On Sunday, March 2nd, awards season finally ended after the conclusion of the 97th annual Academy Awards, otherwise known as the Oscars. This year the Oscars set out to make some changes compared to the last couple of years. Not only was the ceremony hosted by beloved late-night host and comedian, Conan O’Brien, but the event also stepped out of its comfort zone and broadcasted the awards live on ABC, and for the first time, Hulu. This decision, however, brought many problems for viewers as the streaming service crashed multiple times both at the beginning of the broadcast and at its near end as well.
For those who watched on ABC or did not suffer through Hulu’s technical difficulties they were met with a melody celebrating the land of Oz as Wicked stars, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo opened the ceremony by singing iconic songs from both The Wizard of Oz and The Wiz before coming together to sing Defying Gravity from Wicked. This was then followed up by Conan O’Brien’s opening monologue that fully kicked off the event.
Unlike other award shows, the Oscars presented all twenty-three of its awards live on screen. While it may have made for a longer runtime to the event it also made sure to shine a light on every aspect of filmmaking and ensured no one was disrespected. Some notable award winners of the night were people such as Paul Tazewell who won the award for Best Costume Design, for the movie Wicked. This is Tazewell’s first Oscar in his career and marks Tazewell as the first black man in the academy’s history to win this award.
Another highlight was actor Adrien Brody’s win for Best Actor for his work on The Brutalist. This was Body’s second time winning this award with the first being twenty-two years ago for The Pianist. During his acceptance speech, Brody broke another record in the Academy’s history for speaking for five minutes and thirty-seven seconds.
Yet the biggest surprise of the night was the absolute sweep of awards the film Anora took this year. The film was nominated for six awards this season and won five. This includes Best Actress for Mikey Madison who plays the titular character, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, as well as the biggest award of the night, Best Picture.
Halfway through the ceremony, we were also treated to a tribute to the James Bond film franchise as well as one for legendary composer and musician Quincy Jones who sadly passed away last year. Both tributes honored these legendary people and projects with musical performances from artists such as Lisa, Doja Cat, Raye, and Queen Latifah.
The 97th Academy Awards was a very lavish night for many and provided a wonderful celebration of film and all projects from 2024. As awards season ends, we have a whole year for new projects to watch and root for next year.
