THB #503: The 96th Oscars

That’ll do.

The tone was a little negative and aggressive early on and obsessed with Barbie. The writing for most of the introductions was terrible, but the thing that makes The Oscars work are the winners speaking from the heart. And we got that, kicking off with Da’vine Joy Randolph, who was the first Oscar winner and gave the best speech of the night (and of her season).

When Poor Things won 3 early awards - Production Design, Costume, and Make-Up/Hair - which wasn’t really a surprise, but opened the door to potential bigger surprises… which didn’t arrive. (Emma Stone makes 4.)

The International faction of The Academy showed themselves with wins for Justine Triet and Arthur Harari and Anatomy of a Fall, The Boy & The Heron in Animation, Godzilla Minus One for Effects, and The Zone of Interest (Sound), which also won as Best International Film.

Oppenheimer eventually started cruising with Film Editing, Cinematography, and Score, in addition to Downey. Then closed with Actor, Director…