Alex: Truly an impressive Oscars this year! We saw some unexpected twists, memorable speeches, and humorous moments. The musical numbers were spot on, and the tribute during the In Memoriam segment was particularly well-executed. This is definitely one for the books, folks.
Graeme: Four hours later and it’s a wrap. It’s been a joy to cover this year’s Oscars, where it seems every significant movie received some recognition. Ending the show by pretending to kill Conan O’Brien was an unexpected choice, though…
Jordan: ABSOLUTELY DESERVED!!! Everyone should grab a round of beers for that phenomenal win and film!
10:35PM: One Battle After Another clinches Best Picture!
Jordan: This film delivered one of the most poignant and tear-jerking performances of the year – truly a film that had me weeping in the cinema!
Alex: It was the night’s most anticipated win. Jessie Buckley’s victory was sealed from the moment Hamnet premiered.
10:29PM: Jessie Buckley secures Best Actress for Hamnet!
Jordan: Michael B. Jordan has now joined the exclusive club of actors who have won for dual roles. (Though perhaps Lindsay Lohan deserved that first for The Parent Trap?)
Alex: Those pre-Oscar awards really set the stage for Michael B. Jordan’s triumph tonight.
10:20PM: Michael B. Jordan is awarded Best Actor for Sinners!
Alex: The emotion was palpable when PTA won for Best Director. Truly a moment to remember.
Jordan: At long last, Paul Thomas Anderson receives his Oscar, after years of outstanding filmmaking. It’s been a tight race tonight between Sinners and One Battle After Another, both snagging major awards.
10:16PM: Paul Thomas Anderson secures Best Director for One Battle After Another!
Jordan: That was one of the toughest play-offs I’ve witnessed…
Jordan: Nick Cave’s recent film projects like Train Dreams and Scream 7 really highlight his cinematic resurgence!
Graeme: What a historical win! Thoroughly deserved!
10:09PM: Golden from KPop Demon Hunters takes Best Original Song!
Jordan: Sentimental Value brought me to tears in theaters, thrilled to see it win tonight!
Graeme: JOACHIM TRIER SUMMER, as Charli xcx would say!
10:03PM: Sentimental Value wins Best International Feature!
Graeme: Here at the office, opinions are divided between The Secret Agent and Sentimental Value. Both films are extraordinary, but it seems Sentimental Value might have the edge due to its broader acclaim.
Graeme: We’re about to see a highly anticipated performance as the cast of KPop Demon Hunters takes the stage.
Jordan: I really thought One Battle would win for Cinematography, but Sinners truly deserved it, especially for that stunning final act. It’s also fantastic to see a woman win this category!
Graeme: The applause for Arkapaw’s win is overwhelming. She’s the first woman EVER to clinch Best Cinematography! She gave a shoutout to Rachel Morrison, the first woman nominated in this category for her work on Mudbound in 2017.
9:49PM: Sinners’ Autumn Durald Arkapaw secures Best Cinematography!
Alex: One Battle After Another truly deserved the win for Best Editing. It’s rare to see a three-hour film that feels this swift and gripping.
9:46PM: One Battle After Another’s Andy Jurgensen takes Best Editing!
Graeme: The Editing award could hint at the trajectory for the rest of the evening…
Jordan: Excited for the Pullmans in Spaceballs 2! It’s great to see them together on screen again.
Graeme: F1 now joins the ranks of films like Avatar: Fire & Ash and Suicide Squad as unexpected Oscar winners. Watching F1 was a bonding moment with my father, a reminder of the magic of cinema.
9:35PM: F1 secures Best Sound!
Graeme: This makes Göransson a three-time Oscar winner, with previous wins for Oppenheimer and Black Panther.
9:30PM: Ludwig Göransson clinches Best Original Score for Sinners!
Graeme: Best Score is next, though sadly, Danel Lopatin isn’t nominated for Marty Supreme…
9:19PM: Mr. Nobody Against Putin wins Best Documentary Feature Film!
9:16PM: All The Empty Rooms secures Best Documentary Short Film!
Alex: While Frankenstein was the favorite tonight for Production Design, I’m slightly disappointed it wasn’t Jack Fisk’s year. His work on Marty Supreme was outstanding.
Graeme: That’s Academy Award Winning Picture Avatar: Fire & Ash to you, Jordan!
Jordan: Big news for the Avatar diehards, especially Graeme!
9:08PM: Avatar: Fire & Ash clinches Best Visual Effects!
Graeme: Next up, Visual Effects. As SR’s resident advocate for Pandora, it’s time for Avatar: Fire and Ash to shine!
9:05PM: Frankenstein secures Best Production Design!
Alex: Disney’s cross-promotion has been rather heavy-handed this year…
Jordan: Never expected to hear Sigourney Weaver call Kate Hudson names over Grogu!
Jordan: Barbra Streisand is also one of the few to have tied in an Oscar win. She and Katharine Hepburn both won Best Actress in 1969—Streisand for Funny Girl and Hepburn for The Lion in Winter.
Jordan: Diane Keaton and Rachel McAdams as mother and daughter in The Family Stone remains one of the best family castings ever!
Alex: Using The Princess Bride‘s score for the In Memoriam was a touching decision.
Graeme: This year’s In Memoriam feels particularly poignant with the industry suffering so much loss. The personal reflections from stars like Billy Crystal and Rachel McAdams about their experiences with icons like Rob Reiner and Diane Keaton added a deeply personal touch. It’s intensely moving.
8:49PM – Jordan: Rob Reiner’s films have had a profound impact, and his passing was a significant loss. He was a consistently brilliant filmmaker throughout his career.
Alex: The fact that Sinners and One Battle After Another competed in different screenplay categories was a gift. Both PTA and Ryan Coogler had their moments to shine on the Oscars stage tonight.
Graeme: The screenplay outcomes were expected and don’t really indicate how the rest of the night might unfold. There are still big questions around the major categories, though Best Actress seems a foregone conclusion. Sinners didn’t perform as strongly as some predicted as voting wrapped up a few weeks ago.
8:35PM: Ryan Coogler wins Best Original Screenplay for Sinners!
Jordan: Big week for the Anderson-Rudolph household – Paul’s Oscar win and Maya confirmed to star in Oh Mary?
Graeme: Paul Thomas Anderson is FINALLY an Oscar Winner! About time. The standing ovation says it all. Before this year, the writer-director had been nominated 11 times.
8:30PM: Paul Thomas Anderson wins Best Adapted Screenplay for One Battle After Another!
Alex: Sean Penn now joins the select group of actors with three or more acting Oscars. The only other men in this group are Walter Brennan, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Jack Nicholson.
Jordan: Continually snubbing ballet and opera at Timmy might be getting old…
Alex: It’s slightly more painful when the winning nominee wasn’t even present.
8:20PM: Sean Penn wins Best Supporting Actor for One Battle After Another. Kieran Culkin accepts on his behalf.
Graeme: Kumail Najiani perfectly joked, “Live-action short will now take twice as long.”
The Winners: Two People Exchanging Saliva and The Singers!
Jordan: Imagine if a “tie” had actually occurred between La La Land & Moonlight…
8:13PM: WE HAVE A TIE FOR BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT! The last tie was in 2013, when Best Sound Editing went to Skyfall and Zero Dark Thirty.
Alex: Sinners’ Francine Maisler was the favorite for Best Casting, but she has a busy year ahead with Iñárritu’s Digger, Aaron Sorkin’s The Social Reckoning, and Greta Gerwig’s Narnia. She’s likely to return next Oscars.
Alex: Remember, Best Casting awards the casting process, not just the “best cast.” The blend of established stars, newcomers, and non-professionals in One Battle After Another clearly impressed the voters.
Jordan: That casting win has definitely tilted the Best Picture odds back in One Battle’s favor…
Graeme: Feels like a One Battle kind of night…
8:05PM: Cassandra Kulukundis wins Best Casting for One Battle After Another!
Alex: I can see the potential for making the Best Casting presentation a highlight of every ceremony. How about having non-nominated actors from nominated movies pay tribute?
7:59PM – Graeme: A “Fab Five” takes the stage to present the FIRST EVER Oscar for Best Casting. Representing each nominated film, we have Paul Mescal from Hamnet, Gwyneth Paltrow from Marty Supreme, Chase Infiniti from One Battle After Another, Wagner Moura from The Secret Agent, and Delroy Lindo from Sinners.
Chase Infiniti’s tribute was particularly moving, as One Battle marked her debut feature film.
Graeme: Frankenstein is now the most awarded film of the evening…
7:54PM: Frankenstein wins Best Make-up & Hairstyling
Alex: While no disrespect to Frankenstein, I’ll always see this as a win for Crimson Peak in spirit.
Graeme: It seems Frankenstein might just sweep the below-the-line categories it’s been nominated for tonight.
7:50PM: Frankenstein wins Best Costume Design
7:50 – Jordan: Still can’t believe Anna Wintour won’t cameo in The Devil Wears Prada 2, but this is a decent substitute!
Alex: The producers showed great creativity with the camera work during that performance, capturing the electrifying atmosphere of that memorable scene from Sinners.
Graeme: That performance could have easily lasted another 15 minutes. Even in such a challenging venue, the energy was palpable, and the production team helped bring that performance to life.
7:40PM – Jordan: And, of course, the Sinners soundtrack is just as mesmerizing live!
Graeme: It was a missed opportunity not to show Hudson Williams when they said, “Thank you, Canada!” Just saying…
7:35PM: The Girl Who Cried Pearls wins Best Animated Short!
Alex: Playing them off with an instrumental version of Golden felt particularly in poor taste, Academy.
Jordan: A runaway win for KPop Demon Hunters! Could Netflix score another win with the sequel?
Graeme: Right up there with Jessie Buckley’s Best Actress win as one of the night’s surest bets.
7:32PM: KPop Demon Hunters wins Best Animated Feature!
7:29PM – Alex: The first chance for a Sinners surge has passed – those betting on it for Best Picture might be starting the night worried…
Alex: And one of the night’s most unpredictable categories ends with a win that seemed unlikely when Weapons was released in August. This may well be viewed as an unexpectedly cool win.
Graeme: Madigan secures the first (and only) award for Weapons tonight. She was the film’s sole nominee.
7:21PM: Amy Madigan wins Best Supporting Actress for the role of Aunt Gladys in Weapons!
Graeme: Acting clips are back, baby!
Jordan: JOSH GROBAN!
Ava Thornton is an entertainment journalist with a keen eye for the latest in Hollywood, indie films, and streaming trends.
Her work blends insider knowledge with a deep appreciation for storytelling.
