Oscars Recap With Entertainment Tonight's Nancy O'Dell
On a night filled with few surprises, the 90th Academy Awards still ended up being a memorable evening. Jordan Peele became the first black screenwriter to win best original screenplay, Allison Janney and Kobe Bryant won their first Oscars and "Shape of Water" won Best Picture.
Entertainment Tonight's Nancy O'Dell chatted with CBS Local's DJ Sixsmith about the biggest night of the year in Hollywood, her favorite interviews from the red carpet and the impact of the #MeToo movement.
DJ Sixsmith: How will you remember the 90th Academy Awards?
Nancy O'Dell: There are always those moments that stand out. It was a different Oscars compared to some of the other awards shows this year because it was political, but not that political. I think that's because the Oscars are the last of the award shows in a certain year and a lot of the political statements were made at the other shows. There were some great moments like Frances McDormand asking all the women to stand up in the audience. That was a really nice moment. I think you saw a lot of people opening their envelopes really carefully to make sure no mistake was made this year. I thought Jimmy Kimmel did a very smart hosting job. Rita Moreno wore the same dress that she wore 56 years ago. I was shocked that she still fits in it, that's not fair. We saw her on the red carpet and she said that the dress had been cut in the back and tied up with strings. Kobe Bryant winning was so unexpected. He was actually emotional on the red carpet. He said it meant as much or more to him than the NBA championships because all his life he had been working towards winning a championship. Winning an Oscar was unexpected, so it meant even more to him.
DS: What would you say was the biggest surprise of the night?
NO: There weren't as many surprises this year. This year, it seemed like a lot of the front runners won. I don't think there were any shockers. It didn't seem like that was the case with any of the winners.
DS: What's the one movie you are excited to watch now?
NO: I love to go back and look at the winners from a different perspective. I like to go back and skim through the movies I've already seen that won best costume design and hair and makeup and see what they look like. I have to watch them quickly because there are so many to prepare for at the ceremony. I'm going to go back and study them a little bit more.
DS: Which interview from the red carpet stands out the most?
NO: One was Kobe Bryant because it was unexpected. The other was Allison Janney. We knew she was probably going to be the winner because she's done so well, but between her and Laurie Metcalf it was hard to decide who was going to win for Best Supporting Actress. She was definitely one of my favorite interviews on the red carpet because she talked about having talked to Tonya Harding and the movie was told from her perspective and about her childhood and how you just didn't know any of this. We just knew about the infamous Nancy Kerrigan knee story. We didn't know any of her background. That movie was interesting because I thought it was told from such a different perspective. We also talked to Sandra Bullock and she is always so much fun. She talked about all the women who have bonded from the new "Ocean's 8." They have their own text chain where they talk very frankly.
DS: After several months in which the #MeToo movement has dominated awards shows, how would you describe the progress that has been made in Hollywood?
NO: It was so great. We all know this stuff has been going on for a while where women have been dealing with things like not having the same salary as their male counterparts. You've heard it brought up before, but it didn't feel supported. Now it feels supported. All the women are bonding together and that's huge. Diversity is also more represented and everyone is bonding together. It's a big push toward inclusion. It is making a difference. You saw it in the films that were nominated and the people that won. The great thing that Hollywood can do is that because there is so much attention brought to it, celebrities can take a stand and make a difference. There is so much attention being brought to having everyone included.
Check your local listing for tonight's post Academy Awards coverage on "Entertainment Tonight."
