The 2021 Oscars

By Lisa Respers France, Chloe Melas, Fernando Alfonso III, Marianne Garvey and Veronica Rocha, CNN

Updated 5:53 AM ET, Mon April 26, 2021
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11:24 p.m. ET, April 25, 2021

Frances McDormand wins best actress for "Nomadland"

From CNN's Chloe Melas

Frances McDormand just won best actress for "Nomadland."

McDormand took the stage and simply said, "My voice is in my word, we know the word is our work and I like work. Thank you for knowing that and thanks for this."

McDormand played Fern in the film, which is about a woman who lives in her van and travels across the midwest. The director of "Nomadland" Chloé Zhao became the first woman of color and the first woman of Asian descent to earn best director at the Oscars tonight.

McDormand has won numerous awards throughout her career, including two Emmys and a Tony. She has previously won two Oscars. One for "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" in 2019 and 1997's "Fargo."

11:10 p.m. ET, April 25, 2021

"Nomadland" wins best picture

From CNN's Marianne Garvey

"Nomadland" by Chloé Zhao just won the Oscar for best picture.

Frances McDormand stars as a woman who leaves her hometown after her husband dies and travels around the United States in her van.

11:03 p.m. ET, April 25, 2021

Oscars pays tribute to those who died over the past year

The Academy Awards honored those in the entertainment industry who died over the past year.

Among those people honored were the following:

  • Actress Cloris Leachman
  • Actress Olivia de Havilland
  • Actor Christopher Plummer
  • Actor Fred Willard
  • Composer Ennio Morricone
  • Actor Earl Cameron
  • Actor Jerry Stiller
  • Actor Sean Connery
  • Actor Chadwick Boseman

11:38 p.m. ET, April 25, 2021

Actress Glenn Close dances to "Da Butt" at the Oscars

Glenn Close.
Glenn Close. Matt Petit/A.M.P.A.S./Getty Images

Actor and comedian Lil Rel Howery led attendees of the 93rd Academy Awards in a game of "name that song" Sunday night.

One of the people roped into playing along was actress Glenn Close who correctly named the song "Da Butt" by Experience Unlimited.

"Spike Lee had it written for his brilliant movie 'School Daze' and my friends at the Oscars missed it and it wasn't nominated," Close told Howery as she got up and did "Da Butt" dance to a round of applause.

"She did 'Da Butt' at the Oscars. This is the blackest Oscars of all time," Howery said.

11:13 p.m. ET, April 25, 2021

"Fight For You" is music to Academy voters ears

From CNN's Lisa Respers France

H.E.R. won best original song for "Fight For You" from "Judas and the Black Messiah" at the Oscars on Sunday in Los Angeles.
H.E.R. won best original song for "Fight For You" from "Judas and the Black Messiah" at the Oscars on Sunday in Los Angeles. Chris Pizzello-Pool/Getty Images

H.E.R. was already a Grammy winner and now she has an Oscar as well.

The singer took home the award for best original song.

"I am so, so, so grateful," she said. "Not only for the win, but to be a part of such an important, important story."

The song, from the film "Judas and the Black Messiah," has been added to a trove of protest anthems from recent years.

"As long as I'm standing I'm always going to fight for us, I'm always going to fight for my people and fight for what's right," the singer said. "I think that's what music does and I think that's what storytelling does."

10:42 p.m. ET, April 25, 2021

"Soul" wins best original score

From CNN's Chloe Melas

Soul.
Soul. Disney.

"Soul" took home another Oscar tonight, this time for best original score.

The film tells the story of a middle school music teacher who is on a quest to reunite with his body and soul. The film, produced by Pixar and released by Disney, stars the voices of Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Phylicia Rashad, Questlove and Angela Bassett.

Despite the film being released straight to streaming on Disney+ due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the film has received critical acclaim.

The movie won best animated feature earlier tonight at the Academy Awards.

10:33 p.m. ET, April 25, 2021

Tyler Perry receives Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

Tyler Perry.
Tyler Perry. Chr

Tyler Perry received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award tonight for his commitment to social justice issues and dedication to creating a safe work environment during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Tyler’s cultural influence extends far beyond his work as a filmmaker. He has quietly and steadily focused on humanitarian and social justice causes from the beginning of his career, caring for people who are most often ignored," Academy President David Rubin said in a statement earlier this year.

According to the Academy, "Perry was instrumental in quickly creating a safe way to return to production during the worldwide health crisis."

"When I set out to help someone, it is my intention to do just that," Perry said while accepting the award at tonight's show. "I am not trying to do anything other than meet somebody at their humanity."

Perry went on to lay out his wish for the future: "To teach our kids to refuse hate." He dedicated his award to "anyone who wants to stand in the middle, no matter what's around the walls, stand in the middle because that's where healing happens, that's where conversations happen, that's where change happens. It happens in the middle."

Last year, Tyler Perry Studios completed its first session of what Perry called "Camp Quarantine" to film season 2 of "Sistas," the comedy-drama series on BET.

Perry consulted with medical experts and put together a 30-page plan that in essence created a quarantine bubble big enough for cast and crew for the duration of the shoot. He called it "Camp Quarantine."

It involved pre-arrival testing and quarantining; flights on Perry's private jet for out-of-towners; more testing and quarantining upon arrival; plenty of personal protective gear; no hugging; a lot of mask wearing — except for the cast while filming — and good hand hygiene; and then testing every four days. Cast and crew were kept isolated at the 330-acre studio lot in a combination of accommodations including army barracks and historic homes. There were food and alcohol trucks, movie nights, church services — just about everything.

Hear more about Perry's pandemic response here:

CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta contributed to this report.

10:34 p.m. ET, April 25, 2021

"Sound of Metal" wins for best film editing

Sound of Metal.
Sound of Metal. Amazon Studios.

"Sound of Metal" took home another Oscar tonight, this time for best film editing.

Mikkel Nielsen accepted the award on behalf of the film.

The film also took home the Oscar for achievement in sound earlier tonight.

10:14 p.m. ET, April 25, 2021

"Mank" wins best production design and cinematography

From CNN's Marianne Garvey

Mank.
Mank. Netflix

Netflix's "Mank" took home the Oscar for best production design and best cinematography.

The film centers around screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz and his development of the screenplay for "Citizen Kane." 

"Mank" director David Fincher and Erik Messerschmidt, who took home the Oscar tonight for best cinematography, strove for authenticity of the era by closely replicating the look and feel of Old Hollywood talking pictures — right down to shooting "Mank" entirely in black and white, or "Fincher-vision," costume designer Trish Summerville told CNN in December.

CNN's Tufayel Ahmed contributed to this report.