2024 Oscars honor some of the right films
By some miracle the Academy has managed to have two good Oscar years in a row. If you ignore Jimmy Kimmel’s grating commentary and allow a handful of exceptions, the speeches, and the winners were memorable and exciting.
For some reason this year’s Oscars felt more personable to me, as if people I know put it on for fun. Part of that may have been due to Kimmel being an uncompelling host. He wasn’t as bad as I expected him to be, but he was the worst part of the Oscars show.
A new category was announced to be included in the 2026 Oscars ceremony – Best Casting. This Oscar will be awarded to the casting director the Academy considers to have made the best decision in choosing the actors for a film. It is a neat idea and honors an overlooked role and key element in the creation of a film. However, there was another category that I was anticipating being announced. Just after the announcement of the casting category, the presenters thanked stunt people for their work and importance in the history of film, proceeding to show a video of stunts throughout film history. Then they said “thank you,” and left. A stunt coordination or performance Oscar is long overdue, and it seems the Academy is aware of this! I digress.
Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki won Best Animated Feature for the Boy and the Heron, but did not attend the event in person. This is Miyazaki’s third Oscar, and second award for a film (as he received an honorary award in 2014). There are few directors more deserving and less interested in being awarded with this honor than Miyazaki, and the announcement of this win was my favorite moment of the night.
Oppenheimer swept seven categories on Oscar night, winning Best Original Score, Best Supporting Actor, Best Editing, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Cinematography, Best Director and Best Picture. This surprised absolutely no one and was entirely deserved… Though Al Pacino’s unorthodox announcement confused some event goers.
Overall the 2024 Oscars were successful in honoring many of the films which demonstrated true artistry and creative expression. Other than having John Mulaney as the host and including a stunt category, what more could one ask for?
