Read the video transcript here
Marc Pitzke, DER SPIEGEL
»Yes, I guess they were now. So probably the strangest Oscars in a long time. "
Awards under pandemic conditions:
After all, under the state of emergency, Chloé Zhao, a female Person of Color, wins the Oscar for best film and best director for the first time.
The film's third Oscar went to lead actress Frances McDormand.
The setting of the celebration was special according to the circumstances:
Marc Pitzke, DER SPIEGEL
“It didn't take place in the Dolby Theater as usual. There is room for 3400 people. You can't even imagine that at the moment, but in Los Angeles Central Station, in Union Station. And they turned it very elegantly into a wonderful set that was reminiscent of a supper club. 170 people at most were allowed in there. So just the nominees and the ones who gave them the Oscars. And the whole thing was a masterpiece of illusion, because the station traffic continued, the trains continued. And the passengers were simply smuggled through the back entrance and the side entrance, past privacy screens, while the stars and their cocktail tables sat on the other side. That was very strange. For us journalists, of course, the whole thing also had consequences.Usually we are there backstage behind the stage and can interview the winners in an extra room. As soon as they got their Oscar, they were shown to us there. And those are always great conversations because they are still so excited and so beside themselves. This time it took place virtually. "
And then it sounded like this:
“What?
I think everybody benefits from diversity.
Yes. "
Marc Pitzke, DER SPIEGEL
“And as anyone who's used video chat in any way over the past year knows, that changes the energy. It was basically like the worst video chat you can imagine with 450 participants. Half of them never knew what the silent circuit was. The others hadn't turned on their video, they couldn't hear each other. The stars stood in front of a camera in the train station. We sat here in the hotel room in front of the camera, we had to look nice too, at least around the top. Downstairs doesn't matter either. And it was just relatively frustrating for the journalists. But well, that's something we accept. It's not that important either, that's not the point. But it was very strange to see how some of the colleagues had positioned themselves. I once clicked a bit through all of these 400 windows.Some sat on a sofa, the others sat in the kitchen and ate something, one sat in the study and was on the phone. In the same way as you actually know it from such video chats privately. "
Will McCormack, Oscar winner for best animated film
"We want people not to be numb to everyday violence."
Marc Pitzke, DER SPIEGEL
»But in terms of the subject matter, the show was very serious, you have to say, there were few jokes. On purpose, of course, it would have been completely inappropriate at this time. There has been a lot of talk about social justice. There was a lot of talk about Corona, about the corona victims. You were recognized right at the beginning in the first five minutes. The victims of police violence were also repeatedly addressed. The victims of racism in the USA. So they tried to keep that balance and in my opinion it worked out quite well. But it was probably a disappointment for the classic Oscar TV viewers because they didn't get what they always expected. "
