“One Battle After Another,” Paul Thomas Anderson’s sprawling tale of political revolution inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s novel “Vineland,” was the major winner at the Academy Awards on Sunday night. The action thriller landed six trophies, the most of any film, including best picture.
While accepting the award for best adapted screenplay, Anderson said that he wrote the film as an apology to his children for the “housekeeping mess” that is the current state of the world, but he’s hopeful that the next generation will restore “common sense and decency.”
Ryan Coogler’s vampire epic “Sinners” also had an excellent night with four awards: original screenplay, cinematography, score and best actor for Michael B. Jordan, whose speech was one of the highlights of the night. And Jessie Buckley continued her award season sweep, picking up the best actress trophy for “Hamnet.”
Here are some of other big moments from the three-hour-plus telecast.
‘One Battle’ caps a dominant season
“Sinners” set the stage for a potential best picture upset Sunday, breaking the record for the most nominations in Oscars history (16) and relishing an electrifying win for best ensemble at the Actor Awards this month. But “One Battle After Another” turned out to be an awards season frontrunner that never fell out of pole position.
Every major precursor with a best picture prize — the BAFTAs, Producers Guild of America Awards, Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards — anointed Anderson’s epic. And the Oscars telecast telegraphed the film’s ultimate victory throughout, as “One Battle” walked away with best picture, director, adapted screenplay, film editing, casting and supporting actor (for no-show Sean Penn, now a three-time winner).
Conan O’Brien pulled off another successful year as host
Hosting an award show is a thankless task, but after a well-received stint last year, Conan O’Brien returned, being his Conan self. He kicked off the show with a pre-taped parody segment where a session in the hair-and-makeup chair left him looking like Amy Madigan’s unhinged character in “Weapons.” In his monologue, he took on Timothée Chalamet’s recent comments dismissing the art forms of opera and ballet (“They’re just mad you left out jazz”); warned that if anyone got uncomfortable about mentions of politics, they could switch to the alternative Oscars hosted by Kid Rock; predicted that the sequel to “F1” would be called “Caps Lock”; and starred in a song (performed by Josh Groban) that showed how he would insist on being treated like a king if he won an Oscar.
There were only a few references to politics in the show, but toward the end of his monologue, O’Brien turned serious, noting that we live in “chaotic, frightening times,” which only makes the Oscars more resonant.
“Thirty-one countries across six continents are represented this evening. And every film we salute is the product of thousands of people speaking different languages, working hard to make something of beauty,” O’Brien said, to applause from the crowd. “We pay tribute tonight, not just to film, but to the ideals of global artistry, collaboration, patience, resilience — and that rarest of qualities today, optimism. So let us, please, celebrate . . . not because we think all is well, but because we work and hope for better in the days ahead.”
Autumn Durald Arkapaw made history
Autumn Durald Arkapaw is the first woman to win best cinematography, taking home the award for the warm, evocative photography that rooted “Sinners” in the Mississippi Delta of 1932. Only three other women have been nominated in the category, and Arkapaw was the first woman of color. (She shouted out Rachel Morrison, who was the first woman to be nominated for best cinematography in 2017.)
Arkapaw worked with “Sinners” director Ryan Coogler before, on his “Black Panther” sequel in 2022. “Whenever I say thank you to Ryan, he replies, ‘No, thank you. Thank you for believing in me and thank you for trusting me,’” Arkapaw said in her acceptance speech. “And that’s the kind of guy I get to make films with. He’s a very honorable person.”
Amy Madigan’s best supporting actress win
After a tight race all award season, the supporting actor categories were a true mystery going into the show, so it felt a bit shocking when Amy Madigan won for her performance as the diabolical Aunt Gladys in “Weapons.” This was Madigan’s second nomination — 40 years after she got her first nod for “Twice in a Lifetime.”
“What’s different about this time?” Madigan asked. “What’s different is I got this little gold guy.”
Michael B. Jordan’s best actor win wasn’t predictable
Jessie Buckley had best actress locked up. No one doubted that “One Battle After Another” would take home the adapted screenplay award. The big question remained best actor. Michael B. Jordan, playing twin gangsters Smoke and Stack in the vampire thriller “Sinners,” ended up with the trophy after an awards season that could have seen Timothée Chalamet or Wagner Moura going home with best actor.
How did Jordan pull it off? His megawatt, movie-star charisma managed to bring audiences out to the theater, while “Sinners” had lots of love across the academy for its bold, supernatural vision that involved decades of Black history.
“I stand here because of the people that came before me,” Jordan said in his acceptance speech, naming prominent Black actors whose footsteps he followed to the podium. “Those greats, amongst my ancestors, amongst my guys. Thank you, everybody in this room, and everyone at home, for supporting me over my career.”
The extended In Memoriam
The In Memoriam was especially lengthy, given all the icons who died in the past year. Billy Crystal started the emotional segment with a tribute to his close friend, Rob Reiner. As the montage rolled, Rachel McAdams arrived to sing the praises of Catherine O’Hara and Diane Keaton, while Barbra Streisand raved about Robert Redford. By the time Streisand sang a few lines from “The Way We Were,” we’re going to guess that a decent number of people in the audience were weeping.
The ‘KPop Demon Hunter’ wins
Netflix’s most-watched movie of all time struck gold at this year’s ceremony in both categories where it was nominated: best animated feature and best song for the megahit, “Golden.” That was no huge surprise after big Grammy and Golden Globe wins. With more than 500 million streams, the animated film is perhaps the most watched of Sunday’s award winners, driven in large part by family viewing and rewatches. Its fictional girl and boy bands, Huntr/x and Saja Boys, respectively, topped U.S. Spotify charts.
Co-director and writer Maggie Kang and producer Michelle Wong became the first people of South Korean descent to win in the animated feature category. The movie, which follows three young women warding off evil through the power of their music, proved to be a crucial force in amplifying the K-pop industry internationally, ushering a new generation of fans to its shiny depths.
“Thank you to the academy and to all the fans who got us here. And for those of you who look like me, I’m so sorry that it took us so long to see us in a movie like this,” Kang said during her speech. “But it is here, and that means that the next generations don’t have to go long. This is for Korea and for Koreans everywhere.”
The jokes (and warnings) about AI
Anxieties about artificial intelligence and streaming consuming Hollywood were on display in the form of jokes (O’Brien said this was the last year a human would host the show, and next year would be a “Waymo in a tux,” and did a bit about how, when the show moves to YouTube in 2029, it will be constantly interrupted by ads) and a shout-out from presenter Will Arnett: “Tonight we are celebrating people, not AI. Because animation is more than a prompt; it’s an art form and it needs to be protected.”
The ‘Bridesmaids’ reunion and ‘Devil Wears Prada’ bit
During a ceremony that often felt slow, some comic relief brightened up the room — such as a “Bridesmaids” reunion with presenters Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Ellie Kemper. And as “The Devil Wears Prada 2” ramps up its promotional cycle, Anna Wintour (allegedly the inspiration behind the ice-cold magazine editor character, Miranda Priestly) presented alongside the movie’s star, Anne Hathaway. And yes, Wintour referred to Hathaway as “Emily,” a reference to the first film in which Priestley can never remember her assistant’s name.
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