The Oscars opener highlighted the best films of 2019, including “Joker,” “Us” and “1917,” with an elaborate musical number led by Janelle Monae.
Monae opened the 92nd Academy Awards with a rendition of Mr. Rogers’ “It’s a Beautiful Day in This Neighborhood,” which is especially timely given Tom Hanks is nominated for his role as Mr. Rodgers in Marielle Heller’s “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.” She of course sauntered up to Hanks sitting in the first row of the Dolby Theatre, handing off her hat she wore throughout the musical number.
The show then went on to feature all sorts of movies from 2019, including “Joker,” “Midsommar,” “1917,” “Dolemite Is My Name,” “Little Women,” “Jojo Rabbit,” “Queen & Slim” and “Us.” The performance featured nods to the costumes of each movie, and the choreography even included a sequence of Hands Across America from Jordan Peele’s “Us.”
Monae gave a shoutout to “all the women who directed phenomenal films,” and said she’s “proud to stand here with black, queer artists.”
Billy Porter had a cameo on stage when Monae took a seat at a grand piano decked with flowers, before she put on the dress of the May Queen from “Midsommar” and sauntered down the steps towards the nominees, jamming out with actors like Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio.
The 2020 Oscars took place on Sunday night at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The first award of the night went to Brad Pitt for his role in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.”
Watch the video above.