MARCH 6, 2025 | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | By Zoe Smith (Staff Writer)
The star-studded city of Los Angeles came together to celebrate the 97th annual Academy Awards on Sunday, March 2. It was a rather lackluster night overall, starting with a bang before plateauing for the rest of the evening.
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo gave a stunning performance of a “Wizard of Oz” soundtrack medley, including “Over the Rainbow” from the original 1929 film, then segueing into “Home” from “The Wiz” before finishing with “Defying Gravity” from “Wicked.” Their voices came together to harmonize so powerfully that you would have thought you were listening to the studio version. Host Conan O’Brien then opened the show with a monologue unafraid to address the controversy surrounding some films and actors. Notably, O’Brien joked about Karla Sofía Gascón’s controversial tweets, prompting a reaction from the actress to bow her head and blow a kiss on camera.
A highlight of the opening speech was O’Brien’s skit with Adam Sandler who dressed in his trademark basketball shorts. The skit ended with Sandler storming out to play pickup basketball.
Paul Tazewell made history, winning an Oscar for his costume design work on “Wicked.” In his acceptance speech, Tazewell emphasized the achievement, proudly declaring “I am the first Black man to receive the costume design award.”
Zoe Saldaña won best supporting actress for her role in “Emilia Pérez,” leaving many with a bitter taste. Just months ago, when the nominations came out, the movie was a front-runner with thirteen nominations. However, after the public uncovered some horrific tweets from the lead actress, Karla Sofía Gascón, talking about everything from George Floyd to Islam to immigrants came to light, what was meant to be an expected sweep ended with only two wins.
Best actor went to Adrien Brody for his role in “The Brutalist.” Timothee Chalamet, nominated for his portrayal of young Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unknown,” would have become the youngest winner of the best actor award.
Many were bothered that Brody had admitted to using AI to help his Hungarian accent, saying that it felt like a cop-out when others learned to speak, and sing.
Brody also set the record for one of the longest speeches ever given at the Oscars, with over five and a half minutes, including him telling the orchestra to stop playing to give him more time.
One of the more shocking moments of the night was when Emma Stone announced who would be taking home the title of best actress. Many fans and critics of this award season had watched Demi Moore receive well-deserved accolades for her film “The Substance” while Mikey Madison, who starred in “Anora,” did not receive the same recognition. Moore seemed like a shoo-in.
However, the Oscars continue to display that they consider any films designated in the thriller or horror genre to be undeserving of praise. Madison received the award for best actress.
Unsurprisingly, “Anora” won Best Picture moments later, taking home the most hardware of any film of the night with four awards, including Best Director. “Anora” had been the front-runner since the controversy surrounding “Emilia Pérez” had begun. Regardless of who people were rooting for, “Anora” proved that it deserved to be in the conversation as one of the year’s best films.
The night’s biggest and most accomplished moment came about halfway through the award ceremony when the Palestinian-Israeli film “No Other Land” won for best documentary. The film is set in the occupied West Bank in the hometown of Masafer Yatta, directed by Palestinian journalist Basel Adra and Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham. Even though the film has no distribution in the U.S., it still took home the acclaimed award.
During their acceptance speech, Adra started by calling for the end of the ethnic cleansing taking place in Gaza. Abraham followed suit, diving into how in this world, he is free to live while Palestinians like Adra are subjected to military law.
To summarize the entire event, it was a rather bland year compared to the Oscars race last year with films like “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.” The last thing to celebrate is that we will never again have to hear about “Emilia Pérez.”