“Anora” triumphed at the 97th Academy Awards. Sean Baker’s sex romp won Best Picture. In fact, Baker won four Oscars tonight, tying Walt Disney’s record for most trophies won by a person on Oscar night; The other three Baker wins came for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing.
It didn’t just stop with Baker. “Anora” continued its Oscar dominance as Mikey Madison won Best Actress, and that’s despite facing some stiff competition from Demi Moore and Fernanda Torres in what was seen as the tightest race of the night.
Adrien Brody (“The Brutalist”) won his second Best Actor Oscar. Truly unbelievable how this talented actor has had a fairly shaky career since his 2003 win for “The Pianist,” but as his speech tonight entailed, this second Oscar signifies a new phase in his career. Brody’s comeback starts tonight.
Alongside Brody’s win, “The Brutalist” won two other significant awards. Daniel Blumberg deservedly nabbed Best Original Score. Was there a better composed film in 2024? I can’t think of one. Lol Crawley won Best Cinematography. Well deserved. What Crawley did on “The Brutalist,” and despite the limitations of its budget, was wildly inventive — that upside-down shot of The Statue of Liberty might be the most iconic cinematic image of 2024.
Poor “Emilia Perez.” No doubt, in part, due to Karla Sofia Gascon’s controversies, ‘Emilia’ lost the International Film Oscar to Walter Salles’ “I’m Still Here.” This means France’s Oscar losing streak continues as that country hasn’t won this Oscar category since the early ‘90s. At least, Zoe Saldaña won her first Oscar, sweeping awards season, as Best Supporting Actress in “Emilia Pérez.” Not too soon after that, a second Oscar for ‘Emilia,’ this time for Best Original Song (“El Mal”).
Meanwhile, “No Other Land” won Best Documentary. This Palestinian/Israeli film was never picked up for U.S. distribution, studios were too afraid to touch it, and yet it won an Oscar. Its filmmakers — Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham— have Cinetic Media to thank for that as the publicity company decided to handle the film’s bookings at theaters across the country
One of the bigger upsets of the evening occurred when Gints Zilbalodis‘ “Flow” won Best Animated Feature — besting tough competition from “The Wild Robot” and “Inside Out 2.” It’s the first ever Oscar for Latvia.
The most predictable win of the night had Kieran Culkin winning Best Supporting Actor for “A Real Pain.” With this Oscar win, Culkin has swept awards season, previously earning the Golden Globe, BAFTA and Critics Choice Awards.
Best Picture
“Anora”Best Director
Sean Baker (“Anora”)Best Actor
Adrien Brody (“The Brutalist”)Best Actress
Mikey Madison (“Anora”)Best Supporting Actress
Zoe Saldaña (“Emilia Perez”)Best Supporting Actor
Kieran Culkin (“A Real Pain”)Best Orginal Screenplay
Sean Baker (“Anora”)Best Adapted Screenplay
Peter Straughan (“Conclave”)Best International Feature
“I’m Still Here” (Walter Salles)Best Original Score
Daniel Blumberg (“The Brutalist”)Best Animated Feature
“Flow” (Gints Zilbalodis)Best Documentary
“No Other Land” (Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham)Best Cinematography
Lol Crawley (“The Brutalist”)Best Editing
Sean Baker (“Anora”)Best Original Song
”El Mal” (“Emilia Perez”)Best Visual Effects
“Dune: Part Two”Best Sound
“Dune: Part Two”Best Makeup & Hairstyling
“The Substance”Best Production Design
“Wicked”Best Costume Design
“Wicked”