Recapping the 97th Academy Awards

Best Picture Nominees (Source: The Hindu)

An Abridged Overview of the Results

• Best Picture: Anora - Alex Coco, Samantha Quan and Sean Baker, producers
• Best Director: Sean Baker - Anora
• Best Actress: Mikey Madison – Anora as Anora "Ani" Mikheeva
• Best Actor: Adrien Brody – The Brutalist as László Tóth
• Best Supporting Actress: Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez as Rita Mora Castro
• Best Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain as Benji Kaplan
• Best Adapted Screenplay: Conclave - Screenplay by Peter Straughan
• Best Original Screenplay: Anora - Written by Sean Baker

4-Pack of Random Takeaways

• Anora Triumphs!: Heading into Sunday night, there was seemingly more mystery and intrigue around which films would take home some the top prizes at the Academy Awards than there has been in recent years. We're coming out of consecutive years where the frontrunner was a runaway freight train steamrolling through their respective award seasons. Both Everything Everywhere All at Once and Oppenheimer went on to completely dominate at the Oscars culminating with them each winning in seven categories, including Best Picture, Best Director, and a Best Lead Acting Performance. In both cases, there seemed to be a consensus of approval around both films, a near-universal appreciation from both audiences and critics alike. Sure, one was a high-concept A24 film that grossed an impressive-for-what-it cost box office and the other was made by one of Hollywood's few blank check directors that went on to earn just under $1 billion worldwide. But the point remains that both films were nearly uncontested in their Best Picture campaigns leading up to their coronation at the Academy Awards. This year, things were a little murkier. Emilia Pérez, which is and will always be one of the most nominated films in the Academy's nearly 100-year history (just think about that for a second), was nearly out of the race in the major categories altogether, and seemed like a three-way race between The Brutalist, Conclave, and Anora. Just a month ago, it was unclear if Anora could pull ahead. After winning the top prizes at PGA, DGA, and WGA, it became clear that Anora had strong polling position, but many remained uncertain whether Oscar voters would rally behind it's provocative subject matter and downer ending. As it turned out, Anora, Sean Baker, and Mikey Madison all won big. The film took home five Oscars in total, Baker won four (more on that momentarily), and Madison snuck out the gold in a very competitive Best Actress race. When we look back at the 24-25 Oscars, the first thing we'll think about is Anora, a film that won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in May (only the fourth time in history a film has won both this and Best Picture - here's looking at you, Parasite), a film that had to stay in the Oscars mix for more than half a year, and yet it ended up winning despite being one of the lowest-grossing films to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

Sean Baker with his four Oscars (Source: Los Angeles Times)

• Let Baker Bake!: There has been a seismic shift in the sort of films that the Academy recognizes and awards. In the face of controversy, and stagnancy the Oscars have evolved. Yeah, I know I just ran through how Oppenheimer cleaned up just last year, a movie directed by a mainstream industry juggernaut who helps keep the lights on in movie theaters, but I'd argue that film is more of an outlier in this new era of the Oscars. Since Moonlight won in 2017, there has been a greater emphasis on making sure lesser-seen independent films made my auteur filmmakers from smaller studios and distributors make their way into the mix. Anora is one such film and Sean Baker is one such filmmaker, and it is safe to say that it would have never won Best Picture even just a decade ago. Speaking of Baker, what a night he had! He doesn't just join illustrious company of filmmakers who won three Oscars for one movie in the same movie, he is a record-breaker, the first person to win four Oscars for one movie in the same night. The only person to do something remotely similar was somebody you've never heard of from a long time ago who won four Oscars for four different films in one night (three of which were shorts)... his name was Wal Disney. So yeah, winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Editing is... absolutely bonkers and feels like a record that may hold for some time.

• Lisan al Gaib Rises: In one of the tightest races of the night, Adrien Brody won his second Best Actor trophy for his performance in The Brutalist, beating Timothée Chalamet, who was nominated for the second time in his young career for his performance as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown. Had Chalamet beaten Brody, there would've been a kind of symmetrical cosmic balance here - Chalamet would have become the youngest person to win Best Actor since Brody accomplished this back in 2003 when he won for The Pianist. As it turns out, Chalamet will have to wait for his chance to win at the Oscars. But, it does feel like he has ascended into a higher echelon in Hollywood, does it not? He was the star of two films that were nominated for Best Picture this year (A Complete Unknown and Dune: Part Two); he has a track record of being a box office floor-raiser for bigger budget films (see the Dune franchise, Wonka, and even A Complete Unknown did good business); and he won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Motion Picture at this year's SAG Awards, which was his first major acting award. Yes, I know he gave a much-discussed acceptance speech where he mentioned wanting to be "one of the greats," which many perceived as somewhat arrogant and egotistical. While I didn't love that he failed to thank his director, cast and crew, and fellow nominees, I actually respect the sentiment of his speech. Artistic ambition shouldn't be chastized, especially when it is expressed with honesty. Losing this Oscar might be the best thing that ever happened to Chalamet (let's face it, he'll get another bite at the Oscar apple), and hopefully, he keeps a level head as he continues his professional winning streak. If not, we'll know for sure that he drank the Water of Life and has completed his transformation into Lisan al Gaib (I can hardly wait for Dune: Messiah).

• An Optimistic Outlook: Every year right after the Oscars, I look ahead to the calendar of film releases, and I wonder if this is the year that things will bottom out for movies. In some ways, I guess you could say the bottoming out has already happened. Looking ahead to 2025, I am more optimistic about what's to come than I have in past years! That maybe has less to do with what's on the slate (the deck looks light once again) and more to do with my hopefulness that surprises will pop up over the course of the year. This year, like in the past, there were a ton of great surprises: Nickel Boys, The Brutalist, The Substance, I Saw the TV Glow, Sing Sing, Flow, Red Rooms, just to name a few. It is hard for me to believe that this is the year the spigget runs dry, especially when you really start to dig deeper and consider the wide breadth of filmmaking talent that's out there working. If 2023 and 2024 were full of surprises, then why will this coming year be any different? Maybe movies aren't changing - maybe I am. And don't even get me started on what's coming down the pipeline in 2026...

Our Predictions Tally

• Hopster: 15/23
• Isaac: 14/23

Hopster: Oh baby, I did the damn thing! Give me that championship belt, Isaac, it's mine. For the first time in our brief history at Film & Froth, I won our Oscars Ballot Contest (and by won, I mean I predicted more right than Isaac - I certainly did not win, someone else who entered the competition predicted 20/23 categories correctly, shout out to marty scorsaison). Thanks to Anora sweeping in the major categories, I scraped together just enough accurate predictions to pull out the victory. I believe this might be a changing of the guard moment, a chance for me to build a legacy of my own. I'm already looking ahead to next year and the year after. I don't just want to win back-to-back, I want to three-peat. I'm speaking this into existence, and that always works, right? For now, I'll keep my head down, keep grinding tape, and stay hungry.

Isaac: At long last (read: two years) I've been unseated from my golden throne here at Film & Froth. For two amazing years I got to lord over Hopster as the residential Oscar Expert. I certainly had a little more pep in my step over that time, but unfortunately like all good things, my reign has come to an end. But I will say, it's pretty funny how unremarkable both of our ballots were, wouldn't you say? I think we big-brained ourselves into thinking we were really onto some upsets when the biggest upsets of the night, In the Shadow of the Cypress for Best Animated Short for one example, weren't even close to being on our radar. But that is, in fact, how the cookie crumbles sometimes. Relish in your victory Hop, because the taste of losing will fuel me like nothing else this offseason! Now its time to hit the theater, get some reps in, and come out the other side ready to put Paul Thomas Anderson's new movie as a lock for all 14 of its inevitable nominations.

Hopster: This is the year. Let's etch the letters "PTA" into the Oscars' lore.

Froth

Thanks to Midwest Coast Brewing Company in Chicago, IL for hosting our first Oscars Watch Party in Chi-town! Hosted in their beautiful upstairs event space, attendees were treated to superb vibes and a delicious beer menu. In terms of the Chicago craft beer scene, MWCBC (not sure if that is the correct letters for an acronym) casts a wide spread of options. For the Oscars, I made a point to sticking with one of their classic core beers, the West Town Brown, an American Brown Ale that is roasty and toasty, with notes of brown sugar, chocolate, and walnut. In the midst of the ceremony, I ended up having two since I enjoyed the first one so much. Like their space and staff, this beer is a winner, one that I'll return to on future visits. Of course, I'll make an effort to branch out and try their spring & summer seasonal fare this year, but the West Town Brown is the real deal and if you haven't tried it, you're missing out on a real one.