[WATCH] Oscars 2017: 12 highlights

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[WATCH] Oscars 2017: 12 highlights

Aaron Poole / ©A.M.P.A.S.

Justin Timberlake's opening act, Hollywood tourists visit the Oscars, and that Best Picture gaffe – here's everything you missed at the Oscars 2017!

MANILA, Philippines – And just like that, another Oscars season has come and gone. Stars gathered at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, California for the 2017 Academy Awards, and below, we look back at some of the evening’s most memorable moments. 

In the Philippines, the event was aired live on HBO Asia, with an encore telecast at 7 pm on Monday, February 27.

Justin Timberlake’s ‘Can’t Stop The Feeling’ 


 

Justin had the whole room dancing to his radio-friendly hit from the Trolls soundtrack. Stars like Janelle Monae, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon, Dev Patel, and more were spotted in the crowd swaying to the cheery tune. 

The Hollywood Reporter posted the clip above. 

Jimmy Kimmel jabs at Trump 


 

Popular TV host Jimmy Kimmel opened the show with a straightforward monologue, which acknowledged the US political climate while endeavoring to keep the tone light. 

“There’s only only one Braveheart in this room, and he’s not gonna unite us either,” he said, with a nod to Hacksaw Ridge director Mel Gibson, no stranger to controversy though beloved in the past for his iconic turn in Braveheart. 

Getting in a few more jabs at Donald Trump, Jimmy said there was one thing they could thank him for: “Remember last year when it seemed that the Oscars were racist?” 

In America, joked Jimmy, “we don’t discriminate against them based on the countries they come from, we discriminate against them based on their age and weight.”

On their feet for Meryl Streep 


 

The room erupted in applause as Jimmy asked everyone in attendance to applaud Meryl Streep, a 20-time Oscar nominee singled out by Trump as being “overrated” after she criticized him in a speech. “The highly overrated Meryl Streep, everyone!” called out Jimmy. 

“Nice dress by the way, is that Ivanka?” he said, to hoots from the crowd. 

Check out the video from People Magazine above. 

The real Katherine Johnson makes a powerful appearance


 

Janelle Monae, Octavia Spencer, and Taraji P Henson, stars of Hidden Figures, were the presenters of the Best Documentary Feature award. In one of the evening’s most powerful moments, the real Katherine Johnson, played by Taraji in the film, stepped out to join the 3 women.

A pioneering figure from NASA who helped calculate the landing coordinates for John Glenn’s orbiting mission, Katherine lived to see a NASA facility named after her. Audience members rose to their feet to honor Katherine, and some could be seen wiping away tears. 

Watch the video by ABC News above. 

Lin Manuel Miranda and Auli’i Cravalho for Moana 


 

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson introduced his “twin” Lin Manuel Miranda, who is behind the songs from Moana and also performed a special prologue at the Oscars ahead of “How Far I’ll Go,” performed by Auli’i. At only 16, Auli’i handled all the pressure with grace and youthful energy, blowing out a sigh of relief after the performance. 

Viola Davis’ emotional speech


 

Winning her first Oscar after 3 nominations, Viola Davis gave the speech of the night, which Jimmy Kimmel acknowledged as being hard to follow. 

“You know there’s one place that all the people with the greatest potential are gathered – one place, and that’s the graveyard. People ask me all the time, ‘what kind of stories do you want to tell, Viola?’ And I say, exhume those bodies. Exhume those stories. The stories of people who dreamed big and never saw those dreams to fruition, people who fell in love and lost,” said the Fences star. 

“I became an artist and thank God I did because we are the only profession that celebrates what it means to live a life. So here’s to August Wilson who exhumed and exalted the ordinary people.”

Watch the video above from ABC.

Speaking out 

Iran’s The Salesman won Best Foreign Language film, but director Asghar Farhadi was absent, opting instead to have a statement read at the event on his behalf. He had earlier said that he would not attend the event even if he were allowed to. 

Watch the video from The Hollywood Reporter:


 

“I’m sorry I’m not with you tonight. My absence is out of respect for the people of my country and those of other 6 nations who have been disrespected by the inhumane law that bans entry of immigrants to the US,” said the statement, read by Anousheh Ansari. 

“Dividing the world into the us and our enemies categories creates fear, a deceitful justification for aggression and war. These wars prevent democracy and human rights in countries which have themselves been victims of aggression. Filmmakers can turn their cameras to capture shared human qualities and break stereotypes of various nationalities and religions. They create an entity between us and others – an entity which we need today more than ever.”

While presenting the awards for animated short and animated feature, Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal also spoke out, joining many other stars of the night who made political statements directly or indirectly. “I’m against any form of wall that wants to separate us,” he said, referring to Donald Trump’s plan to build a wall between the US and Mexico. 

Fan wanderings


 

At one point, Jimmy appeared to welcome tourists exploring the Dolby Theater, ushering them in to meet the stars in the front rows. Ryan Gosling gamely kissed a star-struck lady on the cheek, while Denzel Washington pretended to officiate a wedding between a couple.


 

Meanwhile, Oscar winner Mahershala Ali let one fan hold his Oscar and took a selfie with the fan, too. 

Mean Tweets, Oscars edition

Jimmy Kimmel introduced an Oscars edition of his popular Mean Tweets segment, this time featuring several Oscars winners and nominees, past and present. Ryan Gosling, Jessica Chastain, Natalie Portman, Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, and more all read gems from their worst critics on Twitter. 

Saying goodbye 

Sara Bareilles performed Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” for the show’s in memoriam segment, following Jennifer Aniston’s emotional introduction, acknowledging the death of actor Bill Paxton just one day before the Oscars. Gene Wilder, Carrie Fisher, Prince, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Kenny Baker, and many other deceased Hollywood figures were honored. 

Big night for La La Land 

Taking home 6 awards of 14 nominations, La La Land was a big winner on Oscar night. Director Damien Chazelle won Best Director, making Oscars history as the youngest filmmaker to win in this category. Emma Stone won her Best Actress trophy. Nominated twice in the same Original Song category, La La Land beat itself and other nominees, with signature song “City of Stars” taking the prize. The film also picked up awards for best original score, production design, and cinematography. 

In her emotional speech, Emma Stone thanked co-star Ryan Gosling for making her laugh, for raising the bar, and for being “the greatest partner on this crazy adventure.” The two previously worked together on Crazy, Stupid, Love and Gangster Squad

…and for Moonlight, too

In a stunning turn of events, a mistake was announced while the Best Picture award was being handed out – La La Land, which had been named the winner, actually lost to Moonlight.

The La La Land team had already begun to give their speeches, but later ceded the stage to director Barry Jenkins and the stunned Moonlight team as a shocked audience looked on.

“I’m going to be really proud to hand this to my friends from Moonlight,” said Horowitz. He and others could be seen hugging and congratulating the Moonlight group as Jimmy Kimmel and Warren Beatty waded back onstage to address the gaffe. – Rappler.com

More Oscars 2017 on Rappler here: 

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