Every year since 1929, the entertainment industry and film fans from all over the world join together to watch the Oscars. The Oscars, more formally known as the Academy Awards, were held earlier this month on March 10th, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. These awards are given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for artistic and technical excellence, and are looked at as the most significant awards in all of the entertainment industry. According to the Oscars organization, they are frequently regarded as the “highest honors in filmmaking”.
Every year there are a few special moments that people still talk about long after the awards are over. This year, some moments were funny or sweet, and others, not so much. There was a Twins reunion with Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger joining on stage to present the award for Best Visual Effects.
DeVito opened with, “Arnold and I are presenting tonight together for a very obvious reason” and Schwarzenegger followed, “We’ve both tried to kill Batman!” The audience laughed and the camera panned to Michael Keaton, who had presented with his Beetlejuice co-star Catherine O’Hara earlier in the night.
Then, with help from Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, Ryan Gosling performed “I’m Just Ken” from the Barbie movie, and he did so in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes-fashion. The audience was filled with laughter, and even more so when John Cena ran across the stage only wearing a card.
A not-so-funny moment would be while Jimmy Kimmel was hosting, he made a poor joke about nominee Robert Downey, Jr. Kimmel said, “This is the highest point of Robert Downey, Jr.’s long and illustrious career — well, one of the highest points,” in reference to the actor’s troubled past with substance abuse. His comment has garnered disapproval and critique from audiences.
Lastly, while presenting the final category for Best Picture, actor Al Pacino said, “This is the time for the last award of the evening, and it’s my honor to present it. Ten wonderful films were nominated, but only one will take the award for Best Picture, and, uh, I have to go to the envelope for that, and I will. Here it comes,” he continued, “and my eyes see Oppenheimer. Yes. Yes.” At first there was no applause, just confusion, until he confirmed that Oppenheimer did win.
All the winners of the 2024 Academy Awards were deserving and memorable, but these winners really stand out: Best Actor, Best Director, and especially Best Actress. The nominees for Best Actor in a Leading Role were Bradley Cooper, Colma Domingo, Paul Giamatti, Jeffery Wright, and the winner Cillian Murphy, for Oppenheimer. The nominees for Best Director were Martin Scorsese, Yorgos Lanthimos, Jonathan Glazer, Justine Triet, and the winner Christopher Nolan, for Oppenheimer.
The nominees for Best Actress in a Leading Role were Annette Bening, Lily Gladstone, Sandra Hüller, Carey Mulligan, and the winner Emma Stone, for Poor Things. This award specifically, was very anticipated because it was such a close run between Gladstone and Stone. Lily Gladstone was the first Native American to be nominated for Best Actress, and if she won she would have been the first Native American to ever win an Oscar. Many people say that Emma should have won and that if Lily ran for Best Actress in a Supporting Role that she would have won; either way, they both did an incredible job.
The Academy Awards are so prestigious because they are awarded by peers, but all of the special moments shared make for even better memories. The 96th ceremony will not be forgotten, and in fact, it was the highest rated show since the pandemic.
