Solzy at the Movies will be providing live updates as the 96h Oscars are broadcast live from the Dolby Theatre on ABC.
Jimmy Kimmel returns as the Oscars host for his fourth hosting stint. He previously hosted in 2017, 2018, and in 2023.
Legendary composer John Williams has his 54th nomination tonight, winning five Oscars to date. He is the composer for 25 of Steven Spielberg’s 27 films. At 92 years old, he is the oldest living Oscar nominee. He was nominated last year for The Fabelmans but didn’t win the Oscar. He is nominated this year for his Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny score. As legendary as Williams is, this year’s Oscar will likely be going to Oppenheimer composer Ludwig Göransson.
Kimmel starts out with a Barbie bit and then mentions both Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie–neither of which are nominated for director or actress, respectively–during his monologue. Oppenheimer gets a shout-out.
The average length of movies are up in the past three years. Last year’s average of the top ten films was almost 2.5 hours. Kimmel had to get his mail forwarded to the theater when he saw Killers of the Flower Moon. I get it–I have a cot set up at the theater, too.
WAR IS OVER! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko would not have happened without Peter Jackson.
“At what age do you tell a screenplay it was adapted.” I see what you did there, Jimmy.
There’s a Beetlejuice reunion with Michael Keaton and Catherine O’Hara.
There’s a bit with John Cena calling back to the time when a streaker ran across the stage during a previous Oscars ceremony when David Niven was presenting. It’s for presenting costume design, too.
After two Stand Up to Jewish hate commercials aired during the red carpet show, we get the first ad since the Oscars began. While I’m sure the Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism means well, I need my non-Jewish readers to understand that it is forbidden for Jews to enter a church. The following comes by way of Rabbi Naftali Brewer in The Jewish Chronicle:
The rabbinic consensus, based on the Talmud (Avodah Zara 17a) is that it is forbidden to enter a church, even if just to admire the architecture or artwork. This body of opinion spans the generations and comprises leading medieval Sephardic and Ashkenazi rabbis such as Maimonides, Rashba (Rabbi Solomon ben Aderet), Ritba (Rabbi Yom Tov ibn Asevilli) and Rosh (Rabbi Asher ben Yechiel), as well as contemporary halachists including Rabbis Moshe Feinstien, Ovadia Yosef and Eliezer Waldenberg.
An hour and a half into the show, Jimmy jokes about people tuning in, forgetting about the earlier start time. It’s not without a diss of AMC Theatres.
I’m a proud Jew. I would never refute my Jewishness because of whoever is serving as the Israeli prime minister and I say this as someone who is anti-Bibi and the right-wing coalition. I also say this as someone who is a few degrees removed from Israelis taken hostage. I say this to Jonathan Glazer: Don’t make a Holocaust film, center it on the Nazis, and then refute your Jewishness. That’s the move of a coward trying to score points with the very antisemitic leftists who are pushing Jews out of left-wing spaces. I’m with emeritus ADL director Abraham Foxman on this. It is a slap in the face to the 6 million Jews that perished although I’m sure Foxman mistyped the number in his tweet.
Sam Rockwell references RDJ’s performance as Kirk Lazarus in Tropic Thunder and how he does not drop character until the DVD commentary.
RDJ thanks his “terrible childhood and the Academy…in that order.” “What we do is meaningful and the stuff that we decide to make is important.” He thanks his publicist, stylist, etc. He mentions his entertainment lawyer, Tom Hanson, spending some 20 years trying to get him insured.
Twins stars Arnold Schwarzenegger (Mr. Freeze in Batman and Robin) and Danny DeVito (The Penguin in Batman Returns) reunite on stage. “We both tried to kill Batman.” They call out Michael Keaton while making no mention of George Clooney. Jennifer Lame loved Twins.
Kate McKinnon just now found out that the dinosaurs were not real in Jurassic Park. Steven Spielberg is there to confirm it. I’m not sure how he feels about being on the sending photos to Jeff Goldblum bit based on his reaction.
I wasn’t expecting John Mulaney to quote Madame Web. His Field of Dreams bit is going on way too long.
A tribute to the late Alexei Navalny leads into the In Memoriam segment. The segment could have played better had the In Memorial Reel taken the full screen rather than be placed in the background.
Leave it to Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg to present Best Director to Christopher Nolan for Oppenheimer. This is Nolan’s first win in eight nominations. It is a long-overdue win and I have chills just watching him hug Spielberg.
Oppenheimer took home 7 Oscars in 13 nominations.
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role: Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers
Animated Short Film: WAR IS OVER! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko, Dave Mullins and Brad Booker
Animated Feature Film of the Year: The Boy and the Heron, Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki
Original Screenplay: Anatomy of a Fall, Screenplay by Justine Triet and Arthur Harari
Adapted Screenplay: American Fiction, Written for the screen by Cord Jefferson
Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling: Poor Things; Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier and Josh Weston
Achievement in Production Design: Poor Things; Production Design: James Price and Shona Heath; Set Decoration: Zsuzsa Mihalek
Achievement in Costume Design: Holly Waddington, Poor Things
International Feature Film of the Year: The Zone of Interest, United Kingdom
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer
Achievement in Visual Effects: Godzilla Minus One; Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi and Tatsuji Nojima
Achievement in Film Editing: Jennifer Lame, Oppenheimer
Best Documentary Short Film: The Last Repair Shop, Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers
Best Documentary Feature Film: 20 Days in Mariupol; Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner and Raney Aronson-Rath
Achievement in Cinematography: Hoyte van Hoytema, Oppenheimer
Best Live Action Short Film: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Wes Anderson and Steven Rales
Achievement in Sound: The Zone of Interest, Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn
Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score): Ludwig Göransson, Oppenheimer
Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song): “What Was I Made For?” from Barbie, Music and Lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer
Achievement in Directing: Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role: Emma Stone, Poor Things
Best motion picture of the year: Oppenheimer; Emma Thomas, Charles Roven and Christopher Nolan, Producers
The 96th Oscars are being televised live Sunday, March 10, 2024, from the the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood and airing on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide.
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