On March 2, Hollywood's most anticipated night of the year will premiere live on ABC and Hulu, beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern time, to celebrate the best movies of 2024.
The Oscars is an award ceremony to recognize the cinematic achievements of the most outstanding films. Since 1929, the award has not only been known to recognize cinematic achievements but to also cement a movie's legacy into history. This year, many successful movies have been nominated, but various scandals and struggles have resurfaced surrounding these movies which can leave audiences wondering if this could affect the outcome of the overall winner.
This year, the Academy Awards will be hosted by comedian Conan O’Brien. Oscar board members Bill Kramer (CEO of the academy) and President Janet Yang talked about how he “is the perfect person to help lead our global celebration of film with his brilliant humor, his love of movies, and his live TV expertise." They also talked about how this year they want to take time during the ceremony to talk about the impact of the California fires. “We also look forward to honoring our frontline workers who have aided with the fires, recognizing those impacted, and encouraging people to join the Academy in supporting the relief efforts.” The Academy expressed how there will be no original song performance so the audience can focus more on the songwriter rather than the song.
Keeping with tradition, the awards will be presented by past winners like Emma Stone (Poor Things), Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer), and Da'Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers). Sebastian Stan has earned a nomination for Best Actor along with Jeremy Strong who is nominated for Best Supporting Actor in one movie that has been overlooked by Hollywood due to its political ties. The Apprentice tells the story of young Donald Trump in the 1970s and how he became a powerful businessman alongside an American lawyer, Roy Cohn. When the idea for the movie was introduced, the film couldn't find a distributor due to the fear of what Trump would do if he became the next president and the potential lawsuit they could face. The movie was quiet when first released due to Hollywood's liberal environment. Actor Jeremy Strong vocalized how “People have been afraid to touch this film, to be seen as complicit in the film, to support the film, to publicly endorse the film and certainly to show the film on a streaming platform.” Sebastian Stan talked about how “When it comes to artistry and creativity, we have to be able to protect free speech. It shouldn’t be selective free speech.” Donald Trump called the film “Classless and fake.” Despite the political controversy, the film was successful.
One of the biggest movies of 2024 was Emilia Perez who has received 13 nominations, the most out of any movie nominated. Karla Sofia Gascón is the first transgendered actress nominated for this category but has faced severe backlash over hateful tweets about Muslim Culture and George Floyd. In a CNN interview, she originally denied the claims saying “I cannot step down from an Oscar nomination because I have not committed any crime, nor have I harmed anyone.” On February 7 she released an apology. “As someone in a marginalized community, I know this suffering all too well and I am deeply sorry to those I have caused pain. All my life I have fought for a better world. I believe light will always triumph over darkness.” She opened up in an interview with CNN on how she has been treated over the controversy. “I have been convicted and sacrificed and crucified and stoned without a trial and without the option to defend myself.” The director of the film, Jacques Audiard, expressed his disappointment with the actor and refused to speak to her.
Unfortunately, more films have been subjected to backlash which has left audiences wondering if it could affect the outcome of who receives the Oscar for Best Picture. In a time when it is unclear when or when not to use AI, The director of The Brutalist, Brady Corbet’s use of AI to enhance Adrien Brody’s and Felicity Jones’ Hungarian dialogue has sparked controversy for viewers. Corbet spoke out against the claims explaining how it was used for small edits. “Innovative Respeecher technology was used in Hungarian language dialogue editing only, specifically to refine certain vowels and letters for accuracy…This was a manual process, done by our sound team and Respeecher in post-production.”
Anora has racked up six Oscar nominations as it tells the story of a sex worker (Mikey Madison) who marries the son of a Russian Oligarch whose marriage is later threatened by his parents wanting to annul it. Madison has been nominated for best actress but has been criticized for not using an intimacy coordinator. Intimacy coordinators are often used to prevent sexual harassment. Pamela Anderson (The Last Showgirl) expressed concerns about Mikey Madison’s decision not to use an intimacy coordinator, and fans thought Madison rudely dismissed her concerns.
The film I'm Still Here, a true story about Eunice Paiva and her family's journey after her Husband's disappearance, has been nominated for multiple awards including Best Actor and Best Picture. Best Actress nominee Fernanda Torres’s history with black face has been resurfaced after she appeared in a 2008 Brazilian comic sketch. She released an apology expressing how “Racist history and symbolism of blackface hadn’t yet entered the mainstream public consciousness in Brazil. Thanks to better cultural understanding and important but incomplete achievements in this century, it’s very clear now in our country and everywhere that blackface is never acceptable.”
Each movie this year is extremely different with a wide variety of Genres and themes, each with a different, yet important message. Despite controversies, the Oscars is a night to celebrate the success and achievements of 2024 movies, some which will go down into cinematic history.
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