The Oscars 2025 offered many moments to remember, as well as entertaining and peculiar anecdotes, taking place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
The gala began with a tribute to the city of Los Angeles, through a video compilation of scenes from movies filmed there and starring stars such as Sylvester Stallone, Ryan Gosling, Robert Downey Jr., Margot Robbie, or Brad Pitt.
Just after, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, stars of the movie ‘Wicked’, performed renditions of ‘Somewhere over the rainbow’ and ‘Defying gravity’, bringing the audience to their feet.
The American actor Kieran Culkin took home the first Oscar of the night for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in ‘A Real Pain’. Kieran reminded his wife of the promise he made: if he won another award, they would have a third child, and if he won an Oscar, they would have four children (they currently have two).
The television presenter, comedian, actor, and writer Conan O’Brien was the host of the 97th edition of the Oscars, where the director of ‘Anora’, Sean Baker, made history by becoming the first person to win four Oscars in one night for the same movie.
Mikey Madison, one of the film’s stars, was crowned Best Actress.
One of the highlights of this year was that the five nominated movies were not interpreted, although that doesn’t mean there weren’t any musical performances, in addition to the tributes to James Bond and Quincy Jones.
Adrien Brody won his second Oscar for Best Actor for ‘El Brutalista’, 22 years after winning for his performance in ‘The Pianist’. Zoe Saldaña, who won the award for Best Supporting Actress, delivered a memorable speech in tribute to immigrants.
One of the most memorable moments was when Mick Jagger presented the Oscar for Best Song, which was won by ‘El Mal’, from the soundtrack of ‘Emilia Pérez’. During their speech, the composers of the song remembered both Zoe Saldaña and Karla Sofía Gascón.
This year the level of the nominated animated films was spectacular, but ‘Flow’, by Gints Zilbalodis, and his kitten facing the apocalypse snatched the Oscar from Dreamworks, Pixar, and Aardman. It is the first film to win this Oscar without being American, British, or Japanese, and the first from Latvia to be nominated and to win a statuette.
‘I’m still here’, by Walter Salles, won the Oscar for Best International Feature Film. Penélope Cruz presented the director with Brazil’s first Oscar. Salles dedicated the film to the real-life protagonist of the story, who “after the loss she suffered during a terrible regime, decided not to bow down and resist,” and to “the two extraordinary women who gave her life: Fernanda Torres and Fernanda Montenegro,” who are mother and daughter in real life.
Other key moments of the ceremony were…
DIANE WARREN
The composer broke her own sad record in this edition of the Oscars: 16 times she has been nominated for an Oscar, and 16 times she has gone home without the statuette. The creator of ‘The Journey,’ the theme of the Netflix movie ‘Seis Triple Ocho’ performed by H.E.R., lost in the category of Best Original Song to ‘El Mal,’ from ‘Emilia Pérez’.
In a kind of call to luck, or fate, the collar of his jacket had a peculiar phrase embroidered: ‘Make it f*cking happen’. But it didn’t happen. ‘The Journey’ was competing against two songs from Emilia Pérez, as well as ‘Never Too Late’ from the documentary ‘Elton John: Never Too Late’ and ‘Like a Bird’, from the prison drama ‘Sing Sing’.
SELENA GOMEZ
Singer Selena Gomez attended wearing a classic dress in whose confection 16,000 glass drops and crystals hand-sewn were used, placed in a lattice pattern. The ‘Emilia Pérez’ star dazzled in this outfit by American designer Ralph Lauren, customized and with bare shoulders.
The dress was crafted by a team of 12 Italian artisans who airbrushed the glass to achieve a pink finish that shimmered with every movement. Gomez, whose song “Mi Camino,” from the film “Emilia Pérez,” was nominated for Best Original Song, wore a diamond choker.
ADRIEN BRODY
Adrien Brody made history in 2003 by receiving his first Oscar for ‘El Pianista’, becoming the youngest actor to ever receive it at the age of 29. A record he still holds and that Timothy Chalamet could have broken had he won the statuette for ‘Un Completo Desconocido’, as he is also 29 years old but a few months younger. Furthermore, at 53 years old, and with this award for ‘El Brutalista’, he achieved another record: he is the only actor to have won two Best Actor Oscars with his first two nominations.
MIKEY MADISON
Against all odds, Mikey Madison, for ‘Anora’, snatched the Oscar for Best Actress from Demi Moore, who received her first nomination at 62 years old for ‘La sustancia’. Upon receiving the statuette, Madison acknowledged sex workers. “I want to acknowledge and honor the sex worker community. I will continue to support them and be an ally. They are amazing people, the women I have had the privilege of meeting from that community have been one of the highlights of this incredible experience,” she emphasized in her speech.
THE KEYS
• The three films that have received the most Oscars, with 11 in total, are: Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
• The three films that have received the most nominations, with a total of 14, are: All About Eve (1950, 6 Oscars), Titanic (1997, 11 Oscars), and La La Land (2016, 6 Oscars).