Since we can’t take away an Oscar, we’re offering some takeaways on the 96th Academy Awards. Spoiler alert: it was a good show.
Kudos to director Hamish Hamilton and producers Katy Mullan, Molly McNearney, and Raj Kapoor for putting together an entertaining ceremony that kept political jabs to a minimum as it adhered to protocol in a playful way. It’s a much needed improvement from recent debacles, such as 2021’s lackluster pandemic production held without a host in a deserted-looking Union Station and 2022’s chaotic event wherein Will Smith slapped Chris Rock who, in turn, dismissed documentary winners Joseph Patel, Robert Fyvolent and David Dinerstein as “four white guys.”
Not only was this year’s show respectful of its nominees and presenters, it clocked in at a mere 3-hours and 20-some-minutes, making it the briefest Oscar telecast since 2001. David Alan Grier served as announcer while the production seamlessly moved along with amusing quips, genuine sentiments, and tributes to both stunt people on screen and those who work behind the scenes.
Following a mostly nonpolitical opening by emcee Jimmy Kimmel, the ceremony immediately kicked into high-gear with an impressive assembly of five past Oscar winners, including 92-year-old Rita Moreno, to address each of the Best Supporting Actress nominees. To date, this “Fab 5” presentation has only been done twice before and is reserved for the acting nominees. But perhaps it can be extended to include the Best Director category for the Academy’s 100th anniversary in 2028.
For now, Lupita Nyong’o spoke of Da’Vine Joy Randolph’s performance in The Holdovers, noting the actress wore her grandmother’s glasses for her portrayal. This fact had Randolph welling up before her name was called as the winner. Once Paul Giamatti walked his co-star to the stage, she delivered a heartfelt speech sans cheat sheet. Randolph thanked her mother for suggesting she pursue theater; character actress/producer Colleen Camp for standing by her side; and the Academy for seeing her. As a result, the audience was in tears and the evening was off to a fine start.
By the end of the night, a stunned Emma Stone received a Best Actress victory for the steampunk fantasy Poor Things (which won four Oscars altogether). She had the audience laughing with an off-the-cuff confession that she broke her dress while singing and dancing to Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken” number featuring a “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” (1953) set and guitar solo by Slash
Stone previously took home the gold for her role opposite Gosling in La La Land (2016). Back then, her category was announced directly before Best Picture. Consequently, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway mistakenly (re)read the Best Actress envelope, wrongly declaring La La Land the Best Picture instead of Moonlight (2016).
After Stone’s 2024 win, Kimmel alluded to the infamous fiasco by joking, “Guys, make sure we tear up that envelope so there’s no confusion with Best Picture.” Maybe that’s why 83-year-old screen legend Al Pacino looked at this year’s Best Picture envelope and said, “My eyes see Oppenheimer.”
Opposed to past productions which used singers and television actors as presenters, this show emphasized major motion picture star power. With double Oscar winners/current nominees Jodie Foster and Robert DeNiro in the audience, it would have been nice to bring them on stage for a Taxi Driver (1976) reunion, especially since the film’s director Martin Scorsese was in the house for Killers of the Flower Moon.
Nevertheless, it was enjoyable to see presenter pairings from past and upcoming pics. Oscar nominee Emily Blunt exchanged Barbenheimer barbs with Gosling, who will co-star with her in The Fall Guy (2024). Twins (1988) icons Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito garnered a standing ovation and laughs as they recalled their respective roles as Mr. Freeze and the Penguin to Batman (1988) star Michael Keaton who handed out two Oscars with his Beetlejuice (1988) co-star Catherine O’Hara.
Unfortunately, the pairing of past Oscar winner Octavia Spencer and Melissa McCarthy went over as well as their superhero clunker Thunder Force (2021). And without having a Field of Dreams (1989) reunion, John Mulaney’s bit about the film seemed random, unless it’s a test-run for him to host future Oscar shows. By then, the producers will hopefully realize dancers and singers are unneeded during the In Memoriam montage since less is more.
Speaking of, John Cena’s near naked homage to a streaker at the 1974 ceremony proved the writers (including host Kimmel, producer McNearney, actress Amberia Allen, and comedian Carol Leifer) made an effort to cite the Academy’s history. They also referenced 2023 movies with clips and a live appearance by Messi, the dog from Anatomy of a Fall. His film earned a Best Original Screenplay win for Best Director nominee Justine Triet and her professional (and personal) partner Arthur Harari.
Other showcased partnerships include siblings Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell who knocked it out of the park with a live performance of their Oscar-winning ballad “What Was I Made For?” from the mega-hit Barbie. In her acceptance speech, Eilish thanked her teachers, family, and childhood friend Zoe for playing Barbies with her.
Oppenheimer’s Original Score winner Ludwig Göransson showed appreciation to his late parents for giving him guitars and drum machines instead of video games, while the movie’s Cinematographer winner Hoyte van Hoytema advised filmmakers to shoot on celluloid. Of course, that’s easier said than done for those who don’t have $100 million budgets. Thankfully, American Fiction writer, director and Best Adapted Screenplay winner Cord Jefferson made this point by urging studios to produce twenty $10 million or fifty $4 million movies instead of one $200 million picture.
As expected, the blockbuster Oppenheimer took the lion’s share of awards including Best Supporting Actor (Robert Downey Jr.) and Best Actor (Cillian Murphy). During his acceptance speech for Best Director, Christopher Nolan thanked “the incredible Emma Thomas, producer of all our films and all our children.”
Since the March 10th ceremony fell on Mother’s Day in Britain, plenty of winners offered shout outs to their mums, including John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s son Sean Lennon, who wrote the Oscar-winning animated short War Is Over! with Dave Mullins.
The historical war drama The Zone of Interest received Oscars for Best Sound and Best International Film. While accepting the award for the latter, Jonathan Glazer (who also received nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay) addressed the October 7 attack on Israel and the ongoing conflict in Gaza. He also dedicated his Oscar to Aleksandra, a Polish girl who secretly helped the concentration camp prisoners in Auschwitz.
Similarly, filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov spoke of the current war in Ukraine when he (along with Raney Aronson-Rath and Michelle Mizner) won Best Documentary for Days in Mariupol, saying, “Cinema forms memories and memories form histories.”