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Hollywood award shows have become increasingly known for courting controversy and making political statements outside of the standard fare of heated debates, snubs, and undeserving villains. But you can always rely on them for some moving speeches, hilarious presenters and unforgettable showbiz moments that stay with you long after the curtains close. As another exciting award season comes to close, we've rounded up the highlights of this year's award shows from the best speeches to the funniest monologues and beyond.
'After winning Best International Feature, I thought I was done for the day and ready to relax..'. Bong Joon-Ho's Parasite dominated the night with 4 wins, leading to multiple speeches over the evening but none made as much of an impact as his Best Director speech where he dedicated his win to Martin Scorsese and personally thanked Quentin Tarantino for always championing his work before Hollywood discovered him.
The hilarious SNL duo did not disappoint as always, with easily the funniest bit of the night leading to yet another passionate plea online to have them host the Oscars if that's even a thing anymore.
Actor Musician Utkarsh Ambudkar's (The Mindy Project, Pitch Perfect) rap halfway through the show injected a much-needed dose of energy into the proceedings with a set written on the fly referencing winners that were announced just moments before like Toy Story 4. Brad Pitt and Taika Waititi.
"To all my fellow nominees …from now on you will always be known as the guys who lost to fucking Adam Sandler". After being snubbed by the Oscars for his highly acclaimed performance in Uncut Gems, Sandler won Best Actor at the Spirit Awards and made an unforgettable speech that was inspired, laugh out loud funny, and yet also deeply moving, comparing it to winning Best Personality in High School because the Oscars' 'handsome good looks will fade over time while our independent personalities will shine on forever'.
Along with Best Actor, Uncut Gems also won the Safdie brothers Best Director where they answered the age-old question of 'How do you cover a long list of thank-yous in just a few minutes?' by giving a "joint" speech like no other.
How do you host the same award show for the fifth time and somehow manage to bring something new to it each time? Gervais' Golden Globes opening monologue lived up to the legacy with a no holds barred set that was direct, cutting and hilarious making jokes at the expense of Hollywood, from comparing Joe Pesci to Baby Yoda to 'We were going to do an In Memoriam but when we looked at the list of people who had died, it wasn't diverse enough. Too many white people'.
Phoenix has been sweeping the award season bagging Best Actor wherever he goes, leading to a number of great acceptance notes such as dedicating the award to his fellow nominees with a wonderfully gracious speech at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards. But none made as much of a mark as his deeply political Best Actor acceptance speech at the BAFTAs about the industry's lack of diversity.
Like Phoenix, Brad Pitt has also been a consistent winner this year, taking home Best Supporting Actor left right and centre for his role in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and his speeches have been charming, funny and weirdly profound but nothing tops his SAG awards speech where he was sure to thank his co-actors' feet.
From attending a funeral for her film Cats to calling out the distinct lack of feline and female nominations, Rebel Wilson presenting at the BAFTAs was easily one of the highlights of this awards season.
At this year's Golden Globes, Tom Hanks was the recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Award for Outstanding Contributions To The World Of Entertainment. The award came with an emotional video taking us through the actor's inspiring journey and roles in some of Hollywood's most iconic films with a montage that will move you to tears.