| 62nd Academy Awards | |
|---|---|
 Official poster | |
| Date | March 26, 1990 |
| Site | Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Hosted by | Billy Crystal[1] |
| Produced by | Gil Cates[2] |
| Directed by | Jeff Margolis[3] |
| Highlights | |
| Best Picture | Driving Miss Daisy |
| Most awards | Driving Miss Daisy (4) |
| Most nominations | Driving Miss Daisy (9) |
| TV in the United States | |
| Network | ABC |
| Duration | 3 hours, 37 minutes[4] |
| Ratings | 40.24 million 27.82% (Nielsen ratings)[5] |
The62nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the bestfilms of 1989 and took place on March 26, 1990, at theDorothy Chandler Pavilion inLos Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m.PST / 9:00 p.m.EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presentedAcademy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 23 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States byABC, was produced byGil Cates and directed byJeff Margolis. ActorBilly Crystal hosted the show for the first time.[1] Three weeks earlier, in a ceremony held atThe Beverly Hilton inBeverly Hills, California on March 3, theAcademy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by hostsRichard Dysart andDiane Ladd.[6]
Driving Miss Daisy won four awards, includingBest Picture.[7] Other winners includedGlory with three awards,Born on the Fourth of July,The Little Mermaid, andMy Left Foot with two, andThe Abyss,Balance,Batman,Cinema Paradiso,Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt,Dead Poets Society,Henry V,Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,The Johnstown Flood, andWork Experience with one. The telecast garnered more than 40 million viewers in the United States.
The nominees for the 62nd Academy Awards were announced on February 14, 1990, at theSamuel Goldwyn Theater inBeverly Hills, California, by Karl Malden, president of the academy, and actressGeena Davis.[8]Driving Miss Daisy received the most nominations with nine total;Born on the Fourth of July came in second with eight.[9] Winners were announced during the awards ceremony on March 26, 1990.[10]Driving Miss Daisy became the third film to winBest Picture without aBest Director nomination.[11] At age 80,Jessica Tandy became the oldest winner of a competitive acting Oscar at the time.[12]Kenneth Branagh was the fifth person nominated for Best Lead Actor and Best Director for the same film.[13]
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Winners are listed first, highlighted inboldface and indicated with a double-dagger (‡).[14]
The following 19 films received multiple nominations: | The following five films received multiple awards:
|
The following individuals presented awards or performed musical numbers.[17][18]
| Name(s) | Role |
|---|---|
| Charlie O'Donnell | Announcer for the 62nd annual Academy Awards |
| Karl Malden (AMPAS President) | Gave opening remarks welcoming guests to the awards ceremony |
| Geena Davis | Presenter of the award forBest Supporting Actor |
| Glenn Close Mel Gibson | Presenters of the award forBest Art Direction |
| Arnold Schwarzenegger | Introducer of presenter Kim Basinger |
| Kim Basinger | Presenter of the filmDead Poets Society on the Best Picture segment |
| Julia Roberts | Introducer of the performance of Best Original Song nominee "I Love to See You Smile" |
| Steve Martin | Presenter of the award forBest Original Score |
| Kenneth Branagh Elizabeth McGovern | Presenters of award forBest Makeup |
| Jack Lemmon Natalya Negoda | Presenters of the award forBest Foreign Language Film |
| Kevin Kline | Presenter of the award forBest Supporting Actress |
| Beau Bridges Jeff Bridges | Presenters of the filmField of Dreams on the Best Picture segment |
| John Candy Rick Moranis | Presenters of the award forBest Live Action Short Film |
| Daryl Hannah | Introducer of the performances of Best Original Song nominees "Kiss the Girl" and "Under the Sea" |
| Bugs Bunny | Presenter of the award forBest Animated Short Film |
| Walter Matthau | Presenter of theJean Hersholt Humanitarian Award toHoward W. Koch |
| Jessica Lange | Presenter of the filmDriving Miss Daisy on the Best Picture segment |
| Morgan Freeman Jessica Tandy | Presenter of the award forBest Film Editing |
| John Goodman | Introducer of the performance of Best Original Song nominee "The Girl Who Used to Be Me" |
| Tom Selleck | Introducer of Isabelle Huppert |
| Isabelle Huppert | Presenter of the segment of theAcademy Awards for Technical Achievement and theGordon E. Sawyer Award |
| Bryan Brown Rachel Ward | Presenters of the awards forBest Sound andBest Sound Effects Editing |
| Melanie Griffith Tom Hanks | Presenters of the award forBest Cinematography |
| Gregory Peck | Presenter of the award forBest Actress |
| Candice Bergen | Presenter of the award forBest Costume Design |
| Dan Aykroyd Chevy Chase | Presenters of the award forBest Visual Effects |
| Jack Valenti | Introducer of presenters George Lucas and Steven Spielberg |
| George Lucas Steven Spielberg | Presenters of theHonorary Academy Award toAkira Kurosawa |
| Denzel Washington | Introducer of the performance of Best Original Song nominee "After All" |
| Paula Abdul Dudley Moore | Presenters of the award forBest Original Song |
| Danny Glover | Presenter of the filmBorn on the Fourth of July Best Picture segment |
| Norma Aleandro Charlton Heston | Presenters of the awards forBest Documentary Short Subject andBest Documentary Feature |
| Jane Fonda | Presenter of the awards forBest Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen andBest Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium |
| Anjelica Huston | Presenter of the filmMy Left Foot on the Best Picture segment |
| Robert De Niro Martin Scorsese | Presenters of the award forBest Director |
| Jodie Foster | Presenter of the award forBest Actor |
| Michelle Pfeiffer | Introducer of the performance of "Over the Rainbow" |
| Warren Beatty Jack Nicholson | Presenters of the award forBest Picture |
| Name(s) | Role | Performed |
|---|---|---|
| Bill Conti | Musical Arranger | Orchestral |
| Billy Crystal | Performer | Opening number: My Left Foot (to the tune of "Me and My Shadow") Field of Dreams (to the tune of "Tangerine" fromThe Fleet's In) Dead Poets Society (to the tune of "Mutual Admiration Society" fromHappy Hunting) Driving Miss Daisy (to the tune of "Walkin' My Baby Back Home") Born on the Fourth of July (to the tune of "Born in the U.S.A." byBruce Springsteen)[19] |
| Randy Newman | Performer | "I Love to See You Smile" fromParenthood |
| Geoffrey Holder | Performer | "Kiss the Girl" and "Under the Sea" fromThe Little Mermaid |
| Patti Austin | Performer | "The Girl Who Used to Be Me" fromShirley Valentine |
| James Ingram Melissa Manchester | Performers | "After All" fromChances Are |
| Diana Ross | Performer | "Over the Rainbow" fromThe Wizard of Oz |
After the negative reception received from thepreceding year's ceremony, AMPAS created an Awards Presentation Review Committee to evaluate and determine why the telecast earned such a negative reaction from the media and the entertainment industry.[20][21] The committee later determined that Carr's biggest mistake was allowing the questionable opening number to run for 12 minutes. Producer and formerDirectors Guild of America presidentGilbert Cates, who headed the committee, said that Carr would not have received such harsh criticism if the number had been much shorter.[21] Newly elected AMPAS presidentKarl Malden also commented on last year's telecast, "Some of the people in the Academy felt the show got a little out of control."[2]
In September 1989, Cates was chosen as producer of the 1990 telecast.[22] Malden explained the decision to hire him, saying, "Cates, a veteran film and TV director known for his tasteful work in both media, will attempt to rectify the damage the last Oscar show did to the Academy's reputation."[2] The following January, actor and comedianBilly Crystal was chosen as host of the ceremony.[23] "We are extremely pleased to have Billy host the show," Cates said in a press release justifying his choice. "His unique talents and his ability to handle the unexpected will be important assets this year."[24]
Cates christened the show with the theme "Around the World in 3 1/2 Hours," commenting that it would be "a party thrown around the world".[25] He also explained, "The world is changing, and hopefully the awards show is changing, matching the changes in the world."[2] In tandem with the program's theme, several presenters announced the winners from various international locales such as Buenos Aires, London, Moscow, and Sydney, Australia.[26]
Several other people participated in the production of the ceremony. Documentary filmmakerChuck Workman assembled a montage saluting "100 Years at the Movies" that was shown at the beginning of the telecast.[27] Film composer and musicianBill Conti served as musical director for the ceremony.[28] Dancer and singerPaula Abdul supervised the Best Song nominee performances and a dance number featuring the Best Costume Design nominees.[29] SingerDiana Ross performed the Oscar-winning song "Over the Rainbow" in a tribute to the 50th anniversary ofThe Wizard of Oz.[30]
At the time of the nominations announcement on February 14, the combined gross of the five Best Picture nominees at the US box office was $244 million with an average of $48.9 million.[31]Dead Poets Society was the highest earner among the Best Picture nominees with $95.8 million in domestic box office receipts. The film was followed byField of Dreams ($64.4 million),Born on the Fourth of July ($48.6 million),Driving Miss Daisy ($35.6 million) andMy Left Foot ($2.1 million).[31]
Of the 50 grossing movies of the year, 43 nominations went to 14 films on the list. OnlyParenthood (8th),Dead Poets Society (9th),When Harry Met Sally... (10th),Field of Dreams (17th),Born on the Fourth of July (25th),Driving Miss Daisy (36th), andSex, Lies, and Videotape (45th) were nominated for Best Picture, acting, directing, or screenwriting. The other top 50 box office hits that earned nominations wereBatman (1st),Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (2nd),Lethal Weapon 2 (3rd),Back to the Future II (6th),The Little Mermaid (12th),The Abyss (22nd), andBlack Rain (27th).[32]
The show received a mixed reception from media publications. Some media outlets were more critical of the show. Film criticJanet Maslin ofThe New York Times gave an average review of Crystal but lamented, "The effort to make this year's Academy Awards show an international media miracle led to nothing but headaches."[25]The Washington Post television criticTom Shales bemoaned, "while Crystal's opening monologue seemed to hit the right notes, he hit fewer and fewer as the evening wore on; his interjected quips between awards were mostly uninspired." He also criticized the dance numbers and numerous "Around the World" cutaways, calling it pointless.[33]Howard Rosenberg of theLos Angeles Times quipped that the broadcast was "a conventional telecast that was arguably an extension of an industry calcified by convention". He gave positive remarks toward Crystal but felt that "The Oscarcast was an old kid on the block."[34]
Other media outlets received the broadcast more positively.USA Today television critic Matt Roush lauded "...the glib and savvy Billy Crystal, who kept things as lively and funny as he could all night long. What a chore, too." He concluded that, "Hollywood no doubt went to bed happy (maybe early), because for a change, Oscar didn't embarrass himself."[35] Mike Drew of theMilwaukee Journal Sentinel remarked, "While too "inside" and not as funny as Hollywood thinks he is, Crystal was an efficient host."[36] Film criticCarrie Rickey ofThe Philadelphia Inquirer wrote, "It was encouraging that director Gilbert Cates took the opportunity to emphasize films instead of chorus girls." She also extolled Crystal's performance, acknowledging that his "nimble opening number set aJohnny Carson comic tone."[37]
The American telecast on ABC drew in an average of 40.24 million people over its length, which was a 5% decrease from theprevious year's ceremony.[38] An estimated 69.31 million total viewers watched all or part of the awards.[39] The show also drew lowerNielsen ratings compared to the previous ceremony, with 27.82% of households watching over a 49.42 share.[40]
In July 1990, the ceremony presentation received five nominations at the42nd Primetime Emmys.[41] Two months later, the ceremony won one of those nominations forOutstanding Art Direction for a Variety or Music Program (Roy Christopher and Greg Richman).[42]
