‘Moonlight’ Writers Set Oscar Record With 5 Black Winners in Single Year
“Moonlight” writers Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney join Mahershala Ali, Viola Davis and Ezra Edelman as 2017 winners
Matt Pressberg | February 26, 2017 @ 8:37 PM
Last Updated: February 26, 2017 @ 9:25 PM
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“Moonlight” writers Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, a historic win that made them the fourth and fifth black honorees of the night, setting an all-time record.
They join Viola Davis, who took home the trophy earlier in the evening for her role in “Fences,” based on an August Wilson play, while “Moonlight’s” Mahershala Ali won for Best Supporting Actor, the evening’s first award. They joined Ezra Edelman, the director of “O.J.: Made in America,” which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
Though “Moonlight” also won Best Pictures, none of its nominated producers are black.
Davis’ “Fences” co-star Denzel Washington had a chance to add to the record for most number of Oscar winners of African descent in a single year, as Washington was nominated for Best Actor — but Casey Affleck took home that Oscar statue for his turn in “Manchester by the Sea.”
Barry Jenkins was up for Best Director for “Moonlight,” but was unable to add to the record when Damien Chazelle won in the category for “La La Land.”
Davis had received two previous nominations, but her win this year was her first. “Moonlight’s” Naomie Harris was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress, a category which had three black nominees, also including “Hidden Figures'” Octavia Spencer.
This year topped the previous record held by 2014, when Steve McQueen, Lupita Nyong’o and John Ridley won in three separate categories for “12 Years a Slave,” which tied with 2009 when Geoffrey Fletcher and Mo’Nique won for “Precious” and Roger Ross Williams won for Best Documentary Short Subject for “Music by Prudence.”
Ali made more Oscar history Sunday, becoming the first Muslim actor to win an Academy Award. Though there is some dispute over that distinction as Ellen Burstyn, who took home the trophy for Best Actress in 1974 for her starring role in Martin Scorsese’s “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” has studied Sufism, another branch of Islam.
Oscars 2017: Our Predictions in All 24 Categories (Photos)
It's been years since the last big sweep, but Damien Chazelle's musical is threatening to turn the Oscars into a 'La La' Palooza. Here's how TheWrap awards editor and veteran Oscarologist Steve Pond predicts this Sunday will go down.
NOMINEES: "Arrival," "Fences," "Hacksaw Ridge," "Hell or High Water," "Hidden Figures," "La La Land," "Lion," "Manchester by the Sea," "Moonlight"
WINNER: "La La Land"
BEST DIRECTOR
NOMINEES: Damien Chazelle, "La La Land"; Mel Gibson, "Hacksaw Ridge"; Barry Jenkins, "Moonlight"; Kenneth Lonergan, "Manchester by the Sea"; Denis Villeneuve, "Arrival"
WINNER: Damien Chazelle
BEST ACTOR
NOMINEES: Casey Affleck, "Manchester by the Sea"; Andrew Garfield, "Hacksaw Ridge"; Ryan Gosling, "La La Land"; Viggo Mortensen, "Captain Fantastic"; Denzel Washington, "Fences"
WINNER: Denzel Washington
BEST ACTRESS
NOMINEES: Isabelle Huppert, "Elle"; Ruth Negga, "Loving"; Natalie Portman, "Jackie"; Emma Stone, "La La Land"; Meryl Streep, "Florence Foster Jenkins"
WINNER: Emma Stone
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
NOMINEES: Mahershala Ali, "Moonlight"; Jeff Bridges, "Hell or High Water"; Lucas Hedges, "Manchester by the Sea"; Dev Patel, "Lion"; Michael Shannon, "Nocturnal Animals"
WINNER: Mahershala Ali
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Best Supporting Actress
NOMINEES: Viola Davis, "Fences"; Naomie Harris, "Moonlight"; Nicole Kidman, "Lion"; Octavia Spencer, "Hidden Figures"; Michelle Williams, "Manchester by the Sea"
WINNER: Viola Davis
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
NOMINEES: "Arrival," "Fences," "Hidden Figures," "La La Land," "Moonlight"
WINNER: Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney, "Moonlight"
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
NOMINEES: "Hell or High Water," "La La Land," "The Lobster," "Manchester by the Sea," "20th Century Women"
WINNER: Kenneth Lonergan, "Manchester by the Sea"
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
NOMINEES: "Kubo and the Two Strings," "Moana," "My Life as a Zucchini," "The Red Turtle," "Zootopia"
WINNER: "Zootopia"
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
NOMINEES: "Land of Mine," "A Man Called Ove," "The Salesman," "Tanna," "Toni Erdmann"
WINNER: "The Salesman"
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
NOMINEES: "Fire at Sea," "I Am Not Your Negro," "Life, Animated," "O.J.: Made in America," "13th"
WINNER: "O.J.: Made in America"
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
NOMINEES: "Arrival," "La La Land," "Lion," "Moonlight," "Silence"
WINNER: "La La Land"
BEST FILM EDITING
NOMINEES: "Arrival," "Hacksaw Ridge," "Hell or High Water" "La La Land," "Moonlight"
WINNER: "La La Land"
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
NOMINEES: "Arrival," "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," "Hail, Caesar!," "La La Land," "Passengers"
WINNER: "La La Land"
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
NOMINEES: "Allied," "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," "Florence Foster Jenkins," "Jackie," "La La Land"
WINNER: "La La Land"
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
NOMINEES: "A Man Called Ove," "Star Trek Beyond," "Suicide Squad"
WINNER: "Star Trek Beyond"
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
NOMINEES: "Jackie," "La La Land," "Lion," "Moonlight," "Passengers"
WINNER: "La La Land"
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
NOMINEES: "Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" from "La La Land," "Can't Stop the Feeling" from "Trolls," "City of Stars" from "La La Land," "The Empty Chair" from "Jim: The James Foley Story," "How Far I'll Go" from "Moana"
WINNER: "City of Stars" from "La La Land"
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
NOMINEES: "Deepwater Horizon," "Doctor Strange," "The Jungle Book," "Kubo and the Two Strings," "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"
WINNER: "The Jungle Book"
BEST SOUND EDITING
NOMINEES: "Arrival," "Deepwater Horizon," "Hacksaw Ridge," "La La Land," "Sully"
WINNER: "Hacksaw Ridge"
BEST SOUND MIXING
NOMINEES: "Arrival," "Hacksaw Ridge," "La La Land," "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi"
WINNER: "La La Land"
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
NOMINEES: "Extremis," "4.1 Miles," "Joe's Violin," "Watani: My Homeland," "The White Helmets"
We watched all the shorts and documentary categories so you can slay on your office pool
It's been years since the last big sweep, but Damien Chazelle's musical is threatening to turn the Oscars into a 'La La' Palooza. Here's how TheWrap awards editor and veteran Oscarologist Steve Pond predicts this Sunday will go down.
