The 97th Academy Awards have kicked off at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, APA reports citing The Indian Times.
Emilia Pérez leads the pack with 13 Oscar nominations, but Wicked and The Brutalist are close behind. The 2025 Oscars opened with its biggest musical voices. Wicked star Ariana Grande launched into The Wizard of Oz classic Somewhere Over the Rainbow, following a visual package celebrating the city of Los Angeles.
Here's the Latest:
‘Conclave’ wins Oscar for best adapted screenplay
The papal intrigue film was written by British author-playwright Peter Straughan, based on the 2016 novel of the same name by British novelist Robert Harris.
Both Straughan and Harris are veterans of the thriller genre. Straughan’s other screenplay credits include The Snowmanand an adaptation of John le Carré‘s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
Harris’ works — many of them source material for movies — include the World War II novels Fatherland and Enigma and the Russia-based thriller Archangel. He is also known, and somewhat notorious for his 2007 novel, The Ghost, a fictionalized critique of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Harris and director Roman Polanski co-wrote a well-regarded adaptation, The Ghost Writer.
‘Anora’ wins Oscar for best original screenplay
Sean Baker’s Brooklyn comedy Anora has won an Oscar for best original screenplay. The film had been widely considered a contender for best picture at the Academy Awards, alongside other categories, including best actress for its lauded young star.
‘In the Shadow of the Cypress’ wins Oscar for best animated short film
Iranian filmmakers Shirin Sohani and Hossein Molayemi won their first Academy Award for In the Shadow of the Cypress. It was the second Iranian animated or live-action short film nominated at the Oscars and the first to win. Animation is often thought of as childlike, fun and creative in nature, but it can also elicit deep emotion: In the Shadow of the Cypress takes a creative and artistic approach to the relationship between a father, an old former captain dealing with PTSD, and his daughter. The short also won best animated short at the Los Angeles Shorts International Film Festival.
Kieran Culkin wins best supporting actor, completing his sweep
Kieran Culkin won the Oscar for best supporting actor Sunday at the 97th Academy Awards, completing a sweep of the category that followed his dominance in television awards last season.
The award, for portraying the chaotic but endearing Benji in Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain, marked his first win and nomination.
Conan O’Brien gets Oscars off to a snarky start
Host Conan O’Brien got the show and his monologue off to a start filled with his usual sarcastic humor.
O’Brien poked fun at the Oscars, Hollywood’s biggest night “which starts at 4 in the afternoon.” He also poked fun at himself. “I know what you’re thinking: ‘Did Conan not have work done? Seriously. He looks his age.’” And he jabbed at Netflix for having price increases.
He also implored the Oscar audience to sit down — after not getting a standing ovation.
A Wicked-ly fun opening
The 2025 Oscars opened with its biggest musical voices. Wicked star Ariana Grande launched into The Wizard of Oz classic Somewhere Over the Rainbow, following a visual package celebrating the city of Los Angeles.
She ditched her usual Glinda pink for a ruby red gown, channeling Dorothy’s iconic shoes. She was followed by Elphaba herself, Cynthia Erivo, nailing Home from the The Wiz. (The late Quincy Jones supervised the adaptation of songs from the Broadway musical for the 1978 film starring Michael Jackson.) Then Grande and Erivo teamed up for a dynamic duet of Defying Gravity. And yes, they hit the note.
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