CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
The Shape Of Water has come through as the surprise winner of 90th Oscar Award’s Best Picture, but the real moment was when Best Actress winner Frances McDormand gave her impassioned acceptance speech, targeting the institutional misogyny in the American film industry.
McDormand, who played a woman seeking justice in the dark, slightly misogynistic, comedy Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, asked all female nominees present to stand up and look at each other and acknowledge their own worth.
Her powerful speech came on a night when the Oscars paid tribute to the trailblazers who fought biased perceptions of gender and race in the first ceremony held since the birth of #MeToo and #TimesUp.
However, in a year dominated by powerful awards speeches, it was good to see the Academy was actually taking action against harassment from their male kingmakers – but that wasn’t until the after party.
With complimentary emergency whistles handed out at the door, the event organisers also have guards armed with non-lethal rubber bullet projectiles and tasers to protect the female guests from 60-something film executives and hipster directors.
The party has been divided into different eight sections, each with it’s own cool-down tent equipped with liaison officers and counsellors.
The Australian Government has reportedly sent their own AFP entourage to accompany Margot Robbie throughout the evening, with Foreign Affair Minister Julie Bishop advising the chaperones that a shoot-to-kill approach is expected if anyone tries anything on with our Margot.
Margot Robbie led the flag for Australia, but the I, Tonya actress lost to McDormand in the Best Actress category.
However, Australian editor Lee Smith won the Oscar for Best Editing for his work on Dunkirk. It was his third nomination, but first win.
