Oscars 2016: Spotlight wins best picture; DiCaprio, Inarritu, Larson take trophies

Ensemble dramaSpotlight, an ode to traditional, dogged investigativejournalism, took the top prize at the 88th annual Academy Awards, during a ceremony that addressed Hollywood's lack of inclusionand the #OscarsSoWhitescandal head on.

The major awards were spread out to several front-runners.

Tom McCarthy's Spotlight,about the Boston Globe's expos of rampant sexualabuse in the city's Catholic Church, picked up the covetedfinal awardbest picture after having been the night's first winner, for best original screenplay.

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Alejandro G. Inarrituearnedasecond straight Oscar for best director for the epic survivalist thrillerThe Revenant, following on the heels of his win last year for Birdman.

"What a great opportunity for our generation to really liberate ourselves from all prejudice and this tribal thinking and to make sure for once and forever that the colour of our skin becomes as irrelevant as the length of our hair," the Mexican filmmaker said onstage, one of several who addressed diversity in the industrythroughout the night.

Oscars 2016 Red carpet highlights

9 years ago

Duration 1:42

Stars shine with glam fashions on the Oscars red carpet.

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The Revenant, which featuresa host of Canadian actors and creative crew and waspartially shot in British Columbia and Alberta, alsoearned Leonardo DiCapriohis first-ever Oscar for his lead performance as 19th century frontiersman Hugh Glass.

DiCaprioused his acceptance speech to make a lengthystatement about climate change.

Let us not take our planet for granted. I do not take tonight for granted.- Leonardo DiCaprio

"2015 was the hottest year in recorded history.Our production needed to go to the southern tip of the planet just to find snow Climate change is real," hedeclared.

"It is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species Let us not take our planet for granted. I do not take tonight for granted."

The brutalepic,which started the night with a leading 12 nominations, also won for its cinematography a third consecutive Academy Award forEmmanuel Lubezki.

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Meanwhile, thebest actress honourwent toBrie Larson for the captivity dramaRoom, an Irish-Canadian production based on the bestselling novel by London, Ont. novelist Emma Donoghue.

In her speech, American star Larson paid tribute to fans who watched the quiet, powerful film,as well as a host of Canadians,from screenwriter Donoghue to her youngco-star Jacob Tremblay to the organizers of the Toronto International Film Festival, where the movie began its award season journey by winning the People's Choice Award in September.

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Mad Max: Fury Road won six awards, more than any other film on the night. George Miller's blistering, post-apocalypticblockbuster was honoured for costume design, production design, makeup and hairstyling, film editing, sound editing and sound mixing.

"Mad Max was the best reviewed film of 2015. Audiences loved it and to be honoured tonight is more than we could ever have hoped for," film editorMargaretSixel, who is married to directorMiller,told the audience.

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A host of trophies went to expected winners from the instant standing ovation for the87-year-old shoo-in and legendary Italian composerEnnioMorricone(best score for The Hateful Eight) to category front-runners, as was the case withPixar's Inside Out (animated feature),Amy Winehouse portrait Amy (documentary feature) and harrowingconcentration camp dramaSon of Saul (foreign language film).

However, gasps were heard from members of the audience when Bridge of Spies actorMark Rylance, a giant of theBritish stage but lesser known in North America, was crownedwinner of best supporting actor. He knocked outSylvester Stallone, who had been expected to take the prize for reprising his indeliblerole as Rocky Balboa in Creed nearly 40 years after he first created the character.

Tackling controversy head on

Host ChrisRock lived up to expectations bytacklingthe #OscarsSoWhitecontroversy immediately and keeping it centraland in sharp focusthroughout the telecast.

Following a wide-rangingintroductory movie montage that spanned fromStar WarstoSpotlight, the acerbic comedian'sfirst comments"I counted at least 15 black people in thatmontage!" quickly drewlaughter from the star-studded audience.

With a breezy, fast-paced set, Rock proceeded todeflate the notion of a film awards show boycott.

"Why are we protesting? Why this Oscars?" he asked, notingthat over the course of 88 editions,there have often been years that hadall-white acting nominees with no Academy Awards protest.

"[In other years], we had real things to protest at the time we were too busy being raped and lynched to worry about who won best cinematographer," he declared, in one of his more biting punchlines.

That said,Rock's opening alsomanaged to weave inpolice violence against African Americans, poke gentle fun at some of the prominent figures boycotting Sunday's Oscarsand honestly addressed the fact that systemic racism does exist in Hollywood.

Is Hollywood racist? You're damn right it's racist.- Chris Rock

He concluded:"It's not about boycott anything. It's about 'we want opportunity.'"

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Rock returned to the topicthroughout the telecast, both live "We're black," was one declaration post-commercial break and in pre-recorded skits, such as Angela Bassett presentinga film academyBlack History Month-relatedtribute to Jack Black, the white comic actor. Rock also revived his reality check segment from his 2005 hosting stint, polling moviegoers from the largely black neighbourhood of Compton, Calif., about their favourite films this past year.

There was alsoan awkward bit when he jokingly introduced the film academy's new head ofminority outreach efforts Stacey Dash, the outspoken black actress and Fox News commentator who hascriticized the #OscarsSoWhitecontroversy and said that Black History Month should be abolished.

"Icannot wait to help my people out. Happy Black History Month!"she declared, later publishing a blog post explaining she appeared simply to show everyone she had a sense of humour.

On a somewhatdifferent note, Britishcrooner Sam Smithwinner ofbest original song (along withJimmy Napes)for the Writing's On the Wallfrom the 007 instalmentSpectre made a bid for equality for theLGBT community.

"I stand here tonight as a proud gay man and I hope that we can all stand together as equals one day," he said.

Canada'sObaid-Chinoywins

Canada earned an Oscar whenSharmeenObaid-ChinoytriumphedforA Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness, her documentary short about the horrific practice ofhonour killings.

"This is what happens when determined women get together," declared the Pakistani-Canadian filmmaker, who is based part of the time in Toronto, as she took the stage.

• Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Oscar winner, says Canada informs her work

Obaid-Chinoyalso saluted all themen "who push women to go to schooland work and who want a more just society for womenThis weekthe Pakistan prime minister said he will change the law on honour killing.Thatis the power of film."

She previously won an Oscar for her docSaving Face, about women who survive acid attacks.

Winners of the 88th Academy Awards

Best picture: Spotlight

Actress in a leading role: Brie Larson,Room

Actor in a leading role: LeonardoDiCaprio,The Revenant

Supporting actress: AliciaVikander,The Danish Girl

Actor in a supporting role: MarkRylance,Bridge of Spies

Directing: Alejandro G.Inarritu,The Revenant

Original screenplay: Spotlight

Adapted screenplay: The Big Short

Costume design: Mad Max: Fury Road

Production design: Mad Max: Fury Road

Makeup and hairstyling: Mad Max: Fury Road

Cinematography: The Revenant

Film editing: Mad Max: Fury Road

Sound editing: Mad Max: Fury Road

Sound mixing: Mad Max: Fury Road

Visual effects: Ex Machina

Animated short film: Bear Story

Animated feature film: Inside Out

Documentary short subject: A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness

Documentary feature: Amy

Live action short film: Stutterer

Foreign language film: Son of Saul

Original song: Writing's On the Wall

Original score: The Hateful Eight

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