The 98th Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, took place on Mar. 15 at the Dolby Theatre located in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.
This event was hosted by the well-renowned comedian Conan O’Brien for the second year in a row.
O’Brien spoke about how he is “honored to be the last human host of the Academy Awards. Next year, it’s going to be a Waymo in a tux,” commenting on the new aspects of technology that are to be integrated slowly into daily life.
One of the memorable awards included the “Actor in a Leading Role,”, which was won by Michael B. Jordan for his role as Smoke in the movie Sinners. It was his first nomination and his first win.
“It was cool to see him win… he deserved it …especially after recognizing him from other movies,” said freshman Sophia Stanford.
His father flew in from Ghana and his highly respected mothers were both there to support him. During his speech he stated, ”I’m going to keep being the best version of myself I could be”.
After his win, Jordan took his Oscar award trophy and ate at a local In-N-Out restaurant in Hollywood. The movie Sinners won four Oscar awards, including best actor, best cinematography, best original score and best original screenplay.
Another highlight included the movie One Battle After Another, which is a dark comedy action thriller. This movie took away six Oscar awards: best actor, best director, best supporting actor, best casting, best editing, and best adapted screenplay. The movie cast included high-profile actors such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Regina Hall, and Teyana Taylor.
Last but not least, the animated movie K-Pop Demon Hunters created by Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans, and Michelle L.M. Wong won the “Best Animated Feature film”.
During her acceptance speech, Kang stated, “For those who look like me, I am so sorry it took us so long to see us in a movie like this but it is here… and the next generations don’t have to go longing. This is for Korea and Koreans everywhere”.
“I really liked K-Pop Demon Hunters. It was really representative and appreciative of Korean culture,” said sophomore Lindsey Chang.
K-Pop Demon Hunters also won the best original song “Golden”, written by Ejae, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo and Teddy Park. “Golden” was the first K-Pop song to win a Grammy award. This animated movie had a unique blend of K-Pop culture, old traditional Korean culture and captured the hearts of many young and old fans.
The 98th Oscar Academy Awards were full of records and awards, new introductions; a night of merit celebrating film.
