FRANCES MCDORMAND GAVE a rousing speech while she collected her Best Actress trophy at the Academy Awards last night.
McDormand won for her role in Martin McDonagh’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, in which she plays Mildred Hayes, a woman seeking justice for her daughter’s rape and murder.
She had been the frontrunner after picking up trophies at the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild, Independent Spirit and Bafta ceremonies.
After thanking her family and the film’s crew, McDormand asked all the female nominees in every category to stand up.
“Meryl, if you do it, everyone else will,” she said to Best Actress nominee Meryl Streep, who sat in the front row of the Dolby Theatre.
“Look around ladies and gentlemen because we all have stories to tell and projects we need financed.
Don’t talk to us about it at the parties tonight, invite us into your office in a couple of days or you can come to ours, whichever suits you best, and we’ll tell you all about them.
“I have two words to leave with you tonight, ladies and gentlemen: inclusion rider.”
McDormand was referring to a provision added to actors’ contracts to ensure that casting on productions is more representative and diverse. That includes 50% gender parity, 40% people of colour, 5% LGBTQ+, and 20% people with disabilities.
Six women took home Oscars last night, including the two actress winners, compared with 33 male winners.
Second Oscar
McDormand beat out Saoirse Ronan of Lady Bird, Sally Hawkins of The Shape of Water, Margot Robbie of I, Tonya, and 21-time nominee Streep of The Post to take home the award.
It was her second Oscar win. Her first came in 1996 for Fargo, which was directed by her husband Joel Coen and his brother Ethan.
Gary Oldman won Best Actor for his role as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour.
The Shape of Water picked up the Best Picture award. The film also won Best Score, with its director Guillermo Del Toro winning Best Director. Here is the complete list of this year’s winners.
In a nod to the Time’s Up movement against sexual harassment, Salma Hayek, Ashley Judd and Annabella Sciorra introduced a short film in which directors and writers talked about the importance of diversity in film.
The women are among those to claim influential producer Harvey Weinstein adversely affected their careers after they spurned his advances. Other women have accused him of sexual assault, which he denies.
Contains reporting from AP
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