Jordan Peele Makes History at the 90th Academy Awards

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Jordan Peele, winner of the award for best original screenplay for "Get Out", poses in the press room at the Oscars on Sunday, March 4, 2018, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
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Get Out has won the Academy Award for best original screenplay, giving writer-director Jordan Peele a historic win. Peele is the first African-American writer to win in the category.

His win was greeted by thunderous applause in the Dolby Theatre, which Peele tried to quiet. He said in his acceptance speech that he stopped writing his horror sensation “about 20 times because I thought it was impossible.” But Peele says he kept writing because he knew if it got made, he knew “people would hear it and see it.” And that they did as Get Out has made over 200 million dollars at the box office and is still climbing.

The 2018 Academy Awards honored the best in film on Sunday night, and the Jimmy Kimmel-hosted show delivered a slew of memorable moments through the four-hour broadcast that ended in a major win in the Best Picture category for The Shape of Water. Guillermo del Toro was also awarded Best Director for the same film. It was a history-making ceremony that celebrated 90 years of the Oscars, with Jordan Peele becoming the first-ever Black winner for Best Original Screenplay, which he won for his groundbreaking film Get Out. John Ivory won Best Adapted Screenplay for Call Me By Your Name.

All of the acting categories went to expected winners: Frances McDormand won Best Actress for Three Billboards, Gary Oldman won Best Actor for Darkest Hour, Allison Janney won Best Supporting Actress for I, Tonya and Sam Rockwell for Three Billboards.

After Variety recently published a report detailing ex-E! stylist Suzie Hardy’s serious harassment and assault allegations against Ryan Seacrest, the network doubled down, stating their long-time anchor would still fulfill his duties on Sunday. Awkwardness ensued, as the #MeToo and #TimesUp continued to be a central topic of discussion. There was a sexual misconduct elephant in the room on E!’s Oscars Live From the Red Carpet, and his name is Ryan Seacrest. The night’s major stars responded to E!’s stance with a cold shoulder, simply avoiding interviews with Seacrest. Earlier in the week, actresses like Jennifer Lawrence expressed doubts about interviewing with him. And indeed, the most talked-about celebrities of the evening were conspicuously absent from his list of interviewees. Out of the twenty people Seacrest interviewed, only two were actual Oscar nominees, with Allison Janney up for supporting actress and Christopher Plummer up for supporting actor. Empire’s Taraji P Henson gave him a very pointed smile and message, saying, “You know what, the universe has a way of taking care of the good people, you know what I mean?” Seacrest paused, before replying with a meager, “I agree.” But mostly, E! filled up time with cuts to co-anchor Gulianna Rancic’s roundtable discussion, while Seacrest took what he could get.

Retired basketball superstar Kobe Bryant and animator Glen Keane have won the Academy Award for best animated short feature for Dear Basketball. The six-minute film won over Garden Party, Lou, Negative Space, and Revolting Rhymes. On stage, Keane addressed the crowd saying, “Dear Basketball is a message for all of us, whatever form your dream may take, it’s through passion and perseverance that the impossible is possible.” He then passed the mic to Bryant who made a jab at Fox News host Laura Ingraham stating, “I don’t know if it’s possible, I mean, as basketball players, we’re really supposed to shut up and dribble. I’m glad we do a little bit more than that.” A reference to the time Ingraham said Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James should just “shut up and dribble.”

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