They mentioned that there were no clear champions this year, lacking any cinematic giants like ‘Oppenheimer’ to steal the spotlight. They were accurate.
Indeed, Kieran Culkin was highly favored for best supporting actor in ‘A Real Pain’, and his win was celebrated (although it might not have been the ideal time to recall the wager he made with his wife regarding having more children if he won an Oscar!).
However, when Mikey Madison took home the Oscar for best actress in ‘Anora’, there was a noticeable gasp in the press room – very few had anticipated this outcome. The surprise was palpable.
The competition was largely seen as a duel between her and Demi Moore in ‘The Substance’, with many expecting Moore to take the prize, but that was not to be.
Mikey Madison and Sean Baker won Best Actress and Best Director for ‘Anora’
Sean Baker, the creative driving force behind the film, clinched three awards – directing, editing, and original screenplay, highlighting the “cottage industry” nature of this project.
But is it a good film? My cameraman is quite disheartened. As a film school graduate (not hesitant about art house cinema), he was cheering for the Bob Dylan biopic ‘A Complete Unknown’.
Now he’s expressing that he is too upset to work tonight. I have some news for him …
Quentin Tarantino presented the best director award to Baker, passionately advocating for audiences to patronize cinemas and for filmmakers to continue crafting movies for the big screen. He also took a moment to wish his mother a happy birthday (she introduced him to cinema at just five years old).
Baker utilized his acceptance speech to express gratitude to sex workers – for their insights, which aided him in writing the lead role for Mikey Madison, who also connected with sex workers as part of her research.
Baker also secured the Oscar for best film editing. I had hoped for Nick Emerson to win for ‘Conclave’, a meticulously staged ensemble piece that the quality of editing greatly enhances.
He mentioned a few days ago that he did some editing work for RTÉ News in Belfast during his early career, working alongside our late, great Northern Editor Tommie Gorman. This would have established the most tenuous link possible between RTÉ and an Oscar, but I would have embraced it gladly. Nevertheless, Nick now proudly carries the title of ‘Academy Award nominee Nick Emerson’ for eternity.
And with over 200 eligible films, only five were nominated in this category. So well done, Nick.
Conan O’Brien on stage with LA first responders
Kudos to Tailored Films of Dublin for achieving the same recognition. Amidst all the films that could have received nominations for their leading and supporting actors, very few were selected, and ‘The Apprentice’ made the cut: Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong can now don the ‘Academy Award Nominee’ title – always advantageous in this fiercely competitive industry.
Another notable victor was Conan O’Brien, who hosted the event. It’s a challenging role where falling flat on jokes or offending Hollywood’s elite could be disastrous. This is a high-budget, high-profile production, so the humor should ideally land every time.
Indeed, comedy is one of the toughest genres to write. However, Conan performed admirably and will likely return for future shows.
He even delegated some of the joke-telling to a group of LA firefighters – as a tribute to the Fire Department’s relentless efforts against nature’s challenges. The standout gag? A fire captain extending sympathies to those who lost their homes – the producers of Joker 2.
Another jab was at Timothée Chalamet (star of the Bob Dylan biopic ‘A Complete Unknown’), where it was said he learned to sing for the role and “was so good at singing that he nearly lost the part” (Conan had instructed the audience to laugh).
Late in the show, Conan remarked: “If you are still enjoying the show, you have something called Stockholm Syndrome.”
He then welcomed Cillian Murphy to present the leading actor award, which went to Adrien Brody, star of ‘The Brutalist’, a film about a Hungarian architect who survives the Holocaust and achieves great success in America.
Cillian Murphy presented the award for Actor in a Leading Role
Brody expressed that acting is an inherently precarious profession, although it can occasionally be glamorous. However, it can also vanish in an instant. “What makes this night special is the awareness of that,” he stated.
‘The Brutalist’ is a lengthy film, running three-and-a-half hours – one of the reasons it’s not showcased in many multiplexes. Earlier, Conan had shared how much he relished watching the film: “I didn’t want it to end … and it didn’t!”
Brody, unfazed by the music playing to signal him off the stage – the audio equivalent of a push to return to brevity – insisted, “Cut the music; I’ve done this before.” He then spoke of not allowing hatred to prevail, advocating against racism and anti-Semitism.
Read more: Dark fairytale ‘Anora’ the big winner at the Oscars
Despite moments of overt politics, the overall tone of the event was more measured.
A Palestinian Israeli documentary about the destruction of a West Bank village titled ‘No Other Land’ won in the feature documentary category. The collective behind the film – comprising both Israelis and Palestinians – clearly had much to express but opted for restraint.
When introduced in the press room, many of us leaned forward, anticipating significant political discourse.
Instead, the special effects team from ‘Dune: Part Two’ stepped up, reminding a press member who was gearing up for a Middle Eastern question that they were present to discuss visual effects.
In the end, America’s premier movie awards revolved around a narrative centered on the relationship between a Russian oligarch and a sex worker. No politics involved there.
