The Oscars has always been the official end of award season, mainly because the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was the very first organization to honor cinema almost one hundred years ago. The Academy is at an awkward moment in its time where it wants to preserve the long traditions of the ceremony yet still wants to be viewed as moving the show into the modern era. The Oscars just made itself available to stream live this year (on Hulu) so their pace of advancement is not exactly speedy.
The show kicked off with a montage from films set in Los Angeles, highlighting various spots throughout the city. Then we have nominee, Ariana Grande for "Wicked" performing a rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" from "The Wizard of Oz" before her co-star, Cynthia Erivo does "Home" from "The Wiz". Then the two share the stage to conclude this mash-up with "Defying Gravity" from their musical based on L. Frank Baum's story. As the first time host, Conan O'Brien fit in quite nicely, bringing a good energy and kept the humor at caustic yet good-natured levels, and it's bit of a surprise he wasn't asked before. He started with a filmed take-off on "The Substance" and made some well-placed jokes on the nominated movies (""A Complete Unknown". "A Real Pain". "Nosferatu". These are some of the names I was called on the red carpet"). And O'Brien was talking about a dress code when he singled out Adam Sandler, sitting in the audience wearing his standard uniform of a hoodie and baggy gym shorts, creating a very funny moment.
The producers of this year's telecast wanted to shake up the routine but not too much. Instead of the acting categories, we had five actors come out to sing the praises of the costume designers and cinematographers. While it was a nice touch, it just wasn't as effective as when the previous acting winners honored the nominated actors. But the biggest misstep as far as I'm concerned was the decision to not have the nominated Best Original Songs performed on the show. In it's place we had O'Brien do "I Won't Waste Time" during the opening segment which was pretty funny. But a James Bond musical tribute to Honorary Oscar winning producers, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson (which featured current pop artists, Lisa, Doja Cat and Raye doing popular Bond theme songs) and Queen Latifah honoring the late Quincy Jones (who had won an Honorary Oscar this year) with a rousing rendition of "Ease On Down The Road' from "The Wiz", while entertaining, failed to rise much above time filler. And the selection of the presenters was truly inspired with a nice mix of the legendary (Goldie Hawn, Mark Hamill, Daryl Hannah, Quentin Tarantino and an impressively spry, Mick Jagger) and contemporary (Andrew Garfield, Lily-Rose Depp, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus, Bowen Yang).
During his third acceptance speech, Baker encouraged filmmakers to keep making movies for the big screen in order to keep theaters alive and well. My love of going to the movies came directly from my mother who took us regularly to the theater, probably at least once a week. And while this was really the only way to see a motion picture at the time, the thrill of the communal experience of watching a film surrounded with an audience was deeply instilled into me. A theater is really the only perfect setting for me to truly enjoy seeing a film.
Baker also addressed the importance of supporting independent cinema which is so vital in order to tell challenging and innovative stories that the Hollywood system is way too cautious to go anywhere near. As we quickly approach the 100th anniversary of the Oscars, now is the time to support your local theaters, especially the indie-owned screens that are particularly struggling and unfortunately closing at a rapid rate.
So come on people, get off your couches, take your kids and go to a movie theater! Otherwise, there may not be much to celebrate during the upcoming 100th Oscars ceremony.
Here is the complete list of winners of the 2025 Oscars:
Best Picture: "Anora"
Best Director: Sean Baker, "Anora"
Best Original Screenplay: Sean Baker, "Anora"
Best Adapted Screenplay: Peter Straughan, "Conclave"
Best Actress in a Leading Role: Mikey Madison, "Anora"
Best Actor in a Leading Role: Adrien Brody, "The Brutalist"
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Zoe Saldaña, "Emilia Pérez"
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Kieran Culkin, "A Real Pain"
Best Cinematography: Lol Crawley, "The Brutalist"
Best Film Editing: Sean Baker, "Anora"
Best International Feature Film: "I’m Still Here" (Brazil)
Best Documentary Feature Film: "No Other Land"
Best Documentary Short Film: "The Only Girl in the Orchestra"
Best Animated Feature Film: "Flow"
Best Animated Short Film: "In the Shadow of the Cypress"
Best Live Action Short Film: "I’m Not a Robot"
Best Original Song: "El Mal" from "Emilia Pérez" Music by Clément Ducol and Camille, Lyric by Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard
Best Original Score: Daniel Blumberg, "The Brutalist"
Best Production Design: Nathan Crowley, Production Design and Lee Sandales, Set Decoration, "Wicked"
Best Costume Design: Paul Tazewell, "Wicked"
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon and Marilyne Scarselli, "The Substance"
Best Sound: Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett and Doug Hemphill, "Dune: Part Two"
Best Visual Effects: Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer, "Dune: Part Two"
