The 96th Annual Academy Awards: Winners, Losers, Snubs & Shockers
The 96th Annual Oscars, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, aired yesterday on ABC. The Oscars, also known as the Academy Awards, are a set of prestigious awards given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to honor outstanding achievements in the film industry. The awards recognize excellence in various categories such as acting, directing, writing, cinematography, editing, production design, costume design, sound design, visual effects, and more. The Oscars ceremony is one of the most prominent events in the entertainment industry, drawing attention from around the world. It usually takes place in Los Angeles, California, and is attended by numerous celebrities, filmmakers, and industry professionals. So, on March 10th, the winners were announced, some have shocked the world, some have upset the world and some have not been a surprise at all.
Winners
‘Best Supporting Actress’ - Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers)
‘Best Animated Short’ - War is Over
‘Best Animated Feature’ - The Boy and the Heron
‘Best Original Screenplay’ - Anatomy of a Fall
‘Best Adapted Screenplay’ - American Fiction
‘Best Makeup & Hairstyling’ - Poor Things
‘Best Production Design’ - Poor Things
‘Best Costume Design’ - Poor Things
‘Best International Film’ - The Zone of Interest
‘Best Supporting Actor’ - Robert Downey Jr (Oppenheimer)
‘Best Visual Effects’ - Godzilla Minus One
‘Best Editing’ - Oppenheimer
‘Best Documentary Short’ - The Last Repair Shop
‘Best Documentary’ - 20 Days in Mariupol
‘Best Cinematography’ - Oppenheimer
‘Best Live-Action Short Film’ - The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
‘Best Sound’ - The Zone of Interest
‘Best Original Score’ - Oppenheimer
‘Best Original Song’ - What Was I Made For' (Barbie)
‘Best Actor’ - Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer)
‘Best Director’ - Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer)
‘Best Actress’ - Emma Stone (Poor Things)
‘Best Picture’ - Oppenheimer
Snubs & Shockers
Granted, this is all subjective, but there were certainly a few films that had a strong argument for winning the golden statuette that were seemingly overlooked. A few of the Snubs or “Robbed” names can include America Ferrera (Barbie) or Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer), whom I believe had very much of a chance to win the Oscar for ‘Best Supporting Actress’. There was also a strong proponent who believed Lily Gladstone (Flowers of the Killer Moon) deserved the Best Actress Oscar more than fan-favorite Emma Stone. While stone turned in a transformative performance as the Frankenstein monster turned independent woman, Bella, Gladstone stole the show in a loaded film that co-starred DiCaprio and DeNiro.
One winner that had completely shocked most fans of animation was The Boy and the Heron winning ‘Best Animated Feature Film’ over Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Poor Things winning three straight Oscars was another shock to some, making a lot of cinephiles believe the film might go for an unexpected sweep. One of the awards being for ‘Best production Design’ that others thought belonged to Barbie, considering the fact that they brought a Barbie world to life. ‘Best Supporting Actor’ went to Robert Downey Jr. (Oppenheimer), which I have no complaints for, but also had a good debate with Ryan Gosling (Barbie). Both actors were much deserving of this Oscar. ‘Best Visual Effects’ was another tough one that I believe belonged to GOTG V3 or The Creator. Both films went to the highest degree to make the visuals look as stunning as they are, which made me personally disappointed with this category.
The category for ‘Best Sound’ was won by The Zone of Interest, which I believe The Creator or Oppenheimer had a much bigger debate for. Especially Oppenheimer as Nolan goes above and beyond with as he illustrates in the cleanest and simplest way possible what the atomic bomb and everything that magnifies it would sound like. A perfect film that I believe was robbed especially from this award. Now, I’m not going to lie when I say that I think ‘I’m Just Ken’ should’ve won the Oscar for ‘Best Original Song’ over Billie Eilish’s ‘What was I made for’. Ryan’s song is one that more upbeat, more fun, more memorable and something you can just smile and dance to compared to ‘What was I made for’. Especially after that performance by Ryan, I thought he stamped his place for that Oscar. Huge congratulations to Cillian Murphy ‘Best Actor’, Christopher Nolan ‘Best Director’, Robert Downey Jr. ‘Best Supporting Actor’ and Wes Anderson ‘The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar’ for winning their first Oscar’s for their respective titles. Emma Stone is now a 2-time ‘Best Actress’ winner for 2017’s LA LA Land and now 2024’s Poor Things. Winning this year’s ‘Best Actress’ award that Lily Gladstone (Killer’s of the Flower Moon) had a good argument for. Finally, the award for ‘Best Picture’, announced by Al Pacino in the most ridiculous way possible, unexpectedly turned out to be Oppenheimer, joining nominees like Barbie, Killer’s of the Flower Moon and Poor Things (which had already won four Oscars).
The past year of film has graced our screens with movies that consist of Action, Drama, Suspense, Thrillers, Comedy, Musicals and so on. Some of these awards have, yes, shocked viewers, some have certainly been disappointing, some were expected and others were a lovely surprise. We were honored to have musical performances by Billie Eilish and Ryan Gosling for their respective songs from Barbie as well as a performance by Scott George and the Osage Singers with “Wahzhazhe” from Killers of the Flower Moon. This year’s Oscars was filled with excitement, much anticipation and humor brought by our incredible host, Jimmy Kimmel and I would just like to congratulate everyone behind the making of these incredible films and the award show for another excellent year of entertainment.