On the night of March 10th, the 2024 Oscar ceremony took place, celebrating the best works and professionals in the film industry. Since 1929, the Academy Awards have been the most anticipated and respected recognition for outstanding films produced throughout the year.
The 23 categories were primarily divided between the two major favorites of the night: “Oppenheimer,” with 13 nominations, and “Poor Creatures,” with 11 nominations. On the other hand, several great films were completely overlooked by the Academy. Get to know which were the main events of the night.
I’M Kenough
With only three weeks of screening, the film Barbie grossed an impressive one-billion dollars at the box office worldwide. But the resounding success wasn’t enough for the Academy: despite the nomination for “Best Picture”, Greta Gerwig, the director, did not receive her deserved nomination in the directing category. Jimmy Kimmel, host of the 2024 Oscars, didn’t let the matter slide.
“What an achievement to take a plastic doll no one even liked anymore… Now Barbie is a feminist icon thanks to Greta Gerwig, who many believe deserved to be nominated for best director,” Kimmel added. After the audience erupted into applause, Kimmel quipped, “I know you’re clapping, but you’re the ones who didn’t vote for her, by the way. Don’t act like you had nothing to do with this.”
A similar situation happened with Margot Robbie, the protagonist of the film, who was not nominated for the “Best Actress” category. Meanwhile, Ryan Gosling had his Ken nominated for “Best Supporting Actor” – which was worth it for his spectacular performance of “I’m Just Ken” live, with his horde of Kens and clearly inspired by Marilyn Monroe. “Barbie,” which was nominated for eight categories, walked away with only one statuette.
The best actor
It might seem like you’re expecting us to talk about Cillian Murphy based on the title. However, despite the winner of the “Best Actor” category being the protagonist of Oppenheimer, let’s talk here about the real best actor of the year. And no, we’re also not talking about the completely snubbed Leonardo DiCaprio. The only possible winner, who wasn’t even nominated, the truly deserving recipient of the statuette… is Messi.
Not the Argentine winner of the World Cup. Messi is the dog that brings Snoop to life, the Maleski family’s pet in Anatomy of a Fall, who made an appearance at the awards ceremony. Anyone who has seen the film knows how impressive the little dog’s participation is, acting like a pro and delivering one of the most brilliant scenes in the movie. The border collie stole the show with his cuteness and perfectly aligned bow tie, sitting like a lord in the audience at the Dolby Theatre.
A true cleanup
“Poor Creatures” arrived at Brazilian theaters at the last minute, but that didn’t detract from the genius that the film presents to the viewer. The work tells the story of Bella Baxter, a woman who, after committing suicide, is resurrected by Godwin Baxter. The eccentric scientist puts a baby’s brain into the adult’s body, and from there, we witness the evolution of a woman in society.
The film by Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos won three consecutive awards: “Best Costume Design”, “Best Production Design”, and “Best Hair and Makeup”. The film made history by winning the Oscar trio, being the 5th to achieve this feat since the inception of the awards.
In addition to these, the film starred in the most difficult battle of the year: “Best Actress”. Emma Stone had a competitor on par with Lily Gladstone’s nomination, but the brilliant Bella Baxter rightfully prevailed.
To the surprise of… no one
As expected, Christopher Nolan’s film swept the Oscars. With nothing more and nothing less than eight statuettes, Oppenheimer won the main categories of the night, including “Best Supporting Actor,” “Best Actor,” “Best Director,” and “Best Picture,” among others in the technical categories.
The film was the favorite for the statuette but received several criticisms for not being the best film of the year. Regardless, the work was the most awarded of the night.
Plot twists worthy of an Oscar
It was hard to imagine a film other than Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse winning the “Best Animated Feature” category. So, you can imagine the audience’s surprise when The Boy and the Heron from Studio Ghibli took home the statuette.
Speaking of statuettes, the presentation for “Best Costume Design” was at the very least unusual: viewers had the ̶p̶l̶e̶a̶s̶u̶r̶e̶ shock of seeing John Cena completely naked on stage. The comedic scene was a reference to the 1974 incident where Robert Opel, a photographer and activist, stormed the stage fully nude as a form of protest.
If there was anything that surprised the audience more than a nude Cena on stage, it was the performance of the excellent Killers of the Flower Moon at the Oscars. Scorsese’s film had ten nominations, being the third most nominated of the ceremony. Awards come and go, the ceremony ends, and only then does the audience realize the bitter taste in their mouths: the film walked away empty-handed.
As we’ve already mentioned, the biggest chance was for Lily Gladstone, who lost the statuette to Emma Stone. But another significant competition could have been in “Best Actor,” given that DiCaprio was the actor most likely to take the statuette from Murphy – could have, given that the protagonist of the movie wasn’t even nominated.
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The article above was edited by Beatriz Gatz.
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