It’s the biggest night in Hollywood – the 97th annual Academy Awards! The actors have voted for their favourites with the SAG Awards, the directors and producers have made their choices with their Guild Awards, the British Film Academy have voted for the best, and the Foreign Press have cast their votes with the Golden Globes. Now it is time for the American Film Academy to announce their winners and present the Oscars.
Conan O’Brian is hosting the gala event but first a performance by the stars of the smash hit film “Wicked” – Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.
After nearly 30 minutes of dialogue and performances, Robert Downey Jr presented the first award for Best Supporting Actor went to Kieran Culkin for his role in “A Real Pain”.
Andrew Garfield and Goldie Hawn presented the award for Best Animated Feature Film went to “Flow”. The animated film from Latvia to ever be nominated.
The award for Best Animated Short Film went to “In the Shadow of the Cypress”; a film from Iran.
The award for Best Costume Design went to Paul Tazwell for “Wicked”. He is the first man of colour to earn an Oscar for Costume Design.
The award for Best Original Screenwriter went to Sean Baker for “Anora”.
The award for Best Adapted Screenplay went to Peter Straughan for “Conclave”.
The award for Best Accomplishment in Makeup and Hairstyling went to Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon and Marilyne Scarselli for “The Substance”.
Bond girl Halle Berry leads the tribute to Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli and the timeless James Bond franchise that includes a musical performance on stage.
The award for Best Achievement in Film Editing went to Sean Baker for “Anora”.
The award for Best Supporting Actress in a Film went to Zoe Saldana for her role in “Emilia Perez”.
The award for Best Achievement in Production Design went to Nathan Crowley and L ee Sandales for “Wicked”
Sir Mick Jagger took the stage to rousing applause to present the award for Best Original Song to Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard for “El Mai” from “Emilia Perez”.
The award for Best Short Film Documentary went to “The Only Girl in the Orchestra”.
The award for Best Feature Film Documentary went to “No Other Land” – a film created by Israelis and Palestinians.
Members of the Los Angeles Fire Department who helped battle the recent wildfires took the stage to a standing ovation and rousing applause.
The award for Best Achievement in Sound Mixing went to Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett, and Doug Hemphill for “Dune: Part Two”.
The award for Best Achievement in Visual Effects went to Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, and Gerd Nefzer for “Dune: Part Two”.
The award for Live Action Short Film went to Victoria Warmerdam and Trent for “I’m Not a Robot”.
Morgan Freeman spoke on the loss of Gene Hackman as an introduction to the In Memoriam segment of the Oscars.
The award for Best Achievement in Cinematography went to Lol Crawley for “The Brutalist”.
The award for Best International Feature Film went to “I’m Still Here” from Brazil.
Luke Skywalker himself Mark Hamil presented the award for Best Original Music Score to Daniel Blumberg for “The Brutalist”.
Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg pay tribute to award winning musician, composer, conductor, arranger, and producer Quincy Jones. In 1967 Jones was the first man of colour to earn a nomination in the original music category. Queen Latifah performs the song from “The Wiz” “Ease on Down the Road”.
The award for Leading Actor in a Film went to Adrien Brody for his role in “The Brutalist”.
The award for Best Direction went to Sean Baker for “Anora”. Baker noted that his mother, whose birthday is today, introduced him to films in the theater when he was five years old. He gave a very passionate speech about preserving films in the theaters.
The award for Best Leading Actress in a Film went to Mikey Madison for her role in “Anora”.
The final award of the night is for Best Picture…and the winner is…”Anora”! The film was nominated in six categories winning five of them – three to producer and director Sean Baker.