What happened at the Oscars? Winners, performances and THAT slap.

The Oscars 2022 packed more drama and excitement than your average film

At the 94th Academy Awards, The Oscars honoured movies and the people who make them in the past year. This marked the end of the 2021-22 film awards circuit, previously known as the Oscar season from hell.

The ceremony took place in Los Angeles at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. The awards show seemed to be making up for lost time by including 3 hosts. They cast Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes, after being hostless for 3 years running during the COVID-19 pandemic. The all-female panel was refreshing, and their opening speeches made several bold political observations. A notable line from Amy was: “This year, the Academy hired three women to host… because it’s cheaper than hiring one man.”

The Oscar performances:

Four out of the five songs nominated for Best Original song were performed at the Oscars. Beyoncé opened the show with an elaborate performance of “Be Alive” from King Richard.

Billie Eilish and FINNEAS performed a haunting rendition of “No Time to Die”, from the James Bond film, before picking up the award for Best Original Song.

American country singer Reba McEntire sang “Somehow You Do” from Four Good Days starring Mila Kunis and Glenn Close. Columbian singer Sebastián Yatra performed “Dos Oruguitas” from the Disney favourite Encanto. In a surprising, Encanto-themed treat, Becky G, Luis Fonsi, and Megan Thee Stallion joined the film’s actors for a brilliant rendition of the popular classic, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” — despite the fact that it wasn’t nominated for an Oscar.

The Oscar Nominees:

Thirty-eight feature films were contending for the Academy Awards this year. “The Power of the Dog,” directed by Jane Campion, has been the awards season’s powerhouse, with 12 nominations, including best picture and director.

Following with 10 nominations is Denis Villeneuve’s astounding sci-fi adaption “Dune,” including “Belfast,” “CODA” (an unexpected winner at the Screen Actors and Producers Guild Awards), “Don’t Look Up,” “Drive My Car,” “King Richard,” “Licorice Pizza,” “Nightmare Alley,” and “West Side Story.”

Aside from the best picture nominees, Paul Thomas Anderson (“Licorice Pizza”), Kenneth Branagh (“Belfast”), Campion (“The Power of the Dog“), Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (“Drive My Car”), and Steven Spielberg (“West Side Story”) were all up for best director.

The Oscar Winners:

Here is a list of the winners at the 2022 Oscars ceremony:

Best picture: Coda

Coda also won,

Best supporting actor: Troy Kotsur,

& Best adapted screenplay: Sian Heder.

Best Actress: Jessica Chastain- The Eyes of Tammy Faye

The Eyes of Tammy Faye also won,

Best makeup and hairstyling: Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram and Justin Raleigh

Best actor: Will Smith- King Richard

Best supporting actress: Ariana DeBose- West Side Story

Best director: Jane Campion- The Power of the Dog

Best original screenplay: Belfast-Sir Kenneth Branagh

Best animated feature: Encanto

Best documentary feature: Summer of Soul

Best international feature: Drive my Car (Japan)

Best original song: No Time to Die (Billie Eilish and Finneas O-Connell)

Best original score: Dune- Hans Zimmer

The night’s most awarded film was Dune, clearing in the pre-show categories including,

Best cinematography: Greig Fraser,

Best visual effects: Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor and Gerd Nefzer,

Best film editing: Joes Walker,

Best sound: Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill and Ron Barlett,

& Best production design: Patrice Vermette and Zsuzsanna Sipos.

Best costume design: Cruella – Jenny Beavan

Best live-action short: The Long Goodbye

Best animated short: the Windshield Wiper

Best documentary short: The Queen of Basketball

The Oscars 2022 will go down in SLAPistory:

comedian Chris Rock entered the stage to deliver an award. He proceeded to make a joke about Will Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. He expressed excitement for the sequel to the film GI Jane, referring to the main character’s bald head. Jada Pinkett Smith was clearly not impressed. No one could blame her since in the past she had bravely shared her struggles with hair loss and alopecia.

Jada’s reaction prompted Will to climb the stage and slap the stunned host, who said, “Will Smith just smacked the s*** out of me.”

The actor was then heard yelling, “Get the name of my wife out of your f****** mouth.”

The uneasiness resumed when Will returned to the stage, to accept the award for best actor. Will Smith apologised, emotionally during his acceptance speech.

“I look like the crazy father, just like they said about Richard Williams. But love will make you do crazy things.”

The Oscars make history

Will Smith slapping Chris Rock definitely became the most talked about portion of the Oscars. However, we don’t want that to take away from the fact that the Academy Awards set new records for diversity and representation. As well as providing long-overdue recognition to two big-screen legends Among the highlights are:

First-ever back-to-back victories by female directors. Jane Campion’s win for best director, for the gripping Western drama The Power of the Dog, comes barely a year after Chloe Zhao’s win with Nomadland.

Troy Kotsur became the first male deaf actor to win an Oscar, having been named best supporting actor for his part in the film Coda. Arina DeBose received the same award as her predecessor in the same role in West Side Story, Rita Moren. Ariana made history by being the first LGBT woman of colour to win an Oscar.