Glen Keane’s ‘Dear Basketball,’ Pixar’s ‘Coco’ win animation Oscars; ‘Blade Runner 2049’ wins VFX and cinematography awards.
Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water of Water was the big winner at Sunday night’s 90th Academy Awards, taking home the Oscar for Best Picture along with statuettes for Production Design, Original Score and Directing.
Other winners included the 2D-animated short Dear Basketball and Pixar feature Coco, which received awards for both Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song. Blade Runner 2049, meanwhile, won Academy Awards for both Best Visual Effects and Best Cinematography.
Kobe Bryant and Glen Keane pose backstage with the Oscar for best animated short film, for work on ‘Dear Basketball’ during the 90th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, CA. Image credit: Matt Petit / A.M.P.A.S.
Dear Basketball, the short film collaboration between legendary animator Glen Keane, NBA star Kobe Bryant and composer John Williams, won the award for Best Animated Short Film, beating out MoPA short Garden Party, Pixar’s LOU, Max Porter and Ru Kuwahata’s Negative Space, and Magic Light Pictures’ Revolting Rhymes.
“Thank you, thank you, Academy,” Keane said during his acceptance speech. “Thank you Gennie Rim, Max Keane, our entire crew for your incredible talents. My wife Linda for your years of love and support. And to Kobe, for writing Dear Basketball. It’s a message for all of us. Whatever form your dream may take, it’s through passion and perseverance that the impossible is possible.”
“Thank you, Academy, for this amazing honor,” added Bryant, who served as executive producer for the project. “Thank you, John Williams, for such a wonderful piece of music. Thank you, Verizon, for believing in the film. Thank you, Molly Carter, without you we wouldn’t be here. And to my wife Vanessa, our daughters Natalia, Gianna, and Bianka. Ti amo con tutto il mio cuore. You are my inspiration. Thank you so much, guys, thank you.”
Lee Unkrich and Darla K. Anderson pose backstage with the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film for work on ‘Coco’ during the 90th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, CA. Image credit: Michael Baker / A.M.P.A.S.
Pixar’s Día de los Muertos-themed Coco won the award for Best Animated Feature, with director Lee Unkrich, co-director and writer Adrian Molina, producer Darla K. Anderson and voice talent Anthony Gonzalez on hand to accept the award.
“Thank you to the Academy. We are so happy. Coco is proof that art can change and connect the world and this can only be done when we have a place for everyone and anyone who feels like an “other” to be heard,” Anderson said. “This is dedicated with enormous love to my gigantic, interwoven family and most especially, my wife, my rock Kori Rae.”
“Love and thanks to my family, my Latino community, to my husband Ryan,” Molina said. “Each for expanding my sense of what it means to be proud of who you are and where you’re from. We hope the same thing for everyone who connected with this film.”
“We share this with our immensely talented cast and crew as well as the executive teams at Disney and Pixar,” Unkrich said. “Thanks for the support of my wife Laura, my three kids, Hannah, Alice, Max. My entire family, I love you. And the biggest thank you of all to the people of Mexico. “Coco” would not exist without your endlessly beautiful culture and traditions. With “Coco” we tried to take a step forward toward a world where all children can grow up seeing characters in movies that look and talk and live like they do. Marginalized people deserve to feel like they belong. Representation matters.”
Gonzalez, the voice of Coco lead Miguel, gave his thanks in Spanish: “Muchísimas gracias a todos y que viva México!”
Songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez won the Oscar for Best Original Song for Coco’s “Remember Me,” the second win for the husband-and-wife songwriting team, who previously received an Academy Award in 2014 for “Let it Go” from Disney’s animated hit Frozen.
John Nelson, Paul Lambert, Gerd Nefzer, and Richard R. Hoover accept the Oscar for achievement in visual effects, for work on ‘Blade Runner 2049’ during the 90th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, CA. Image credit: Michael Baker / A.M.P.A.S.
Director Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 received the Oscar for Best Visual Effects, with statuettes handed out to John Nelson, Gerd Nefzer, Paul Lambert and Richard R. Hoover for their contributions to the film.
“Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Thank you so much Academy members of the Academy for this great honor,” Nelson enthused. “Thank you, Denis Villeneuve, whose, you know, guts are seen in every frame of this film, especially the visual effects. Thank you Andrew Kosove, Broderick Johnson, Roger Deakins, Joe Walker, Dennis Gassner, Bill Carraro, Karen Murphy, Richard Clegg, Habib Zargarpour, up there in the rafters, Deak Ferrand, Victor Muller, Cynthia Yorkin, DNeg, Framestore, MPC, BUF, Rodeo, UPP, Atomic, Weta, Alcon, Warner Bros., Sony, Sean Young, Deb and Miles.”
“I share this with my incredible team led by Michelle back at Double Negative, my family, especially for putting up with the crazy hours of the last 22 years,” Nelson said. “Hopefully my boys Boston and Jackson are watching right now. And to all the people who’ve had such a big influence on me and my career. Thank you.”
Jeffrey A. Melvin, Paul Denham Austerberry and Shane Vieau pose backstage with the Oscar for Achievement in production design, for work on ‘The Shape of Water’ during the 90th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, CA. Image credit: Michael Baker / A.M.P.A.S.
“To all my friends in Montreal, merci beaucoup, this is for you,” Hoover added, while Nefzer gave a shout-out to his native country: “Danke schon, Germany. Thank you. Great.”
Roger A. Deakins received the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for Blade Runner 2049, his first win following 13 previous nominations.
“You know, I really love my job,” Deakins said in accepting the award. “I’ve been doing it a long time as you can see. But you know, one of the reasons I really love it is the people I work with, both in front of the camera and behind the camera. Some of my crew on Blade Runner, I’ve been working with for over thirty years, and others I met for the first time in Budapest. And this is for every one of them, every one of them. In fact, I gotta say it’s for us, because it was a team. It was really a team effort. Thank you, thank you, very much.”
The full list of nominees and winners is shown below:
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
- 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 -- WINNER
Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
- DARKEST HOUR -- WINNER
Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski and Lucy Sibbick - VICTORIA & ABDUL
Daniel Phillips and Lou Sheppard - WONDER
Arjen Tuiten
COSTUME DESIGN
- BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Jacqueline Durran - DARKEST HOUR
Jacqueline Durran - PHANTOM THREAD -- WINNER
Mark Bridges - THE SHAPE OF WATER
Luis Sequeira - VICTORIA & ABDUL
Consolata Boyle
DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)
- ABACUS: SMALL ENOUGH TO JAIL
Steve James, Mark Mitten and Julie Goldman - FACES PLACES
Agnès Varda, JR and Rosalie Varda - ICARUS -- WINNER
Bryan Fogel and Dan Cogan - LAST MEN IN ALEPPO
Feras Fayyad, Kareem Abeed and Søren Steen Jespersen - STRONG ISLAND
Yance Ford and Joslyn Barnes
SOUND EDITING
- BABY DRIVER
Julian Slater - BLADE RUNNER 2049
Mark Mangini and Theo Green - DUNKIRK -- WINNER
Richard King and Alex Gibson - THE SHAPE OF WATER
Nathan Robitaille and Nelson Ferreira - STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI
Matthew Wood and Ren Klyce
SOUND MIXING
- BABY DRIVER
Julian Slater, Tim Cavagin and Mary H. Ellis - BLADE RUNNER 2049
Ron Bartlett, Doug Hemphill and Mac Ruth - DUNKIRK -- WINNER
Gregg Landaker, Gary A. Rizzo and Mark Weingarten - THE SHAPE OF WATER
Christian Cooke, Brad Zoern and Glen Gauthier - STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI
David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Stuart Wilson
PRODUCTION DESIGN
- BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer - BLADE RUNNER 2049
Production Design: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Alessandra Querzola - DARKEST HOUR
Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer - DUNKIRK
Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Gary Fettis - THE SHAPE OF WATER -- WINNER
Production Design: Paul Denham Austerberry; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau and Jeffrey A. Melvin
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
- A FANTASTIC WOMAN -- WINNER
Chile - THE INSULT
Lebanon - LOVELESS
Russia - ON BODY AND SOUL
Hungary - THE SQUARE
Sweden
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
- MARY J. BLIGE
Mudbound - ALLISON JANNEY -- WINNER
I, Tonya - LESLEY MANVILLE
Phantom Thread - LAURIE METCALF
Lady Bird - OCTAVIA SPENCER
The Shape of Water
SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
- DEAR BASKETBALL -- WINNER
Glen Keane and Kobe Bryant - GARDEN PARTY
Victor Caire and Gabriel Grapperon - LOU
Dave Mullins and Dana Murray - NEGATIVE SPACE
Max Porter and Ru Kuwahata - REVOLTING RHYMES
Jakob Schuh and Jan Lachauer
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
- THE BOSS BABY
Tom McGrath and Ramsey Naito - THE BREADWINNER
Nora Twomey and Anthony Leo - COCO -- WINNER
Lee Unkrich and Darla K. Anderson - FERDINAND
Carlos Saldanha and Lori Forte - LOVING VINCENT
Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman and Ivan Mactaggart
VISUAL EFFECTS
- BLADE RUNNER 2049 -- WINNER
John Nelson, Gerd Nefzer, Paul Lambert and Richard R. Hoover - GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2
Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Jonathan Fawkner and Dan Sudick - KONG: SKULL ISLAND
Stephen Rosenbaum, Jeff White, Scott Benza and Mike Meinardus - STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI
Ben Morris, Mike Mulholland, Neal Scanlan and Chris Corbould - WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES
Joe Letteri, Daniel Barrett, Dan Lemmon and Joel Whist
FILM EDITING
- BABY DRIVER
Paul Machliss and Jonathan Amos - DUNKIRK -- WINNER
Lee Smith - I, TONYA
Tatiana S. Riegel - THE SHAPE OF WATER
Sidney Wolinsky - THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
Jon Gregory
DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)
- EDITH+EDDIE
Laura Checkoway and Thomas Lee Wright - HEAVEN IS A TRAFFIC JAM ON THE 405 -- WINNER
Frank Stiefel - HEROIN(E)
Elaine McMillion Sheldon and Kerrin Sheldon - KNIFE SKILLS
Thomas Lennon - TRAFFIC STOP
Kate Davis and David Heilbroner
SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
- DEKALB ELEMENTARY
Reed Van Dyk - THE ELEVEN O’CLOCK
Derin Seale and Josh Lawson - MY NEPHEW EMMETT
Kevin Wilson, Jr. - THE SILENT CHILD -- WINNER
Chris Overton and Rachel Shenton - WATU WOTE/ALL OF US
Katja Benrath and Tobias Rosen
WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
- CALL ME BY YOUR NAME -- WINNER
Screenplay by James Ivory - THE DISASTER ARTIST
Screenplay by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber - LOGAN
Screenplay by Scott Frank & James Mangold and Michael Green; Story by James Mangold - MOLLY’S GAME
Written for the screen by Aaron Sorkin - MUDBOUND
Screenplay by Virgil Williams and Dee Rees
WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
- THE BIG SICK
Written by Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani - GET OUT -- WINNER
Written by Jordan Peele - LADY BIRD
Written by Greta Gerwig - THE SHAPE OF WATER
Screenplay by Guillermo del Toro & Vanessa Taylor; Story by Guillermo del Toro - THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
Written by Martin McDonagh
CINEMATOGRAPHY
- BLADE RUNNER 2049 -- WINNER
Roger A. Deakins - DARKEST HOUR
Bruno Delbonnel - DUNKIRK
Hoyte van Hoytema - MUDBOUND
Rachel Morrison - THE SHAPE OF WATER
Dan Laustsen
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
- DUNKIRK
Hans Zimmer - PHANTOM THREAD
Jonny Greenwood - THE SHAPE OF WATER -- WINNER
Alexandre Desplat - STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI
John Williams - THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
Carter Burwell
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
- “Mighty River”
from Mudbound; Music and Lyric by Mary J. Blige, Raphael Saadiq and Taura Stinson - “Mystery of Love”
from Call Me by Your Name; Music and Lyric by Sufjan Stevens - “Remember Me” -- WINNER
from Coco; Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez - “Stand Up for Something”
from Marshall; Music by Diane Warren; Lyric by Lonnie R. Lynn and Diane Warren - “This is Me”
from The Greatest Showman; Music and Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
DIRECTING
- DUNKIRK
Christopher Nolan - GET OUT
Jordan Peele - LADY BIRD
Greta Gerwig - PHANTOM THREAD
Paul Thomas Anderson - THE SHAPE OF WATER -- WINNER
Guillermo del Toro
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
- TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET
Call Me by Your Name - DANIEL DAY-LEWIS
Phantom Thread - DANIEL KALUUYA
Get Out - GARY OLDMAN -- WINNER
Darkest Hour - DENZEL WASHINGTON
Roman J. Israel, Esq.
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
- SALLY HAWKINS
The Shape of Water - FRANCES MCDORMAND -- WINNER
Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri - MARGOT ROBBIE
I, Tonya - SAOIRSE RONAN
Lady Bird - MERYL STREEP
The Post
BEST PICTURE
- CALL ME BY YOUR NAME
Peter Spears, Luca Guadagnino, Emilie Georges and Marco Morabito, Producers - DARKEST HOUR
Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce, Anthony McCarten and Douglas Urbanski, Producers - DUNKIRK
Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers - GET OUT
Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Edward H. Hamm Jr. and Jordan Peele, Producers - LADY BIRD
Scott Rudin, Eli Bush and Evelyn O’Neill, Producers - PHANTOM THREAD
JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson, Megan Ellison and Daniel Lupi, Producers - THE POST
Amy Pascal, Steven Spielberg and Kristie Macosko Krieger, Producers - THE SHAPE OF WATER -- WINNER
Guillermo del Toro and J. Miles Dale, Producers - THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin and Martin McDonagh, Producers
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
