Priyanka Chopra gives away Oscar to ‘Mad Max: Fury Road

Priyanka Chopra arrives at the 88th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California February 28, 2016.

The “Spotlight” team, which won the first and last prize of the night – best original screenplay and best picture – and nothing else, celebrated the Pulitzer Prize-winning work of The Boston Globe journalists who exposed sex abuses in the Roman Catholic Church and the conversation the film has renewed around the world.

With so much controversy surrounding the Academy of Motion Arts Pictures and Sciences for its lack of diversity in the acting races for the past 2 years, the hashtag “OscarsSoWhite” has become a trend on social media.

The show got off to a brisk start thanks to host Chris Rock’s no-holds-barred monologue.

“Is Hollywood racist? You’re damn right it’s racist”, said Rock. He pointed jabs at hosting duties, and the idea of boycotting the ceremony, and he acknowledged that talk of him quitting and losing jobs to fellow comedian Kevin Hart.

The diversity issue was the talking point, but in between there were plenty of Oscars dished out.

“I stand here tonight as a proud gay man and I hope we can all stand together as equals one day”, said Smith.

Best adapted screenplay has gone to The Big Short – writers Charles Randolph and Adam McKay. Other highlights included a hilarious montage of nominated films edited to include black actors such as Whoopi Goldberg, and Rock’s Q&A session outside a Compton movie theatre.

The first acting award: best supporting actress. Vikander was quite emotional while on stage.

“Fury Road” led the pack with six wins at the 88th annual Academy Awards Sunday night while the journalism drama “Spotlight” won best picture and “The Revenant” earned awards for director Alejandro G. Iñarritu and leading actor for Leonardo DiCaprio. Best known for broader comedies like “Anchorman” and “Step Brothers”, McKay gave an election-year warning of the sway of “big money” and “weirdo billionaires” in the presidential campaign. Gotta say the pacing for this year’s ceremony is moving way faster than in previous years.

The Revenant was recognized for Best Cinematography and Inside Out was deemed Best Animated Feature Film.

His director, Inarritu won back-to-back directing awards after the triumph a year ago of “Birdman”.

Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff and Ben Osmo for “Mad Max: Fury Road”Best Sound Editing: Mark Mangini and David White for “Mad Max: Fury Road ” Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega & Damian Martin for “Mad Max: Fury Road”.

“Ex-Machina” won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects, taking a win away from “Mad Max: Fury Road“, and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” which many expected to take that prize.

Rock also had some more lighthearted material, including a bit in which he brought out his daughter to sell Girl Scout cookies. While it’s not available for rent just yet on Amazon Video, that purchase price is so good that it’s nearly worth splurging slightly and adding the film to your library.

But the wins at times felt secondary to the sharp, unflinching host.

Rylance devoted a healthy chunk of his speech to praising director Steven Spielberg. “Thank you”, Vikander said at the podium while thanking her friends and family.