It gained’t go down as probably the most thrilling Oscars on document — there was no slap or envelope mix-up in any case — however for this yr’s Academy Awards, ending an unexpectedly cacophonous awards season with a easy, calamity-free ceremony clocking in at underneath 4 hours was arguably the most effective of all doable outcomes.
The large winner of the night, Anora, scooped up 5 of its six nominations, together with Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress for Mikey Madison (sorry, Demi!). The Brutalist additionally flexed a number of wins, together with one for actor-slash-gum-thrower Adrien Brody, whereas a number of extra overtly political movies, like Palestinian-Israeli documentary No Man’s Land and the anti-authoritarian Brazilian movie I’m Still Here, picked up some trophies.
Overall, the vibe was markedly upbeat — a collection of stable comedy bits outshone politics, with amusing appearances from Adam Sandler, Bowen Yang, Ben Stiller, Amy Poehler, and June Squibb. Inside the Dolby Theatre, the ambiance was chill, the music was first rate, a lot of the speeches have been quick (no due to Brody), and better of all? We weren’t caught watching till nicely after midnight. Can we do it like this yearly?
Still, as all the time, not everybody got here by means of the night time unscathed, and a few attendees went dwelling happier than others. Check out our winners and losers under!
Winner: Conan O’Brien stored issues bizarre
From his barely too-gross entrance clawing his means out of Demi Moore’s again to his cheeky song-and-dance routine promising to not let the telecast go on too lengthy, Conan O’Brien took probably the most thankless gig in present enterprise this yr and performed it just a bit weirder than you’d suppose he might. We, for one, are grateful.
Over the course of his monologue, O’Brien affably roasted himself for not having had sufficient work performed, Karla Sofía Gascón for her many offensive tweets, and Timothée Chalamet for his child face. He additionally acquired in a very pleasant bit about exhibiting John Lithgow’s dissatisfied face to anybody who took too lengthy with their acceptance speech, plus one other lengthy shaggy-dog one with a belligerently be-hoodied Adam Sandler. (Sandler didn’t trouble to placed on a tux as a result of he’s too good of an individual to care about his garments, he boasted.)
Making the Oscars humorous is a feat in and of itself, however on the finish of his monologue, O’Brien one-upped himself with a genuinely heartfelt tribute to what the Oscars imply within the aftermath of the Los Angeles fires. Award exhibits for rich celebrities can really feel shallow after a lot devastation, he acknowledged — however the Oscars additionally supply an unimaginable platform for the below-the-line expertise that isn’t so well-known. That the awards additionally lavished the nominees of the technical classes with the sort of reward they usually save for the actors? Well, that’s the icing on the cake. — Constance Grady
Loser: Karla Sofía Gascón and dangerous publicists
Early on in awards season, trans actress Karla Sofía Gascón was hailed as a Best Actress frontrunner for her flip because the titular character in splashy musical Emilia Pérez. But issues shortly spiraled for the movie: Not solely did audiences critique the storyline for regressive and inauthentic storytelling, however Gasćon drew detrimental consideration for shading her fellow nominee Fernanda Torres — after which the actual mine fields detonated: Twitter customers dug up Gascón’s previous tweets.
It seems Gascón had a protracted historical past of creating racist, Islamaphobic, antisemitic, homophobic, and different offensive feedback, arguably culminating in her musing in public that Hitler “simply had his opinion about the Jews.” Though Gascón quickly apologized and deleted her Twitter account, the scandal prompted many onlookers to marvel why on earth somebody with such views had been solid to start with, particularly in a job that, for all of the script’s flaws, was a groundbreaking trans character. At the very least, the query of why nobody deleted her tweets earlier than awards season ought to hang-out Hollywood PR employees for years to come back.
The Emilia Pérez manufacturing distanced itself exhausting from Gascón and threw itself into supporting its different nominated actress, Zoe Saldaña, who picked up a win for Best Supporting Actress. (Saldaña didn’t point out Gasćon in her acceptance speech, although she did thank the solid usually). The Academy Awards additionally appeared wanting to distance itself from Gasćon in the course of the ceremony; some preview clips of the movie barely referenced her, and regardless of Emilia Perez being a musical, nominated for Best Picture in a closely musical Oscars yr, the solid was absent from the stage. Ultimately, the movie, which initially led the pack with 13 nominations, picked up simply 2 wins, and Gasćon went dwelling empty-handed. — Aja Romano
Winner: Non-Emilia Pérez musical numbers
When it was introduced that this yr’s Oscars ceremony wouldn’t embody performances of the Best Original Song nominees, it appeared like each a blessing and curse. This musical showcase has lengthy been a vital a part of the ceremony, punctuating the awards and retaining audiences stimulated. However, this yr’s listing of nominees included two songs from Emilia Pérez, with songs which have been excessively mocked on-line. Nevertheless, one quantity, “El Mal,” took dwelling Best Original Song. That was all the popularity the Academy seemingly wished to present the movie’s music in the course of the ceremony, although, and it was in the end a sensible choice.
Wicked stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande opened the present, with a celebration of the cinematic legacy of The Wizard of Oz and a tribute to Los Angeles following the catastrophic wildfires this previous January. Grande carried out “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz, whereas Cynthia Erivo sang “Home” from The Wiz, ending along with her show-stopping “Defying Gravity” riff. Then there was a delightfully random James Bond tribute (maybe a eulogy, given its latest Amazon acquisition?) that includes pop stars Lisa, Doja Cat, and Raye with a barely shaky however amusing medley of “Skyfall,” “Diamonds Are Forever,” and “Live and Let Die.” Lastly, Queen Latifah provided a spirited tribute to Quincy Jones, performing “Ease on Down the Road” from his manufacturing The Wiz.
The Oscars appear to have taken notes from the Grammys, placing as many divas as they may onstage. In a ceremony outlined by lackluster nominees, it was a welcome distraction. — Kyndall Cunningham
Winner: Starting at 7 pm Eastern
For the second yr in a row, Hollywood’s Biggest Night™ was really late afternoon — the ceremony began at 4pm Pacific/7pm Eastern. And you already know what? Good! For Academy Award watchers on the East Coast, the present going over means attending to mattress nearer to midnight. It’s a faculty night time — not everybody can keep up that late.
Starting an hour earlier additionally makes the viewing expertise extra pleasurable. The time cushion makes all the pieces really feel rather less worrying (particularly when the acceptance speeches go lengthy) as a result of there’s primarily an additional hour. Host Conan O’Brien even had a complete musical quantity/a promise that he “won’t waste time.”
Praise ABC and the powers that be, Sunday’s present ended earlier than 11! — Alex Abad-Santos
Loser: Actors speaking about their personal enterprise in public
Blame it on the vibe shift, blame it on the Los Angeles fires shaking up Hollywood, blame it on who is aware of what, however there was, frankly, a lot of individuals’s personal enterprise taking place in entrance of the cameras on Hollywood’s greatest night time. Kieran Culkin, accepting his Best Supporting Actor Oscar, informed a protracted and admittedly comic story about his spouse whose punchline was that she solely agreed to have a 3rd and a fourth little one if he gained an Emmy and an Oscar, respectively — as a result of she didn’t suppose he ever would. Meanwhile, Andrew Garfield tried to make an unimpressed Goldie Hawn cry by telling her impromptu that she was his just lately deceased mom’s favourite actor whereas they have been alleged to be presenting the awards within the two animated classes.
None of that is essentially dangerous, however it’s historically the type of factor you deal with when you find yourself not being broadcast stay internationally. Hollywood determined to tear down the boundaries tonight. — Constance Grady
The winner for Best Documentary Feature — the results of a collaboration between Israeli and Palestinian activists — was one thing of an upset, if solely as a result of its lack of a US distributor harm it at some Oscar-predicting awards, together with each the Producers and Directors Guild Awards. The movie’s creators are additionally its topics: Basel Adra, a displaced Palestinian activist, navigates the destruction of Gaza, whereas his good friend and inventive companion Yuval Abraham, an Israeli journalist, lives in relative safety and stability.
While the Oscars largely skirted political speech (nobody referenced President Donald Trump by title), these administrators succeeded in making an unusually direct tackle. In an uncompromising speech, Adra mentioned, “We call on the world to take serious actions to stop the injustice and to stop the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people.” Abraham, echoed this sentiment, saying, “We see each other, the destruction of Gaza and its people, which must end, the Israeli hostages, brutally taken in the crime of Oct. 7, which must be freed,” earlier than pointing on to US international coverage as blocking the trail to peace. — Meredith Haggerty
Loser: The revamped “Fab Five” presentation
One of the most beloved recurring options on the Oscars is what’s often known as the “Fab Five” format within the performing classes. The gist: 5 earlier winners of every class — Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress — are introduced on stage to current and reward the nominees and announce the winner. It’s a touching method to honor the historical past and significance of the award.
The Fab Five was supposed for use once more this yr however, probably because of the impossibly thorny optics of introducing Best Actress nominee Karla Sofía Gascón and the controversy surrounding her Islamophobic and anti-Black tweets, the format was nixed. Instead, the Oscars consolidated. Three of final yr’s winners — Robert Downey Jr., Da’vine Joy Randolph, Cillian Murphy — mentioned one thing about every of the nominees of their respective classes. Meanwhile, Emma Stone, who introduced Best Actress, roughly simply launched the class and didn’t say something particular in regards to the actresses nominated, who moreover Gascón included Demi Moore, Fernanda Torres, Cynthia Erivo, and winner Mikey Madison.
The consequence felt rather less private and a bit extra awkward. Downey Jr.’s informal glibness wasn’t a very good match for giving different actors their second within the solar, and there was no means for Stone to elegantly keep away from the elephant within the room. Just yet another means the Gascón blowup impacted the vibe at this yr’s present. — Alex Abad-Santos