The rain poured down during Oscar night in Chicago on Feb. 28 but that didn't stop people from going out on the town.
Movie fans partied all over the city while watching the award show. Whether it was at the Gene Siskel Film Center for the longest-running Oscar-viewing party, the packed crowd at Sidetrack in Boystown or a fundraiser for Center on Halsted, our community came out to watch the 88th Annual Academy Awards on every TV screen they could find. The Siskel Film Center's massive movie screens, along with the Center's theater filled with a huge screen, had guests seated to enjoy a bigger than life viewing of the ceremony.
Center on Halsted had a large silent auction with items such as a celebrity chef tasting and VIP passes to Lollapalooza. Siskel on State brought out food from Untitled Supper Club and Michael Jordan's Steakhouse for everyone's enjoyment. Sidetrack allowed their crowd to pick the award winners on ballots to win drink tickets.
The night stretched on for more than three hours as host Chris Rock hit just the right notes on racial jokes and should obviously conduct more interviews in front of movie theaters in the future.
Actress Alicia Vikander won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for The Danish Girl, a trans-centered film, as fans screamed for her at Sidetrackalthough many admitted to not having seen the film. Along the same lines, trans Oscar nominee Anohni boycotted the ceremony after not being invited to perform live at the show.
Singer Sam Smith took home an award dedicated to the LGBT community as Lady Gaga looked proudly at him following her show-stopping live performance. However, Smith was involved in controversy for ( mistakenly ) saying that he had read that an openly gay person had not won an Oscar.
Leonardo DiCaprio had Sidetrack screaming again for his first win as Best Actor.
Spotlight took home Best Picture while highlighting survivors of sexual abuse and power to the press at the same time.
The rain finally stopped outside before the end of a long night at the Academy.
For a complete list of the winners, visit www.oscars.org .
Photos and text by Jerry Nunn