For an Academy Awards that had been meant to be extremely predictable, there have been nonetheless loads of moments on the 2024 Oscars that saved the in-house viewers on their toes.
Working backwards, it can’t be understated how disruptive Al Pacino’s presentation of the Finest Image winner was within the room. These within the know had been already thrown off by his haphazard nod to “The Godfather Half II,” clearly an try to save lots of face by the veteran Finest Actor winner, a little bit of misdirection involving his lacking “Scarface” co-star Michelle Pfeiffer, who had beforehand been introduced as a presenter on this yr’s present.
And but, probably the most unsettling second was Pacino’s informal supply of “And my eyes see ‘Oppenheimer,’” which was met with silence, because the Dolby Theatre viewers tried to course of if he was severe or not. On YouTube, the entire second performs at a bit little bit of a sooner tempo, however contained in the Oscars ceremony itself, you possibly can hear a pin drop. It’s not just like the “Oppenheimer” end result was surprising by anybody within the room, however when put the way in which Pacino opted to — with little fanfare and no studying of the opposite nominees — the “Oppenheimer” workforce went on excessive alert, considering they might be in for an additional “Moonlight”/“La La Land” debacle.
So far as some other bumps within the street production-wise, there actually was simply the delayed opening. A lot had been made in regards to the 2024 Oscars beginning an hour sooner than regular, but when the clock really hit 7 p.m. ET, there wasn’t even a countdown clock operating. Shortly earlier than then, Tony-winning actor David Alan Grier got here on the stage to unmask himself because the announcer for the printed, and provides his personal hilarious monologue largely about preserving speeches brief.
A part of it concerned Grier noting that winners shouldn’t “be up in right here thanking your brokers, your publicists, your tax preparer, studio executives — do all that after the present,” which actually gives extra context for Finest Supporting Actress and Finest Supporting Actor winners Da’Vine Pleasure Randolph and Robert Downey Jr. defiantly thanking their publicists as they accepted their first Oscars.
As has develop into custom, the very best place to spend a minimum of a part of the Academy Awards was on the foyer bar. The purpose at which most individuals converged was proper round Billie Eilish and Finneas’ efficiency of “What Was I Made for?,” the eventual Finest Authentic Track winner. When the curtain rose to disclose the 22-year-old singing the tearjerking “Barbie” ballad, she was dealing with away from the viewers, so many took that nearly as a move to actually sneak away behind her again.
It was really on the bar the place lots of the nominees might see the evening taking a flip. The implications of “Poor Issues” successful Finest Make-up and Hairstyling had not fairly hit folks within the second, however when the Yorgos Lanthimos movie received Finest Manufacturing Design — one of many tightest races of the evening — star Emma Stone, who had been chatting with “Oppenheimer” star Florence Pugh, collapsed to the ground with pleasure.
When it lastly got here time for Finest Costume Design, your entire crowd flocked towards the TVs, particularly when presenter John Cena walked out almost nude. With the Academy Award as soon as once more going to “Poor Issues,” whispers among the many room had been saying Stone was now a lock for Finest Actress. (It ought to be famous, by the way in which, that they don’t give in-event attendees a run of present within the room, so the teeny little bit of backlash Stone is getting for not being within the crowd as her “Poor Issues” colleagues received feels unearned.)
Elsewhere, the “Barbie” camp — together with Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach, and government producer David Heyman — gave the impression to be good sports activities in regards to the craft upsets (Finest Manufacturing Design had been one of many movie’s finest possibilities at an Oscar). Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav much less so.
But when there was one uniting issue among the many majority of the gang contained in the Dolby Theatre, it was the should be again at one’s seat for Ryan Gosling’s debut “I’m Simply Ken” efficiency. It was arguably the height of the evening, each within the room and at house. In a one-two punch, “Barbie” lastly secured an Oscar shortly afterward, with Eilish turning into the youngest individual to win a couple of Academy Award. That was price celebrating, on the bottom and on the display screen.
