On March 2, the 97th annual Academy Awards ceremony took place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The casts of some of last year’s highest-grossing movies were in attendance to celebrate all things Hollywood, from behind-the-scenes work to acting performances. Throughout the ceremonious evening, there were several surprises and notable moments.
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, who starred in “Wicked,” opened the ceremony with a mashup of songs from musicals inspired by L. Frank Baum’s novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” which the story of “Wicked” is based on. Grande began with a cover of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” from the 1939 classic film “The Wizard of Oz,” followed by Erivo singing “Home” from the popular Broadway musical “The Wiz.” To conclude their performance, the pair sang the iconic ending to “Defying Gravity,” which is featured at the end of their film. The performance from the duo set the tone for an exciting evening of awards.
The award for Best Documentary Feature went to “No Other Land,” created by Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal and Yuval Abraham. This documentary was notable as it was created by Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers. The film has only had limited releases in the U.S., and it has yet to be picked up by a distributor. In their acceptance speech for the award, Adra and Abraham conveyed a message of unity and strength to a global audience.
“We made this film, Palestinians and Israelis, because together our voices are stronger,” said Abraham. “We see each other.”
The coveted Best Actor in a Leading Role title went to Adrien Brody for his performance as László Tóth in “The Brutalist.” This was Brody’s second Best Actor win, following his performance in 2002’s “The Pianist.” His first Oscar gave him the title of the youngest ever Best Actor winner at 29, a record he still holds today. While Brody was the front runner for this category, Timothée Chalamet was another popular choice for the award. If he had won, Chalamet would have broken Brody’s winning streak and his record for the youngest Best Actor winner.
Mikey Madison took home her first ever Oscar in the Best Actress in a Leading Role category for her portrayal of Ani in “Anora.” In her acceptance speech, Madison, who played an adult dancer, recognized the sex worker community and expressed her gratitude for getting to meet so many women in that industry while working on the film. Demi Moore, who starred in “The Substance,” was high up in the running to win this category after winning the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards for her performance. Before this awards season, Moore had never won an award for her acting in a movie throughout her over 40-year career.
The biggest award of the night went to “Anora,” in which Sean Baker broke a record when he won Best Picture, his fourth award of the evening. By winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing, Baker matched a record set in 1954 by Walt Disney when he won 4 Oscars in one evening. In total, “Anora” won five awards, making it the most decorated film of the night.
One of the night’s most controversial moments came in host Conan O’Brien’s opening monologue, when he called out Best Actress nominee Karla Sofía Gascón for her history of problematic social media posts. Gascón, the first transgender Best Actress nominee in Oscars history, came under fire in January when old tweets resurfaced that reflected racist and Islamophobic beliefs. Gascón was nominated for “Emilia Pérez,” which had 13 Oscar nominations, the most of any film nominated this year. The film took home two awards, one for Zoe Saldaña for Best Supporting Actress, and another for Best Original Song.
Fans of “Wicked” were disappointed by the film’s lack of major award wins. The movie, which scored 10 nominations, won Best Production Design and Best Costume Design. Although the win for Best Costume Design was significant for designer Paul Tazewell, who became the first Black man to win an Oscar in that category, fans wanted Grande and Erivo, the film’s stars who were up for Best Supporting Actress and Best Leading Actress respectively, to win. If Erivo had won the award, she would have achieved EGOT status.
