While previous years may have felt like one battle after another for director Paul Thomas Anderson, the 98th Academy Awards marked a glorious end to this streak. Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” stole the show on March 15, securing six Oscars.
Anderson had been nominated for 14 Oscars in the past but took home none until this year. His film won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing and Best Casting.
“You make a guy work hard for one of these,” he said, staring down at his Oscar for Best Director. “I really appreciate it.”
The category of Best Casting was new to the awards show. It seeks to honor the role of the casting director in contributing to the dynamic and execution of a film through selection of its cast members.
Cassandra Kulukundis, casting director of “One Battle After Another,” was the first person to win this award.
“I have to obviously thank the Academy for even adding this category, and for the casting directors that fought tirelessly to make it happen despite everything in their way,” she said. “I dedicate this to you and to the casting directors who never got a chance to get up here, who didn't even get a chance to get their name on the movie.”
Other standouts from the dazzling night included Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” which won four Oscars, and Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” which collected three.
“Frankenstein”’s awards included Best Costume Design, Best Hair and Makeup and Best Production Design, capturing the breathtaking and realistic world that the movie designers created.
It was a memorable night for “Sinners” actor Michael B. Jordan and “Hamnet” actress Jessie Buckley, winners of the Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively. It was a first Oscars win for the both of them.
“KPop Demon Hunters” also shone bright, with its hit song “Golden” being the first K-pop song to win Best Original Song. The Netflix hit also took home Best Animated Film.
“Growing up, you know, everybody made fun of me liking K-pop,” Kim Eun-jae, known as Ejae, said in her acceptance speech for Best Original Song. “But now everybody's singing our songs and all the Korean lyrics.”
There was also an unexpected tie when the award for Best Live Action Short Film came around. Both “The Singers” and “Two People Exchanging Saliva” were awarded Oscars. This was just the seventh tie in Academy Awards history, according to Rolling Stone.
Other notable wins also included “Mr. Nobody Against Putin” for Best Documentary Feature and “Sentimental Value” for Best International Feature. Autumn Durald also took home the Oscar for Best Cinematography, making her the first woman to do so.
Sprinkled throughout the celebratory night were musical performances, awkward exchanges by award presenters and jokes by host Conan O’Brien about artificial intelligence or the Oscars’ move to YouTube in 2029.
Nonetheless, before the awards kicked off, O’Brien took a moment to highlight the value of the Academy Awards.
“And if I can be serious for just a moment, everyone watching right now, around the world, is all too aware that these are very chaotic, frightening times,” O’Brien said. “It's at moments like these that I believe that the Oscars are particularly resonant. Check it out, 31 countries across six continents are represented this evening, and every film we salute is the product of thousands of people speaking different languages, working hard to make something of beauty. We pay tribute tonight, not just to film, but to the ideals of global artistry, collaboration, patience, resilience and that rarest of qualities today, optimism.”
