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Tuesday March 6, 2018 16 x ENtertainment

“THE Shape of Water,” about a woman who falls in love with a sea creature, has taken the top honors at the Oscars.

Frances McDormand won best actress for “Three Bill-boards Outside Ebbing, Mis-souri,” and persuaded every female nominee to stand with her in a night full of statements about inclusion.

Britain’s Gary Oldman was named best actor for playing Winston Churchill in World War II epic “Darkest Hour.”

“The Shape of Water” won the most Oscars with four, includ-ing best fi lm and director.

In her acceptance speech, McDormand put her Oscar on the fl oor in front of her and addressed executives as the female nominees got to their feet. It was one of the most pow-erful and symbolic moments of the night.

“Look around, ladies and gentlemen, because we all have stories to tell and projects we need fi nanced,” she said.

“Don’t talk to us about it at the parties tonight — invite us into your offi ce in a couple of days, or you can come to ours,

‘The Shape of Water’ and Frances McDormand rule Oscars 2018

Other notable winners included:Allison Janney, hitherto best known for “The West Wing,” won best supporting actress for “I, Tonya.”

Sam Rockwell was named best supporting actor for play-ing a racist policeman in “Three Billboards.”

James Ivory, the director and writer of Merchant Ivory fame, won best adapted screenplay for “Call Me By Your Name.” At 89, he was born before the fi rst

Academy Awards took place.Chile’s “A Fantastic Woman,”

with an acclaimed central per-formance by transgender actress Daniela Vega, was named best foreign language fi lm.

Basketball superstar Kobe Bryant won best animated short for “Dear Basketball” — a retire-ment letter he wrote to the sport, which he paid veteran Disney artist Glen Keane to animate.

British cinematographer Roger Deakins fi nally won an Oscar at the 14th attempt for “Blade Runner 2049.”

whatever suits you best — and we’ll tell you all about them.”

Her request came amid a push for greater equality in fi lm — especially in the wake of the Hollywood sexual harassment scandal.

She fi nished her speech with the words: “I have two words to leave you with tonight — inclu-sion rider.”

Backstage, McDormand explained that an inclusion rider is a clause that actors can put in their contracts to insist on at least 50 percent diversity in the fi lm’s cast and crew.

“We’re not going back,” she said in the winners’ room.

“This whole idea of women trending? No. No trending. Afri-can Americans trending? No. No trending. It changes now, and I think the inclusion rider will have something to do with that.”

McDormand received a rousing reception for her best actress win, which came for playing a vengeance-seeking mother who is let down by the authorities after her daughter is raped and murdered.

It’s her second Oscar, 21 years after her fi rst for “Fargo.”

Jennifer Lawrence presented her with the best actress award and introduced the category by saying: “It’s a new day in Hol-lywood, with new challenges ahead for all of us.

“But none of us will ever forget those who came before us — those who blazed a trail for my generation and those to come.”

The ceremony also marked the “Me Too” and “Time’s Up” campaigns with a seg-ment presented by actresses Ashley Judd, Salma Hayek and

Annabella Sciorra, who have all accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct.

“The changes we are witness-ing are being driven by the powerful sound of new voices, of different voices, of our voices, joining together in a mighty chorus that is fi nally saying: Time’s up,” Judd said.

Host Jimmy Kimmel addressed the issue head-on in his opening monologue, saying the downfall of Wein-stein, and the reforms that had begun since, had not come soon enough.

“What happened with Harvey and what’s happening all over was long overdue,” he said. “We can’t let bad behavior slide any more. The world is watch-ing us.”

Accepting his fi rst-ever Oscar, Gary Oldman mentioned his 98-year-old mother, among other people, telling her: “Thank you for your love and support. Put the kettle on. I’m bringing Oscar home.”

“The Shape of Water”, directed by Mexico’s Guillermo del Toro and starring British actress Sally Hawkins as a mute cleaning lady who has a

relationship with a mysteri-ous river-dwelling creature, had led the Oscar race with 13 nominations.

Hollywood legends Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway — who announced the wrong best picture winner last year — returned to present the same award this time.

The contest had been wide open — “Three Billboards” had also been hotly tipped, while “Get Out,” a savage satire on hidden liberal racism, had a wave of late support.

In Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out” also had a British actor in the lead role. It won one prize on the night — best original screenplay for its writer-direc-tor Jordan Peele.

Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk,” another action-packed war drama, won three awards in the technical cat-egories.

(SD-Agencies)

Ashley Judd, Annabella Sciorra and Salma Hayek (L to R) introduce a segment marking the “Time’s Up” campaign.

The acting winners (L to R): Sam Rockwell, Frances McDormand, Allison Janney and Gary Oldman. SD-Agencies

Frances McDormand wins the best actress award.

“The Shape of Water” takes the top honors at the Oscars.