Photo by Matt Sayles
Wave Wire Services
HOLLYWOOD — “Anora” was the big winner at the 97th Academy Awards March 2, capturing five Oscars from its six nominations, including best picture, best actress and best director.
The Brooklyn-set comedy-drama about the beleaguered marriage of a sex worker and the son of a Russian oligarch garnered the best actress award for star Mikey Madison as well as director honors for Sean Baker. “Anora” also delivered Oscars to Baker for original screenplay and film editing.
Meanwhile, “The Brutalist” won three Oscars, including one for Adrien Brody for best actor. The film also took trophies for cinematography and original score.
The award for best supporting actor went to Kieran Culkin for “A Real Pain,” while Zoe Saldaña took the Oscar for best supporting actress for “Emília Pérez” — capping a streak in which those two basically ran the table in award shows.
Conan O’Brien made his debut as Oscar host at the ceremonies, which were at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
“Emília Pérez” went into the evening with a leading 13 nominations and won two trophies — Saldaña’s best supporting actress award, plus best original song, “El Mal.”
“Wicked,” which, like “The Brutalist” went into the night with 10 nominations, joined “Dune: Part 2” as the only other multiple winner.
The “Wizard of Oz”-themed musical “Wicked” captured Oscars for costume design and production design, while “Dune: Part Two” won for sound and visual effects.
“Conclave,” the papal thriller that entered the evening with eight nominations, took one Oscar — for adapted screenplay. “A Complete Unknown,” the Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet, also took eight nominations into the night — but was shut out.
The best picture win for “Anora” was hardly a surprise, as the film had won last month’s Producers Guild Award, traditionally a strong indicator of which movie will win the best picture Oscar.
Since the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences expanded the best picture category from five to 10 nominees in 2010, only four films have won the best picture Oscar without first winning the PGA Award. “Anora” had also won the best picture awards at this year’s Critics Choice and Film Independent Spirit awards.
“I want to thank the academy for recognizing a truly independent film,” Baker, also a producer of “Anora,” said in accepting the glamour trophy of the night for his $6 million production.
“This film was made on the blood, sweat and tears of incredible indie artists, and long live independent film, yeah!”
Overall, it was a good night for low-budget films, with “The Brutalist” having been shot for a mere (by Hollywood standards) $15.8 million.
In accepting his director’s award, Baker — who made four acceptance speeches on the night — made a case in support of movie theaters in this age of streaming.
“We’re all here tonight and watching this broadcast because we love movies,” he said. “Where did we fall in love with the movies? At the movie theater.
“Watching a film, watching a film in the theater with an audience is an experience. We can laugh together, cry together, scream in fright together, perhaps sit in devastated silence together, and in a time in which the world can feel very divided, this is more important than ever.
“It’s a communal experience you simply don’t get at home,” he added. “And right now the theater-going experience is under threat. Movie theaters, especially independently owned theaters, are struggling, and it’s up to us to support them. During the pandemic we lost nearly 1,000 screens in the U.S., and we continue to lose them regularly. If we don’t reverse this trend, we’ll be losing a vital part of our culture.”
The 25-year-old Madison, in her acceptance speech, called winning the best actress award “very surreal,” and added, “I grew up in Los Angeles, but Hollywood always felt so far away from me, so to be here standing in this room today is really incredible.
“I also just want to again recognize and honor the sex worker community,” she said. “I will, yes, I will continue to support and be an ally. All of the incredible people, the women, that I’ve had the privilege of meeting from that community has been one of the highlights of this incredible, of this entire incredible experience.
“I also just want to recognize the thoughtful, intelligent, beautiful, breathtaking work of my fellow nominees,” she added. “I’m honored to be recognized alongside all of you. This is a dream come true. I’m probably gonna wake up tomorrow.”
Madison’s win denied a storybook Hollywood ending to Demi Moore’s career comeback run through the Hollywood awards season, as Moore had recorded best actress victories at the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards and Critics Choice Awards.
Entering the night, Moore had been a co-favorite (with Madison) to capture an Oscar for her starring role in the body horror drama/comedy “The Substance” — playing a fading actress who discovers a black-market drug that restores youth … with all manner of unexpected side-effects.
Brody captured his second career Oscar, following his best actor win in “The Pianist” in 2002 at age 29, which made him the youngest Academy Award winner in that category. The now 51-year-old made mention during his acceptance speech of how acting is “a very fragile profession.”
“It looks very glamorous and in certain moments it is,” Brody said, “but the one thing that I’ve gained having the privilege to come back here is to have some perspective. And no matter where you are in your career, no matter what you’ve accomplished, it can all go away, and I think what makes this night most special is the awareness of that.”
“The Brutalist” centers on a Holocaust survivor chasing the American dream in post-war U.S., and Brody said the role enabled him to “represent the lingering traumas and the repercussions of war and systematic oppression, and of anti-Semitism and racism, and of othering.”
“I pray for a healthier and a happier and a more inclusive world,” he said, “and I believe if the past can teach us anything, it’s a reminder to not let hate go unchecked.”
Brody had also won best actor honors at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice and British BAFTA Awards. His Oscar denied Chalamet’s upset bid in the best actor category, following his surprise win at the SAG Awards for his role in “A Complete Unknown.” The SAGs — voted on by actors — are usually a solid indicator of who wins in the acting categories on Oscar night, with actors making up the bulk of Oscar voters.
Oscar history was also made when industry veteran Paul Tazewell, 60, became the first Black man to win the Academy Award for costume design (for “Wicked”) — earning him an extended ovation on the Dolby Theater stage.
