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    Emma Stone Wins Her Second Best Actress Oscar for ‘Poor Things’

    Last year’s Oscar for best actress went to a universe-hopping laundromat owner who at one point appears to have hot dogs for fingers. Naturally, this year had to go even stranger.The award went to Emma Stone for her performance in the Yorgos Lanthimos-directed “Poor Things” as Bella Baxter, once dead but resurrected by a mad scientist, who implanted the brain of her unborn child into her skull.The result is a full-grown woman with the impulses of an infant, until she progresses into a child testing boundaries and searching for independence in a world where men are accustomed to dictating women’s lives.Stone, who was visibly overwhelmed in her acceptance speech, shared a conversation she had with Lanthimos, who is a frequent collaborator.“The other night I was panicking, as you can kind of see happens a lot, that maybe something like this could happen,” she said, “and Yorgos said to me, ‘Please take yourself out of it.’ And he was right because it’s not about me. It’s about a team that came together to make something greater than the sum of its parts.”The victory is Stone’s second for best actress: she won for her turn as a striving Hollywood performer in the 2016 musical “La La Land.”In the fantastical, absurdist world of “Poor Things,” Stone’s Bella Baxter is charmingly blunt, brash and intent on being free to experiment. In one memorable scene at a restaurant in Portugal, Baxter launches into a wild and silly dance, inspiring her lover (played by Mark Ruffalo) to furiously try matching her vigor.“She’s drinking up the world around her in such a unique and beautiful way that I just dream I could,” Stone, 35, said in an interview with The Times in November.This past year was something of a crossroads for Stone’s career as she made a sharp turn away from the kind of mainstream roles that made her famous (“Easy A,” “The Help”). On TV, Stone starred alongside Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie in “The Curse,” a satire of a home renovation show filled with little absurdities that almost rival the duck-headed bulldog in “Poor Things.”Baxter’s unusual character arc provided Stone a unique actor’s playground as her character learned how to walk and talk, discovered her sexuality, learned the deepest horrors of humanity, and sought to forge her own life as an adult.“I felt like I kind of lived with her for a long time,” Stone told Vanity Fair. “Yorgos and I still talk about how we miss her now.” More

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    Billie Eilish (and ‘Barbie’) Win an Oscar for ‘What Was I Made For?’

    Billie Eilish’s tender, yearning ballad “What Was I Made For?” won for original song, ensuring that “Barbie” will leave the ceremony with at least one Oscar.The soundtrack for Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster film became a powerhouse unto itself, loaded with songs by A-list stars. “What Was I Made For?,” which Eilish wrote with her brother, Finneas O’Connell, won song of the year at the Grammys and was the favorite in this category at the Oscars. This is the siblings’ second original-song Oscar. They previously won for “No Time to Die” from the 2021 James Bond blockbuster.“I was not expecting this,” Eilish said in a speech. “I’m so grateful for this song and for this movie and the way that it made me feel. And this goes out to everyone who was affected by the movie and how incredible it is.”In a sign of the strength of the “Barbie” soundtrack, the winner’s stiffest Oscars competition may have been another song from the film, “I’m Just Ken,” Ryan Gosling’s doleful lamentation. Gosling, and a large ensemble that included some of the film’s Kens, performed the number on Sunday night.“Barbie,” which has grossed $1.4 billion at the box office worldwide, came into the evening with eight Oscar nominations but was a favorite only in the song category. More

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    Oscars 2024 Winners: Updating List

    The list of winners for the 96th Academy Awards.Follow our live updates for the 2024 Oscars.After a very long and busy awards season, we have finally made it to end — wrapping things up with the biggest night for film honors.The 96th Academy Awards are being presented at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. Like last year, the show is hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, with ABC broadcasting the ceremony live.Come for the star-studded roster of presenters and nominees, stay for Ryan Gosling’s live performance of “I’m Just Ken.” And, follow along live with our critics and reporters.Read below for a full list of winners that will be updated as announcements are made.Best Supporting ActressDa’Vine Joy Randolph, “The Holdovers”Read our reviewOriginal Screenplay“Anatomy of a Fall”Adapted Screenplay“American Fiction”Animated Feature“The Boy and the Heron”Read our reviewProduction Design“Poor Things”Costume Design“Poor Things”Makeup and Hairstyling“Poor Things”International Feature“The Zone of Interest,” United KingdomAnimated Short“War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko” More

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    Some Oscar Attendees Delayed by Protesters Calling for Gaza Cease-Fire

    Some Oscar attendees were delayed arriving at the Dolby Theater on Sunday when demonstrators calling for a cease-fire in Gaza filled lanes of traffic a few blocks south of the theater, according to the Los Angeles police.There were at least three protests about the Israel-Hamas war, said Capt. Kelly Muniz, a head of the Los Angeles Police Department’s media relations division. She said there were between 500 and 700 protesters at the largest demonstration, near the Cinerama Dome, a closed movie theater about a mile away from the Dolby Theater.At that protest, Laura Delhauer, an independent filmmaker who held a cardboard sign that read “Free Palestine,” said she hoped to put pressure on the U.S. government to end the conflict.“I’m heartbroken to know that our hard-earned tax dollars are going to pay for the murder of innocent civilians,” she said.Delhauer and other protesters marched down Sunset Boulevard as car horns honked, a helicopter hovered overhead and Los Angeles police officers in riot gear watched nearby.Captain Muniz said the Police Department had arrested one person for battery of a police officer in relation to the protests, which may have been connected to one another.By 4:30 p.m. local time, Captain Muniz said that the size of the protests had diminished but that some demonstrators were still seeking to “get into the gated areas” near the Oscars. After protesters tried to breach a chain-link fence near the entrance to the Dolby Theater, police officers secured it with zip ties.The largest protest was organized by groups including Film Workers for Palestine and SAG-AFTRA Members for Ceasefire.“With people from across the globe watching the Academy Awards, this is a Hail Mary opportunity,” said Anthony Bryson, one of the organizers. He added: “What’s happening in Gaza needs to have attention drawn to it. We wanted to bring as much resistance and visibility as possible.”Shortly after the protest began, a man dressed in a dark blue suit stood across the street holding both a United States flag and an Israeli flag. After a brief verbal altercation, protesters grabbed the Israeli flag and threw it into the street. The man walked away, surrounded by volunteer safety officers who had been brought in by protest organizers. More

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    Jimmy Kimmel Opens with Quips and a Salute to Film Crews in Oscars Monologue

    On Sunday, Jimmy Kimmel returned to host his fourth Academy Awards, opening with a monologue that riffed on many of last year’s blockbuster movies, particularly “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie,” and poked fun at Hollywood’s biggest stars, including a string of jokes about Robert Downey Jr.’s past drug use.After a traditional montage of nominated films, Kimmel was introduced to the audience in a video clip of him sitting at a bus stop beside Margot Robbie, the star of “Barbie.”“You’re so beautiful,” Robbie told him in the clip. “I know,” he said. “I haven’t eaten in three weeks. I’m still hungry. I have to host the Oscars.”He began his monologue by mentioning the monthslong strikes that paused most film and television production, and he saluted the actors and writers who pushed for a new deal with Hollywood studios.“As a result, actors no longer have to worry about getting replaced by A.I.,” he said. “Thanks to this historic agreement, actors are now able to go back to worrying about being replaced by younger, more attractive people.”Kimmel also cracked jokes about the “Anatomy of a Fall” dog Messi, the lengthy run time of “Killers of the Flower Moon” and the perceived snub of Greta Gerwig, who was not nominated for best director.“I know you’re clapping but you’re the ones who didn’t vote for her,” he told the audience. More

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    Vanessa Hudgens Reveals Her Pregnancy on Oscars Red Carpet

    The actress Vanessa Hudgens, one of the hosts of ABC’s Oscars pre-show, included a subtle pregnancy announcement in her coverage of the red carpet on Sunday evening.“I clearly have a lot to be excited for,” she said at the beginning of the broadcast, positioning her hands on her stomach.Ms. Hudgens, 35, wore a fitted black Vera Wang gown with long sleeves and a turtleneck. She did not explicitly discuss her pregnancy during the broadcast, instead keeping her attention on the stars she was interviewing.A representative for Ms. Hudgens did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.This is the third consecutive year that Ms. Hudgens, who became a household name with her role in “High School Musical” in 2006, has hosted “The Oscars Red Carpet Show” on ABC.Ms. Hudgens married Cole Tucker, a baseball player, in Mexico in December. (For that occasion, she also wore a streamlined Vera Wang gown.) This will be the couple’s first child.During the broadcast, Ms. Hudgens traded off interviews with her co-host, Julianne Hough, and acknowledged that the ceremony was taking place on Indigenous land. Her interview subjects included Emma Stone, Simu Liu, Ariana Grande and America Ferrera.When her coverage shift concluded, she held a microphone in one bejeweled hand and beamed into the camera. “That was a lot of fun,” she said. More

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    Da’Vine Joy Randolph Wins Her First Oscar for Best Supporting Actress

    Da’Vine Joy Randolph won the Oscar for best supporting actress for her portrayal in “The Holdovers” of a warm, witty cafeteria matriarch grappling with how to endure the holiday season at a boarding school after the loss of her son.It was Randolph’s first win at the Academy Awards on her first nomination. She was the favorite coming into the Oscars, having already won this year in the supporting actress category at the Golden Globes, the Critics Choice Awards, the BAFTAs and the Screen Actors Guild Awards.”I didn’t think I was supposed to be doing this as a career,” she said in an emotional acceptance speech. “For so long, I’ve always wanted to be different, and now I realize I just need to be myself. And I thank you. I thank you for seeing me.”Danielle Brooks (“The Color Purple”), Emily Blunt (“Oppenheimer”), America Ferrera (“Barbie”) and Jodie Foster (“Nyad”) were also nominated in the category. More

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    Here Are the 2024 Oscars Host, Presenters and Performers

    You may have heard that “Oppenheimer,” with a pack-leading 13 nominations, is a lock to win best picture. This is accurate. But even if we’re certain how the night will end, the getting there is the fun part. Here’s what to expect:Who is hosting?Jimmy Kimmel is back for a second consecutive year, his fourth time overall as host of the ceremony. That ties him with Whoopi Goldberg and Jack Lemmon, but puts him behind Johnny Carson (with five) and Billy Crystal (nine). And it’s still miles back from the record-holder, Bob Hope, with 19.Who is presenting?The “Field of Dreams” format is back! For the first time since the 2009 ceremony, five past winners in each acting category will introduce the five current nominees for each award, and then announce the winner together.The academy never reveals which presenters will be announcing which awards before the ceremony, but all four of last year’s acting winners — Brendan Fraser (actor), Michelle Yeoh (actress), Ke Huy Quan (supporting actor) and Jamie Lee Curtis (supporting actress) — are in the presenter lineup.Also set to take the Dolby stage on Sunday night: Mahershala Ali, Bad Bunny, Nicolas Cage, Chris Hemsworth, Dwayne Johnson, Michael Keaton, Jennifer Lawrence, Matthew McConaughey, Rita Moreno, Lupita Nyong’o, Octavia Spencer, Ramy Youssef and Zendaya.Who will be performing?All five of the best original song nominees will be represented: “I’m Just Ken” from “Barbie” (performed by Ryan Gosling and Mark Ronson); “The Fire Inside” from “Flamin’ Hot” (performed by Becky G); “It Never Went Away” from “American Symphony” (performed by Jon Batiste); “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” from “Killers of the Flower Moon” (performed by Scott George and the Osage Singers); and “What Was I Made For?” from “Barbie” (performed by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell). More