Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      South Africa loosens media ownership rules – but keeps one hand on the remote

      16 July 2025

      Eskom targets 32GW green energy shift by 2040

      16 July 2025

      MTN Group appoints new chief enterprise officer

      16 July 2025

      Kruger Park’s white rhinos get a hi-tech lifeline

      16 July 2025

      The real cost of a cashless economy

      16 July 2025
    • World

      Grok 4 arrives with bold claims and fresh controversy

      10 July 2025

      Samsung’s bet on folding phones faces major test

      10 July 2025

      Bitcoin pushes higher into record territory

      10 July 2025

      OpenAI to launch web browser in direct challenge to Google Chrome

      10 July 2025

      Cupertino vs Brussels: Apple challenges Big Tech crackdown

      7 July 2025
    • In-depth

      The 1940s visionary who imagined the Information Age

      14 July 2025

      MultiChoice is working on a wholesale overhaul of DStv

      10 July 2025

      Siemens is battling Big Tech for AI supremacy in factories

      24 June 2025

      The algorithm will sing now: why musicians should be worried about AI

      20 June 2025

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025
    • TCS

      TCS+ | Samsung unveils significant new safety feature for Galaxy A-series phones

      16 July 2025

      TCS+ | MVNX on the opportunities in South Africa’s booming MVNO market

      11 July 2025

      TCS | Connecting Saffas – Renier Lombard on The Lekker Network

      7 July 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E4: Takealot’s big Post Office jobs plan

      4 July 2025

      TCS | Tech, townships and tenacity: Spar’s plan to win with Spar2U

      3 July 2025
    • Opinion

      A smarter approach to digital transformation in ICT distribution

      15 July 2025

      In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

      30 June 2025

      E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

      30 June 2025

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CambriLearn
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Reviews & Weekend » Green Book wins best picture in setback for Netflix

    Green Book wins best picture in setback for Netflix

    By Agency Staff25 February 2019
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp
    Green Book won best picture at the Academy Awards

    Green Book, the Universal Pictures’ film about race relations in the US South in the early 1960s, was crowned best picture of 2018, an upset win that dashed Netflix’s hopes that Roma would garner the streaming giant’s first top Oscar.

    Alfonso Cuaron won the Academy Award for directing the Netflix picture, his Spanish-language look at family and class in Mexico. The movie won three awards in all, giving the streaming company some bragging rights, even if not for best picture, after a costly Oscar campaign for the film. The awards were held Sunday at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles and carried on ABC.

    With Green Book winning, theatre owners will breathe a sigh of relief. Netflix has posed an almost existential threat to movie houses with widely seen film hits such as the thriller Bird Box and an artistic gem like Roma. Cinema chains like AMC Entertainment fought the online studio by refusing to show pictures it backed. With Green Book and Bohemian Rhapsody taking many top prizes, Fox and Universal dominated the awards.

    It’s possibly a sign there are some members of the academy that aren’t ready for a streaming service to win best picture

    “It’s very much beloved and it’s possibly a sign there are some members of the academy that aren’t ready for a streaming service to win best picture,” said Erik Davis, managing editor for Fandango.com. “It’s a film that a lot of people really enjoyed.”

    Green Book tells the story of a racist New Yorker, Tony Vallelonga, who is hired to drive African-American pianist Don Shirley through a tour of the South. The film was criticised as inaccurate by members of Shirley’s family. Vallelonga’s son, Nick, said later in interviews backstage that he related the story as Shirley wanted it told.

    In all, Green Book grabbed three Oscars, including a best-supporting-actor award for Mahershala Ali, who played Dr Shirley, and best original screenplay for co-writers Vallelonga, Brian Hayes Currie and Peter Farrelly.

    “The whole story, is about love,” Farrelly, who also directed the picture, said on stage. “It’s about loving each other despite our differences. And finding the truth about who we are, we’re the same people.”

    Social issues

    Most of the eight best-picture nominees touched on social issues like race, class and sexual orientation, which may help the show’s TV ratings after years of decline. Cuaron used his directing win with Roma to speak up for rights of indigenous women and domestic workers, who he said had traditionally been “relegated to the background” as characters in moves.

    Olivia Colman won the best-actress award for her portrayal of Queen Anne in the Fox Searchlight film The Favourite, a drama in which two female lovers vie for her favour. Rami Malek grabbed the best-actor Oscar for his portrayal of rocker Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody. The film follows his rise with the band Queen, his homosexuality and his Aids diagnosis.

    Spike Lee shared a writing Oscar, his first Academy Award ever, for BlacKkKlansman, about an African American police detective who infiltrates the klan with the help of a fellow policeman who is Jewish.

    Bohemian Rhapsody

    Lee thanked April Reign, the founder of the #OscarsSoWhite, and Cheryl Boone Isaacs, the former head of the motion picture academy, who he credited for opening up the organisation to new members.

    “I wouldn’t be here tonight” without them, he said.

    Many of the early awards went to African Americans, showing Hollywood is getting the message after excluding minority groups from key roles and jobs for years. The winners included best-supporting actress for Regina King, for her role in If Beale Street Could Talk, Ali for his portrayal of Shirley in Green Book, and costume and production-design Oscars for Black Panther.

    Bohemian Rhapsody was the big winner with four Oscars, with awards for Malek as Mercury, sound editing, sound mixing and film editing

    “Thank you for honouring African royalty and the empowered way women can look and lead on-screen,” Ruth Carter, who won for costume design, said from the stage.

    King’s award was for her role as an African American mother working tirelessly to free her innocent son from prison. The film is the first English-language adaptation of a James Baldwin work for the big screen.

    “To be standing here, representing one of the greatest artists of our time, James Baldwin, is a little surreal,” King said from the podium.

    Bohemian Rhapsody was the big winner with four Oscars, with awards for Malek as Mercury, sound editing, sound mixing and film editing. Black Panther, the superhero megahit from Walt Disney’s Marvel division, grabbed three — for music, costumes and set design.

    21st Century Fox led among the studios with six awards overall. Much of the company will soon be part of Disney, which is buying its entertainment assets for US$71-billion in cash and stock.  — Reported by Anousha Sakoui, (c) 2019 Bloomberg LP



    Academy Awards 2019 Oscar winners 2019 Oscars 2019 top
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleLG’s new G8 ThinQ reads your palm to unlock
    Next Article How sizzle, pop and colour draw attention to your brand

    Related Posts

    18GW in unplanned breakdowns cripple Eskom

    2 November 2021

    Nersa kicks the Karpowership can down the road

    13 September 2021

    If you think South African load shedding is bad, try Zimbabwe’s

    13 September 2021
    Company News

    Ransomware in South Africa: the human factor behind the growing crisis

    16 July 2025

    Mental wellness at scale: how Mac fuels October Health’s mission

    15 July 2025

    Banking on LEO: Q-KON transforms financial services connectivity

    14 July 2025
    Opinion

    A smarter approach to digital transformation in ICT distribution

    15 July 2025

    In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

    30 June 2025

    E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

    30 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.