LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� A horde of children chased onto the Dolby Theatre stage in the opening moments of the , and throughout an Oscar ceremony that saw 鈥淥ne Battle After Another鈥� win best picture, it was like they never left.
A queasy future, both immediate and for generations to come, pervaded an Academy Awards shadowed by war, political turmoil and whatever might happen to the movies in an artificial intelligence-supercharged tomorrow. These were the high anxiety Oscars. At almost every turn, they seemed to be trying to rally a little optimism despite omnipresent storm clouds.
鈥淲e pay tribute tonight, not just to film, but to the ideals of global artistry, collaboration, patience, resilience and that rarest of qualities today 鈥� optimism,鈥� O鈥橞rien said in his opening monologue. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to celebrate. Not because we think all is well, but because we work, and hope for better.鈥�
The last time the Oscars took place just after a U.S. launch of war in the Middle East was 2003. Just days after the Iraq War began, the musical 鈥淐hicago鈥� won best picture.
But it was a different story Sunday. The night鈥檚 big winner, Paul Thomas Anderson’s a father-daughter saga of revolution, immigrant detention and white supremacy, arrived uncommonly tailored to the times. The film, which won six Oscars, triumphed in part because it spoke to right now.
When asked about the movie鈥檚 relevancy and America鈥檚 future backstage, Anderson, still reeling from the first Oscars 鈥� including best director and best adapted screenplay 鈥� of his 30-year career, was initially caught off guard. 鈥淚 thought we were supposed to be partying,鈥� he joked
But then Anderson, who had largely avoided speaking directly about the movie鈥檚 message during the film鈥檚 near-sweep of awards season, granted that his film鈥檚 power lay partly in its timeliness.
鈥淥ur film obviously has a certain amount of parallels to what鈥檚 happening in the news every day,鈥� Anderson said.
鈥淚n terms of where it鈥檚 going, I don鈥檛 know,鈥� he added, shrugging his shoulders. 鈥淏ut I know that the end of our movie is our hero, Willa, heading off to continue to fight against evil forces, and, I think, like I said in my speech, bring at least common sense and decency back into fashion.鈥�
Tectonic shifts in Hollywood
The connection between what was on screen, with current events off it, made the 98th Oscars an appropriately destabilized affair. For the first time in a long time, the movies and the Oscars were almost in step with the moment. That was true not only in 鈥淥ne Battle After Another,鈥� but also in the apocalyptic road movie 鈥淪ir膩t,鈥� the Iranian revenge drama 鈥淚t Was Just an Accident鈥� and Ryan Coogler鈥檚 鈥淪inners,鈥� about the forces that prey on Black culture.
But if 鈥淥ne Battle After Another鈥� and 鈥淪inners鈥� (four awards, including best actor for Michael B. Jordan and, in a first for women and Black directors of photography, best cinematography for Autumn Durald Arkapaw) maybe suggested a hopeful dawn for big-budget, original American movies, their wins also reflected the rapidly shifting ground in Hollywood.
Warner Bros., the studio behind those films, took home a record-tying 11 Oscars. David Zaslav, in a memo Monday to staff, called it 鈥渁 remarkable moment for Warner Bros. Discovery.鈥� It was also potentially a last hurrah for Warner Bros. as a standalone studio. The studio has agreed to be in a deal worth $111 billion.
The film industry, which has already seen MGM gobbled up by Amazon and 20th Century Fox bought by The Walt Disney Co., knows that contraction inevitably means fewer jobs. Film production in Los Angeles has cratered in recent years.
O鈥橞rien, himself, imagined he could be out of a job soon, calling himself 鈥渢he last human host鈥� of the Oscars, which in three years will move from ABC to YouTube. In comic bits throughout the broadcast, O鈥橞rien focused on the difficult plight of movies today. One segment spoofed iconic widescreen films cut to fit the smartphone-friendly vertical format. Another imagined 鈥淐asablanca鈥� 鈥� a Warner Bros. film, by the way 鈥� dumbed down with constant plot regurgitation for half-watching streaming audiences.
So it鈥檚 gotten a lot harder, on Hollywood鈥檚 biggest night, to trot out the same song-and-dance pitch for the Dream Factory. The Oscars are now more like a beleaguered pep talk to keep up the good fight. Lost in the hoopla over comment worrying about the movies becoming like opera or ballet was a genuine concern for the marquee pop culture medium’s future.
鈥淭he theatrical experience is something that鈥檚 a little bit vulnerable right now,鈥� director Joachim Trier told reporters backstage after winning best international film for 鈥淪entimental Value.鈥� 鈥淪o I鈥檓 very proud that (for) our film 鈥� people have shown up.鈥�
Politics turn personal
Many winners stayed clear of politics. Neither the word 鈥淚ran鈥� or the name of President Donald Trump were uttered during the broadcast, though Jimmy Kimmel, a presenter, came close. Before reading the best documentary nominees, Kimmel sarcastically referenced the absence of
鈥淥h, man,鈥� Kimmel said. 鈥淚s he going to be mad his wife wasn鈥檛 nominated for this.鈥�
But after an awards season that often skirted politics, many were more blunt. Presenter Javier Bardem strode up to the mic and stated forthrightly: 鈥淣o to war, and free Palestine.鈥� While accepting the best documentary Oscar for 鈥淢r. Nobody Against Putin,鈥� Pavel Talankin, the schoolteacher in the documentary, said through an interpreter: 鈥淚n the name of our future, in the name of all of our children, stop all of these wars now.鈥�
the best actress winner for her grieving mother in 鈥淗amnet,鈥� likewise cast her eye to children, specifically her eight-month-old daughter Isla 鈥渨ho has absolutely no idea what鈥檚 going on and is probably dreaming of milk,鈥� Buckley said.
Buckley was more upbeat than most about the promise of the future. From the stage, she told her husband she wanted 鈥�20,000 more babies鈥� with him. But, again and again, those who took home trophies Sunday struggled to find the right words for a time of fraying American bonds and expanding war, and instead returned to the subject of what kind of world a younger generation would inherit. Trier, in his acceptance speech, paraphrased James Baldwin.
鈥淚 want to end by paraphrasing the wonderful American writer James Baldwin, who makes us remember that all adults are responsible for all children,鈥� he said. 鈥淟et鈥檚 not vote for politicians who don鈥檛 take this seriously into account.鈥�
In the end, the win for 鈥淥ne Battle After Another鈥� may have been all the more inevitable since it clearly represents what’s on the minds of many. Anderson’s film ends with its young protagonist, played by Chase Infiniti, rushing out the door to a protest, while the uplifting chords of Tom Petty’s 鈥淎merican Girl鈥� begin to chime.
鈥淲hat happens when your parents, who are damaged, have handed quite a difficult history to you, how do you manage that?鈥� Anderson said backstage. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 our story.鈥�
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