Lauren Turner
Entertainment Reporter

Image source, Reuters

Everyone seems to be delighted by Allison Janney picking up her first Oscar for playing Tonya Harding's domineering mother LaVona Golden in I, Tonya.

She's talked about channeling her inner critic to inspire the role, saying she chose to speak to Margot Robbie (who plays Tonya) the way she sometimes speaks to herself.

So, in the interview room backstage, I asked her what her inner voice is saying now.

Her reply was met by a round of applause:

She said of her win: "I didn't dare to dream of things like this because I didn't want to be disappointed. At a certain point, I'd given up on something like this happening to me."

Proof, if it was needed, to never, ever give up - and to use your own inner voice to give yourself a pat on the back.

(Bonus points go to Allison too for being wonderfully candid about how uncomfortable heels can be)

"I have two words to leave with you tonight," said Frances McDormand.

The word waited, desperate to hear what was coming next.

"Inclusion rider."

Pardon?

Did she say writer maybe? No, definitely rider. But what does that mean?

Theories were quickly forthcoming on social media, but some figures in the acting community were on hand to help out:

And, speaking backstage, McDormand clarified her meaning:

A quick reminder of the night's biggest winners...

• The Shape Of Water - 4
• Dunkirk - 3
• Blade Runner 2049 - 2
• Coco - 2
• Darkest Hour - 2
• Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri - 2

Image source, Getty Images

Look, we're sure she meant well.

But people on Twitter really weren't keen on Emma Stone's introduction of the best director category.

"These four men and Greta Gerwig created their own masterpieces this year," she said, looking rather pleased with herself for highlighting the male-dominated category.

But unlike Natalie Portman's handling of the issue at the Globes in January, or Sandra Bullock's comments earlier tonight, viewers thought her point was a little inelegant and took away from the progressive nominations for Guillermo del Toro and Jordan Peele.

Image source, Reuters

A lovely moment captured here as Meryl Streep congratulates Frances McDormand on winning the best actress Oscar.

And we don't blame them. Provided you're a fan of crystals.

Lauren Turner
Entertainment Reporter

The ceremony may be over - but backstage in the interview room, there are still quite a lot of winners (seven, we're told by the press team) due to speak. They include Gary Oldman, Allison Janney, Frances McDormand and Jordan Peele. We'll bring you more from them when we get it.

Image source, 20th Century Fox

Well. The best picture winner is certainly splitting opinion.

Image source, AFP/GETTY

It took 14 nominations - but Roger Deakins finally has an Oscar in his hand (as well as the envelope which revealed he was the winner).

He's managing to be seemingly nonchalant about it though, shrugging when asked what it means for the wait to be over.

What's important to him is who else is nominated tonight though.

Despite seeming calm, he says he definitely wasn't on the Oscars stage. He says: "A big part of me was saying 'please, please no'. I find it very hard."

He thanked all those who've worked with him during his illustrious career.

I bet Phantom Thread costume designer Mark Bridges didn't expect he would be riding onto the Dolby Theatre stage on a jetski, clutching an Oscar, accompanied by Dame Helen Mirren, when he turned up this evening.

He looks pretty delighted about it though.

He won it for making the shortest speech of the night - turns out Jimmy Kimmel put his money where his mouth is.

His winning time was 36 seconds, by the way.

Image source, Getty Images

And the winner is...

The Shape of Water

Blimey.

This is a little surprising. Three Billboards was thought to be the favourite to take home the night's big prize.

But in the end, the fairytale story about a mute cleaner who falls in love with an amphibious creature takes the trophy.

Guillermo del Toro makes his way to the stage accept the prize, jokingly checking Warren Beatty's envelope.

"A few weeks ago, Steven Spielberg said, 'If you find yourself on the podium, remember that you are part of a world of filmmakers, and be proud of it'.

"I want to dedicate this to every young filmmaker that is showing us how things are done, really they are. In every country in the world.

"When I was a kid enamoured with movies, growing up in Mexico, I thought this could never happen, it happens.

"Everyone that is using the genre of fantasy to tell the story about things that are happening in the world today, you can do it. This is a door, kick it open and come in."

The other nominees were:

• Call Me By Your Name
• Darkest Hour
• Dunkirk
• Get Out
• Lady Bird
• Phantom Thread
• The Post

• Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Image source, Getty Images

Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway return to the stage to present best picture. What could possibly go wrong this year?

"As they say, presenting is lovelier the second time around," jokes Faye.

As they were being introduced by Jimmy Kimmel, the chat show host joked that what happened last year was just "Waterhouse under the bridge."

(A reference to PriceWaterhouseCoopers who were responsible for the envelope mishap.)

Lauren Turner
Entertainment Reporter

Usually, you get the best actor from the previous year presenting the award to the best actress - and vice versa.

But things were changed up a bit when Casey Affleck decided to pull out of presenting (he'd won the Oscar for Manchester by the Sea at the 2017 awards).

Instead, we've had the best actress award presented by Jodie Foster and Jennifer Lawrence, and the best actor presented by Helen Mirren and Jane Fonda.

Emma Stone, who would have traditionally given out that Oscar, was the presenter for best director instead.

Image source, Reuters

Frances McDormand for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

No surprises here - McDormand has won every best actress prize going this awards season, including the same accolade at the Baftas and the Golden Globes.

"I'm hyperventilating a little bit. If I fall over pick me up cause I've got some things to say," she says.

"I want to thank Martin McDonagh look what you did. We are a bunch of hooligans and anarchists but we do clean up nice.

She continues: "If I may be so honoured to have all the female nominees stand with me in this room tonight. The film makers the producers the directors, the writers, the cinematographers, the songwirters, the designers," she says - as many women in the audience get to their feet.

"Look around, because we all have stories to tell," McDormand says. "I have two words to leave with you tonight: Inclusion rider."

*The whole world Googles the term inclusion rider*

The other nominees were:

• Sally Hawkins - The Shape of Water

• Margot Robbie - I, Tonya
• Saoirse Ronan - Lady Bird
• Meryl Streep - The Post

Image source, AFP/GETTY

Gary Oldman - Darkest Hour

“My deepest thanks to the academy for this glorious prize,” Oldman says.

“The movies – such is their power - captivated a young man from South London and gave him a dream.

“I’d like to salute Winston Churchill who has been marvellous company on what has been an incredible journey.”

Oldman also thanks his mother who is “99 years young next birthday” and who is “watching from the comfort of her sofa”.

“Put the kettle on – I’m bringing Oscar home.”

The award was presented by Jane Fonda and Helen Mirren.

The other nominees were:

• Timothee Chalamet - Call Me By Your Name
• Daniel Day-Lewis - Phantom Thread
• Daniel Kaluuya - Get Out
• Denzel Washington - Roman J Israel, Esq

Image source, Getty Images

The Shape of Water - Guillermo Del Toro

Accepting the prize, he says: "I am an immigrant, like many of you... and I think the greatest thing our industry does is to erase the lines in the sand, we should continue doing that when the world tells us to make them deeper.

He also thanks Fox Searchlight, "because in 2014 they came to listen to a mad pitch, and they believed that a fairytale about an amphibian man and a mute woman was a sure bet."

This is the fourth win for a Mexican director in five years.

The other nominees in this category were:

• Dunkirk - Christopher Nolan
• Get Out - Jordan Peele
• Lady Bird - Greta Gerwig
• Phantom Thread - Paul Thomas Anderson

Image source, Reuters

It doesn't feel like there have been any huge surprises yet. Most of those expected to pick up Oscars have done so - several of whom, like Allison Janney and Sam Rockwell, had already collected an armful of awards for their films.

But we could have a few surprises still to come, as we're not too far away from finding out who's won best picture.

It's been such a tightly-fought race and still feels, at this stage, like it could go to a number of films.

The Shape of Water went into the Academy Awards as the film holding the most nominations - but some feel it has lost its momentum in the best picture race. Then there's Three Billboards - but some feel a few of its characters were problematic.

Now that Jordan Peele has picked up the original screenplay for Get Out, could he go all the way and win best picture? It would certainly be a popular win. On the red carpets at all the pre-Oscars awards and events this week, it was the film the other stars seemed to mention the most.

We don't have long to go to find out...

The In Memoriam section pays tribute to some of the figures from the world of film we've lost in the past year.

Eddie Vedder performed Tom Petty’s Room at the Top.

Sir Roger Moore, Sridevi, Jonathan Demme, John Heard, Don Rickles and Shashi Kapoor are among the names remembered.

Lauren Turner
Entertainment Reporter

Image source, Reuters

Rachel Shenton and Chris Overton are backstage with us.

Her fiance Chris Overton says when their name was called, he looked up to where Maisie Sly was sitting and could see her shouting with happiness.

Rachel adds with a smile: "I'm surprised she stayed awake!"

Chris says it's "incredible" to get this kind of platform and that the win is "huge for deafness and for deaf people".

Remember Me - Coco (Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez)

That's two Oscars for Coco too.

Kristen Anderson-Lopez says she feels proud to be in one of the few categories where which is not only diverse, but has equal gender representation across all the songwriters.

The other nominees were:

• Mighty River - Mudbound (Mary J Blige, Raphael Saadiq & Taura Stinson)
• The Mystery of Love - Call Me By Your Name (Sufjan Stevens)

• Stand Up for Something - Marshall (Common & Diane Warren)
• This Is Me - The Greatest Showman (Benji Pasek & Justin Paul)

Image source, Getty Images