Every year, Times writers, editors, photographers and videographers fan out at the Oscars to capture the scene inside the Dolby Theatre, and the 97th edition of the awards was no different. And whether you watched the show live or are just catching up, there was much to learn from Hollywood’s glitziest night.
Our team on the ground at the 2025 Oscars reflects on the night’s key moments, from the controversy that cast an awkward pall over the ceremony to the rise of awards-season influencers.
Karla Sofía Gascón, right, with “Emilia Pérez” costars Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldaña at the Governors Awards in November, before controversy upended her Oscar campaign.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
The season’s biggest controversy hung over the show
The controversy that erupted in late January around the racist, Islamophobic tweets of best actress nominee Karla Sofía Gascón didn’t just tank the film’s promising Oscar trajectory, it also proved to be the most uncomfortable thing about being at the Academy Awards this year.
After Netflix pulled the plug on many of the “Emilia Pérez” nominee’s pre-awards appearances, it was announced that she would be at the show. How she would be received by the notoriously liberal Hollywood elite became a burning question. Once a favorite for winning the best actress statue, the first out transgender person to be nominated for the honor became the elephant in the room at Sunday’s ceremony.
Host Conan O’Brien immediately broke the ice during his opening monologue when he cracked a joke at her expense that literally made the crowd grit its teeth and groan.
“‘Anora’ uses the f word 479 times,” O’Brien said. “That’s three more than the record set by Karla Sofía Gascón’s publicist: ‘You tweeted WHAT?’”
For the next three hours, every time her name was mentioned the crowd applauded politely, but without any real warmth. When she left her seat she was accompanied by a Netflix publicist, her agent from UTA and a private security guard. Nothing about her situation seemed comfortable.
It was a strange cultural moment to witness, particularly at a time when President Donald Trump and his MAGA allies are berating the left for the type of cancel culture that wields its influence by stripping prestige and opportunity from those who give voice to “anti-woke” ideas such as those expressed in Gascón’s tweets. If Gascon were any other person — and not a trans woman whose identity is among those under attack from conservatives — one might have expected the MAGA world to rally around her cause.
On Oscar Sunday, this quandary left Gascón totally alone and desperately out of place — the kind of story you tend to see onscreen at the Dolby, not in the audience. — Jessica Gelt
“Anora’s” Sean Baker backstage at Sunday’s Academy Awards with his four Oscars.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
‘Anora’ never left sex workers behind
Sean Baker made history with four wins for “Anora.” Mikey Madison, star of the independent film, won for actress in a leading role. And neither neglected to thank the story’s subject — sex workers.
Baker has always had a knack for telling stories about this marginalized community: Hailey in “The Florida Project” turns to sex work, Sin-Dee Rella in “Tangerine” relies on the profession and “Starlet” features adult film workers. Drawing so much inspiration from their world, his films assume a raw portrayal of many individuals’ reality — without ever feeling exploitative. In his acceptance speech for original screenplay on Sunday he said, “They have shared their stories, they have shared their life experiences with me over the years. My deepest respect, thank you. I share this with you.”
As Baker’s indie films enter the mainstream with “Anora,” his storytelling maintains an authenticity by keeping its inspiration close.
Madison, who has shared previously that her research process for the role involved hanging out in strip clubs and getting dances, also thanked the community from Hollywood’s biggest stage.
“I also just want to again recognize and honor the sex worker community. I will continue to support and be an ally,” said Madison. “All of the incredible people, the women that I’ve had the privilege of meeting from that community has been one of the highlights of this entire incredible experience.” — Cerys Davies
“The Brutalist” star and eventual best actor winner Adrien Brody on the red carpet at the Oscars.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
The Oscars are still ‘electric,’ especially for ‘The Brutalist’ producers
I’ve been in the audience at the Oscars three times, but never before have I sat in a cheering section for a particular nominated film. This year, however, I was lucky enough to be seated on the main floor in the midst of a bunch of producers for “The Brutalist,” which was nominated for 10 awards and ultimately won three, including cinematography, original score and lead actor.
The crew of at least a dozen people were on the edge of their seats the whole show, spreading a sense of suspense, joy and anticipation throughout the telecast. I got sucked in and kept grabbing the arm of executive producer Carter Stanton — who was sitting directly next to me — every time a category came up that included “The Brutalist.”
“It’s electric, honestly,” Stanton told me of his first trip to the Academy Awards. “We’ve been all over the world with this movie, and to be here at the Oscars on the biggest stage is next level.”
When Lol Crowley won for cinematography Stanton and his friends launched out of their seats, clearly elated. When Brody won for his portrayal of the tragically heroic architect László Tóth, the group went wild, shouting and cheering and hugging one another.
The tension was thick before best picture was announced, and the let-down was real when “The Brutalist” didn’t win, but the team still stood and cheered for “Anora.”
The show was over, but the night was just getting started. What did Stanton and the other producers plan on doing next?
“Celebrate, dance, hug everybody that worked so hard on this movie,” he said. “And encourage everybody to keep making independent films.” —Jessica Gelt
Kieran Culkin accepts the Oscar for supporting actor for “A Real Pain.”
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Kieran Culkin is one popular ‘little s—’
Kieran Culkin has now announced twice on a national stage that part of his motivation for winning awards statues is to help convince his wife to have more kids.
The campaign started last year, when the actor announced that his wife, Jazz Charton, had said they could “maybe” have a third child if he won an Emmy. Fourteen months later, the couple are still parents to two children. But after winning the supporting actor prize for his role in “A Real Pain” on Sunday, Culkin doubled down on his quest for a larger brood from the Oscars stage.
“Really, I want four,” Culkin said he told his wife post-Emmys. She apparently told him she’d be game if he won an Oscar, leading him to end his Oscar speech by urging her: “Let’s get cracking on those kids. What do you say?”
An hour later, the pair rushed out of the Dolby ballroom in search of a restroom. Charton entered the single stall first, with her husband clutching her purse while he waited for her.
So how did the speech go over with her?
“I’m still taking the temperature,” Culkin admitted.
After Charton emerged from the restroom, she clarified her feelings: “The more he keeps asking me, the less I will,” she said with a smile. “I’m used to it by now. My uterus is public domain. It’s just a running joke between us.”
Emma Stone, who produced “A Real Pain,” is apparently equally familiar with the 42-year-old’s sometimes frustrating quirks.
By the lobby bar, she told songwriter Jack Antonoff how the actor had attempted to drop out of the film two weeks prior to shooting. Stone — who actually dated Culkin when they were in their 20s — had to board an international flight with him and his family to make sure he made it to set in Poland.
“I’m so proud of him,” she told Antonoff. “He’s such a little shit.” — Amy Kaufman
“Flow” filmmakers Gints Zilbalodis, from left, Matiss Kaza, Ron Dyens and Gregory Zalcman in the Oscars press room following the film’s win for animated feature.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
International winners delivered the feel-good stories
The press room at the Loews Hotel next door to the Dolby Theatre was packed with around 175 reporters hunched over their laptops as winners were ushered in to answer just a handful of questions. Journalists from over 40 different countries were among the ranks, but none had a more celebratory evening than those from Latvia and Brazil.
When “Flow,” a wordless Latvian film about a cat’s journey after a monstrous flood, was announced as the winner of the animated feature category, screams filled the room. The movie’s win marked the first Oscar for the country, and the Latvian reporters in the room made sure to celebrate.
Later in the show, “I’m Still Here” won the award for international feature and Brazilian reporters similarly jumped up and cheered at the news (and director Walter Salles’ mention of the movie’s star, Fernanda Torres). It’s the first Brazilian movie to win the award. When the winners for each respective film came back to the interview room, they were asked questions in their native tongues. All of this joy and international attention points towards the Academy’s increased focus on uplifting global films and stories — even beyond the designated international category.
The director of “Flow,” Gints Zilbalodis, summed up the celebratory energy of both the international and American press in the room perfectly in his post-win interview: “It’s kind of a universal language that we can all understand. Cinema is a language.” — Kaitlyn Huamani
Bowen Yang presents “Wicked’s” Paul Tazewell with the Oscar for costume design.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
‘Titanic’ looms as large as ever, at least for Bowen Yang
Yang, who helped present the award for costume design as the only presenter (of five) dressed in his on-screen costume from “Wicked,” was “happy to be the joke” at the Oscars on Sunday. (It probably didn’t hurt that “Wicked’s” Paul Tazewell took top honors.)
In the lobby at the Dolby, he and co-host of their podcast “Las Culturistas” Matt Rogers were reminded of how the Oscars have shaped their own pursuit of comedy.
“For us, it was the 1998 Oscars, where ‘Titanic’ was nominated. That was the first year that I was obsessed with Kate Winslet’s look and the storyline was about how Leo [Di Caprio] didn’t show up,” said Yang. “It was the convergence of all these things that we loved. I just remember being that kid and thinking, ‘One day, I’ll do a bit on the Oscars.”
Mission accomplished. — Cerys Davies
“Hot Ones” host Sean Evans on the red carpet at the Oscars.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Spicy awards campaigns are all the rage — just ask Sean Evans
As Sean Baker won his first Oscar of the night, among those watching from the theater’s lobby was Sean Evans, host of the popular YouTube show “Hot Ones.”
The wildly popular show features Evans holding surprisingly in-depth interviews with guests as they eat chicken wings with ever-increasing levels of spiciness. It has gone from being a flaky lark to a somewhat essential part of many a promotional tour. The outrageous 2024 appearance by Conan O’Brien, this year’s Oscars host, has become the stuff of comedy legend. And among this year’s awards contenders, Demi Moore, Kieran Culkin, Ariana Grande, Sebastian Stan and Zoe Saldaña have all appeared on the show.
This was Evans’ first time attending the Oscars and part of him still can’t believe he’s here.
“It’s amazing watching something like this, you’ll see Conan hosting, who’s been on the show,” he said. “I just watched a performance with Doja Cat and Lisa, who have both been on the show, and winners who have been on the show. It’s just always surrounding me, always in pop culture.”
Perhaps it shouldn’t be such a surprise, as Evans’ attendance speaks to the changing nature of Oscar campaigns, with someone like Timothée Chalmet earning a lead actor nomination for “A Complete Unknown” after posting online videos and appearing on an unlikely mix of outlets in both legacy and online media during his promotional tour.
Amelia Dimoldenberg, host of the online show “Chicken Shop Date,” was for the second year an official red carpet correspondent and social media ambassador for the Academy Awards. TikTok star Reece Feldman has also been a part of official promotions for the Oscars.
For Evans, becoming an influential stop on the Oscars circuit was never a end goal.
“I did not have those kinds of dreams for it, but it’s been amazing,” said Evans. “Obviously the show has a major connection to Hollywood at this point, we interview a lot of movie stars, so I’m just fortunate that I’ve been able to somehow work my way into a room like this. It’s crazy.” — Mark Olsen
Lead actress nominee Cynthia Erivo, pictured on the Oscars red carpet, was among the celebs we spotted at the muted Vanity Fair after-party.
(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
Decadence is not Hollywood’s flavor du jour
Maybe it was the predictable batch of winners who picked up Oscar statues this year, but something about this year’s annual Vanity Fair party felt muted. Sure, the trappings were primarily the same: An elaborately decorated space — with a neon-infused, mirror-heavy disco vibe — an eclectic guest list that included everyone from Conan O’Brien to Macaulay Culkin to Jeff Bezos and a line of stars two-dozen people deep queuing up for the red carpet.
But while Hailey Bieber and Cynthia Erivo patiently waited their turns to pose for the shutterbugs after Edgar Ramirez and Zooey Deschanel, the scene inside was less energetic. The space devoted to dancing, a smoky room dubbed “Club VF,” saw little action throughout the night. The only recognizable person I witnessed on the dance floor the entire night was Lil Nas X, vibing to Timbaland’s “Give It To Me.” While the In N’ Out burgers and a Funke pizza station were available as usual, gone were the cigarette girls handing out treats, the dishes of fries. Media cutbacks, or a reaction to the GLP-1 boom? Either way, I’m on the damn drug, and I felt like a vulture descending on a Funke slice before a new pie vanished as quickly as the last.
The big executives certainly did not appear to be having much fun. Jeff Bezos and wife Lauren Sanchez were out the door by 10:10 PM, waiting by the door for singer Ellie Goulding. (We’re as confused as you are.) The only guest to approach them on their way out was Kendall Jenner, who talked to Sanchez while Bezos looked through his phone. David Zaslav, meanwhile, wandered around solo with a glass of what looked like wine in hand. He watched from afar as Sarah Paulson and Erivo, both outfitted in large structural gowns, managed to hug despite their dramatic fashion.
Demi Moore, who many expected to win best actress, was flanked by her three daughters as she received conciliatory hugs from the likes of Sebastian Stan and Kim Kardashian. Margaret Qualley confidently led husband Jack Antonoff by the hand as he looked around like a lost puppy. Outside, where the cigarette smokers gathered, I heard Zoe Kravitz saying something about “ketamine spray,” though I have absolutely no context for that reference because I rushed by quickly so as not to inhale secondhand smoke. Which probably gives you an idea of how old I am. Maybe the vibes weren’t subdued, after all —maybe I’m just aging out of cool parties. — Amy Kaufman
