Oscars 2020: Parasite sweeps, while Netflix loses out on pretty much everything

Netflix headed into the 92nd Oscars with 24 nominations — the most of any studio — expecting to dominate award season’s biggest night the same way it’s dominated the entertainment industry. Instead, Netflix walked away with practically zilch.

The streamer made out with just two awards: Best Documentary for American Factory (produced by President Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company) and Best Supporting Actress for Laura Dern. Its biggest films — The Irishman and The Two Popes — all went home empty-handed.

Only just a week prior, Netflix’s studio chief Ted Sarandos rebuked claims that its lack of awards at previous award shows is part of a “backlash to a tech giant that is upending entertainment-industry business practices and threatening Hollywood power hierarchies,” as The New York Times wrote.

“A pushback? Nobody can say that with a straight face,” Sarandos said. “We got 24 nominations, the most of any studio. Our films have been honored across the board.”

Netflix’s Oscar push has been aggressive. Some industry competitors have estimated that Netflix spent approximately $70 million on its Oscars campaign — much higher than what most studios spend. Netflix hasn’t shied away from its Oscar ambitions, but the company is trying to increase its film output and become a full-fledged studio in 2020.

Award show prestige is important to the company — especially when it comes to drawing in the best talent, like Martin Scorsese. Netflix has proven over the last few years that it can secure the nominations, and even win from time-to-time, but getting the big wins are still a struggle. It’s clear that while Netflix moved from the kids’ table to sit with the adults, it’s still the odd one out right now.

Netflix’s night may not have gone as planned, but Parasite director Bong Joon-ho’s did. The director and his team walked away with a number of major awards, including Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best International Feature Film, and Best Director. Bong used his time on stage to praise his fellow director nominees, including Martin Scorsese, who received a standing ovation during Bong’s speech. How’s he planning on celebrating his historic win?

“I’m ready to drink tonight,” he joked onstage.

It was a beautiful moment during an otherwise pretty standard show. Not even CEO Bob Iger could hide his boredom whenever the camera panned to him! Brad Pitt, Taika Waititi, Renée Zellweger, and Dern continued their season of award winnings, taking home respective prizes for Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress. 1917 and Ford v Ferrari both took home multiple awards for achieving excellence in technical categories like Best Editing and Best Sound Mixing. Elton John won the prize for Best Original Song for his work on Rocketman.

Perhaps the biggest upset? Joker, which earned the most nominations for any individual movie, only secured two awards: Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix and Best Original Score for Hildur Guðnadóttir. Although, depending on who you ask, maybe it’s not a total upset after all.

The full list of Oscar winners can be read below.

Best Picture:

Ford v Ferrari

The Irishman

Jojo Rabbit

Joker

Little Women

Marriage Story

1917

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Parasite

Lead Actor:

Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory

Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Adam Driver, Marriage Story

Joaquin Phoenix, Joker

Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes

Lead Actress:

Cynthia Erivo, Harriet

Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story

Saoirse Ronan, Little Women

Charlize Theron, Bombshell

Renee Zellweger, Judy

Supporting Actor:

Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes

Al Pacino, The Irishman

Joe Pesci, The Irishman

Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Supporting Actress:

Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell

Laura Dern, Marriage Story

Scarlett Johannson, Jojo Rabbit

Florence Pugh, Little Women

Margot Robbie, Bombshell

Director:

Martin Scorsese, The Irishman

Todd Phillips, Joker

Sam Mendes, 1917

Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Bong Joon Ho, Parasite

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

I Lost My Body

Klaus

Missing Link

Toy Story 4

Animated Short:

Dcera, Daria Kashcheeva

Hair Love, Matthew A. Cherry

Kitbull, Rosana Sullivan

Memorable, Bruno Collet

Sister, Siqi Song

Adapted Screenplay:

The Irishman, Steven Zaillian

Jojo Rabbit, Taika Waititi

Joker, Todd Phillips, Scott Silver

Little Women, Greta Gerwig

The Two Popes, Anthony McCarten

Original Screenplay:

Knives Out, Rian Johnson

Marriage Story, Noah Baumbach

1917, Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino

Parasite, Bong Joon-ho, Jin Won Han

Cinematography:

The Irishman, Rodrigo Prieto

Joker, Lawrence Sher

The Lighthouse, Jarin Blaschke

1917, Roger Deakins

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Robert Richardson

Best Documentary Feature:

American Factory, Julia Rieichert, Steven Bognar

The Cave, Feras Fayyad

The Edge of Democracy, Petra Costa

For Sama, Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts

Honeyland, Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov

Best Documentary Short Subject:

In the Absence

Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone

Life Overtakes Me

St. Louis Superman

Walk Run Cha-Cha

Best Live Action Short Film:

Brotherhood, Meryam Joobeur

Nefta Football Club, Yves Piat

The Neighbors’ Window, Marshall Curry

Saria, Bryan Buckley

A Sister, Delphine Girard

Best Foreign Language Film:

Corpus Christi, Jan Komasa

Honeyland, Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov

Les Miserables, Ladj Ly

Pain and Glory, Pedro Almodovar

Parasite, Bong Joon Ho

Film Editing:

Ford v Ferrari, Michael McCusker, Andrew Buckland

The Irishman, Thelma Schoonmaker

Jojo Rabbit, Tom Eagles

Joker, Jeff Groth

Parasite, Jinmo Yang

Sound Editing:

Ford v Ferrari, Don Sylvester

Joker, Alan Robert Murray

1917, Oliver Tarney, Rachel Tate

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Wylie Stateman

Star Wars: The Rise of SkyWalker, Matthew Wood, David Acord

Sound Mixing:

Ad Astra

Ford v Ferrari

Joker

1917

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Production Design:

The Irishman, Bob Shaw and Regina Graves

Jojo Rabbit, Ra Vincent and Nora Sopkova

1917, Dennis Gassner and Lee Sandales

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Barbara Ling and Nancy Haigh

Parasite, Lee Ha-Jun and Cho Won Woo, Han Ga Ram, and Cho Hee

Original Score:

Joker, Hildur Guðnadóttir

Little Women, Alexandre Desplat

Marriage Story, Randy Newman

1917, Thomas Newman

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, John Williams

Original Song:

“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” Toy Story 4

“I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” Rocketman

“I’m Standing With You,” Breakthrough

“Into the Unknown,” Frozen 2

“Stand Up,” Harriet

Makeup and Hair:

Bombshell

Joker

Judy

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

1917

Costume Design:

The Irishman, Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson

Jojo Rabbit, Mayes C. Rubeo

Joker, Mark Bridges

Little Women, Jacqueline Durran

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Arianne Phillips

Visual Effects:

Avengers: Endgame

The Irishman

1917

The Lion King

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Source: theverge.com