Written by Kianna Best on Mar 11, 2024. Posted in Awards and Festivals

Oppenheimer wins big at 96th Academy Awards

Last night, the awards season came to a close with the 2024 edition of the Academy Awards.  Bringing together some of the biggest blockbusters of the past year, the ceremony saw Christopher Nolan’s  Oppenheimer come out on top with seven Oscar wins including Best Actor and Best Cinematography and Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things following close behind with four.

 

 

Following their sweeping success during the awards circuit, Oppenheimer’s Oscars success felt inevitable. Throughout the night, cast and crew were awarded in seven categories, including Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, taken home by Robert Downey Jr. , Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing. Christopher Nolan’s epic flick captured the man behind the birth of the atomic bomb, all shot on IMAX black and white film combined with IMAX 65mm and 65mm large format film.

 

 

The Best Actress award went to Poor Things star Emma Stone marking the second golden statue following her La La Land success. Poor Things sees Stone take on the role of Bella Baxter brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist, navigating  her way through the world. Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, the book adaptation is a stand out for its quirky set design and eclectic styling, celebrated at the awards for just that. In addition to Best Actress, Poor Things took home the honours for Best Production Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling as well as Best Costume Design.

 

 

Da’Vine Joy Randolph took home the award for Best Supporting Actress, winning for her role as comforting head cook Mary Lamb in The Holdovers. It was a supporting actress sweep for Randolph, following her wins at the SAG and Golden Globe Awards. Shot in Massachusetts, the New England set flick captures prep school teacher Paul Hunham, played by Paul Giamatti, watching over 18 year old misfit Angus. Along with Randolph’s character, the trio discover how to move on from their past and forge a new future.

 

 

The Dolby Theatre stage welcomed a diverse range of performances, from nominee Scott George's performance of Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People) for The Killers of the Flower Moon,  with the Osage Tribal Singers , to Ryan Gosling's Barbie power ballad I'm Just Ken. From instrumentals to original music piece, or even lack thereof, the sound of film is crucial. Best International Feature winner The Zone of Interest, directed by Jonathan Glazer, most notably took home the award for Best Sound for the film’s chilling creative choices. Whilst not the most fortuitous during the night, Barbie came out on top for Best Original song with brother sister musical duo Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell  winning for What Was I Made For?.

 

 

Other winners include The Boy and The Heron for Best Animated Feature, 20 Days in Mariupol for Best Documentary Feature, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar for Best Live Action Short Film, Anatomy of a Fall for Best Original Screenplay, American Fiction for Best Adapted Screenplay, War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko for Best Animated Short Film,  Godzilla Minus One for Best Visual Effects, and The Last Repair Shop for Best Documentary (short film).

 

 

Images courtesy of Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences