A big winner, a loser and a not-so-secret insider tip: The Oscars have been awarded and the roles were clearly assigned. The Germans also played one, although they came away empty-handed.
“Oppenheimer” director Christopher Nolan began his acceptance speech rather soberly. Perhaps no wonder, because it was expected that his film would win – and it did: best film, best director, best actor, best supporting actor, and the Oscars for cinematography, editing and music also went to “Oppenheimer”. Makes seven in total. Enough so that Nolan’s voice became a little more emotional at the end of his speech: “The fact that you consider me an important part of the cinema means the world to me.”
“Barbie” is the loser
The loser of the evening was also almost certain beforehand: “Barbie”. Lead actress Margot Robbie not nominated, director Greta Gerwig only for the screenplay adaptation. Host Jimmy Kimmel also brought up the topic on the show.
Because “Barbie” only got an Oscar for best song in the end, the film was quite present in the show. Moderating several times, with the winning song by Billie Eilish, and Ryan Gosling also performed his “Barbie” title.
The Germans did not have excessive hopes in the run-up to the Oscars. The nominations for Wim Wenders’ film “Perfect Days” and for Ilker Catak’s “The Teacher’s Room” were certainly successes. Sandra Hülser, nominated as best actress for her role in “Anatomy of a Case,” received a lot of praise – including from Kimmel: She had a leading role in two nominated films.
96th Academy Awards
Glitter gosling, naked wrestler and commemoration
Emotions and world politics
First insider tip and then actual winner Emma Stone – she was named best actress for her role in “Poor Things” – was a bit overwhelmed for a moment. As with the main character Bella Baxter from the shrill, feminist steampunk movie, strong feelings initially remained. Visibly moved, she didn’t know what to say at first.
This evening was also about world politics. Documentary filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov, who was an eyewitness in Mariupol for 20 days at the start of the war against Ukraine and won an award for his film of the same name, appealed not to forget the people of Mariupol and elsewhere in Ukraine. In fact, there wasn’t even a whisper in the room during his acceptance speech.
Kimmel quotes Trump
The evening was hosted by Kimmel, who incorporated a prominent reaction into the show: There has probably never been a worse presenter, the show is terribly politically correct, boring and unfair – sounds like Donald Trump and was also a post by the former US President on his “Truth Social” platform. Kimmel made fun of wondering why Trump was even watching.
New categories are announced for the future of the Oscar awards: The casting category is planned – because finding the right person for a certain role is of course a decisive factor in how credible a film is in the end. Stunt men and women are also important behind the scenes: They have been holding our heads for us for ages, says Ryan Gosling, and there is actually talk of introducing a category for them too.
The conclusion
It was an entertaining show, with one medium surprise: Emma Stone was considered a not-so-secret insider tip. The frequent reminiscences of Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie could be found friendly, respectful, perhaps a little too comforting, but for some they were certainly an expression of criticism of the fact that the Academy is still dominated by men in many areas, and that is just that is still reflected in the nominations. This will continue to change, but will probably still be seen again at the next Oscars.