After a nail-biter of a final stretch, the 98th Academy Awards turned out to be a resounding triumph for “One Battle After Another.” Paul Thomas Anderson’s epic wrapped up its awards season victory tour winning the biggest and final battle, taking home Best Picture and Director in addition to Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actor, Film Editing and the inaugural prize for Achievement in Casting (for Cassandra Kulukundis).
After going zero for 11 since his first nod in 1997, Anderson is finally an Academy Award-winning filmmaker, three times over.
Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” went into the evening with a record-setting 16 nominations and seemed to benefit from late-breaking momentum, which led several of us awards obsessives to wonder if it would pocket the night’s biggest prize. It was not to be. But despite a slow start, Coogler’s singular vision was rewarded in meaningful ways.
Michael B. Jordan brought down the house when he won Best Actor, enjoying one of the evening’s standing ovations before delivering a heartfelt speech in which he thanked the “giants” who came before him like Denzel Washington and Halle Berry. (For your next Oscar trivia party: Jordan is the second actor to win an Oscar for playing twins.)
The audience also stood up for Autumn Durald Arkapaw, the first woman to win cinematography, and for Coogler himself, who won original screenplay. “Sinners” composer Ludwig Göransson is the first person to win for their first three scores since Alan Menken in his Disney days.
There was hope among “Sinners” fans that Delroy Lindo would pull off a Marcia Gay Harden-style win for supporting actor — that is, without winning any major precursor awards — but a no-show Sean Penn from “One Battle” nabbed the prize. Last year’s winner in the category, Kieran Culkin, accepted the statuette on his behalf, wryly noting that the now three-time Academy Award winner “couldn’t be here tonight, or didn’t want to be.”
As expected, Jessie Buckley added the Oscar for Best Actress to the collection of trophies she’s built this season for “Hamnet.” Her victory ensured that Chloé Zhao’s drama didn’t go home empty-handed — and gave Ireland its first Best Actress win.
As many had guessed, supporting actress went to Amy Madigan for “Weapons.” She is now the second supporting actress to win for a horror film, following in the creepy footsteps of the witchiest of the witches in “Rosemary’s Baby,” Ruth Gordon. (Madigan is also perhaps the first winner to reference shaving one’s legs in the shower during an acceptance speech?)
“KPop Demon Hunters” won animated feature and original song, beating “I Lied to You” from “Sinners.” Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” picked up the three statuettes that most had bet on: costume design, makeup and hairstyling and production design. Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value,” from Norway, triumphed in the international feature category, while “Mr. Nobody Against Putin” won documentary feature. While on stage, the doc’s writer and co-director David Borenstein rang the alarm bell, drawing a comparison between Putin’s Russia and the at-risk democracy in the U.S.
This year’s In Memoriam segment was longer than usual, taking the time to honor the many towering members of the filmmaking community who passed away since the 97th ceremony. Billy Crystal gave a loving tribute to Rob Reiner (and was joined on stage by several stars of Reiners’ many beloved films), Rachel McAdams reminisced about Diane Keaton and Catherine O’Hara and Barbra Streisand spoke fondly of Robert Redford — then sang.
One of the night’s few big surprises came in the form of a tie: “The Singers” and “Two People Exchanging Saliva” both won Live Action Short. For the statistically minded, it is the seventh tie in Oscars history, and the first since 2013, when “Zero Dark Thirty” and “Skyfall” were both recognized for Best Sound Editing.
For the second year in a row, Conan O’Brien hosted the show, delivering a monologue that was perfectly Conan-y in its self-deprecating goofiness, but also made room for a serious note about the “frightening times” we’re living in.
Winners of the 98th Academy Awards
Picture
“Bugonia”
“F1”
“Frankenstein”
“Hamnet”
“Marty Supreme”
“One Battle After Another” **WINNER
“The Secret Agent”
“Sentimental Value”
“Sinners”
“Train Dreams”
Directing
Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another” **WINNER
Ryan Coogler, “Sinners”
Josh Safdie, “Marty Supreme”
Joachim Trier, “Sentimental Value”
Chloé Zhao, “Hamnet”
Actor in a Leading Role
Timothée Chalamet, “Marty Supreme”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “One Battle After Another”
Ethan Hawke, “Blue Moon”
Michael B. Jordan, “Sinners” **WINNER
Wagner Moura, “The Secret Agent”
Actress in a Leading Role
Jessie Buckley, “Hamnet” **WINNER
Rose Byrne, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”
Kate Hudson, “Song Sung Blue”
Renate Reinsve, “Sentimental Value”
Emma Stone, “Bugonia”
Actor in a Supporting Role
Benicio del Toro, “One Battle After Another”
Jacob Elordi, “Frankenstein”
Delroy Lindo, “Sinners”
Sean Penn, “One Battle After Another” **WINNER
Stellan Skarsgård, “Sentimental Value”
Actress in a Supporting Role
Elle Fanning, “Sentimental Value”
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, “Sentimental Value”
Amy Madigan, “Weapons” **WINNER
Wunmi Mosaku, “Sinners”
Teyana Taylor, “One Battle After Another”
Animated Feature
“Arco”
“Elio”
“KPop Demon Hunters” **WINNER
“Little Amélie or the Character of Rain”
“Zootopia 2”
International Feature
Brazil, “The Secret Agent”
France, “It Was Just an Accident”
Norway, “Sentimental Value” **WINNER
Spain, “Sirât”
Tunisia, “The Voice of Hind Rajab”
Documentary Feature Film
“The Alabama Solution”
“Come See Me in the Good Light”
“Cutting Through Rocks”
“Mr. Nobody Against Putin” **WINNER
“The Perfect Neighbor”
Documentary Short Film
“All the Empty Rooms” **WINNER
“Armed Only With a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud”
“Children No More: ‘Were and Are Gone’”
“The Devil Is Busy”
“Perfectly a Strangeness”
Animated Short Film
“The Butterfly”
“Forever Green”
“The Girl Who Cried Pearls” **WINNER
“Retirement Plan”
“The Three Sisters”
Live Action Short Film
“Butcher’s Stain”
“A Friend of Dorothy”
“Jane Austen’s Period Drama”
“The Singers” **WINNER
“Two People Exchanging Saliva” **WINNER
Adapted Screenplay
“Bugonia,” Will Tracy
“Frankenstein,” Guillermo del Toro
“Hamnet,” Chloé Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell
“One Battle After Another,” Paul Thomas Anderson **WINNER
“Train Dreams,” Clint Bentley and Craig Kwedar
Original Screenplay
“Blue Moon,” Robert Kaplow
“It Was Just an Accident,” Jafar Panahi, Script collaborators – Nader Saïvar, Shadmehr Rastin and Mehdi Mahmoudian
“Marty Supreme,” Josh Safdie and Ronald Bronstein
“Sentimental Value,” Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt
“Sinners,” Ryan Coogler **WINNER
Original Song
“Dear Me” from “Diane Warren: Relentless”
“Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters” **WINNER
“I Lied to You” from “Sinners”
“Sweet Dreams of Joy” from “Viva Verdi!”
“Train Dreams” from “Train Dreams”
Original Score
“Bugonia,” Jerskin Fendrix
“Frankenstein,” Alexandre Desplat
“Hamnet,” Max Richter
“One Battle After Another,” Jonny Greenwood
“Sinners,” Ludwig Göransson **WINNER
Film Editing
“F1,” Stephen Mirrione
“Marty Supreme,” Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie
“One Battle After Another,” Andy Jurgensen **WINNER
“Sentimental Value,” Oliver Bugge Coutté
“Sinners,” Michael P. Shawver
Production Design
“Frankenstein,” Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau **WINNER
“Hamnet,” Fiona Crombie and Alice Felton
“Marty Supreme,” Jack Fisk and Adam Willis
“One Battle After Another,” Florencia Martin and Anthony Carlino
“Sinners,” Hannah Beachler and Monique Champagne
Casting
“Hamnet,” Nina Gold
“Marty Supreme,” Jennifer Venditti
“One Battle After Another,” Cassandra Kulukundis **WINNER
“The Secret Agent,” Gabriel Domingues
“Sinners,” Francine Maisler
Cinematography
“Frankenstein,” Dan Lausten
“Marty Supreme,” Darius Khondji
“One Battle After Another,” Michael Bauman
“Sinners,” Autumn Durald Arkapaw **WINNER
“Train Dreams,” Adolpho Veloso
Costume Design
“Avatar: Fire and Ash,” Deborah L. Scott
“Frankenstein,” Kate Hawley **WINNER
“Hamnet,” Malgosia Turzanska
“Marty Supreme,” Miyako Bellizzi
“Sinners,” Ruth E. Carter
Makeup and Hairstyling
“Frankenstein,” Mike Hill, Cliona Furey and Jordan Samuel **WINNER
“Kokuho,” Kyoko Toyokawa, Naomi Hibino and Tadashi Nishimatsu
“Sinners,” Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine and Shunika Terry
“The Smashing Machine,” Kazu Hiro, Glen Griffin and Bjoern Rehbein
“The Ugly Stepsister,” Anne Catherine Sauerberg and Thomas Foldberg
Sound
“F1,” Gareth John, Al Nelson, Juan Peralta, Gary A. Rizzo and Gwendowlyn Yates Whittle **WINNER
“Frankenstein,” Greg Chapman, Christian Cooke, Nelson Ferreira, Nathan Robitaille and Brad Zoern
“One Battle After Another” Jose Antonio Garcia, Christopher Scarabosio and Tony Villaflor
“Sinners,” Chris Welcker, Benjamin A. Burtt, Felipe Pacheco, Brandon Proctor and Steve Boeddeker
“Sirât,” Amanda Villavieja, Laia Casanovas and Yasmina Praderas
Visual Effects
“Avatar: Fire and Ash,” Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett **WINNER
“F1,” Ryan Tudhope, Nicolas Chevallier, Robert Harrington and Keith Dawson
“Jurassic World Rebirth” David Vickery, Stephen Aplin, Charmaine Chan and Neil Corbould
“The Lost Bus,” Charlie Noble, David Zaretti, Russell Bowen and Brandon K. McLaughlin
“Sinners,” Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter and Donnie Dean
