Laker Review is breaking down the night’s biggest surprises and winners. Below are some highlights from the first half of the show. Brad Pitt wins gold, Eminem shows up out of nowhere and “Joker” makes Oscar history. 

Brad Pitt finally wins acting Oscar for “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood.”

While taking home an Oscar in 2014 for producing Best Picture winner “12 Years a Slave,” pop culture icon Brad Pitt has never won an Oscar for acting, until now. Upon winning one of only two awards the Quentin Tarantino-directed film took home on Oscar night, Pitt used his short time onstage to address the recent Senate Impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. 

“They told me I have 45 seconds this year” Pitt said. “Which is 45 seconds more than the Senate gave John Bolton this week.”

Eminem makes surprise appearance to perform “Lose Yourself.”

During a tribute to famous songs used in movies, the Oscars telecast shocked the world by having rap artist Eminem rise from beneath the stage to perform his Oscar-winning song “Lose Yourself.” The audience bopped their heads and gave Slim Shady a standing ovation, while viewers at home were left confused as to why he showed up in the first place. The reason is that, at the 2003 Oscars, Eminem never showed up to perform the song live. Singing it all these years later was merely meant to serve as a pleasant surprise to make up for the missed opportunity.

Hildur Gudnadóttir becomes first woman to win Best Original Score for “Joker.”

“Joker,” while nominated for 11 Oscars, only managed to take home two. Although, neither were small victories. Icelandic composer Hildur Gudnadóttir became the first woman to ever take home the award for Best Original Score. 

“To the girls, to the women, to the mothers, to the daughters who hear the music bubbling within,”  Gudnadóttir said. “Please speak up — we need to hear your voices.” 

Below are some highlights from the second half of the show. Joaquin Phoenix surprises no one and “Parasite” makes Oscar history.

Bong Joon-ho upsets Sam Mendes to win Best Director for “Parasite.”

Most of the night was pretty by-the-numbers, with each perceived frontrunner winning. However, director Bong Joon-ho became the night’s first major upset when he won Best Director over frontrunner Sam Mendes, the man behind “1917.” Joon-ho became only the second director in Academy history to win Best Director for a non-English language film. It was also his third out of four Oscars won that night, taking home Best International Feature Film and Best Original Screenplay as well. 

Joaquin Phoenix takes home Best Actor for “Joker.”

If there was any category that was a lock for “Joker” to win, it was Best Actor. Phoenix had been cleaning up awards season by winning Best Actor at the Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild. During his speech, Phoenix called out the dairy indusry, cancel culture and even managed to pay tribute to his late brother, actor River Phoenix. 

“When he was 17, my brother wrote this lyric,” Phoenix said. “He said, ‘Run to the rescue with love and peace will follow.’”

“Parasite” cleans house and makes history by winning Best Picture. 

Without question, the night’s biggest winner was South Korean film “Parasite.” Going into Oscar night, “1917” was the frontrunner to win not only Best Picture, but also Best Director. However, once Bong Joon-ho surprised everyone by upsetting Sam Mendes, it seemed inevitable that “Parasite” would win the night’s biggest honor. It is now the first international film to ever take home Best Picture, not to mention Joon-ho is now tied with Walt Disney with the most Oscars won in a single night, four. 

Image from Entertainment Tonight via YouTube