Yesterday, Sunday (22/02), the 81st Oscar ceremony for cinematographic productions produced in 2008 took place. One of the great expectations was in relation to the award for best actor. Among the contestants was Sean Penn, who played gay activist Harvey Milk, the first openly homosexual politician to be elected to public office in the United States.
Visibly moved after receiving the award, Sean Penn said he hoped that "our grandchildren will be proud of us." Later, in a targeted message, the actor stated that he thinks "of those who voted against gay marriage… What a shame, huh!", referring to the victory of Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California, in November last year. Also notable for his strong speech was the screenwriter of "Milk", Dustin Lance Black, who, very emotional upon receiving the award for best original screenplay, defended love between equals.
Another big moment of the night and no less expected, was the award for best supporting actor. The favoritism and posthumous award to Heath Ledger was confirmed, who competed for his interpretation of the Joker in "Batman – The Dark Night". The posthumous award, which was received by Ledger's family. Personalities such as Angelina Jolie, Meryl Styreep, Brad Pitt and Sean Penn were seen crying or very emotional.
This year, the Academy showed some signs of change and friendliness. During the event, a clip was shown with romantic films that marked the era. The image editing ended with the scene from Milk where Harvey (Sean Penn) and his partner (Jame Franco) exchange a long kiss. The scene was shown in full and later applauded.
Before the award for best short film, a video starring Jame Franco once again showed scenes in which Penn and Franco kiss in Milk.
At around 1:20 am the ceremony ended with the most anticipated award of the night, best film. No big surprises "Who wants to be a millionaire? (Slumdog Millionaire)", won the prize. So the English/Indian film team went home with eight Oscar statuettes.
