Awakens or Mad Max: Fury Road. Mad Max, in turn, cleaned up in the tech categories, taking home six prizes, including Best Editing. Unfortunately that film’s director, George Miller, went home empty handed, as the Academy continues its two-year long love affair with The Revenant‘s Alejandro G. Inarritu. Though much to my delight, the Best Picture prize went to Spotlight, a film I absolutely adored and ranked right behind Mad Max in my favorite films of the year.

And yes, Leo finally got his Oscar. And Sly Stallone lost out to Mark Rylance in Best Supporting Actor, which goes to show you, sometimes the early frontrunner stays on top no matter how early the film is released in the calendar year. Ennio Morricone also came away with a trophy, and it’s hard to not love that.

Hopefully, this will turn a few audiences on to just how great Spotlight is, it easily stands with Zero Dark Thirty as one of the best process-oriented films I’ve seen in recent years. If you like movies about “answering phones and opening doors” like I do, I highly recommend it.

Here’s the full winner list:

Best Picture

Spotlight
Michael Sugar, Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin and Blye Pagon Faust, Producers

Best Actor

Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant

Best Actress

Brie Larson, Room

Best Directing

Alejandro G. Iñárritu, The Revenant, 

Best Original Song

“Writing’s On The Wall” from Spectre
Music and Lyric by Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith

Best Original Score

The Hateful Eight
Ennio Morricone

Best Foreign Language Film

Son of Saul (Hungary)

Best Live Action Short Film
Stutterer
Benjamin Cleary and Serena Armtiage

Best Documentary Feature
Amy
Asif Kapadia and James Gay-Rees

Best Documentary Short Subject

A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

Best Supporting Actor

Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies

Best Animated Feature Film

Inside Out
Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera

Best Animated Short Film

Bear Story
Gabriel Osorio and Pato Escala

Best Visual Effects

Ex Machina
Andrew Whitehurst, Paul Norris, Mark Ardington and Sara Bennett

Best Sound Mixing

Mad Max: Fury Road
Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff and Ben Osmo

Best Sound Editing

Mad Max: Fury Road
Mark Mangini and David White

Best Film Editing

Mad Max: Fury Road
Margaret Sixel

Best Cinematography

The Revenant
Emmanuel Lubezki

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Mad Max: Fury Road
Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega and Damian Martin

Best Production Design

Mad Max: Fury Road
Production Design: Colin Gibson; Set Decoration: Lisa Thompson

Best Costume Design

Mad Max: Fury Road
Jenny Beavan

Best Supporting Actress

Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl

Adapted Screenplay

The Big Short
Screenplay by Charles Randolph and Adam McKay

Best Original Screenplay

Spotlight
Written by Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy