By Chiara Piacentini
Staff Writer
At this year’s Oscars, there was no shortage of note-worthy moments by actors and actresses alike. The ceremony was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, beginning at 4 p.m. on March 10. Many celebrities had the honor of taking home an Oscar for one of the 23 categories.
While most of this year’s Oscar winners were to be expected, the production did manage to sneak in a couple of eyebrow-raising stunts to keep us on our toes. Take John Cena, who decided to streak across the stage with the Oscar winner envelope strategically placed over his pelvis.
Cena, along with a host of other notable celebrities, made appearances at the Dolby Theater in the Ovational Hollywood mall.
Following the Oscar’s conventional theme, “Oppenheimer” took the cake, earning seven awards in all, including two from the most coveted categories: best picture and best director. The only unconventional part of the “Oppenheimer” Oscar victory can be attributed to the film’s director, Christopher Nolan; he continually glanced at the trophy in his hand as he gave his awards speech, unable to contain his disbelief in winning his first Oscar.
“Poor Things” came in second place with a total of four Oscars to its name. Emma Stone created the biggest upset of the night for winning the best actress award over “Killer of the Flower Moon’s” Lily Gladstone, but not without ripping her dress in the process.
“My dress is broken,” she said. “I think it happened during [Ryan Gosling’s performance of] ‘I’m just Ken.’”
It turns out that Ryan Gosling’s performance of “I’m Just Ken” was such a memorable part of the event that even Stone’s dress couldn’t contain its excitement. And for good reason. Gosling sang the tune while emerging from the audience and onto the stage. He also paid homage to Marilyn Monroe’s rendition of “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” by having his back-up dancers hold up fat heads of Barbie doll replicas of her face. At the same time, Gosling was held up and spun around by two other back-up dancers in the middle of the fat-head crowd. Slash and Eddie van Halen’s son, Wolfgang van Halen, even got in on the action with guitar riff solos of their own.
While viewers were wondering if the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would also see the spotlight, this did not turn out to be the case here. The attention on this situation only went so far as a ceasefire red lapel pin worn on the dresses of Billie Eilish and her brother, Finneas, among several others. Jonathan Glazer’s monologue for his best sound Oscar for “The Zone of Interest” was also the only mention of this conflict.
What did become the gossip of this year’s Academy Awards was Vanessa Hudgens’ pregnancy. Hudgens sported a simple black flowing gown that outlined her baby bump for the cameras.
“I clearly have a lot to be excited for,” she said as the ceremony kicked off.
Likewise, Da’Vine Joy Randolph clearly had a lot to be excited for regarding her win for best supporting actress in “The Holdovers” — so much so that she was crying before she even reached the stage. She also managed to make the crowd laugh while mentioning that she had her mother to thank for getting her to where she is now.
“I didn’t think I was supposed to be doing this as a career,” she said. “I started off as a singer, but my mother said: ‘Go across that street to the theater department. There’s something for you there.’”
The Oscars conclusion was just as humorous as Randolph’s speech. To close out the night, Kimmel squeezed in one last comedic clip that referenced his long-standing “feud” with the “Oppenheimer” supporting actor, Matt Damon. Just before the cameras stopped rolling for the Academy Awards, the program displayed a video of the “Anatomy of the Fall” canine star, Messi the dog, appearing to take a leak on Damon’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
