Oscars: How ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ Fared

Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood took home two awards at the 2020 Oscars on Sunday, after having been nominated for 10.

The film, which follows actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his stuntman Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) struggling to find meaningful work in a fast-changing 1969 Hollywood, snagged honors for best supporting actor and production design.

“This is incredible, really incredible,” Brad Pitt said at the start of his supporting actor acceptance speech.

Before he continued with his thank-yous, the actor took a moment to take a jab at the Senate. 

“They told me I only had 45 seconds, which is 45 seconds more than the Senate gave John Bolton this week,” Pitt said. “I’m thinking maybe Quentin does a movie about it. In the end the adults do the right thing.” 

Pitt then thanked his director for being “original” and “one of a kind.” “The film industry would be a much drier place without you,” Pitt said to Tarantino, adding gratitude for the “ethos you gave Cliff Booth.”

“Look for the best in people. Expect the worst but look for the best,” he added.

As for his Once Upon a Time in Hollywood co-star Leonardo DiCaprio, Pitt said he’ll “ride on your coattails any day.” 

To conclude his speech, Pitt thanked his children who “color everything I do.”  

The film’s second win honored the meticulous work to create 1969 Los Angeles, with production designer Barbara Ling and set decorator Nancy Haigh accepting the award. 

Tarantino joyfully clapped as the two took the stage, with first-time Oscar winner Ling thanking “our incredible art department and my partner in crime, decorator Nancy Haigh.”

Ling also thanked their director, Tarantino, “for writing an epic masterpiece and letting us take this wild ride with him.”

Haigh, now a two-time Oscar winner, made sure to thank “all the people that helped put us here tonight” naming craftsman, construction workers and more. 

Described as the director’s love letter to Hollywood, the film once hit four and a half hours before being cut down and re-created L.A. landmarks of the 1960s such as hippie hotspot Pandora’s Box. 

The 2020 Oscars aired live on ABC from the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood.