London Dernis
Online Editor
From an “Anora” sweep to a five-minute speech, milestones were made during the 97th Academy Awards. The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, premiered on March 2, and was tuned in by movie lovers around the globe.
The event was hosted by late-night talk show host Conan O’Brien. This was his first time hosting, and he spent the night cracking jokes and making memories. He did a bit with Adam Sandler, calling him out for his casual basketball attire, which led to Sandler’s departure.
With wins in prestigious categories like Best Actress and Best Picture, it’s finally time to talk about “Anora.” Out of their six nominations, the movie took home five Oscars. This sweep came as a surprise to most, but this movie proved to have a lasting impact on nearly all its viewers. Adrien Brody took home the Oscar for Best Actor. He was up against Ralph Fiennes, Sebastian Stan, Timothée Chalamet and Colman Domingo. This was his second Oscar win, his first was from “The Pianist” in 2003. His speech, though he promised to keep it brief, ended up breaking the record for the longest Oscars speech at 5 minutes and 40 seconds. Latvia won its first win with the animated picture Flow. This film, produced by independent animation, beat out several bigger studios in the category such as Disney and Pixar. The movie had no dialogue and was made with a smaller budget. Despite these factors, this animated story touched the hearts of many and won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.
Netflix’s “Emilia Pérez” had a very bright spotlight on it going into the night. They had the most nominations but were only the victors of two categories. Zoe Saldaña won for Best Supporting Actress, becoming the first woman of Dominican descent to do so. Saldaña’s song in the film, El Mal, also won for Best Original Song. The night wasn’t all wins, losses and speeches, there were also performances in between.
To open the show, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo performed “Defying Gravity” from “Wicked” in their signature Elphaba green and Glinda pink dresses. There was a James Bond tribute later in the night, which included a dance to the theme from actress Margaret Qualley, and singing from Doja Cat, Raye, and Lisa from Blackpink. The late Quincy Jones was also honored by a musical tribute from Queen Latifah.
Surprisingly, this year’s Oscars did not feature any Best Original Song performances like in years past. The 97th Oscars was a night that honored films from this past year. With the exception of some disappointing losses, the night was one to remember, and it is never too late to put some time aside to see the ceremony and jot down some movies to watch.
Cutline: Mikey Madison. Photo courtesy of USA Today
