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In somewhat of an upset, Olivia Colman has won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of the ruthless and idiotic Queen Anne in The Favourite. Glenn Close was widely expected to win for The Wife, but Colman won the BAFTA and The Golden Globe for this role.

Colman was crying as she thanked her director. She also thanked her costars Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz. She called Glenn Close her idol and told her “this was not how I wanted it to be.” She thanked her agent, her mom and dad and her kids. She joked that this wouldn’t happen again! She said she used to work as a cleaner and would imagine this moment when she was working. It was so cute. Plus she thanked her husband of 25 years.

Colman has been a delight to watch this awards seasons, I loved her in this film and am so happy for her.

Kaiser and I give our reviews of The Favourite in our Gossip with Celebitchy Podcast, out tomorrow! This was a crazy movie and a lot of fun and we highly recommend it.

Update by Kaiser: Olivia’s speech was so charming!

Olivia Colman’s acceptance speech for Best Actress #Oscars pic.twitter.com/Oz6Zx3SCv9

— blasianFMA???????? (@blasianFMA) February 25, 2019

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Well, I thought we would end up with a surprise or shock in the Best Actor category. Not so much. Rami Malek won the Best Actor Oscar for Bohemian Rhapsody, in what was a crowd-pleasing financial success and a critical nothingburger. There was a low-key campaign online in the last weeks of the Oscar voting period to try to get Oscar voters to NOT vote for Rami. And yes, it was mostly about Bryan Singer, an accused serial rapist and accused pedophile, but it was also about…Rami’s Oscar campaign worked too well, and when he finally got substantive questions about Singer’s involvement, he prattled on about Freddie Mercury’s ghost. It left me cold.

Rami’s speech thanked everyone from the studio, thanked Queen, thanked his family. He thanked “my crew” and “my cast,” which… is sort of a choice to refer to those people that way. Rami made his speech about himself, as a first-generation Egyptian-American, the child of immigrants. He told his girlfriend Lucy Boynton “you have captured my heart.” He did not thank Bryan Singer by name or by oblique reference. Which… I mean, again, Singer’s already celebrating this. Even though Rami had a big hand in getting Singer fired, Singer is still celebrating.

Basically, #OscarsStillProblematic. From the Bohemian Rhapsody wins to Green Book winning the Screenplay Oscar… it’s not great.

Rami Malek: “We made a film about a gay man, an immigrant, who lived his life just unapologetically himself. And the fact that I’m celebrating him … is proof that we’re longing for stories like this.” #Oscars pic.twitter.com/kr1vhwIllk

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 25, 2019

Photos courtesy of WENN, INDB.

I’ve said it repeatedly throughout the awards season: Green Book was utter trash, but I was okay with Mahershala Ali winning awards for the role. He did the best with a terrible script in a film where he was surrounded by literally the worst white dudes in history. Green Book’s Oscar campaign majorly faltered in January, so much so that I wondered if Mahershala would even get over the finish line or if they would end up giving the Oscar to someone else, like Richard Grant. But no, the Academy loves Mahershala now. He won his second Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for this trash film.

Mahershala thanked the late Dr. Shirley, his film “partner” Viggo Mortensen, director Peter Farrelly, Octavia Spencer (who produced the film). He dedicated the Oscar to his grandmother for encouraging him throughout his life. Then he thanked his wife and daughter.

I remember Mahershala’s campaign very clearly for Moonlight and his Oscar for that film just FELT different, and like it meant something different to him. But this one felt like… he was halfway embarrassed to win this year. I get it – it wasn’t a film he completely believed in. But I’m glad he was a total pro about it this whole time. Congrats Mahershala!

Mahershala Ali is only the second black actor to win multiple acting awards at the Oscars, the first being Denzel Washington. #Oscars? ?Via ABC https://t.co/6ZsHfH2BZ0 pic.twitter.com/RV3BElAxUt

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 25, 2019

Photos courtesy of WENN, IMDB.

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Regina King, 48, has won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, for her work as matriarch Sharon Rivers in If Beale Street Could Talk. This is her first Oscar nomination. She’s also won the Golden Globe, Critics Choice and Spirit Award for this role. Beale Street was one of the best depictions of romance I’ve ever seen, but it was so much more than that. Regina’s performance perfectly captured the lengths you will go to protect and support your child. She was mesmerizing in that role, you could feel her vulnerability, determination and heartbreak.

Unfortunately Beale Street didn’t get the recognition it deserved from the Academy and was only nominated in two other categories, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Score. At least we got to see it take home Best Picture and Best Director at the Spirit Awards.

Regina made headlines for her speech at The Golden Globes pledging that 50% of all the projects she produces will be staffed by women. She got teary during her
acceptance speech and thanked her mom, who was with her in the audience.

To be standing here representing one of the greatest artists of our time, James Baldwin, it’s a little surreal. [He] birthed this baby, Barry [Jenkins] nurtured her, surrounded her with so much love and support. I’m an example of what it looks like when support and love is poured on to someone. Mom I love you so much. Thank you for teaching me that God is always leaning in my direction.

She also thanked the cast, production company, film company, and the other nominees by name. Congratulations to Regina! If Beale Street Could Talk will be available to stream in mid March. I thought it would be a depressing movie but there were enough moments of love, comedy and family togetherness that balanced it out. I highly recommend it.

Regina wore Oscar de la Renta! We’ll have full fashion coverage tomorrow!
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Regina is shown at the Spirit Awards, and The Women In Film Pre-Oscar Party. Credit: WENN and Getty

Here’s our 2019 Oscars Open Post. This year’s Open Post is hosted by the seven-year anniversary of Angelina Jolie’s Leg of Doom at the 2012 Oscars. At that moment, it was such a big deal. I maintain that Angelina’s Versace gown didn’t fit her properly and she was trying to “work” it by thrusting out her leg. But everyone climbed up her butt for the Leg of Doom. And then in the years that followed, every time any woman ever wore a gown with a leg slit, they would thrust out their leg and people would say “she’s copying Angelina!”

Anyway, Angelina will not be making an appearance at tonight’s Oscars to commemorate the seventh anniversary of The Leg. She made a point of going to New York for Oscar weekend, meaning she’s not doing any of the pre-Oscar parties or events, nor will she be a presenter, nor will she attend the Vanity Fair Oscar party (she hasn’t been to the VF party in like two decades though, she didn’t even go to that when she went to the Oscars). Reportedly, Angelina took the kids to New York so Maddox could visit some colleges (because we’re all getting so old!). She’s been getting pap’d in the city, and she brought the four oldest kids to the MoMA premiere of Prune Nourry’s Serendipity (photo below).

My guess is that Brad Pitt will probably end up being a “surprise” Oscar presenter, and that’s one of the reasons why Angelina got out of town. The Academy has been keeping a tighter lid on this year’s presenters, but here are some people who have been confirmed: Serena Williams, James McAvoy, Barbra Streisand, Daniel Craig (who will attend with his nominee wife), Charlize Theron, Awkwafina, Mike Myers and Dana Carvey (in character as Wayne and Garth), Stephan James, Samuel L. Jackson, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Trevor Noah, Brie Larson, Maya Rudolph, Constance Wu, Michelle Yeoh, Keegan Michael Key, John Mulaney, Queen Latifah, civil rights icon John Lewis, Elsie Fisher, Melissa McCarthy, Sam Rockwell, Allison Janney, Tessa Thompson, Chris Evans, Chadwick Boseman and tons more.

I made my Oscar predictions last week, and I feel strongly that there will be at least one surprise in one of the big categories, possibly Best Supporting Actor, possibly Best Director, who knows. I do know that this year’s Oscars is going to be utter shambles without a host. And Celebitchy & I will be tweeting and commenting the whole way through. We’ll have coverage this evening of the winners in the big categories, and we’ll have full Oscar fashion coverage tomorrow, starting bright and early. You can follow me on Twitter at KaiseratCB, and you can follow CB at Celebitchy. You can also follow Hecate at HecateatCB!

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Photos courtesy of Getty, WENN.

I loved Eighth Grade, it was a wonderful movie that encapsulated that awkward time of life. Elsie Fisher, 15, was so watchable on screen, she just made you root for her character and her performance made it relatable. That film really brought me back. Comedian Bo Burnham won Best First Screenplay for Eighth Grade, and Elsie was nominated for Best Female Lead, which of course went to Glenn Close (and Pippi!).

Here’s a GIF of Bo thanking Elsie, it was cute and you can tell that they enjoyed working together.

@boburnham thanking @ElsieKFisher at the #SpiritAwards after winning best first screenplay for @eighthgrademov #EighthGrade pic.twitter.com/oFGAikTUWa

— celebitchy (@celebitchy) February 23, 2019

Elsie has been rocking suits on the red carpet. This is her signature style and she just looks great and her age. She was in a navy Paul Smith suit with brown accessories and brown snakeskin boots. Check out the cute print on her shirt with colorful little fashion drawings. I hope we see so much more of her.

Fellow best actress nominee Toni Collette was in a pink Alex Perry gown with pleated flowing split sleeves. I really like the design of this gown, it’s like a typical clean pencil dress, tailored perfectly, with one unique feature that doesn’t overwhelm the look. Her styling was so pretty and her makeup looked amazing on camera. Toni was nominated for Hereditary, which was also up for Best First Feature. While her performance was excellent, that film was sadistic and I regret sitting through the whole thing. I don’t understand why critics liked it.

Regina Hall was nominated for Best Actress for Support The Girls, a comedy about a Hooters-type restaurant. I’ve never heard of it before, but the trailer makes it look awesome I so want to see it now! It’s on Hulu and I’m watching it Tuesday! She was in a voluminous striped Lela Rose gown. I like this except for the ruffle on the bottom.

Helena Howard was also up for Best Actress, for Madeline’s Madeline. I watched the trailer for this movie and I don’t really get it. It’s a film about a theater troupe and it has an 87% critics rating and a 48% audience score. People say it’s really arty and the cinematography is hard to take. She was in white Lowe gown with red accents. I like the design of this dress as we so rarely see turtlenecks on dresses. I love a good mock turtleneck. This has a dressy boho vibe with the patchwork pieces and fringe.

photos credit: WENN

Here are more fashion photos from last night’s Independent Spirit Awards (actually, they were yesterday afternoon, if we’re being technical). Tessa Thompson is in everything these days, and she shows up for a lot of red carpets. Which I like – whatever she’s doing, she’s clearly charming the pants off of many directors, casting directors, producers, etc. Tessa wore this Vaquera dress which is… kind of too much for the Spirit Awards. It’s a big look for a small show.

Carey Mulligan in Chanel – what a nice little dress, and a nice way to honor Karl Lagerfeld’s memory. I wonder if this was something she already had in her closet?

KiKi Layne, like Tessa, has been showing up to a lot of red carpets and events in the past four or five months. It’s a smart strategy for an up-and-coming actress in an Oscar-bait film (If Beale Street Could Talk) and her strategy will probably ensure that she’s cast in more films and projects. Plus, it helps that Kiki has been serving up some LOOKS during this awards season. She’s memorable and she’s playing the game really well. This is Chloé – it’s a look.

Honestly, Armie Hammer looked great. His wife Elizabeth sort of looks like she’s pulled too tight, like Gisele.

Richard E. Grant won Supporting Actor for Can You Ever Forgive Me, and he was so pleased and emotional about it. His cried during his speech as he talked about the AIDS crisis in the ‘80s and ‘90s.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Regina King has been sweeping the awards season for her role in If Beale Street Could Talk. King so convincingly conveyed the determination and resolve of being a mom, and how that pushes you beyond your comfort zone. She won Best Supporting Female Actor at a very fun Independent Spirit Awards, hosting by Aubrey Plaza. You can see her acceptance speech here. The Spirit Awards were so great that they’re going to make The Oscars seem like even more of an interminable let down than usual. Beale Street also won Best Feature and Best Director last night for Barry Jenkins. It’s a shame that wonderful film wasn’t more recognized by the Academy.

Regina was in Valentino, in a cranberry colored pleated babydoll dress. I don’t like the shape of this gown, it looked like it had a too-wide skirt on camera. (I had to watch this streaming on my computer as my cable doesn’t include IFC so that’s probably why.) In fact it’s a skirt and a cape. It looks better in photos and from the side you can see the cape feature.

Presenter Laura Dern was in a white Azzedine Alaïa sweater dress. Her film The Tale was also nominated for Best First Feature, which went to Boots Riley for Sorry To Bother You. (That’s on Hulu, watch it! It’s weird and unlike any movie and I loved it.) This was kind of a staid look and could have been a little riskier, but it’s a decent choice for the Spirit Awards.

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Amanda Seyfried of Best Reformed was in a white and gray Givenchy pantsuit that had a built-in silver sequin dickie. This is a great suit and I love the thin metallic belt. She had on weird pinkish red eyeshadow that ruined the whole look though. It looked worse on camera. Imagine that suit with a smokey eye and slicked back hair, it might have worked.

Roma’s Yalitza Aparicio presented in Spanish, which was really cool I appreciated that. She wore red Miu Miu. This was a great dress for the event. She wasn’t nominated at the Spirit Awards, which surprised me, but she’s up for Best Actress at The Oscars, so we’ll definitely see her tonight. Roma won Best International Film. Will it take Best Picture? I honestly don’t know! I’ve read conflicting takes on that. I wouldn’t be mad if it won, I just think it was too arty and long and not entertaining enough to be best picture.

Yalitza was there with her costar, Nancy Garcia.

Gemma Chan was gorgeous in a pink and gold sequin cap sleeve Miu Miu gown featuring lines of silver sequins and an open back. I’ve really enjoyed seeing her fashion this awards season. She’s such a risk taker and it almost always pays off. Her styling is perfect for this dress.

photos credit: WENN and Getty

The Independent Spirit Awards are usually a showcase for low-key fashion – very few people really get all dolled up, although that’s changing a bit too. I remember when people really did show up in jeans and sandals. Now most of the men just wear a suit and no ite, and more women just wear pretty cocktail dresses or trousers. Dakota Johnson reps Gucci, so of course she wore Gucci, but this was a nice low-key look. It’s actually a two-piece – flowy cropped Capris which look like a skirt and a strapless thing up top. The top actually doesn’t fit her properly, but whatever. She looks gorgeous.

Dakota and Tilda Swinton were there to represent Suspiria, which won the Robert Altman Award, which is sort of like the de facto ensemble award. Tilda wore Haider Ackermann and I’m obsessed with those trousers. SO GOOD.

Chloë Grace Moretz – who was also there for Suspiria – wore Loew. This feels a tad over-the-top, but whatever. It’s just kind of a bad dress in general.

Glenn Close in Sies Marjan, with her dog Pippen. Pippen came on stage with her when she won! This was Glenn’s first time at the Spirit Awards and I think she was surprised by them. She really thought that it was just going to be, like, a tent in Santa Monica and everyone would be wearing jeans. Pippen was happy that Glenn won too.

Shangela Laquifa Wadley wore Jovani on the red carpet, but of course she changed for her performance!

Photos courtesy of WENN.

I thought this year’s Independent Spirit Awards were going to be like every awards show this year, meaning I thought they would suck too. But it was actually one of the most enjoyable shows of the year – Aubrey Plaza was host, and her cold-open “spirit witches” bit was hilarious, as was her opening monologue. Here’s the “white girl witches” part, NSFW for language and witchcraft!

And here’s Aubrey’s opening, which was a million times funnier than anything we’ll see at the Oscars tonight, quite honestly.

You can see the full list of Spirit Award winners here – If Beale Street Could Talk won Best Film, Ethan Hawke picked up Best Actor for First Reformed (he wasn’t there) and Glenn Close won Best Actress.

This was the funniest part of the Spirit Awards – Shangela singing a medley for the Best Film nominees. It was amazing!! I WISH the Oscars would do something like this.

Aubrey wore Miu Miu, by the way! She wore a couple of different looks.

Photos courtesy of WENN.