Oscars 2025: ‘Anora’ wins big, WA nominees end up empty-handed

The big winner at the Academy Awards on Sunday night? “Anora,” Sean Baker’s gritty Cinderella story about a sex worker who marries the son of a Russian oligarch. It won five Oscars including best picture, director, actress, original screenplay and film editing. The big loser? Hulu, which inexplicably dropped its livestream just before the final two awards, causing shrieks of frustration at countless households (including my own).

Hosted by Conan O’Brien, these Oscars were for the most part a relaxed and agreeable affair — if a disappointing one for local audiences, who saw both Maple Valley resident Brandi Carlile (best song nominee) and Bremerton-based filmmaker Julian Brave NoiseCat (best documentary feature) remaining in their seats while others won their categories.

And it was a busy one for Baker, who made history as the first person to win four Oscars for the same film (editor, screenwriter, director and best picture). Celebrating the win of an independent film made for a mere $6 million, Baker called on the audience during his speech for best director to support movie theaters. “In a time when the world can feel very divided,” he said, the communal experience of moviegoing “is more important than ever.”

Leading actor prizes went to a veteran and a newcomer. Adrien Brody, whose previous Oscar was 22 years ago (also best actor, for “The Pianist”), won for “The Brutalist,” and spoke of the perspective he’s gained in the intervening years. “Acting is a very fragile profession,” he said. “It looks very glamorous and in certain moments it is, but … no matter where you are in your career, no matter what you’ve accomplished, it can all go away. I think what makes this night most special is the awareness of that.” (He also quite effectively shut down the Academy’s orchestra, which began to play him off: “This is not my first rodeo.”)

Though Demi Moore’s career-defining role in “The Substance” had been heavily favored to win, 25-year-old Mikey Madison rode the “Anora” wave to victory. In her speech, she acknowledged the sex worker community — “I will continue to support and be an ally” — and the “thoughtful, intelligent, beautiful, breathtaking work of my fellow nominees,” concluding, “This is a dream come true.”

The winners of the supporting categories were a study in contrasts — though what they had in common is that both were really leading roles. Zoe Saldaña, winning supporting actress for “Emilia Pérez,” was emotional at the podium, identifying herself as “a proud child of immigrant parents” and noting that she is the first American of Dominican origin to accept an Academy Award. It was a lovely speech, right down to her (correct) calling out of her husband’s “beautiful hair.”

Kieran Culkin, winning supporting actor for “A Real Pain,” seemed to be channeling his sardonic character from that film, letting a few f-bombs fly and expressing his hope that his wife, after the win, would agree to more children. (A son named Oscar maybe?)

It was a night with plenty of awards to go around. “Wicked,” though shut out of the major categories, won for production design and costume design. The latter was won by Paul Tazewell (known to Seattleites for his recent, enchanting designs for Pacific Northwest Ballet’s “The Sleeping Beauty”), who expressed at the podium his pride at becoming the first Black man to win the category. “The Brutalist” won for cinematography and score; “Dune: Part Two” swept the technical categories of sound and visual effects; “Emilia Pérez,” in addition to Saldaña’s win, took best song for “El Mal”; and “Conclave” took best adapted screenplay.

And it was a good night for international films. “Flow,” from Latvia, was a surprise winner of the animated feature film category (beating out American favorites like “Inside Out 2” and “The Wild Robot”). “I’m Still Here,” from Brazil, won best international film (and was nominated for best picture); its director Walter Salles commended his two stars, the powerhouse mother-daughter duo of Fernanda Torres and Fernanda Montenegro. “No Other Land,” made by a collective of Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers, took best documentary.

Conan O’Brien, hosting the Oscars for the first time, proved himself to be a natural, delivering a solid opening monologue — I loved the idea of heading off too-long acceptance speeches by cutting to John Lithgow looking “not angry, but slightly disappointed” — and even a Billy Crystal-ish musical number.

Among the evening’s quirky touches were Nick Offerman as the night’s announcer, Mick Jagger offering an imitation of Bob Dylan and repeated appearances of the sand worm from “Dune: Part Two” (why?). But these were balanced by surprisingly heartfelt moments, such as Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s powerfully sweet presentation of three songs from “The Wizard of Oz,” “The Wiz” and “Wicked” to begin the show, and the reunion of Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal (“When Harry Met Sally …”) to present the evening’s final award. Another welcome new idea was the personalized introductions to several of the crafts categories such as costume design and cinematography, providing individual tributes to each of the nominees.  

Before an exceptionally moving “In Memorium” segment (accompanied by a live performance of an excerpt from Mozart’s “Requiem”), Morgan Freeman spoke of the recent loss of his colleague Gene Hackman: “Rest in peace, my friend.” Among others lost this year: Maggie Smith, Gena Rowlands, Roger Corman, Kris Kristofferson, Jeff Baena, Teri Garr, John Amos, Robert Towne, Donald Sutherland, Louis Gossett Jr., David Lynch, James Earl Jones. Garfield High alum Quincy Jones, who died in November, received a separate tribute, presented by Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey, noting his impact on the world of film as a composer and producer (which included seven Oscar nominations).

And yes, the night went on too long, clocking in at close to four hours. But, for this movie lover, it felt like time spent with friends — exceptionally nicely dressed friends who shared a love of movies. “Art is giving meaning to the chaos we are living through right now,” said one of the winners of the documentary short subject category (“The Only Girl in the Orchestra”). On Oscar night, it was an apt reminder.