Like many of the movies up for Oscars, this year’s Academy Awards ran longer than most viewers probably considered reasonable. But lengthy as the ceremony was, it was marked by enough surprises to make it one one hell of a watch.
Though host Jimmy Kimmel made sure to get a few good jabs in at most of the filmmakers up for Oscars, few of the stars seemed all that phased as they took to the stage to deliver acceptance speeches that spoke to how stiff this year’s competition was. Da’Vine Joy Randolph kicked off the night winning Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance in The Holdovers — which was up for five awards total. And while Hayao Miyazaki wasn’t there to accept his award, The Boy and the Heron took home an Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Out of the five awards director Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall was up for, it wound up taking home Best Original Screenplay, while writer / director Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction snagged Best Adapted Screenplay.
Following a surprising bit of nudity from John Cena as he announced Poor Things’ win for Best Costume Design, The Zone of Interest writer / director Jonathan Glazer — who won Best International Feature — gave a pointed and powerful speech about the throughline between his film and the ongoing conflict in Gaza. And while Robert Downey Jr.’s Best Supporting Actor win for his Oppenheimer performance was a bit unexpected, it came as no shock as the Godzilla Minus One creative team carried their Godzilla action figures up on stage to receive awards for Best Visual Effects.
As the night went on, it became clearer and clearer that the Academy really fell in love with Poor Things, which won for Makeup and Hairstyling, Production Design, and Best Actress — the second Oscar for Emma Stone, who was up against Killers of the Flower Moon’s Lily Gladstone. And in a profoundly unsurprising turn of events, Oppenheimer came out on top in the end as it also snagged Oscars in the Cinematography, Original Score, Best Actor, and Best Director categories.
The full list of Oscar winners can be read below:
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