Netflix's moment in the best picture spotlight thwarted by a safe bet

Netflix's moment in the best picture spotlight will have to wait another year. "Roma" won in the best director and best foreign language film categories, but "Green Book" took home the top prize.

The chemistry between Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen was "apparently enough to help Academy voters forget the controversies that have plagued the film," CNN's Sandra Gonzalez wrote.

The NYT's news alert said that "by backing 'Green Book,' voters slowed the ascendency of Netflix, which had been pushing a competing nominee, 'Roma.'"

THR's Matthew Belloni quipped: "Netflix clearly didn't spend enough." On a more serious note, he added, "That people consider 'Green Book' an upset is a testament to how successful Netflix's 'Roma' campaign was. They took a black and white foreign language film all the way, in the process sparking a dialogue about the future of film. A pretty remarkable achievement."

>> Variety put it this way: "The preferential ballot struck again..."

>> Looking beyond best picture, "Roma" and "Blank Panther" both won three awards... Spike Lee won his first Oscar for best adapted screenplay for "BlacKkKlansman..." And "Bohemian Rhapsody" picked up the most wins of all, with four Oscars...

Lowry's take

Brian Lowry emails: There's going to be a ton of grumbling about "Green Book," but as I stated in my predictions, both "Black Panther" and "Roma" faced enormous hurdles -- the first that there's still a sense that superhero movies are big and dumb, and the second because of Netflix's high-handed approach to the movie business, no matter how much money it throws at the process. We'll never know, but if Netflix had treated "Roma" like a more conventional nominee — starting with providing box-office data — it might have been a different outcome...

>> Arguably the night's biggest winner: Participant Media, which was behind both "Green Book" and "Roma." Congrats to Jeff Skoll and company! Brooks Barnes has a backgrounder here...

No host, no problem

Frank Pallotta emails: There was a lot of talk about the controversial choice to have a host-less Academy Awards this year, but the show went off mostly without a hitch without an MC. It kept moving along and kept the focus on the films, where it should always be...

>> Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph and Amy Poehler offered a "terrific mini monologue," Bill Carter tweeted. "Beyond the unrelenting commitment to pace, this Oscarcast is working well because presenters are genuinely prepared" and well chosen...

"Shallow" goes deep

This was the moment of the night: "Not only did Lady Gaga win an Oscar on Sunday night, but her performance with Bradley Cooper hit viewers right in the feels," Lisa Respers France and Sandra Gonzalez wrote here. "Shot entirely from upstage, with the audience acting as a backdrop, the duo's rendition of 'Shallow' from their film 'A Star Is Born' was as intimate as it was seeped in chemistry..."

Some of the takeaways

-- Rami Malek won best actor for "Bohemian Rhapsody..."

-- Olivia Colman won best actress for "The Favourite..." And shouted outGlenn Close, who just set a record "for the actress for the most nominations without a win," Chloe Melas noted...

-- It was a night "marked by greater inclusiveness," Brian Lowry wrote...

-- Netflix's "Period. End of Sentence." won the prize for best documentary short...

-- Chloe has the full winners list here...

"Oscars Rebukes Donald Trump Without Saying His Name"

That's the headline on this Lisa de Moraes post for Deadline. "Donald Trump was the name that would not be spoken at the 2019 Oscars," she wrote. "But, with much recognition given to immigrants, and shout-outs to Mexico throughout the night, and all the cautionary warnings about the rise of white supremacy and antisemitism, a strongly implied rebuke of the President of the United States hung heavy in the broadcast..."

Quotable moments

-- Maya Rudolph: "There is no host tonight, there won't be a popular movie category and Mexico is NOT paying for the wall."

-- Spike Lee: "The 2020 presidential election is around the corner. Let's all mobilize. Let's all be on the right side of history. Make the moral choice between love versus hate. Let's do the right thing!"

-- Javier Bardem speaking in Spanish: "There are no borders or walls that can restrain ingenuity and talent."

Top tweets

-- Mitra Kalita: "Anyone who says this has been a bad year for film is not living my life and feeds which are already celebrating this glorious night of inclusion and so much shattering of records and ceilings..."

-- Joe Adalian: "I believe as far as ABC and Nielsen are concerned, this year's Oscars will run for roughly 3 hour, 10 minutes (everything after the last commercial break isn't counted). Pretty close to goal of 3 hours..."

-- Ben Jacobs: "Really nervous what the President is going to tweet about the Fox and Friends segment on the Oscars tomorrow morning..."

Netflix and Disney battle during the ad breaks

Frank Pallotta emails: There was news away from the actual ceremony, with Disney and Netflix showing off teasers for two of the most anticipated films of the year: "The Irishman" on Netflix and Disney's "The Lion King." Here's "The Irishman" teaser via EW...

→ More: Variety's Brian Steinberg recapped the night's expensive ads here...

The more things change...

Brian Lowry emails: Variety's Tim Gray reupped a 2011 piece about chaos and tumult surrounding the Oscars that year -- including, adding another parallel, a homophobic slur by producer Brett Ratner, who subsequently bowed out of that role. It's a good reminder that when it comes to the Academy, even in what's felt like an inordinately chaotic year, the more things change, the more they tend to stay the same...

FOR THE RECORD

-- "A KPIX 5 news crew covering the Oakland Teachers Strike was robbed of a camera and tripod by an armed suspect, who then shot their security guard before fleeing on Sunday evening..." (KPIX)

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