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Last words on ‘Anora’ and the Oscars

TYLER WILSON/Coeur Voice contributor | Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 2 weeks, 5 days AGO
by TYLER WILSON/Coeur Voice contributor
| March 8, 2025 1:00 AM

Conan crushed it.

"Anora" won all the big awards.

And the Oscar ceremony, like always, ran for approximately 12 and-a-half hours.

It felt long to me, and I didn’t even see the entire show. Like many, my Hulu stream ended just before the announcement of Best Actress.

Now, finally, we all can move on to thinking about the movies of 2025 (unless I’m writing to a bunch of “Dog Man” fans right now).

But wait! I have some final thoughts! This 2025 talk will need to wait until next week.

“Anora” dominance the latest sign of an evolving Academy

Though known historically as a voting community dominated by old white men, the Academy’s recent efforts to expand membership to represent a broader international network has impacted nominations and winners up and down the ballot. Smaller, more challenging films have triumphed over many of Hollywood’s “Oscar baity” titles. It wasn’t too long ago that movies like “Moonlight,” “Parasite,” "Nomadland” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once” would’ve struggled to collect a few stray nominations. Instead, they’re all Best Picture winners.

Add “Anora,” made for just $6 million by the veteran indie filmmaker Sean Baker, to that impressive list of auteur-driven, character-centric Best Picture winners that defy traditional storytelling. It’s a worthy Best Picture, if an unconventional one. Chances are you haven’t seen it, but it’s coming to Hulu on March 17. Unless they cut the stream again (I’m still salty about it).

Sean Baker has four Oscars

“Anora” made it into my personal Top 10 of last year, and I’ve been a longtime fan of Sean Baker. Still … did the dude really need to win FOUR Oscars for a single movie? What if he had received three? Or even two? It’d still be a great night for him.

I feel a teensy bit bad for Brady Corbet, the guy who made a massive epic out of “The Brutalist” with just a few million dollars. I also would’ve liked to see Coralie Fargeat take home an Oscar for either writing or directing “The Substance,” a bloody, bloody insane movie that I guess I should just be happy it somehow got nominated for so many things.

The Oscars have a tendency to pile trophies onto single films, resulting in multiple prizes for multi-hyphenate filmmakers. I’m happy for Sean Baker, really. But I’m also baffled that filmmakers like Paul Thomas Anderson and Greta Gerwig haven’t won any Oscars. Martin Scorsese has only one Oscar. Only one Steven Spielberg movie has won Best Picture. None of this makes sense.

The moments endure. The winners? Maybe not so much …

Last year, “Oppenheimer” cruised to multiple Oscars, including a much-deserved Best Picture. In a divergence from modern trends, “Oppenheimer” also connected with a mass audience, banking nearly a billion dollars at the box office.

But let’s be honest … most people don’t remember who won these prizes, even those of us who take the time to watch all the nominated movies. Instead, the Oscars are more remembered for the moments on stage during the telecast. The “Moonlight” — “La La Land” mix-up, the Slap, and, last year, Ryan Gosling’s triumphant performance of “I’m Just Ken.”

This year, I suspect most people will remember the Conan O’Brien antics and the opening showstopper featuring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. We’ll remember that Adrian Brody spoke for several minutes after winning Best Actor, but we probably won’t remember anything he said.

So, I guess I won’t feel bad for Brady Corbet! Demi Moore will be just fine! Most importantly, these movies still exist and will be waiting for us to experience them again and again. Then, come next year, few of us will remember what got snubbed or that Sean Baker won four Oscars for a single film in a single night. FOUR. Can he maybe give one of them to Paul Thomas Anderson?

•••

Tyler Wilson can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com.


This image released by Neon shows Mark Eydelshteyn, left, and Mikey Madison in a scene from "Anora."


    This image released by Mubi shows Demi Moore in a scene from "The Substance."
 
 


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