Groundbreaking Oscar wins for POC

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: So, let me just ask you to start briefly with your takeaways. Aisha, what was your takeaway from last night in general?

AISHA HARRIS: I think, overall, it was great to see so many people of color nominated across all the categories. Last year, there were barely any people of color nominated in the acting categories. And this year, we had them in every category. And it was great to see people like Daniel Kaluuya and Youn Yuh-jung, as you already mentioned. But then, also, there were some disappointing moments of the night, like the fact that Chadwick Boseman did not wind up winning the award, and they swapped around the category — best picture is usually last. And this year, they swapped it around. And the acting category, the best actor category, was last. And that was a little strange, and it was a little anticlimactic, after that really great opening of Regina king at the beginning.

AMANPOUR: So, that’s interesting. I have heard that too. Kyle Buchanan, do you think it was a bit anticlimactic? And why? Because, usually, best actor, best actress, I mean, those are — those are big ticket items.

KYLE BUCHANAN: No, they’re significant. And, usually, that’s where you see famous movie stars rewarded. But it was a bit of a gamble to bank on best actor being more important than best picture this year. Clearly, they were hoping that Chadwick Boseman, who was the favorite, was going to win and that his widow, Simone Ledward Boseman, would make a very emotional speech to close out the ceremony. That didn’t happen. The winner was Anthony Hopkins for “The Father.” And Hopkins was in Wales, not in Los Angeles. So we ended the ceremony with essentially nobody accepting an award. Yes, anticlimax is putting it mildly.

AMANPOUR: OK. So I want to dig down a little bit more. But, first, I’m going to play the sound bite from Anthony Hopkins, because, 83 years old, the oldest ever to win that Oscar. And, yes, he was in Wales, potentially because of the travel, potentially because of his health, and maybe because he didn’t expect to win it.