Some of the highlights from the 2024 Oscars ceremony in LA. Clockwise from top left: Director Jonathan Glazer gives his acceptance speech, Cillian Murphy accepts the Best Actor award, Da'Vine Joy Randolph collects Best Supporting Actress and Ryan Gosling performs. Photo: Collage/ AFP
The 96th Academy Awards honoured cinematic excellence in a three-hour ceremony in Los Angeles' Dolby Theatre on Sunday. RNZ's Jogai Bhatt looks back at some of the most memorable moments from the night.
Oppenheimer sweeps the night
Christopher Nolan's epic biographical thriller dominated the Oscars this year, picking up seven of the 13 awards it was nominated for, including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Director. Cillian Murphy's Best Actor win makes him the first ever Irish-born winner in his category.
"I'm feeling overwhelmed," he said, before dedicating his award to "the peacemakers of the world."
Oppenheimer also took out Cinematography, Editing, and Original Score awards, while Robert Downey Jr received a standing ovation for his Best Supporting Actor win.
Killers of the Flower Moon goes home empty-handed
Martin Scorsese has earned 26 Oscar nominations across four features in the last 11 years (The Wolf of Wall Street, Silence, The Irishman, Killers of the Flower Moon), but he came up empty-handed again this year. I'm convinced the Academy hates this man.
The snub extended to the decision for Best Actress, with Poor Things' Emma Stone (deservedly) taking out the win over Killers of the Flower Moon's Lily Gladstone missing out on a history-making moment.
Earlier this year, Gladstone became the first Native American woman to be nominated for Best Actress, for her haunting portrayal of an Osage woman who's survived a genocide of her people. It was a trailblazing performance and I desperately hoped it would be her night. Alas, it was not meant to be.
Political speeches and ceasefire pins
Billie Eilish, Ramy Youssef and Mark Ruffalo were among many celebrities wearing an artists for ceasefire pin on the red carpet. The pins are a show of support for an end to fighting and for humanitarian aid to be provided to Palestinian civilians in Gaza - however, a majority of those donning the pin failed to make mention of their support on stage.
Someone who did was Zone of Interest director Jonathan Glazer - while accepting an award for Best International Film.
"All our choices were made to reflect and confront us in the present. Not to say 'look what they did then', rather 'look what they do now'," Glazer said. "Our film shows where dehumanisation leads at its worst."
The director of 20 Days in Mariupol, Mstyslav Chernov also made a powerful statement reminding people of the "humanitarian catastrophe" in Ukraine while accepting the award for Best Documentary Feature.
Ryan Gosling's performance of 'I'm Just Ken'
The charisma of this man needs to be studied. Gosling is somehow so goofy and endearing while being a hundred percent serious at all times. His star-power rivals that of any male pop star. Watch his full performance here:
Speaking of Barbie, the box-office hit only stepped away with one award on the night - Best Original Song for Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell's 'What Was I Made For?'.
Godzilla finally has an Oscar
After 70 years, the king of the monsters finally has an Academy Award to his name. The Godzilla: Minus One team accepted the award for Best Visual Effects decked out in the coolest Godzilla-themed shoes. Director Takashi Yamazaki made the film on a shoestring budget and brought heart to a legendary franchise.
"This award is proof that everyone has a chance," he said.
An eyeroll of a host
Jimmy Kimmel is a bit of a non-choice for a host at this point. He gets the job done, sure, but is he good?
Kimmel made a few jokes in his introductory monologue that just fell flat - a gross joke about Robert Downey Jr's past drug issues really didn't land, while a quip reducing Poor Things to just a film about sex had Emma Stone, allegedly, calling the host a "prick".
Kimmel had one stand out moment on the night, where he responded to Donald Trump's review of his hosting live on stage, remarking: "Isn't it past your jail-time?"
The anti-climactic finale
Al Pacino made for the funniest, most confusing moment of the entire night while announcing the winner of Best Picture. I barely caught the winner because I thought he was just announcing the nominees.
This man walked on stage, opened that enveloped, and said those five magical words every Best Picture winner wants to hear: "Uhh ... my eyes see Oppenheimer?"
A perfect end to a wonderful night.