Last year’s Best Picture envelope mix up was one of the most memorable moments in the history of the Academy Awards, and as expected, last night’s ceremony couldn’t help but make fun of the fiasco early and often. When it came time for the evening’s final award, the Academy even brought back Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway to present. But even with all the assurances that something like the La La Land/Moonlight mix up would never happen again, you’d have to check the envelope, right? Well, just to make sure history wasn’t repeating itself, director Guillermo del Toro double-checked the envelope to see that The Shape of Water was indeed the Best Picture winner, as you can see below.
Is there anyone greater than Guillermo del Toro? He takes the envelope from Warren Beatty and puts it close to his glasses just to make sure this is really happening, and then smiles and turns to the audience to affirm that his sumptuous fairy tale was truly recognized as the best film of the year. The best part of this gif, courtesy of Meredith Border’s Twitter account, and likely the reason she made it, is the joyous expression on Guillermo del Toro’s face. That is a look of pure happiness. The director who is best known for crafting worlds of fantasy is finally able to bask in reality, knowing that his vision is truly appreciated and that no last second mix-up will change that. Even if you wanted something else to win, you have to be happy for him seeing the gleeful look on his face. His childlike whimsy in this moment sums up everything film fans love about Guillermo del Toro and everything that the magic of the movies speaks to in all of us.
It was a good night for Guillermo del Toro and his passion project, The Shape of Water. The fairy tale about a mute woman and a fishman was nominated for 13 Oscars heading into the night and walked away with four wins. In addition to Best Picture, The Shape of Water won for Best Original Score and Best Production Design, as well as netted Guillermo del Toro his first Best Director win. This means that Guillermo del Toro joins fellow Mexican filmmakers and three amigos brethren, Alphonso Cuarón and Alejandro G. Iñárritu as recipients of the Academy’s highest honor for directing. We know that The Shape of Water struggled against a less than ideal budget and that aspects of the production were a nightmare, so for it to receive this level of recognition has to be deeply rewarding for del Toro.
Guillermo del Toro is taking a year off from directing, but hopefully this Best Picture win brings more attention to the director’s past and future work, and allows him to make more movies that live up to his legendarily creative imagination. With any luck, there will be a lot more people paying attention to what the beloved director dreams up next. For all the latest in movie news, stay tuned to CinemaBlend.
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