Entertainment News Roundup: U.S. TV audience for revamped Oscars at record low; Oscar winner thrills South Korean minari farmers and more

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

Youn Yuh-jung's Oscars win 'rewrites' South Korean film history

While accepting her award for a best-supporting actress at Sunday's Academy Awards, South Korean film icon Youn Yuh-Jung joked that her win may have been the result of American hospitality for a Korean actor. If so, it was the hospitality that had never been extended before. Youn's Oscar win for her role in "Minari" was a historic first for any Korean performer, a year after the South Korean-produced "Parasite" was lauded for "breaking the language barrier" when it became the first non-English language film to win Best Picture.

Pandemic-constrained Oscars feature more oratory, less music, comedy

The Oscars telecast on Sunday, stripped to its bare essentials by constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic, exhibited a look and feel like no others - devoid of the usual comedy and musical performances but chock full of lengthy oratory from the winners. As the producers had promised, the 93rd annual Academy Awards ceremony marked a dramatic departure from televised Oscar presentations of the past, with no opening monologue, no live orchestra or any of the glitzy song-and-dance numbers that typically fill the show.

Global pandemic makes Oscar-winner 'Another Round' more relevant, director says

Danish Oscar-winning comedy-drama "Another Round" has found a global audience because it celebrates life at a time when the pandemic has threatened our existence, according to director Thomas Vinterberg. The film, starring Mads Mikkelsen, portrays high school teachers in various stages of a midlife crisis who test alcohol's ability to improve their lives. It won the Oscar for a best international feature film on Sunday.

U.S. TV audience for revamped Oscars at record low

U.S. television ratings for Sunday's reinvented Oscars ceremony plummeted to a new low, according to preliminary Nielsen data for a show that USA Today called "a train wreck" and the New York Times described as "a dead room." The audience on Walt Disney Co's ABC broadcast network averaged 9.85 million, 58% below last year's final tally of 23.6 million viewers for the film industry's highest honors. Final numbers that include people who watched at bars and restaurants are expected to be released on Tuesday.

Winning director Zhao makes Oscars history, but honor censored in China

Chloe Zhao made history as the first Asian woman and second woman ever to win the best director at the Academy Awards, but her big moment was blacked out from live television in her native China. Zhao, 39, cemented her reputation as one of the most acclaimed directors in the film with "Nomadland," the story of financially stretched van dwellers that also won the best picture and captured the best actress Oscar for Frances McDormand.

Kanye's Yeezy sneakers snag world record $1.8 million in private sale - Sotheby's

The Kanye West sneakers that sent athletic shoes strutting down fashion runways sold for $1.8 million, a new world record price for a pair of sneakers, Sotheby's announced on Monday. The American rapper's 2008 'Grammy Worn' Nike Air Yeezy samples were prototypes for a line developed by West and Mark Smith for Nike. They were revealed during West's performance at the 2008 Grammy Awards.

Anthony Hopkins bests Boseman to claim surprise best actor Oscar

British actor Anthony Hopkins won the best actor Oscar on Sunday, an upset victory over the late Chadwick Boseman, the presumed front-runner. Hopkins, 83, won the second Oscar of his storied career for a heart-wrenching performance as a man with dementia in "The Father."

Nets' Durant, Jazz's Conley win Oscar for short film

Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant and Utah Jazz guard Mike Conley Jr. were part of a group of executive producers awarded an Oscar for the film "Two Distant Strangers" on Sunday.

Durant's business manager Rich Kleiman and entrepreneur Sean "Diddy" Combs also served as executive producers on the film, which won in the Best Live Action Short Film category.

Reinvented Oscars hands 'Nomadland' win on diversity-packed night

"Nomadland," the story of van dwellers in America, won the best picture Oscar and two other Academy Awards on a triumphant night for women that also saw a return to Hollywood glamour after a long pandemic shutdown. In a major upset, Britain's Anthony Hopkins won the best actor trophy for his role as a man battling dementia in "The Father." The Oscar had been widely expected to go to the late Chadwick Boseman for his final film, "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom."

'That's my story': Oscar winner thrills South Korean minari farmers

For one South Korean couple who spend nine months a year farming Minari, watching the leafy green become world-famous at the Academy Awards brought pride and excitement. "Minari", which tells the tale of an immigrant Korean family trying to farm in the United States, brought home six nominations and one Oscar - for supporting actress Youn Yuh-Jung - on Sunday.

(With inputs from agencies.)