The 2024 awards season has had many interesting, to say the least, moments so far. From Jo Koy’s Golden Globe disaster, to Taylor Swift winning album of the year for the fourth time at the Grammys, becoming the only person ever to do so, there has been a lot that has happened this year, and the season isn’t even over yet. The most recent awards show was “The 96th Academy Awards ceremony,” also known as the Oscars, which took place March 11, 2024, and added even more to the craziness of this season so far.
The Oscar nominations were the first point of contention for this awards show, with many believing that the blockbuster movie of the summer, “Barbie,” was snubbed by the Academy for Best Director and Best Actress in a Leading Role. Other movies that were passed up by the Academy include “Asteroid City,” “Priscilla” and “Saltburn.”
The ceremony got off to a rocky start as protestors delayed the red carpet. The protestors were rallying over Hollywood’s support of “U.S.-funded Israeli genocide against Palestinians in Gaza,” according to CBS News. Despite the protest forming around 10:30 a.m., the ceremony, scheduled to start at 4 p.m., only ended up being delayed by five minutes.
Jimmy Kimmel opened this year’s monologue with an edited scene from “Barbie” before stepping out onto the stage to “Dance The Night Away,” a hit song from the movie. During his speech, he referenced the writer and actor strike that took place last year saying, “actors no longer have to worry about getting replaced by Artificial Intelligence, thanks to this historic agreement actors are now able to go back to worrying about being replaced by younger, more attractive people.” Kimmel also poked fun at the recent flop, “Madame Web,” as well as how long movies have become recently, specifically citing “Killers of the Flower Moon.” He also mentioned how upset many are that Greta Gerwig, director of “Barbie,” wasn’t nominated before saying, “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.”
Speaking of “Barbie,” one of the biggest cultural impacts from movies to come out of last year was the phenomenon that was “Barbenheimer.” “Barbenheimer” became the term for the simultaneous release of both “Barbie,” and “Oppenheimer,” two movies that should have seemingly had two different fan bases but had moviegoers finding ways to not only dress up for each one, but figuring out how to do quick changes so that they could go to both on opening day.
“Barbenheimer” not only had a hold over last summer but also over this year’s award season. “Barbie” had nominations for two of its original songs, “I’m Just Ken” and “What Was I Made For.” The performance of Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken” paid homage to Marilyn Monroe’s “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend,” while Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell’s “What Was I Made For” performance brought all the feels. In the end, “What Was I Made For,” won the Oscar for Best Original Song, making Eilish the youngest person to have two Oscars. Despite the impact that “Barbie” had, this was the only award the movie won at the Oscars.
“Oppenheimer” had a different fate at the Oscars, however, being nominated for 13 awards and taking home seven of those. One of the most noteworthy awards that “Oppenheimer” was nominated for was Robert Downey Jr.’s nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The renowned actor, best known for his roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and as Sherlock Holmes (the Warner Bros. version), had never won an Oscar before. However, by the end of the night, this changed. In his acceptance speech, Downey thanked his “terrible childhood,” and his wife for loving him “back to life.”
Another movie that did particularly well at this year’s Oscars was “Poor Things,” which had 11 nominations and won four awards. “Poor Things” actress Emma Stone took home the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. This year though, instead of showing clips of each nominee from their respective movies, the Academy had previous winners hand out the awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress, allowing each nominee to have a personal commendation from the presenters before finding out who won.
This year’s Oscars were anything but entirely wholesome though. Being “The 96th Academy Awards ceremony,” this year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the infamous streaker who ran across the stage during the presentation for the Best Picture, the last award of the night to be given out. To celebrate this iconic moment in Oscars history, Kimmel teamed up with pro-wrestler-turned-actor John Cena to make a tribute. Cena came out, presumably in the nude, to present the award for Best Costume Design before putting on a toga while clips from each nominated movie were shown. Cena, however, gave a little more thought to his wardrobe than the ‘74 streaker, wearing undergarments, in addition to a strategically placed envelope, to keep from fully exposing himself.
The Oscars ended again with the announcement of “Best Picture,” this year going to “Oppenheimer,” but Kimmel still had one last thing to say. During the show, former President Donald Trump had taken to the internet asking if there had ever been a worse host at the Oscars than Kimmel. Kimmel came back onstage to read the post before saying, “Thank you, President Trump. Thank you for watching. I’m surprised you’re still up. Isn’t it past jail your time?”
This year’s Oscars had many surprising moments, but in the end showed why, after almost 100 years, people are still tuning into the awards show.
Photo courtesy by Mirko Fabian on Unsplash