Jimmy Kimmel joked all night about how long the Oscars ceremony would be (although some winners really were really playing to win that jet ski!), and viewers of the ABC telecast got to see everything that happened on stage at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
But beyond the presentations of awards, musical extravaganzas and endless acceptance speeches, believe it or not, there were plenty of surprising moments that happened off-camera.
TheWrap was there to capture some of those best moments, including Sam Rockwell comparing his character to Barney Fife, and Kobe Bryant throwing some more shade at Fox News’ Laura Ingraham.
What do “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” and “The Andy Griffith Show” have in common? Rockwell said that he took inspiration for his bumbling, racist cop character from Barney Fife.
“I mean that when I say Barney Fife and, you know, the town of Ebbing is very much like Mayberry, and Woody Harrelson’s character is very much like the Andy Griffith character,” Rockwell said. “The goofiness of Barney Fife, the kind of hapless thing of Barney Fife, and then his transition into somebody else was just sort of — Travis Bickle was kind of a — Barney Fife to Travis Bickle was kind of a generalization, but it’s a lot more complicated than that, obviously.”
“Icarus” Director Bryan Fogel Calls for the International Olympic Committee President to Resign
Russia was banned from the 2018 Winter Olympics, but many Russian athletes were still able to participate in the games as independent athletes. Director Bryan Fogel was watching the Olympics closely. And after winning the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, Fogel used his platform to call on the president of the International Olympic Committe, Thomas Bach, to resign from his post at the IOC.
“Plain and simple, Thomas Bach needs to resign. He is a crook, and what he has shown to Planet Earth and any athlete who believes in the Olympic ideal is to not trust it and to not trust those words,” Fogel said in the press room afterwards. “Because if you can corroborate and prove and substantiate a fraud on this caliber on this level that spanned for decades, and then essentially give that country that committed that fraud a slap on the wrist, allow 160 of their athletes to compete in those games, two of them found doping, and then immediately after the games are over, without that country ever accepting responsibility, apologizing for any of their actions or accepting that any of this was truth while they continue to hunt Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, and they lift the ban on that country: What a fraud. What a corrupt organization, and that man should be embarrassed and ashamed of himself. He needs to resign.
Kobe Bryant Addresses His Acceptance Speech
Kobe Bryant knows a few things about winning (ask all the Lakers fans in L.A.) But his co-director on the Oscar winning animated short “Dear Basketball,” Glen Keane, joked that at least tonight he doesn’t have to celebrate his victory by sitting in a tub of ice. During his acceptance speech however, Bryant threw some shade at Ingraham, referencing her “shut up and dribble” comments. He clarified those comments in his post-acceptance speech interview.
“For us not just as athletes but as people in general, we have the ability to speak up for what you believe in — whether you’re a professional athlete or not, whether you’re an actor or not, you still have the ability to speak up for things that you believe in. You have the right to criticize. This is the democracy that we live in. This is what makes America beautiful.”
“A Fantastic Woman” Faces a Tough Road Ahead in Chile
Sebastian Lelio is celebrating his win for Best Foreign Language Film for “A Fantastic Woman,” but he said it was one step on the road toward acceptance of transgender people in the film’s native country of Chile.
“It has been a long struggle to have the State recognizing or acknowledging the existence of transgender people,” Lelio said. “And now we are about to face the — a new government, which is very right wing and very conservative, and I think it would mean a step backwards. And I hope this award and film and the awareness that the film has created, the amplifier that this means helps to, yeah, give more relevance to, again, a matter that is urgent. Because again, a transgender person is not a Class B person. It’s one of us.”
Why “Coco” and “Black Panther” Can Change the World
“Coco” hails from “Pixar” and “Black Panther” hails from Marvel, both subsets of Disney, but they have more in common than you think. Adrian Molina, the co-director of the Best Animated Feature winner “Coco,” explained why both of these movies are important.
“We worked very hard to show that films about communities of color, films that come from particular places, have resonance that reaches across the world,” Molina said. “You see that with ‘Coco,’ you see that with ‘Black Panther,’ and I think you’re going to see it with a lot of other films in the future. It takes going hand in hand with the studio executives to recognize that’s a fact and to support each other.”
“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,” Unkrich added. “Marginalized people deserve to feel like they belong. Representation matters.”
13 Best and Worst Oscars Moments, From Frances McDormand's Speech to Gael Garcia Bernal's Singing (Photos)
Although the set design was way over the top with gothic chandeliers and abstract light installations, the 90th Academy Awards were filled with heartwarming but also gut-wrenching moments
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BEST: Rita Moreno
Literally everything about Rita Moreno rocked on Sunday night. Not only did she wear parts of her 1962 Oscars dress when she won an award for “West Side Story, but she also delivered maybe the most over-the-top yet amazing laugh when opening an envelope. Also, Moreno hasn’t aged one day.
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WORST: Set Design
From bizarre eastern-inspired columns and altars, gothic chandeliers, abstract light installations and what looks like two Lady Gaga shoulder pads framing the stage, we have no idea what in God's name was going on with set design this year.
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BEST: Old-Timey Opening Package
For just a split second, you couldn’t tell whether the 2018 Oscars telecast had begun, but soon it became clear that the old-timey film spool was serving as the opening to the awards show. Presented in black and white, the package poked fun at Emma Stone and Armie Hammer and honed in on attendees in the audience -- and at the end, it was revealed that Jimmy Kimmel was narrating the package in the antique voiceover style.
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WORST: Gael Garcia Bernal Singing "Remember Me"
Gael Garcia Bernal singing nominated song "Remember Me" from Oscar-winning film "Coco" wasn't on point. Sure, it was maybe meant to be endearing, but Bernal's performance missed the mark. But we're kind of relieved there is something Bernal isn't good at.
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BEST: Helen Mirren's Jet Ski Pose
Jimmy Kimmel surprised everyone with a need-for-speed gift -- whoever gave the shortest acceptance speech would win a jet ski. And who better to present the jet ski than Dame Helen Mirren? Mark Bridges ended up taking the jet ski home -- along with an Oscar for Best Costume Design for “The Phantom Thread.”
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WORST: "Star Wars" Stars Banter With BB-8
Kelly Marie Tran, Oscar Isaac and Mark Hamill took the stage with BB-8 for some endearing and light-hearted banter, but the audience just kind of politely applauded to humor the group.
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BEST: Mark Wahlberg/Michelle Williams Joke
While Mark Wahlberg glossed over the uncomfortable truth with a $1.5 million donation to Time’s Up, Oscar host Kimmel was not going to let the audience forget that the movie star was paid all that cash for reshoots on “All the Money in the World.” His costar Michelle Williams only got her per diem of $80 per day, and the pair have the same agency in WME, run by Wahlberg's rep Ari Emanuel. “If we can’t trust agents, who can we trust?” Kimmel joked.
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WORST: Joyless Oscar Audience Watching Ecstatic Normals Getting Visited by Celebrities
Jimmy Kimmel improved on his tour bus bit from last year by taking an undercover group of nominees and stars into a nearby advance screening of “A Wrinkle in Time.” Armed with a hot dog gun, buckets of candy and even a huge sub sandwich, stars like Gal Gadot and Emily Blunt shocked regular moviegoers by crashing their evening. The big screen inside the theater reverted to a live shot of the Oscars audience, who looked bored and unimpressed by the stunt.
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BEST: Allison Janney Thanks the "I, Tonya" Bird
When Janney won Best Supporting Actress for her role in "I, Tonya," she thanked the legendary bird for her award.
"To my 'I, Tonya' family: the magnificent Margot Robbie, the fearless Craig Gillespie, a cast and crew and bird that elevated my work," she said.
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BEST: Dreamers Mention From Lupita Nyong'o and Kumail Nanjiani
Kumail Nanjiani and Lupita Nyong'o took their time on stage to share a powerful message for the Dreamers -- the recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals immigration program, which had a supposed end date on Monday after Trump ended DACA in September.
"Like everyone in this room and everyone watching at home, we are dreamers," Nyong'o said. "We grew up dreaming of one day working in the movies. Dreams are the foundation of Hollywood, and dreams are the foundation of America."
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BEST: Tiffany Haddish and Maya Rudolph Presenting
The two comedians had the entire audience in tears when they came on stage in their gowns and slippers, and Haddish told Meryl Streep that she wanted her to be her "mama one day."
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BEST: "This Is Me" Performance
Keala Settle moved everyone to tears with her performance of "This Is Us" from "The Greatest Showman," getting everyone in the audience moving and singing along.
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BEST: Frances McDormand's Acceptance Speech
Frances McDormand was so shaken by her Best Actress win that she told the audience to pick her up if she falls down "because she has some things to say." She then invited every female Oscar nominee in the room to stand up, bringing many to tears. She then urged listeners to help tell female stories and finished her speech with "Inclusion Rider."
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Probably the best moment of the night — no Best Picture flub this year
Although the set design was way over the top with gothic chandeliers and abstract light installations, the 90th Academy Awards were filled with heartwarming but also gut-wrenching moments