As TV coverage remained locked on red carpet arrivals at the 2022 Oscars Sunday afternoon, inside the Dolby Theatre the ceremony was already underway. At 4 p.m. P.T., Jason Momoa and Josh Brolin hosted what the Academy is calling “golden hour,” a 60-minute segment of the show that won’t air live. During that time, winners of eight categories gave acceptance speeches. That made “Dune” an early leader in overall awards for the night, with wins for Production Design, Editing, Original Score, and Sound.
The winners from the eight categories — which also include Documentary Short, Makeup and Hairstyling, Animated Short, and Live-Action Short — will all get their moments during the live broadcast laster Sunday. Their speeches will be edited into the live telecast, a move that producers hope will move the show along and save viewers from the apparent pain of watching winners make the long trek from far-flung seats.
It’s a move that has sparked criticism from many corners of the industry since the plan was announced earlier this year. More criticism came in the last few days when the Academy revealed that journalists on site in the press room wouldn’t be able to watch these awards handed out live — just like viewers at home, they’ll have to wait until the live broadcast.
But IndieWire was inside the Dolby during golden hour, where the eight awards were handed out within 40 minutes. Momoa and Brolin joked about “Thanos and Aqua” being there to honor the winners. While everyone from the IATSE president to prominent actors spoke out against the reformatted show, winners declined to wade into the controversy during their acceptance speeches.
Makeup artist Linda Dowds came closest. She accepted the Best Makeup and Hairstyling Oscar for “The Eyes of Tammy Faye.” After lauding the way the show recognized each nominee, she urged those in the audience to really think about how they appreciate crafts people.
“There are tens of thousands of crafts people just like us, who are below the line, who come into work every day and work long and hard and who never get the opportunity to have this kind fo recognition,” Dowds said to thunderous applause. “I just hope that each and every day on set everyone takes a moment to just look around and look at all those people who work so hard.”
Best documentary short goes to Queen of Basketball director Ben Proudfoot, his 2nd nom. “If there’s anybody out there who doubts that there’s an audience for female athletes… let this Academy award be the answer. This recognition came way too late.” pic.twitter.com/m4Os1jLc4A
— Anne Thompson (@akstanwyck) March 27, 2022
Other winners included “The Queen of Basketball” for Documentary Short. The film, about the first and only woman to be drafted into the NBA, Lucy Harris, was directed by Ben Proudfoot.
“If there is anyone out there that still doubts there’s an audience for female athletes, that still questions whether those stories are valuable or entertaining or important, let this Academy Award be the answer,” he said.
“The Long Goodbye” won Best Live Action Short. Star Riz Ahmed offered a message of unity: “In such divided times, we believe the role of story is to remind us that there is no ‘us and them,’ there’s just us,” he said.
Hans Zimmer won Best Original Score for his work on “Dune,” but he was not in attendance.
View the complete list of winners here, updated as soon as they’re announced.
Anne Thompson and Eric Kohn contributed reporting.
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