The Oscars are often referred to as the biggest night in Hollywood, the grand finale to the illustrious awards season. Throughout its 97 year existence, there have certainly been some jaw-dropping and iconic moments. From Adrien Brody planting one on Halle Berry in 2003, to Ellen’s famous selfie, to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock in the middle of the ceremony. And while this year’s event, hosted by lauded late night host Conan O’Brien, was not as dramatic as some have been in year’s past, it still gave us many moments of pure joy and even some history-making wins that will be cemented in time.
Anora, the winner of the most awards for one movie, was the star of the show, winning three of the big four awards: Best Director, Best Picture, and Best Lead Actress. In fact, Sean Baker made history in his own right, reaching a status only previously attained by Walt Disney. Baker won four individual statues for Best Director, Original Screenplay, Film Editing, and Best Picture. However, there is one distinction between this newly cemented superstar and classic tycoon Walt Disney. Baker’s trophies all come from the same film (Anora), while Disney earned four statuettes for four different projects. Baker truly made a name for himself this awards season, and as a first-time nominee leaving with four individual statues, I’d say he has got an impressive career still to come.
Another history-making win was Zoe Saldaña’s triumph receiving the award for Best Supporting Actress for Emilia Pérez. Her win made her the first American woman of Dominican origin to snag the statue. Despite the intense backlash the film has received from both the trans and Mexican communities, on top of the controversial comments made by lead actress Karla Sofía Gascon, Saldaña’s awards season leading up to the Oscars was a pretty good indicator that she would be the one on top. Although it probably was not a shock to most, it is still a monumental moment to be celebrated. In her acceptance speech, Saldaña thanked her parents and grandmother, stating how proud she was to come from a family of immigrants and how special it was to win an award for a role she got to perform completely in Spanish.
Costume designer Paul Tazewell of Wicked got his own shining moment as well. Tazewell not only won his first Oscar after being nominated in 2021 for Spielberg’s West Side Story, but also became the first Black man ever to win for Best Costume Design.
As awards season takes its final bow I’m glad there was less drama (though not none), and more peace amongst the thespians, I can’t say I didn’t miss a crazy, debate-inducing event this year. However, Halle Berry did finally get her revenge from that ultra-awk Adrien Brody kiss 20 years ago when she crashed his interview on the red carpet and planted one on him.
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