Andrew Daume
Before we begin, check out MCTV’s Oscar recap, featuring Andrew Daume and Sonia Behdaoui, plus a special 3 camera setup with a unique podcast/discussion-like vibe.
Link here: https://youtu.be/rC2CFHFiqkk?si=0zX0RBc8rxEI5MIq
It’s finally award season, and you know what that means- the most prestigious ceremony in Hollywood is here… the Grammys! Just kidding. This isn’t an article about rigged awards shows. I am here to talk about the Oscars.
Hollywood’s most prestigious night, the Oscars, was filled with jokes, jabs, and speeches that too long, while others got snubbed.
The Night began with a spectacle with the stars of Wicked, Ariana Grande, and Cynthia Erivo belting a musical tribute to The Wizard of Oz. Truly a great way to start the night, although it was a bit unfortunate to build up the hype for these women, just to deny them both the best actress and supporting actress roles.
Before we get to the categories, let’s talk about the host, Conan O’Brien. He began with a cheeky monologue that sent a few jabs at Netflix, previous hosts, movie runtimes, and the catholic church all while keeping the mood lighthearted. One of the hardest parts of hosting an award show is finding the perfect sweet spot between lighthearted yet serious, to not alienate those in the room, but just jabby enough to let those at home laugh at the celebrities. Conan finds that balance quite well, much better than the previous host Jimmy Kimmel. Conan even had an outfit-based bit with the king of casual wear himself, Adam Sandler as well ending with a classic musical number. Conan’s best jab of the night came at the halfway point, noting that it was the perfect time for Kendrick Lamar to come out and roast Drake, calling back to this year’s infamous halftime show.
Moving on to the show itself, the biggest winner of the night was most certainly Anora, an independent film with a budget of $6 million, one of the cheapest films nominated this year. The Brutalist trails behind with three wins, and one exceptionally long, and somewhat pretentious acceptance speech by the star Adrien Brody. Brody won best actor, clipping the wings of Hollywood’s current heartthrob and aura-filled actor, Timothee Chalamet. Chalamet was anticipated to become the next youngest best actor winner, taking that record from Brody himself from his win for “The Pianist” in 2002. Unfortunately for Timmy C, Brody’s performance in the three-plus hour-long film kept him that record and the Oscar. Not to mention the lack of any wins for A Complete Unknown, distributed by Universal, despite eight nominations.
This was a wake-up call night for big studios, Netflix’s acquired musical Emilia Perez secured 2 wins, including best supporting actress for Zoe Saldana, denying Ariana Grande one for Wicked, something the pop-girlies were not too happy about. 2 wins were underwhelming since EP was nominated for 13 categories. This film was the most controversial of the night due to the main star’s old tweets being dug up, and a surprising lack of advocacy for trans-rights in any of the EP’s crew’s acceptance speeches. Despite the film’s important topic about transgender individuals, it uses gender-affirming surgery as a scapegoat for the protagonist to adopt “a new life”, rather than discussing it with the importance that gender-affirming surgery can hold for transgender individuals. Overall this movie fell on deaf ears as it took a very important issue like trans-rights and used it as a plot device. The Oscars usually have a “villain” each year, and this film was unfortunately the villain. Not due to the subject matter but rather because of the 13 total nominations, the most of the night. The villain of last year was Oppenheimer with 13 as well. This villain dynamic means there must be a hero/underdog, that being the big winner for the night, Anora, an independent film that was the David to Emelia Perez’s Giant.
The Sean Baker-directed film, Anora, was a huge win for more than just best actress winner Mikey Madison, but it stands as a bright symbol of love for the little guy, as it beat out movies like Emelia Perez and Wicked, movies that surpassed budgets of $145 and $50 million (Wicked & A Complete Unknown). While giving low-budget films the best picture isn’t new, as the 2020-2022 Best Picture winners would show, with 2024’s Oppenheimer win disrupting that, simply seeing this support for independent film continuing gives hope for up-and-coming filmmakers. It sends a message to the academy that David still has a chance against the Goliaths like Netflix, Paramount, and Universal.
Overall, the message of this year’s Oscars showed that the reign of big-budget studio films, like last year’s big winner Oppenheimer, might be stepping back. Independent films like Conclave, The Brutalist, Anora, and The Substance all won Oscars despite their small budgets and lack of large-studio’s to carry them out of film festivals. These indie films all made the best of their small budgets, and while Conclave and The Brutalist had big stars to push them up, films like Anora took relatively unknown actors and propelled them to stardom just this year.
All of this to ask the question, will this stay consistent in 2026 or will the studios rise again?
