Ariana DeBose has won the first actor award at the Oscars, the most important film awards in the world. She won Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Anita in the remake of the West Side Story.
DeBose was by far the favorite in this category. The 31-year-old actress is the first openly lesbian woman of color to win an Oscar. Also special is that Rita Moreno, the actress who played the role of Anita in the original version of the West Side Story, also won an Oscar for it in 1962. It is the third time in history that two actors have won a statuette for the same role.
In her speech, DeBose also thanked Moreno “for clearing the way for so many other Anitas like me.” The actress emphasized the opportunities she has been given as a queer actress of color in Hollywood. “There’s a place for us,” she concluded, referring to one of the most famous songs from the West Side Story.
Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story remake has been nominated for seven frames.
frontrunner
The SF epic Dune is still at the top of the Oscars ceremony. Director Denis Villeneuve’s film has won awards for Best Music, Best Sound, Editing, Production Design, Visual Effects and Cinematography.
Dune tells of a brilliant young man who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to secure the future of his family and people. The film has been nominated in ten categories.
Only the Netflix drama The Power of the Dog by director Jane Campion received more nominations: twelve in total. Musical remake West Side Story and the coming of age drama Belfast each received seven.
The first eight Oscars were awarded before the start of the big TV show. The Academy, which awards the prizes, hopes in this way to give the show a little more momentum to win back viewers. There was much criticism of this initiative beforehand. Many Academy members called it disrespectful to the creators to divide their Oscars outside of the live broadcast.
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