On Mar. 10, the 96th Academy Awards ceremony was held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California to showcase the winning film nominations spanning across 23 different categories.

The awards ceremony was hosted by television host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel, who took to the stage as a seasoned pro to host his fourth Academy Awards show since 2017. His opening monologue poked fun at topics such as the prior substance abuse problems of Robert Downey Jr., who is now at “one of the highest points in his career” after his success in “Oppenheimer”, and the controversy sparked during last year’s ceremony after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock across the face for mocking his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith, stating that “if anyone in this theater commits an act of violence at any point during the show, [they] will be awarded the Oscar for best actor and permitted to give a 19-minute-long speech.”

When it came time to announce the winning nominations, “Oppenheimer”, which focuses on how the Manhattan Project led to the development of the first atomic bomb in human history, managed to take the awards ceremony by storm after being nominated for 13 awards and winning seven of them, including Best Picture, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, and Best Film Editing. In addition, the film’s massive box office success allowed Christopher Nolan to win Best Director, Cillian Murphy (J. Robert Oppenheimer) to claim Best Actor, and Robert Downey Jr. (Lewis Strauss) to take home the winning nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and first Oscar of his nearly thirty-year long acting career. 

Prior to the start of the ceremony, North Star News sent out a form inviting members of the school community to share their predictions for each of the respective categories in an effort to see who could correctly predict the most winning nominations.  

Special Education Department secretary Ivan Milicevic, one of only three respondents to correctly predict the winner of each category, shares the background knowledge he took into consideration when making his predictions.  

“I think it was pretty predictable here,” Milicevic said. “I also watched a couple of award shows before [the 96th Academy Awards] and it seems to have followed the pattern. There were media darlings and there were definitely industry darlings this year that were heavy favorites. There was also a little bit of who I wanted in there as well, which kind of aligned. I’m a big Christopher Nolan fan so for Nolan fans, I’m sure it’s easy to predict a couple of categories there.”

Special Education Department Executive Secretary Laura Fischer, another one of the three respondents who correctly predicted each winner, reflects on her cinematic experience that involved making a cameo in the beloved holiday classic “Home Alone”.

“I was in my grade school choir and the director was going around to places in Oak Park because [“Home Alone”] was filmed in Oak Park,” Fischer said. “[In the church scene], the film shows our choir and the Trinity High School Girls Choir. So I just happened to be a part of the choir.”

Another noteworthy film that proved successful during this year’s awards ceremony was “Poor Things”, which follows the life of Bella Baxter, who was created by mad scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter and embarks on a romantic escapade around the world with one of his students in spite of her mental immaturity. The cinematic work ultimately earned 11 nominations and won four of them, including Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Costume Design, and Best Production Design. Additionally, lead actress Emma Stone took home the coveted nomination of Best Actress for her work portraying Bella Baxter as she highlighted key themes of personal transformation and breaking free from the bonds of societal constraints. 

When considering differences from ceremonies of previous years, the event was moved back from its usual 8 p.m. ET start to a 7 p.m. alternative, allowing additional time to run through the sequence. The extra time was mostly allotted for introductions of actors by peers who had been nominated in the same category, increasing the number of actors who were given the opportunity to speak onstage. That being said, one of the most tense points of controversy came after “The Zone of Interest” director Jonathan Glazer made a heated remark in reference to his Judaism, clarifying that he was not refuting his faith but that it was “being hijacked by an occupation”. In addition, the red carpet traditionally scheduled to take place before the event was delayed by five minutes due to the presence of protesters outside the building rallying over Hollywood’s support of “U.S.-funded Israeli genocide against Palestinians in Gaza”.

Milicevic believes freedom of expression is a virtue that should continue to be upheld during such ceremonies, but warns of the dangers of making generalized statements that may not be applicable to all.

“Art has always been a way to express oneself,” Milicevic said. “If you look at cinematographic art, the artists have their expression. We just have to be careful in this day and age when making statements for people and in their name. I think we have to be careful in claiming who we speak for. It’s okay to express your opinion, I feel like you should stand up for what you believe is right. But I think if you stand up and speak for a nation or a country or a people, you need to be careful not to assume your opinion is the opinion of the entire nation or country.”

Likewise, Fischer expresses her support for using the Academy Awards ceremony as a platform to broaden the influence of one’s ideas.

“The Academy Awards ceremony has always been a long-standing place to show protest,” Fischer said. “And I do think it’s okay because it’s one of the world’s biggest stages. Movies can really educate and promote ideas, whether they be what you agree with or disagree with. This is the highest accolade of art in the film industry.”

Looking forward to the prospect of future ceremonies, some have expressed concern when it comes to campaign money from large studios jeopardizing the integrity of a fair voting process. That being said, the ceremony marked a night of historical achievements and broken records across a wide diversity of fronts that deemed it among the most memorable in recent history. See here for a complete list of the winning nominations for each category announced during the 96th academy Awards ceremony.