Surprise Winner ‘Spotlight’ Delivers Powerful Message to Vatican
“Spotlight” was the surprise winner of the Oscar for Best Picture at the 88th annual Academy Awards Sunday night, and producer Michael Sugar took to the stage to deliver a strong message to the Vatican.Â
“This film gave a voice to survivors, and this Oscar amplifies that voice, which we hope will become a choir that will resonate all the way to the Vatican,” Sugar said on camera to an international audience of tens of millions of people around the world. “Pope Francis, it’s time to protect the children and restore the faith.”
“Spotlight,” which also won the Oscar for Best Writing, Original Screenplay, is billed as the “true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.”
Producer Producer Blye Pagon Faust heralded investigative journalists.
“We would not be here today without the heroic efforts of our reporters,” she said. “Not only do they affect global change, but they absolutely show us the necessity for investigative journalism.”
Backstage, Sugar added, “I think we are all genuinely, like, thrilled to the core, and not just because it’s a great personal accomplishment for us and for our companies, but it’s really ‑‑ it’s really an opportunity to bring this conversation to a world stage. And for that, we’re really grateful.”
Here’s the list of all the Oscar winners.
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Image: Screenshot via ABC Network/Twitter