The 96th Academy Awards Was Brisk, Elegant, and Full of Deserving Winners
Tonight, the 96th Academy Awards ceremony aired live on ABC and Disney+ from the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. Christopher Nolan’s acclaimed blockbuster Oppenheimer won big as expected and the telecast was elegant, lively, and shockingly came in ahead of schedule.
Reflections on the Winners
Before I delve into the utterly wild telecast, let me first discuss the winners.
The big story of the night was undoubtedly that Oppenheimer won seven Oscars from its field-leading 13 nominations. Christopher Nolan’s biopic of Manhattan Project architect J. Robert Oppenheimer received rapturous critical acclaim when it premiered in theaters in July (famously alongside Barbie) and it grossed nearly $1 billion at the global box office, an unprecedented sum for an adult drama. The film won Best Picture (Nolan and his wife Emma Thomas), Best Director (Nolan), Best Actor (Cillian Murphy), Best Supporting Actor (Robert Downey Jr.), Best Original Score (Ludwig Göransson), Best Film Editing (Jennifer Lame), and Best Cinematography (Hoyte van Hoytema). Nolan had been nominated for five Oscars for the films Memento, Inception, and Dunkirk prior to tonight and now has finally won.
