The 97th Academy Awards took place Sunday at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. This awards show was filled with many highlights, such as an Oscar-worthy performance itself in the opening act, some bigger and smaller names receiving recognition and a lot of firsts.
Conan O’Brien made his debut hosting the event and did an outstanding job opening up the show. He took shots at different people and added some respectful comedy in a somewhat tense awards show, given the recent death of some film legends like Gene Hackman and David Lynch, the California wildfires and recent social media posts from Karla Sofía Gascón.
A ‘gravity-defying’ opening
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo opened the ceremony by paying tribute to the various versions of Oz, including a rendition of “Defying Gravity” from their Oscar-nominated film “Wicked.” Grande took the stage first, singing “Over the Rainbow” from “The Wizard of Oz” then Erivo came on after and performed “Home” from “The Wiz.”
Grande then returned for “Defying Gravity,” culminating in one of the best openings in award show history. Erivo closed the act with her nearly angelic voice while the camera panned to the whole theater on their feet and co-star Michelle Yeoh in tears.
‘Anora’ steals the show
“Anora” took home the most awards out of any film, winning five of the six Oscars it was nominated for, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Editing and Best Original Screenplay.
If the earlier awards were any indication of what would happen at the end of the show, most people could predict “Anora” would take home the biggest award of the night, given the fact that only 28 of 97 times has the Best Director prize gone to someone who did not direct that year’s Best Picture winner.
Sean Baker won four awards for “Anora,” making him the only other person to win four Oscars in one night alongside Walt Disney, who won for four different films. He surpassed a list of people who have received three Oscars in one night, including big names like Bong Joon-Ho, James Cameron and Francis Ford Coppola.
A night of firsts
Adrien Brody became the first person to get nominated for two acting awards and win both throughout his career. He now joins the ranks of individuals like Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Cate Blanchett, Maggie Smith and Marlon Brando. He also now holds the world record for longest acceptance speech in Oscars history, clocking in at nearly six minutes.
Kieran Culkan won his first Oscar for “A Real Pain,” directed by Jesse Eisenberg. His acceptance speech was both funny and heartwarming. He beat his Succession co-star Jeremy Strong who was nominated for his portrayal of Roy Cohn in “The Apprentice,” telling him on stage, “Jeremy, you’re amazing in The Apprentice, I loved your work… you were great.”
Paul Tazewell became the first Black man to win an Oscar for costume design. He worked on “Wicked” and spent his speech expressing his gratitude.
“Cynthia and Ariana, I love you so much,” Tazewell said. “All the other cast, thank you, thank you, thank you for trusting me with bringing your characters to life. This is everything, thank you.”
Zoe Saldaña won her first Oscar for portraying Rita Mora Castro in “Emila Pérez,” which received the most Oscar nominations for an international film and tied for the second-most Oscar nominations ever. The film only picked up two awards on the night, which could potentially be attributed to the resurfacing of offensive social media posts made by lead actress Karla Sofía Gascón, which Conan brought up during his opening monologue, acknowledging Twitter (now X) and taking a shot at one of Conan’s former competitors and recurring Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel.
“Flow” became the first Latvian film to receive an Oscar (and Oscar nomination), winning Best Animated Feature and beating out big studio movies like Disney’s “Inside Out 2” and DreamWorks’ “The Wild Robot.”
Mikey Madison also won her first Oscar for “Anora,” beating out Demi Moore and Fernanda Torres for “The Substance” and “I’m Still Here,” respectively. However, there is criticism surrounding Madison’s win. Most people believed Moore should have won, which is ironic given the central theme of “The Substance,” which is largely about the obsession with young female actresses in Hollywood. “The Substance” was more relevant than ever when Madison won her Oscar, as older actresses are at a disadvantage against their younger counterparts when it comes to awards.
Full list of winners
Those were some of the big highlights from Sunday night, and here is the full list of winners from each category:
Best Picture: “Anora”
Best Actress: Mikey Madison, “Anora”
Best Actor: Adrien Brody, “The Brutalist”
Best Supporting Actress: Zoe Saldaña, “Emilia Pérez”
Best Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin, “A Real Pain”
Best Director: Sean Baker, “Anora”
Best Cinematography: Lol Crawley, “The Brutalist”
Best Animated Feature: “Flow”
Best Animated Short: “In the Shadow of the Cypress”
Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell, “Wicked”
Best Original Screenplay: Sean Baker, “Anora”
Best Adapted Screenplay: Peter Straughan, “Conclave”
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon and Marilyne Scarselli, “The Substance”
Best Film Editing: Sean Baker, “Anora”
Best Production Design: Nathan Crowley, Lee Sandales, “Wicked”
Best Original Song: “El Mal” from “Emilia Pérez”
Best Documentary Short: “The Only Girl in the Orchestra”
Best Documentary Feature: “No Other Land”
Best Sound: “Dune: Part Two”
Best Visual Effects: “Dune: Part Two”
Best Live-Action Short: “I’m Not a Robot”
Best International Feature: “I’m Still Here” (Brazil)
Best Original Score: Daniel Blumberg, “The Brutalist”
