90th Academy Awards: James Ivory becomes oldest Oscar winner at 89

James Ivory, screenwriter and co-producer of the drama Call Me by Your Name today created history as he became the oldest Oscar winner. Ivory, 89, won the Oscar for adapting Andre Aciman's 2007 novel of the same name for the Luca Guadagnino-directed film. This is his maiden Oscar win 30 years after his first nomination.

Before Ivory, Ennio Morricone was considered the oldest winner in a competitive category. He was 87 when he won the award for original score for The Hateful Eight in 2016.

Wearing a shirt emblazoned with the face of Call Me By Your Name star Timothee Chalamet, Ivory thanked his deceased Merchant-Ivory partners Ismail Merchant and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala as well as novelist Andre Aciman.

Ivory films have already pocketed 31 Oscar nominations and six wins. For some 50 years, he was half of one of the most long-running independent filmmaking duo in film history. With Ismail Merchant, his partner and producer, they made up Merchant Ivory Productions, known for their literary adaptations. 

Ivory, Merchant and Jhabvala also frequently collaborated with Bollywood superstar Shashi Kapoor. They worked on classics such as The Householder, Shakespeare Wallah, The Guru, Bombay Talkie and In Custody. Ivory has also worked with Indian talents such as Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Om Puri, Uttpal Dutt, Dina Pathak, Zohra Segal, Amjad Khan and Aparna Sen.