Stars dazzled on both the red carpet and stage of the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles last week as the movie industry’s biggest names were praised for their work this year. Last Sunday, March 15, was Hollywood’s biggest night: the Oscars. This year’s most prominent films included Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another,” Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” and Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet.”
This year’s award show was hosted by Conan O’Brien, whose years and confidence in the industry showed, letting him poke fun at some of the most well-respected actors this year. He took jabs at AI, Timothée Chalamet’s opinions on the fine arts, and Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos. O’Brien highlighted that 31 countries over six continents were represented in the nominations, saying, “every film we salute is the product of thousands of people speaking different languages, working hard to make something of beauty.” Despite the entertaining host and increases in Oscar viewership over the past few years, this year’s awards were the least viewed since 2022.
Leading up to the awards, many thought that most of the winners would be toss ups between “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners,” and this turned out to be true: “One Battle After Another” won six awards, and “Sinners” won four. Although Sinners lost twelve out of the sixteen awards they were nominated for, the Oscars were no letdown for director Ryan Coogler. Coogler won his first ever Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
Also for “Sinners,” the award for Best Actor in a Leading Role went to Michael B. Jordan, who honored past Black Oscar-winners in his speech, saying, “I stand here because of the people who came before me… to be amongst those greats, amongst my ancestors.” Jordan celebrated the win afterwards by going to In-N-Out Burgers in Los Angeles.
Unable to win any award this year was once again Timothée Chalamet, whose movie, “Marty Supreme,” directed by Josh Safdie, lost all of the nine categories it was nominated in, shocking audiences. Chalamet was heavily favored to win Best Actor in a Leading Role at the end of last year, yet he did not cinch his victory, this being the third time he has lost the Best Actor honor.
The show included performances from both “Sinners” and “KPop Demon Hunters,” singing “I Lied to You” and “Golden,” respectively. ”I Lied to You” was a blues performance that included stars like Shaboozey and acclaimed ballerina Misty Copeland. The performance of “Golden” infused traditional Korean elements, and the song won Best Original Song, making history as the first K-pop song to win the award.
In a rare but not unprecedented moment, the award for Best Live Action Short Film resulted in a tie; the award was shared between “The Singers” and “Two People Exchanging Saliva.” Only seven awards have tied in Academy Awards history.
The award for Best Actress in a Leading Role went to Jessie Buckley from “Hamnet,” who dedicated her award to motherhood and the “beautiful chaos of a mother’s heart.” Buckley highlighted her own experience as a mother, describing the “journey to understand the capacity of a mother’s love” as “the greatest collision of [her] life.”
Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” swept the ceremony, winning Best Picture along with five other awards. Though Anderson has been directing since the ‘90s — he was first nominated for an award in 1998 — he secured his first Oscar this year.
The winners of this year’s Oscar Awards, though not undeserving, were not altogether surprising. As many expected, “One Battle After Another” was the most awarded film, followed closely by “Sinners.” The awards yielded some historic wins and made for an altogether entertaining ceremony.
