The 94th Academy Awards recently happened on March 25, and for the many who did not watch the Academy Awards, here is a recap of the winners, losers, and storylines that occured during the 94th Academy Awards.

Winners & Losers

Best Picture

Winner – CODA (Philippe Rousselet, Fabrice Gianfermi and Patrick Wachsberger)

Nominees: The Power of the Dog, Belfast, West Side Story, King Richard, Dune, Don’t Look Up, Licorice Pizza, Drive My Car, Nightmare Alley.

Best Actress

Winner – Jessica Chastain (The Eyes of Tammy Faye)

Nominees: Penelope Cruz (Parallel Mothers), Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos), Kristen Stewart (Spencer), Olivia Colman (The Lost Daughter).

Best Actor

Winner – Will Smith (King Richard)

Nominees: Benedict Cumberbatch (The Power of the Dog), Andrew Garfield (tick, tick… BOOM!), Denzel Washington (The Tragedy of Macbeth), Javier Bardem (Being the Ricardos).

Best Director

Winner – Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog)

Nominees: Steven Spielberg (West Side Story), Kenneth Branagh (Belfast), Paul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza), Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car).

Best Original Score

Winner – “No Time to Die” (No Time to Die, Music and lyrics by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell)

Nominees: Dos Oruguitas (Encanto), Be Alive (King Richard), Down to Joy (Belfast), Somehow You Do (Four Good Days).

Best Documentary Feature

Winner – Summer of Soul (Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Joseph Patel, Robert Fyvolent and David Dinerstein)

Nominees: Flee, Attica, Ascension, Writing with Fire.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Winner – CODA (Sian Hader; based on the original motion picture screenplay La Famille Bélier written by Victoria Bedos, Thomas Bidegain, Stanislas Carré de Malberg and Éric Lartigau) 

Nominees: The Power of the Dog, The Lost Daughter, Drive My Car, Dune.

Best Original Screenplay

Winner – Belfast (Kenneth Branagh)

Nominees: Licorice Pizza, Don’t Look Up, The Worst Person in the World, King Richard.

Best Costume Design

Winner – Cruella (Jenny Beavan)

Nominees: Dune, West Side Story, Cyrano, Nightmare Alley.

Best International Film

Winner – Drive My Car (Ryusuke Hamaguchi)

Nominees: The Worst Person in the World, Flee, The Hand of God, Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom.

Best Supporting Actor

Winner – Troy Kotsur (CODA)

Nominees: Kodi Smith-McPhee (The Power of the Dog), Ciaran Hinds (Belfast), Jesse Plemons (The Power of the Dog), J.K. Simmons (Being the Ricardos).

Best Animated Feature Film

Winner – Encanto (Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino and Clark Spencer)

Nominees: The Mitchell’s vs. The Machines, Flee, Luca, Raya and the Last Dragon.

Best Visual Effects

Winner – Dune (Paul Lambert Tristan Myles, Brian Connor, and Gerd Nefzer)

Nominees: Spider-Man: No Way Home, Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Free Guy, No Time to Die.

Best Cinematography

Winner: Dune (Greg Fraser)

Nominees: The Power of the Dog, The Tragedy of Macbeth, West Side Story, Nightmare Alley.

Best Supporting Actress

Winner – Ariana DeBose (West Side Story)

Nominees: Kirsten Dunst (The Power of the Dog), Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard), Judi Dench (Belfast), Jessie Buckley (The Lost Daughter).

Best Makeup and Hair Styling

Winner – The Eyes of Tammy Faye (Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram and Justin Raleigh)

Nominees: Dune, Cruella, Coming 2 America, House of Gucci.

Best Production Design

Winner – Dune (Production Design: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Zsuzsanna Sipos)

Nominees: Nightmare Alley, West Side Story, The Power of the Dog, The Tragedy of Macbeth.

Best Film Editing

Winner – Dune (Joe Walker)

Nominees: King Richard, The Power of the Dog, tick, tick… BOOM!, Don’t Look Up.

Best Original Score

Winner – Dune (Hans Zimmer)

Nominees: The Power of the Dog, Encanto, Don’t Look Up, Parallel Mothers.

Best Live Action Short Film

Winner – The Long Goodbye (Aneil Karia and Riz Ahmed)

Nominees: Ala Kachuu – Take and Run, The Dress, On My Mind, Please Hold.

Best Animated Short

Winner – The Windshield Wiper (Albert Mielgo and Leo Sanchez)

Nominees: Robin Robin, Bestia, Boxballet, Affairs of the Art

Best Documentary Short Subject

Winner – The Queen of Basketball (Ben Proudfoot)

Nominees: Three Songs for Benazir, Audible, Lead Me Home, When We Were Bullies.

Best Sound

Winner – Dune (Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill and Ron Bartlett)

Nominees: West Side Story, No Time to Die, The Power of the Dog, Belfast.

The Storylines

The Slap

During the presentation for “Best Documentary Feature,” the presenter, Chris Rock, would joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s (Will Smith’s wife) medical condition called alopecia, an incurable hair loss disorder. Chris Rock jokingly commented about Jada being in a G.I. Jane sequel. G.I Jane is a 2000s film, where the main character is a bald female protagonist. Initially, Will Smith did not find the joke offensive at all, but Jada could be seen visibly annoyed. A few seconds later, Will would go on stage, interrupting the presentation. Following this, he infamously slapped Chris Rock in front of millions on TV. After Will went back to his seat, Chris Rock responded, “Will Smith just f—king smacked the s—t out of me,” before Will Smith would yell at him to “Keep my wife’s name out your f—king mouth.”

After Will Smith stopped yelling, Chris Rock would say, “that was the greatest night in the history of television,” then resumes the presentation. Afterward, it was reported that severely higher up would send staff to check on Chris after realizing the altercation was not staged. Chris would say that he was “fine.” Will Smith has made multiple apologies to Chris Rock and the Oscars about his actions at the Academy Awards.

Link to the slap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myjEoDypUD8

 

Will Smith Taking Home Best Actor

Will Smith would win “Best Actor” at the Oscars, an all-time first for the A-list actor. He would take home the Oscar for his portrayal of Richard William in the 2021 movie King Richard. Will Smith would famously apologize to the Oscars and his fellow nominees but not Chris Rock during his acceptance speech.

Ariana DeBose Historic Oscar Win for West Side Story

Ariana DeBose was nominated and won “Best Supporting Actress” for her role as Anita in the 2021 film West Side Story. She would become the second person to win an Oscar for playing the role of Anita, with the first being Rita Moreno for the 1961 film adaptation of West Side Story. Furthermore, Ariana is also the first openly queer woman to win an acting Oscar and the first Afro-Latina Oscar.

CODA Taking Home Best Picture & Dune Close Sweep

The 2021 film CODA would win, Best Picture, at the Oscars, and the director Jane Campion would become the third woman to win Best Director at the Oscars. In addition to these two Oscars, CODA would also win an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. However the most Oscars this year go to the 2021 film Dune. Dune would take home five Oscars including Best Cinematography and Best Original Score. In addition, it would also almost sweep all of the technical Oscars that were controversial not aired.