“Oppenheimer,” an epic biopic on the American physicist and father of the atomic bomb and the race to create the first atomic weapon, collected seven Academy Awards, including the famous Best Picture trophy at the Oscars 2024, on Sunday as Hollywood celebrated a difficult, but successful year in cinema.
The movie won “bests” in direction, cinematography, editing, music, acting, and supporting cast.
In Hiroshima, the Japanese city devastated by the first atomic bomb in 1945, the film about the creator of this weapon is awaited with circumspection.
The film’s director, famous filmmaker Christopher Nolan who directed “interstellar,” “the Dark Knight Trilogy” (Batman), and “Dunkirk,” won the “Best Director” Oscar for his 12th feature.
Irish actor Cillian Murphy, known for his role as Thomas Shelleby in the series “Peaky Blinders,” who played the role of J. Robert Oppenheimer, earned the “Best Actor” oscar. Murphy had already played in Nolan’s “Dark Knight,” as well as the films “Red Eye,” and “Sunshine.”
“We made a film about the man who created the atomic bomb, and for better or worse we are living in Oppenheimer’s world,” Murphy said as he held his trophy on stage. “So I would really like to dedicate this to the peacemakers everywhere.”
In the supporting actor category, Robert Downey Jr. of “Oppenheimer” and Da’Vine Joy Randolph of “The Holdovers” won their first Academy Awards.
Downey, who was nominated for an Oscar in 1993 before his career was derailed by drug usage, received the award on Sunday for playing Oppenheimer’s professional enemy, Lewis Strauss.
“Oppenheimer,” a three-hour historical drama about science and politics, was an unexpected box office success, grossing 953.8 Mln dollars and receiving worldwide critical acclaim.
Emma Stone was nominated for best actress for her portrayal of a lady raised from the dead in the dark comedy “Poor Things.” Stone received her second Academy Award for best actress in the 2016 musical “La La Land.”
The best actress race was considered one of the most competitive, with Lily Gladstone nominated for “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Had she won, Gladstone would have become the first Native American to receive an Academy Award for acting.
The winners were decided by around 10,500 Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences members.
With 2023 having been disrupted by labor strikes by actors and writers, the Oscars provided Hollywood with an opportunity to commemorate two blockbusters, “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie,” which grossed a combined $2.4 billion in cinemas and made movies the center of public culture last summer. “Barbie” took home one Oscar.
Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell won Best Original Song for the ballad “What Was I Made For?” The couple had previously played the song on stage, with Eilish singing at a microphone next to her brother and co-writer, O’Connell, on piano.