Michael B. Jordan accepting the award for Best Leading Actor at The 98th Academy Awards. Photo: The Shade Room / Facebook
One Battle After Another was the biggest winner of the night at the 98th Academy Awards held in Hollywood, Los Angeles, United States. The film won six awards including the coveted Best Picture as well as Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Supporting Actor and the first ever Oscar for Best Casting.
“Thank you very very very much. You make a guy work hard for one of these, I really appreciate it,” Anderson said as he accepted the Best Director award. This was the fourth time the 55-year-old filmmaker had been nominated for the award but marks his first win. In fact, it’s Anderson’s first Academy Award win in a career spanning more than 30 years and 10 feature films including acclaimed works such as Magnolia, There Will Be Blood and Phantom Thread.
“I have to obviously thank the Academy for even adding this category, and for the casting directors that fought tirelessly to make it happen despite everything in their way,” Cassandra Kulukundis said while receiving the first-ever Best Casting award for her work on One Battle After Another. “I dedicate this to you and to the casting directors who never got a chance to get up here, who didn’t even get a chance to get their name on the movie.”
Sinners also had an impressive night, winning four awards: Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Leading Actor, and Best Original Score. “All my cast and crew please stand up, you guys are amazing, you all are winners in my book,” Coogler said as he accepted the Best Original Screenplay award.
The 39-year-old filmmaker celebrated his first Oscar win, having been nominated five times previously. Sinners also set a record, earning a staggering 16 nominations, the highest number for any film in Academy history.
“I stand here because of the people that came before me: Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx, Forrest Whitaker, Will Smith and to be amongst those giants, amongst those greats, amongst my ancestors, amongst my guys, thank you…” Jordan said while accepting Best Leading Actor. The 39-year-old actor is only the sixth Black performer to win the award in nearly a century of Oscars.
Another historic moment came when Autumn Durald Arkapaw became the first woman to win Best Cinematography, for her work on Sinners. “I’m so honoured to be here and I really want all the women in the room to stand up. Cause I feel like I don’t get here without you guys. I really really truly mean that.”
Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of Mary Shelley’s 19th-century classic, Frankenstein, also shined, winning Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and Best Production Design. Meanwhile, the animated musical K-Pop Demon Hunters claimed Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song for Golden.
Other winners of the night included Weapons, Avatar: Fire & Ash, Mr. Nobody Against Putin, F1, Sentimental Value and Hamnet.
