Two hugely popular movies — grossing more than $369 million and $210 million worldwide, respectively — duked it out for best picture. Even so, people wanted to believe that the underdog could win.
Inside the Oscar show at the Dolby Theatre, you could feel the rousing enthusiasm each time “Sinners” won. (After all, it earned a record 16 nominations.) But in the end, the pre-ordained favorite came out on top: Long overdue after 14 nominations, “One Battle After Another” director Paul Thomas Anderson took home three for himself (Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay). The film six in all with Supporting Actor (three-time winner Sean Penn, who was in Ukraine, of course), Editing, and Casting. (See all the winners here.)
It was clear early on that a “Sinners” sweep was not in the offing. Amy Madigan (“Weapons”) took Supporting Actress at the start of the show, not Wunmi Mosaku, and “One Battle After Another” won the first-ever Casting Oscar, widely expected to go to “Sinners.” And when Penn beat Delroy Lindo (who did not applaud his win), the jig was up.
Here’s what happened.
The Oscar season was extended, the show pushed back to March 15 due to the Olympics and the Los Angeles Marathon. But not long enough for “Sinners” to catch up with “One Battle After Another.”
What happened at the Screen Actors Guild’s Actors Awards on March 1 was real. The house erupted in cheers and a standing ovation when Michael B. Jordan accepted Best Actor from an ebullient Viola Davis, just four days before the Oscars voting ended on March 5. (Many members voted later than usual as they were supposed to see everything in each category in order to vote.) In those four days, “Sinners” surged in popularity and many voters believed the underdog could win.
Many Oscar pundits (including me) predicted that “Sinners” would win SAG’s Best Ensemble award, which also brought down the house. (The actors gave the same award to “The Help,” “Black Panther,” and “Hidden Figures.”) The question was, what impact would that “Sinners” win have?
The impact was to vote Jordan the Oscar. WGA-winner Ryan Coogler’s award for Original Screenplay was in the bag. But the post-SAG “Sinners” love was funneled into the Best Actor race. Timmy Chalamet had already lost ground before local Robert Aramayo (“I Swear”) beat him at the BAFTAs on February 22. (Oscar voting began February 26.) Chalamet’s tendency toward grandiosity was apparent in his SAG acceptance speech the year before for “A Complete Unknown.” And it only continued during his (effective) “Marty Supreme” marketing campaign.
But social media fandom is one thing. Being taken seriously by Oscar voters is another. Chalamet, 30, gave the performance of his career, but he was playing a driven, ambitious, selfish character many did not like, even if he was (somewhat) redeemed at the end.
On the circuit Oscar voters kept repeating, “he’s young.” Young enough to be the recipient of stupid butt jokes at the Oscars. And Oscar host Conan O’Brien couldn’t resist an opera and ballet joke at his expense. (That pile-on occurred after voting was over.) Oscars go to young women all the time. But Leonardo DiCaprio had to wait until he was 41 to win for “The Revenant.” He’s been there. Jordan is 39. What a difference nine years make.
One of the most moving moments at the Oscars was Jordan’s first win. “God is good,” he said. The standing ovation and cheers resounded at the Dolby; afterward, DiCaprio gave Jordan a long-ass hug. And at the Governors Ball, Jordan still looked overwhelmed as he had his Oscar engraved. Like he couldn’t believe his good fortune. Waiting her turn was the first Irish Best Actress winner, Jessie Buckley, whose lead was never challenged; she was the sole win for “Hamnet” (Focus).
If the Academy had left the voting period open a week longer, “Sinners” might have caught up with early leader “One Battle After Another,” which swept the precursors (BAFTA, PGA, DGA, WGA, ASC).
But something that wasn’t apparent in the Los Angeles Dolby ballroom that erupted with joy during the “Sinners” musical interlude led by Miles Caton: the international vote. Twenty-four percent of the Academy voters are international. The BAFTAs are the bellwether for that bloc. The BAFTAs voted for “One Battle After Another” for six awards, including Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, and Sean Penn, who beat Stellan Skarsgård (“Sentimental Value”). That was the tell that the overseas vote was behind “One Battle After Another.” Cinematography went to “One Battle” as well.
But at the Oscars “Sinners” cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw made history as the first woman (and person of color) to win an Oscar in that category. In another powerful moment, she asked all the women in the room to stand. I stood. And all the men stayed seated.
Inevitably, Warner Bros. was the big winner of the night, with 11 wins for “One Battle,” “Sinners,” and “Weapons.” At the Governors Ball, grinning Warners co-chief Michael De Luca admitted he was surprised by O’Brien’s hilarious opening impersonation of Aunt Gladys as she was chased by kids across multiple nominated movies. (In a post-Oscar interview, Madigan was equally surprised.)
Academy CEO Bill Kramer expressed relief that the show was over and everything went right, while president Lynette Howell Taylor was thrilled that the voters shared the love across many films. As for tall drink of water and second-time host O’Brien, after taking congratulations from ebullient new Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro, he looked down at me and said, “I’m fried.”
The show was bookended by pre-taped japes at two Warners winners, “Weapons” and a final video of “One Battle After Another,” with a self-satisfied O’Brien settling into his new office as the permanent Oscar host. Not exactly.
The other big winner of the evening, Netflix, took home seven Oscars including three craft awards for “Frankenstein,” their biggest haul since the pandemic 2021 Oscars, the year of “Mank” and “My Octopus Teacher.” Co-CEO Ted Sarandos posed with the “KPop Demon Hunters” Animated Feature and Song winners. He said he figured getting jabbed by the Oscar host was a good thing, even if O’Brien suggested he was in a theater for the first time. (Sarandos is a certified cinephile.) Truth is, Hollywood considers Sarandos more of a good guy since he lost the Paramount Warners bid. Why? They think David Ellison is a far worse option. Ask Jane Fonda.
Celebrating his Best International Film win for “Sentimental Value,” self-described “film nerd from Norway” Joachim Trier celebrated with Skarsgård at the Neon after party at Mother Wolf. Like many other winners ,it was a question of numbers. Nine nominations, including four acting nods, was a record for an international film. Rival Neon film “The Secret Agent” from Brazil had four, including Wagner Moura. Neon’s French Oscar submission “It Was Just an Accident” had two.
Filmmaker Jafar Panahi is plotting his return to Iran. He told me through an interpreter that it is not possible for him to fly into the country now. He would have to go overland. His daughter also wants to go. Why on earth would a filmmaker want to enter a country being bombed to smithereens? Where he is sentenced to return to jail? Today Panahi flies back to his home away from home, Paris, and then will try to get to Iran. “I’m not working,” he said. “I need to work.”
