The Oscars took us home with a simple click of the infamous ruby slippers adorned by Judy Garland, and a montage of films that took place all over Los Angeles. With another nod to The Wizard of Oz, Ariana Grande stood, engulfed in fog and rainbow lights, wearing a ruby red dress while singing ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’. When she turned, the audience was able to see a red slipper on the back of her dress. When she commenced, the stunning Cynthia Erivo waltzed out and started singing ‘Home’ by Diana Ross. You could hear a pin drop as Ariana was seen walking towards Cynthia as the tune to ‘Defying Gravity’ ensued. The duo sent goosebumps to everyone watching. It was a breathtakingly emotional performance where we see two friends do what they love; Ariana stepped aside to let Cynthia have the spotlight to belt, and admired her from the wings. Once they were done, not a single person was still in their seat, everyone was on their feet cheering, wiping their tears, and clapping for the duo. 

Hosting this year’s Oscars was none other than Conan the comedian. At first he was nowhere to be found, but suddenly, a shot of Demi Moore in The Substance was portrayed onto the screen, and when Demi’s back split, Conan was seen poking his head out, once he was fully out he realized he left his shoe back inside Demi, so in typical Conan fashion, he had to go dig for it. From the moment he stepped on stage the jokes started pouring out, the first few being about himself. Saying A Complete Unknown, A Real Pain, and Nosferatu are just a few things he was called while walking the Red Carpet. After roasting himself, he joked about Netflix having 18 nominations in price increases. States a “fact” that Anora used the ‘f-word’ 479 times, which was 3 more than Karla Sofía Gascón’s publicist. To those that weren’t aware, Karla has come under fire for tweets she put out a few years ago, one regarding her co-star Selena Gomez. The audience’s jaw was on the floor when Conan revealed she was present in the audience, but he followed it up with “my name is Jimmy Kimmel if you are going to tweet about me”. A controversial joke was about AI, he claims there was no AI used at the Oscars, but instead they used child labor, claiming they are still people so it counts. Noted that his wife called I’m Still Here the feel good movie of the year, due to her losing her husband. 

Conan called out Adam Sandler for not obeying the dress code, who wore a pair of basketball shorts and a bright blue sweatshirt. Sandler then proceeded to throw a fake tantrum and claim he is leaving, not due to the crowd, but due to Conan’s joke, and they could come with him to play 5 on 5 basketball. He couldn’t leave without doing his infamous “Chalamet” bit with Timothee himself. 

In a more serious manner, Conan expressed how an award show can seem self absorbed and superfluous, but that it uplifts people who we never see and who strictly work behind the scenes. Award shows shine a light on costume designers, set designers, editors, and everyone who isn’t present on screen and highlighting their hard work. Conan stressed that film is one of the only industries that can persevere through fires and divisive politics. It wouldn’t be a real Conan speech if there wasn’t an unexpected turn, and in this instance he broke out into song, singing about how he won’t waste time. 

To present the first award, Best Supporting Actor, was Robert Downey Jr. He paid tribute to many male actors, and then took a jab at Kieran Culkin, a nominee, about trying to be as witty as him at an award show. This came after the SAG awards, where Kieran won and poked at Adrien Brody for going over time in his speeches. The nominees for this award were: Jeremy Strong – The Apprentice, Guy Pearce – The Brutalist, Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown, Yura Borisov – Anora, and Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain. After winning the SAG award for best supporting actor, Kieran Culkin also won the Oscar. He is 3 for 3 with awards this year for supporting actor, winning the Golden Globe, SAG, and Oscar awards. This was Kieran’s first nomination and win for an Oscar. During his speech he thanked his manager of thirty years for her support through it all. Kieran directed a cheeky joke to his wife, and how she now owes him another kid, because for the Golden Globe she said if he won she would give him his third child, and said the same thing again for the Oscars. Good luck to her!

Adorable Goldie Hawn stunned in gold alongside Andrew Garfield who was in yet another monochromatic outfit, this time in brown, to present Best Animated Feature award. Andrew gave a tearful tribute to Goldie for being his mother’s favorite actress and for having such a wonderful career. Nominees for Best Animated Feature were: Flow, Inside Out 2, Memoir of a Snail, Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, and The Wild Robot. History was made, again, for Flow and Latvia. This was Latvia’s first nomination and win as a country at the Oscars, and this came after the first nomination and win at the Golden Globes. Phenomenal representation for Latvia, and hopefully it paves the way for other smaller countries. Following such a historic win, was the award for Best Animated Short Film. The nominees were: Yuck!, Wander to Wonder, Magic Candies, Beautiful Men, and In the Shadow of the Cypress. Another small country prevailed; In the Shadow of the Cypress, from Iran, won. The post win speech was heartful, and human, with small blunders and many apologies for not being native English speakers. They even stated they didn’t have their Visas until the day prior and were nervous they wouldn’t be able to make it, making the audience chuckle. 

A heavily anticipated award was for Best Costume Design. The presentation for this award was a fan favorite, with the lead actors from each film presenting their costume designer. Lily Rose Depp presented Linda Muir, who worked on Nosferatu. Elle Fanning presented Adrianne Phillips for her work on A Complete Unknown. Bowan Yang, who wore one of his costumes from the set, presented Paul Tazewell for his work on Wicked. John Lithgow presented Lisy Christl for her work on Conclave. Finally, Connie Nelson presented Janty Yates and Dave Crossman for their work on Gladiator II. The audience was on the edge of their seats in anticipation, each designer created stunning pieces, some created authentic period pieces, while others created unworldly costumes, so who would win? Simply based on aesthetics, people were assuming it was between Nosferatu and Wicked. Greeted with roaring applause, Paul Tazewell from Wicked, was announced the winner. During his speech he made it known that he just made history, being the first black man to ever win an Oscar for costume design. This was Tazewell’s second ever nomination, but first win. What an amazing way to finish off Black History Month. 

Amy Pohler was the one to present the award for Best Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay. The nominees for Best Screenplay had tough competition, consisting of: Anora, The Brutalist, A Real Pain, September 5th, and The Substance. In a nail biter, Anora won! This was Sean Baker’s first ever Oscar win. This was a loaded category, with fan favorites, blockbuster hits, and big names going up against each other. Depending on the source some believed it would be Jesse Eisenberg who would win for A Real Pain, or Brady Corbet for The Brutalist, The Substance was also included in top contenders, but the “smaller” independent film Anora would prevail. Following Best Screenplay was Best Adapted Screenplay, consisting of A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Emilia Pérez, Nickel Boys, and Sing Sing. The film that was adapted from the 2016 novel, Conclave, won. This was the second nomination for the screenwriter, Peter Straughan, but his first win. 

Scarlett Johansson and June Squibb walked, arms linked, to present the award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. This award seemed daunting to win, period pieces often don’t have as much makeup due to portraying a time where it wasn’t prevalent, but try to compensate through the hairstyles, matching the times. Said period pieces are going up against special effects makeup of The Substance and Nosferatu, that require more obvious makeup. Who would win between The Substance, Nosferatu, Emilia Pérez, Wicked, and A Different man? Pierre Oliverier Persin, Stephanie Guillon, and Marilyne Scarselli from The Substance, won. The skill required to turn the beautiful Demi Moore into an older lady depleted of nutrients is immense. To win against Frances Hannon, Laura Blount, and Sarah Nuth from Wicked, who painted Cythia Erivo green every day of filming, takes a lot of talent. 

Following The Substance’s win, the stunning Halle Berry came on stage to initiate the tribute to the James Bond franchise, mainly the producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson. Once commenced, a Bond montage began, followed by Margaret Qualey coming onto stage to perform a jaw dropping dance number. Lisa flowed down from the rafters, singing “Live and Let Die”, followed by Doja Cat rising from the floor singing “Diamonds are Forever”. Raye finished it off by singing “Skyfall”, the background wall opened showing the orchestra behind the music; once finished the three artists gathered on stage and received an overwhelming round of applause. 

Having to follow that performance is tough, but once the unforgettable Daryl Hannah stepped on stage the audience was laser focused. Before saying anything related to the Academy or the Oscars, she made it known she stood with Ukraine; the Oscars came just days after President Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Hannah was met with an upstanding round of applause, even from viewers at home. The nominees were: Anora – Sean Baker, The Brutalist – Dávid Jancsó, Conclave – Nick Emerson, Emilia Pérez – Juliette Welfling, and Wicked – Myron Kerstein. Editing can make or break a film, if the cuts are too jolty the audience will notice, it takes a certain eye and precision to lay it down on the timeline and create a flowing, cohesive story. Sean Baker did just that with Anora. Not only did he write and direct the film, it was also revealed he edited it himself, only allowing four people into the editing room, one being his dog. This was Baker’s second win of the night!

Best Supporting Actress was presented by Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and divine she was, waltzing out in a dazzling black dress that flattered her phenomenal figure. This category was packed with talent, with Ariana Grande – Wicked, Monica Barbaro – A Complete Unknown, Felicity Jones – The Brutalist, Isabella Rossellini – Conclave, and Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez. Making history, yet again, Zoe Saldaña won, marking her the first woman of Dominican descent to receive an Academy Award. Running up to the stage and yelling “Mommy!”, with tear filled eyes made the entire audience sit in awe. She gave a roaring speech, dedicated to her family and her husband, while also acknowledging her Dominican descent. Her speech received backlash, with fans expressing disappointment and disdain for her lack of acknowledgement of the trans community, especially due to the nature of her film, Emilia Pérez. 

One of the gems of comedy, Ben Stiller, rose out of the floor, only to get stuck part of the way up. While giving a spiel about Production Design, the floor started to rise, and he attempted to crawl out of the abyss, only for the platform to go back down. He used this practical effect to highlight how pivotal great Production Designers are. He eventually crawled out, and was able to give the long awaited list of nominees: Judy Becker and Patricia Cuccia – The Brutalist, Suzie Davies and Cynthia Sleiter – Conclave, Patrice Vermette and Shane Vieau – Dune: Part Two, Craig Lathrop and Beatrice Brentnerová – Nosferatu, and Nathan Crawley and Lee Sandales – Wicked. This award was long anticipated by the audience, with Nosferatu creating an entire city for the film to take place in, Wicked making a working train to Oz and unworldly scenery, and Conclave and The Brutalist creating real world replicas. Receiving their second win of the night, Wicked was announced the winner, being met with tremendous applause. Many audience members and viewers felt Wicked was snubbed at the Golden Globes, and were hoping for some recognition at the Oscars. 

In a hilariously surprising turn of events, Mick Jagger appears out of the shadows of the stage. Bewildered looks ensued, followed by Jagger making a joke at his own expense, stating he knew what the reaction would be. Building on his own torment, he made the crowd laugh when he said the Oscars wanted Bob Dylan instead. Jagger was picked to present the award for Best Original Song. The nominees were: “El Mal” from Emilia Pérez – Camille and Clément Ducol, “The Journey” from The Sixth Triple Eight – Diane Warren, “Like a Bird” from Sing Sing – Abraham Alexander and Adrian Quesada, “Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez – Camille and Clément Ducol, and lastly, “Never Too Late” from Elton John – Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt, and Bernie Taupin. A laundry list of talent, but who would win? Going up against the beloved Elton John is daunting, and to his dismay, “El Mal” won. This is the first win for Camille and Clément Ducol. During their speech, Camille praised the Spanish language, saying it was destined for pop music. After an amazing speech, Camille began to sing, with the first blurb receiving smiles from the crowd, but after a few more seconds, everyone felt she had perhaps overdone it. 

Ensuing the speech that made the audience nonplussed, Conan swooped in as comic relief. Doubling down on Drake, saying “now it’s halfway through the show, it’s time for Kendrick Lamar to come out and call Drake a pedophile” leaving the audience’s mouths agape. Trying to ease the tension, he made it known he was already lawyered up and they should not worry. 

What better way to follow a quip about Kendrick and Drake, then to have Samuel L Jackson appear on stage with Selena Gomez to present the next awards, both for documentaries. The nominees for Best Documentary Short Film were: Death by Numbers, I am Ready, Warden, Incident, Instruments of a Beating Heart, and Only Girl in the Orchestra. Receiving their first nomination and win were Molly O’Brien and Lisa Remington for Only Girl in the Orchestra. To which they revealed it was an all female team that made this documentary, and how pivotal it was to portray women with the current political climate. An amazing win for women! The nominees for Best Documentary Feature Film were: Black Box Diaries, No Other Land, Porcelain War, Soundtrack to a Coup D’etat, and Sugarcane. In another nod to the current political climate, No Other Land won. No Other Land is directed by Basel Adra, who is Palestinian, and Yuval Abraham, who is Israeli. Attributed to the current war in Gaza, they aim to show we are all better together, instead of fighting one another. They capitalize on the juxtaposition of a Palestinian man and an Israeli man coming together to create art, highlighting they are both human and deserving of freedom. They were met with a near deafening applause and cheering; bringing tears to viewers eyes. 

In an emotional homage to the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires, the CEO of the Academy, Bill Kramer, spoke about how imperative aid is and displayed a QR code to support the aftermath clean up. Not a single person was still in their seat when members of the Fire Brigades took their spot on stage; cheers, claps, and admiration thundered, but no amount of applause was enough. The firefighters didn’t just come on stage to receive support, they had unexpected jokes up their sleeves, and Conan made sure to tell the audience they were mandated to laugh, because firefighters are heroes! The LAFD fire captain directed his joke to those that lost their homes, but mainly the producers of Joker 2. 

Who better to announce the Best Sound award than the astonishing Miley Cyrus and Miles Teller. While the category was stockpiled with talented sound designers, there was an obvious lean with the viewers on who they assumed would win. A Complete Unknown, about the illustrious Bob Dylan, needed the best sound designers to portray his sound as realistically as possible. Emilia Pérez and Wicked were both musicals, with the cast of Wicked singing live on set and using that in the final cut. Dune: Part 2 and Wild Robot used sound to create an immersive environment for the viewers. When looking back at the Golden Globes and wins of the night thus far, viewers would be under the assumption Emilia Pérez might win, but most were looking at Wicked to win. Alas, the “underdog” Dune: Part 2 would be the winner. 

Riding the coattails of a surprise, Rachel Ziegler and Gal Gador presented the award for Best Special Effects. The nominees were, to no one’s surprise: Alien: Romulus, Better Man, Dune: Part 2, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, and Wicked. With yet another surprise win, Dune: Part 2 took it home. While their win makes sense, with alien creatures and futuristic world sets, some of the other films nominated had more intense effects featured. Alien: Romulus used CGI and practical effects to create a realistic look for their viewers. Better Man and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes used primary visual effects as well as CGI and practical effects to turn their actors into monkeys. 

The elegant Ana DeArmas and Sterling K Brown presented the award for Best Live Action Short. The nominees were A Lien, Anuja, I’m Not a Robot, The Last Ranger, and The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent. With their first nomination and win, I’m Not a Robot won. 

The only choice to give a eulogy is Morgan Freeman; speaking about the loss of his friend Gene Hackman, and how he uplifted everyone and their work. A video began to play, showcasing those we lost within the last year, from A-listers, to executives, composers, and those behind the scenes. No matter how small their role, they were included in the eulogy. However, viewers were not satisfied when there were a few names missing, including Michelle Trachtenberg, who had passed just a few days prior, as well as Shannon Doherty.

In similar style to costume design, the actors from each nominated film introduced their cinematographers. Zoe Saldaña introduced Paul Guihaume for Emilia Pérez, Joe Alwyn presented Lol Crawley from The Brutalist, Dave Bautista presented Greig Frase for Dune: Part 2, William Dafoe presented Jorin Blaschke for Nosferatu, and finally, Alba Rohrwacher introduced Ed Lachman for Maria. In yet another first win and nomination, Lol Crawley won for the Brutalist. 

The never aging Penelope Cruz stunned in a floor length white gown, presenting the award for Best International Feature Film. Representing Brazil is I’m Still Here, which won a Golden Globe for Best Female Actor in a Feature Film. France’s own Emilia Pérez already won a few Oscars and Golden Globes, but can they win against other international films? Denmark’s A Girl with the Needle and Germany’s The Seed of the Sacred were also nominated. As well as history making Flow, from Latvia, which has already won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film. To some surprise, I’m Still Here won, making it not only the first nomination for Brazil, but their first win. In their speech, they alluded to the political climate of not only the US but Brazil, stating that it was about a woman who endured the loss of her husband during an authoritarian regime. 

Conan of course capitalized on this moment, joking that Americans loved Anora because they were happy to see someone finally stand up against a powerful Russian. 

In an interesting turn of events, Mark Hamil was the one to present the award for Best Original Score. After Mick Jagger came to present Best Original Song, one might assume a musician or composer would present this award. Mark Hamil is most known for his role as Luke Skywalker, and the Star Wars films do have a fan favorite soundtrack, so maybe it tracks. The obvious nominees were Wicked, Emilia Pérez, and The Wild Robot, the so called underdogs of this category were The Brutalist and Conclave. Wicked and Emilia Pérez were musicals, to outsiders looking in, these would be obvious choices, however due to them also being adaptations, some of their music was as well. The Brutalist, however, would cause a stir. This was the first nomination and win for composer Daniel Blumberg, who showed love to director Brady Corbet. 

In wake of Black History Month just ending, Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey took the stage, engaging the audience in an emotional eulogy for Quincy Jones. Both women had to overcome immense obstacles to have the career they did; they said Jones was the pinnacle of ‘black excellence’, but they are as well. In 1967, Jones was the first black composer to be nominated in the original song category, for the film Banning. Proving it was no fluke, he was nominated again that same year for In Cold Blood. Oprah especially credits him for her being in the position she is, saying he was the one that discovered her, helping her land her first role in The Color Purple. To amplify the notion of ‘black excellence’, Queen Latifah came out of retirement to perform “Ease on Down the Road”, a song from The Wiz, which Jones worked on. Queen Latifah went all out, with an elaborate set, glimmering gold, and a predominantly black group of background dancers. Jones paved the way for future black composers. Latifah was met with an astounding standing ovation. 

At this point in the night, whenever Conan pops us, he proves to be a jumpscare, adding quips here and there, this time claiming the viewers that were still watching had Stockholm Syndrome. 

Cilian Murphy seemed to make a surprise appearance, due to the applause he received when he graced the stage. Undoubtedly, one of the best options to present award for Best Actor due to his performance in Oppenheimer. A star studded list of nominees, from Adrien Brody – The Brutalist, Timothee Chalamet – A Complete Unknown, Colman Domingo – Sing Sing, Ralph Fiennes – Conclave, to the beloved Sebastian Stan – The Apprentice. Household names went head-to-head to win such a prestigious award; the audience was on the edge of their seats. With an emotional second career win, Adrien Brody would receive the Oscar; his first being for his role in The Pianist. Succeeding his win and bestowing thanks, he gave a poignant speech about how fragile life and careers are, noting everything could go away in an instant and that he was thankful to be where he was. In spite of the Oscars trying to hurry him, he demanded extra time in order to capitalize on the political climate of the world. Brody stated he was up on stage again to represent the lingering traumas of war, systematic oppression, racism, and antisemitism. He hopes for a happier, healthier, and more inclusive world, and that we need to learn from the past and not let hate go unchecked. The concurrence from the audience was deafening, even when he went to leave the stage. 

There is no better way to present the Best Director award, then to have Quentin Tarantino grace the Oscars with his presence. Oscar winners versus Oscar winners within this category, some receiving multiple awards throughout the night. Those nominees being: Sean Baker – Anora, winning two already during the night, Brady Corbet – The Brutalist, James Mangold – A Complete Unknown, Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez, and Coralie Fargeat – The Substance. Coralie Fargeat, trying to break barriers, being the only female director going up against male directors for the second time this year, the first being at the Golden Globes. But Sean Baker took the big win; Baker so far had three for three in nominations to award wins for the night, with Anora going three-for-four. Using his platform for the better, Baker advocated for theatrical releases, saying over COVID’s tenure over 1,000 screens were lost. He added that the theatrical experience can help people come together in a time where things seem too divided. 

Rocking her new haircut, Emma Stone presented the award for Best Female Leading Actor. Another heavily anticipated category, with stars like Cynthia Erivo from Wicked and Demi Moore from The Substance, going up against each other. The controversial Karla Sofía Gascon from Emilia Pérez, Golden Globe winner Fernanda Torres from I’m Still Here, and underdog Mikey Madison from three time Oscar winning Anora were among the other nominees. Elphaba might be written as the villain, but Cynthia Erivo’s performance was anything but; most viewers were rooting for Cynthia and Demi, knowing both have never won an Academy Award before even after very deserving careers. However, Mikey Madison would win, making Anora four-four-five in nominations to award wins, and Madison one-for-one. Utterly shocked, Madison took the stage to give a speech, where she honoured the sex worker community and thanked them for teaching her and helping her prepare for her role. 

Harry met Sally in the final award, with Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal presenting the award for Best Picture. Crystal made it known this was the 35th anniversary of his first time hosting. When the duo took the stage, the applause they received could also be recognition for them both losing their homes in the recent Palisades fire, which many of the audience members experienced as well. The finale always has to upstage the previous acts, and with ten total nominations, this category did just that. Among the nominees were: Anora, The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune: Part 2, Emilia Pérez, I’m Still Here, Nickel Boys, The Substance, and Wicked. Each film telling a unique story, with different messages and undertones, how could anyone choose just one? Capping off a phenomenal win streak was none other than Anora. There are a few reasons this win comes as a surprise, one being that it was a completely independent film, with only one studio helping to distribute it, Neon. Anora’s budget was peanuts compared to others, only being 6 million dollars. Anora ended the night five-for-six in nominations to award wins. Baker and his wife and producing partner, Samantha Quan, kept their speech short and sweet, delivering an inspirational sentiment to young aspiring filmmakers to just keep going, and keep creating stories they believe in. This was an important win for independent cinema and for all the dreamers.