On March 10, from 7-10 PM, the 96th Academy Awards were held in the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Jimmy Kimmel hosted the event and provided just the right amount of humor and fun to kick off the night. He claimed it was going to be a great show with some surprise guest announcers.
The first award was “Best Supporting Actress,” with a twist on the announcers. Instead of the typical few celebrity announcers per award, friends of the nominees who were also previous recipients of that award presented them. Jamie Lee Curtis, Regina King, Rita Moreno, Lupita Nyong’o, and Michelle Yeoh surprised the audience, with Da’Vine Joy Randolph winning the award for her work in “The Holdovers.”
Following Randolph’s beautiful and inspiring speech, many celebrities came out to present the awards, including Chris Hemsworth, Anya Taylor-Joy, Melissa McCarthy, Octavia Spencer, and more.
There were even some cast reunions, such as “Beetlejuice” co-stars Michael Keaton and Catherine O’Hara presenting the awards for “Best Makeup and Hairstyling” and “Best Production Design,” both of which were awarded to the 2023 steampunk film “Poor Things.” Additionally, “Twins” co-stars Danny Devito and Arnold Schwarzenegger presented “Best Visual Effects” and “Best Film Editing,” the former being awarded to the Japanese epic film “Godzilla Minus One” and the latter to the biographical war film “Oppenheimer.”
Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” had 13 Academy Award nominations this year and took home seven. Its summer co-star, Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie,” had eight nominations, only taking home one.
Following “Barbenheimer” stars Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling’s tribute to stunt doubles in the film industry, Mahershala Ali, Ke Huy Quan, Tim Robbins, Sam Rockwell, and Christoph Waltz came out to present the award for “Best Supporting Actor,” the recipient being Robert Downey Jr. from “Oppenheimer.” This was Downey’s first Academy Award, which he thanked all those who worked on “Oppenheimer,” his wife, and his rough childhood for.
“Barbie” co-stars America Ferrara and Kate McKinnon presented the awards for “Best Documentary Short Film” and “Best Documentary Feature Film.” Later, after comedian John Mulaney presented the award for “Best Sound,” Billie Eilish performed her hit song from “Barbie,” “What Was I Made For.” Soon after, Eilish and her brother Finneas O’Connell won the Oscar for “Best Original Song,” presented by “Wicked” co-stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.
Other performances included Jon Batiste and Becky G, as well as Andrea Bocelli performing a tribute to all actors who passed during the year.
The performance that stole the show was Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken.” He started in the audience, near a laughing Margot Robbie and Billie Eilish. Once he got on the stage, he was joined by producer Mark Ronson and the other ‘Ken’s’ from the film. His hot pink suit stood out as he went into the audience and allowed Greta Gerwig, Robbie, and Ferrara to sing with him. Additionally, Gosling handed the microphone to friend and “Poor Things” star Emma Stone.
After Eilish and O’Connell’s win, Nicolas Cage, Brendan Fraser, Ben Kingsley, Matthew McConaughey, and Forest Whitaker presented the award for “Best Actor.” This was awarded to “Oppenheimer” star Cillian Murphy. Director Steven Spielberg later presented the award for “Best Director,” going to Christopher Nolan for his work on “Oppenheimer.”
Sally Field, Jessica Lange, Jennifer Lawrence, Charlize Theron, and Michelle Yeoh presented the “Best Actress” award, which went to “Poor Things” star Emma Stone. Stone’s acceptance speech was heartwarming, paying tribute to the cast and crew of the film, her husband, and her daughter.
To end the night, “Godfather II” star Al Pacino came out to present the award for “Best Picture,” and to no one’s surprise, it went to “Oppenheimer.”
To conclude, Kimmel thanked all those who came, as well as the cast and crew whose jobs were also put on halt during the writers and actors strike in 2023. Many guests were seen taking pictures with each other with big smiles, as they just completed a successful night at the 96th Academy Awards.
