By Iris Mbok, Year 12
On Monday, the 97th Academy Awards took place. Hollywood’s elite gathered once again at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles to recognize and uphold excellence in cinema in the past year. Films we all love and adore were celebrated for their artistry and impact on media. Additionally, some of the most decorated actors, as well as new faces in Hollywood took to the stage accepting the most prestigious award one can dream of.
The biggest hit of the night was Anora, directed by Sean Baker. Released in October 2024, the film follows a young sex worker from Brooklyn whose life turns unexpectedly when she meets Vanya, a Russian oligarch. This 21st century take on the Cinderella trope, led to great success on Hollywood’s biggest stage. Taking home five Oscars, Baker won best picture, director, original screenplay and film editing. Moreover, Mikey Madison won best actress for her portrayal of Anora, making her the newest A-list hit.
Wicked, which took the world by storm last November, brought home two Oscars for best Costume Design and Best Production Design. The movie musical was nominated 10 times going into the 97th Academy awards, however, only left with two statuettes, being largely overshadowed by Baker’s Anora. Regardless, the film musical’s stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana grande took to the stage to treat the audience to three different songs from the movie. Grande opened the performance singing “Somewhere over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz. Fans were once again, reminded of her immense talent, which has widely shocked the world ever since her Nickelodeon days in which her whistle toning turned her into a world renowned triple-threat. Then followed Cynthia Erivo’s performance of “Home” from The Wiz, in which fans were hypnotized by her unique, enticing voice and talent which has almost earned her an EGOT. An EGOT is the rare achievement of winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. Erivo is extremely close to this title, with only an Oscar award missing, making viewers furious at the outcome of this past award ceremony. Finally, the duo ended their performance with a duet in which they performed “Defying Gravity” from Wicked.
Many felt that the movie Conclave was snubbed this past Monday. The movie, centered around Cardinal Lawrence as he navigates one of the world’s most secretive events in the selection of the new pope, is filled with thrill and mystery, as he uncovers a series of deep secrets that could undermine the Roman Catholic Church. Conclave won a single Academy Award for best adapted screenplay. Despite eight nominations, it was definetly not the talk of the event.
Alongside Mikey Madison (Anora), Adrien Brody, who starred in The Brutalist took the top acting honors. The film follows the life of a visionary architect fresh out of postwar Europe, escaping to America in search of a better life. Brody’s award led to much controversy, in which fans argued that Timothée Chalamet’s performance in A Complete Unknown was more deserving of it. Chalamet had been working on this Bob Dylan biopic for five years, perfecting the “Bob Dylan” accent, unique to the singer and incredibly hard to replicate. Additionally, Chalamet’s accurate portrayal of his voice and demeanor was collectively agreed upon to be a better performance than Brody, who used artificial intelligence to replicate the Hungarian accent imperative to his character’s story. The film’s director, Brady Corbet, defended the use of AI with the justification that it was solely used to refine his accent. On top of causing much controversy at the Oscars, this dilemma led to much larger debate, on whether AI is minimizing man-made craftsmanship in the arts. Moreover, the lack of Timothée Chalamet recognition led fans to notice a repeating pattern amongst Oscar winners. Many noticed that the ceremony favors those born before 1990, having only two 90s’ babies take home the award of best actor.
To conclude, multiple other films such as The Substance, No Other Land and El Mal, were celebrated this past Monday. The Oscars are a great way for film fanatics to gather and celebrate the art of cinema.
