‘Anora’ director Sean Baker makes history with four wins, surpassing Walt Disney for the most in a single year in Academy Award history for the same film.
The biggest night in entertainment has just ended. The star-studded 97th Oscars saw trophies spread out quite evenly among this year’s formidable pool of contenders. Eight of the 10 movies nominated for best picture came away with at least one award.
Comedian Conan O’Brien hosted the awards from the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, his first time hosting the Oscars. He continues a long tradition of current or former late night talk show hosts who have taken on the daunting job.
Romantic comedy drama film Anora was the biggest winner of the night, taking home a total of five awards, including the most coveted best picture award. The film worked on a budget of only US$6 million, making it the third-lowest budget of any best-picture winner over the last 37 years, ahead of only Moonlight and Nomadland.
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Mikey Madison, meanwhile, won best actress for her titular role as a sex worker who falls for the immature son of a Russian billionaire. “This is very surreal,” said Madison in her speech. “I grew up in LA but Hollywood always felt so far for me. To be standing in this room is really incredible.” Madison beat frontrunner Demi Moore, nominated for body horror The Substance, as well as fellow nominees Fernanda Torres, Cynthia Erivo, and Karla Sofía Gascón.
Sean Baker won four for the film including for best picture, directing, original screenplay, and editing. When accepting the award for best director, the third time he went onstage, he mentioned Quentin Tarantino who presented the award as partially responsible for Anora, saying if he hadn’t cast star Mikey Madison in his film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, “There would be no Anora.” Baker has made Oscar history with his four wins, tying Walt Disney for the most in a single year in Academy Award history. He, however, surpasses Disney as he won the four Oscars not only in the same year for the same film.
Adrien Brody took home his second Oscar for his role as the fictional Hungarian modernist architect László Tóth in The Brutalist. “Thank you, God, for this blessed life,” an emotional Brody said in his speech. “Acting is a very fragile profession,” adds, and perspective has taught him that “it can all go away. What makes this night so special is the awareness of that and the gratitude that I still get to do what I love.” By beating Timothée Chalamet, he remains the youngest performer ever to win best actor. He also beat fellow nominees Ralph Fiennes, Sebastian Stan, and Colman Domingo.
The Brutalist picked up two other trophies, including Lol Crawley winning the award for best cinematography and British composer Daniel Blumberg taking home the trophy for best original score.
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Meanwhile, Peter Straughan, who was previously nominated for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, won best adapted screenplay for Conclave, one of the frontrunners for best picture. Straughan took to the stage wearing a Ukraine ribbon. His win came after previous triumphs at the BAFTAs, Golden Globes, among others.
The night’s first award, presented by Robert Downey Jr., went to Kieran Culkin for best supporting actor. Culkin has had a grand slam season, picking up award after award, for his performance alongside Jesse Eisenberg in A Real Pain. In his acceptance speech, he gave a shoutout to fellow Succession star and Oscar nominee Jeremy Strong, saying that he is “amazing.”
Zoe Saldaña, meanwhile, won best supporting actress for her role in Emilia Pérez. Saldaña dedicated her win to her family, whom she mentions is in the audience. “Everything brave, outrageous and good that I’ve ever done throughout my life is because of you,” she said in her acceptance speech. She also proudly added that she is the first American of Dominican origin to win an Oscar.
The dialogue-free Latvian film Flow, which was animated on open-source software, took the award for best animated feature, beating Hollywood’s giants and giving the country its first-ever Oscar. In the Shadow of the Cypress meanwhile, bagged the trophy for best animated short, with Iranian filmmakers Shirin Sohani and Hossein Molayemi taking to the stage, having arrived in Los Angeles a mere three hours before the ceremony after almost failing to secure a visa.
Paul Tazewell won the Oscar for best costume design for his work on Wicked. He was previously nominated in the category for his work on West Side Story. “I’m the first Black man to receive the costume design award,” he said in his speech, which was met with a standing ovation. “I’m so proud of this.”
Other major awards handed out include best makeup and hairstyling for The Substance, best production design for Wicked, and best song for Emilia Pérez’s El Mal. There’s also The Only Girl in the Orchestra winning best documentary short, No Other Land for best documentary feature, and I’m Not a Robot for best live action short. The Brazilian film I’m Still Here won best international feature. Blockbuster Dune Part 2 took home two trophies, one for best sound trophy and the other for best visual effects.
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For the traditional “In Memoriam” portion, legendary stars such as Gene Hackman, David Lynch, and Maggie Smith were honored. The segment also remembered Donald Sutherland, Shelley Duvall, James Earl Jones, among others. Viewers, however, noticed that Michelle Trachtenberg, Shannen Doherty, and Tony Todd were left out in the tribute.
Spanish-language musical Emilia Pérez led the way with 13 nominations, but its Oscars campaign took a catastrophic hit after offensive historic tweets from its lead star Karla Sofía Gascon resurfaced. Gascón, who was nominated for best actress, was spotted in attendance. Host O’Brien called her out, making a joke about the star’s controversial tweets.
The Oscars’ roots can be traced back all the way to 1929, where the inaugural ceremony ran for but a mere 15 minutes. Through the years it has gone on to become one of the oldest and most prestigious awards ceremonies in the industry. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences organizes the event each year. It boasts more than 10,500 members, which cover all aspects of the film industry, from hair and makeup to cinematography and acting.
All active members vote on the winners, and they have four weeks from the time nominations are announced to cast their ballots.
Here’s the complete list of winners.
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