Hollywood’s biggest night came to an end on time for the first time in years. The 96th Academy Awards have officially concluded, taking place at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, California, at 7pm eastern standard time. This year’s show consisted of historic nominations, surprises, and performances. Jimmy Kimmel hosted the show for the fourth time and was joined by an A-list group of presenters to honor Hollywood’s biggest success of the year. Many A-list celebrities came in among the protests going on all across Los Angeles in response to the Hamas-Israel War. Many celebrities wore pins to recognize the war. Billie Eilish and Phineas O’Connell both sported red pins to symbolize ceasefire. The night started off rocky when host Jimmy Kimmel joked about Best Supporting Actor winner Robert Downey Jr. and his past drug addiction. Former President Donald Trump even made his mark on the night when he tweeted, “Has there EVER been a WORSE HOST than Jimmy Kimmel at The Oscars.” Kimmel responded by asking, “Isn’t it past your jail time?”
Performances of all songs nominated for Best Original Song took place throughout the night, including a rendition of “I’m Just Ken” by Ryan Gosling, which included Simu Liu, Scott Evans, Ncuti Gatwa, and Kingsley Ben-Adir, who all portrayed Ken in Barbie. The performance was by the Osage Tribal Singers singing the song “Wahzhazhe,” which was from Best Picture nominee Killers of the Flower Moon. The award ultimately went to Billie Eilish and Phineas O’Connell for their song “What Was I Made For?” from Barbie, making Eilish the youngest two-time winner of an Oscar.
Poor Things took home four of its eleven nominations and won Best Actress for Emma Stone, who previously won for her performance in La La Land. The night ended with the announcement of the Best Picture, which was presented by the Best Actor winner, Al Pacino. Pancino took an unconventional route to announcing the winner. He didn’t announce all of the nominees and never said the iconic line, “and the Oscar goes to…” He simply said, “I see Oppenheimer.” The night ended with Oppenheimer staying on top, as it came in with thirteen nominations and left with seven wins, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor. Cillian Murphy became the first Irish-born actor to take home the statue for his performance as the father of the atomic bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan took home his first Oscar for directing since his last nomination for the 2017 war drama Dunkirk.
The 97th Academy Awards will take place on March 10, 2025, and will hopefully start on time.
