Oscar’s funniest moments, from Conan O’Brien’s monologue to Adam Sandler’s casual look

USA TODAY’s Ralphie Aversa recaps the 97th Academy Awards from Los Angeles, where “Anora” was the night’s big winner.

There were streaming glitches on Hulu, puzzled viewers wondering what exactly “Anora” was and why it won five Oscars (including best picture, actress and director) and enough reaction shots of Timothée Chalamet to fill a chunk of “A Complete Unknown: The Sequel.”

Yes, Sunday night’s Oscars ceremony had its issues, including the fact that it was, once again, way too long. Why, for instance, was there a begging-to-be-cut dance salute to Bond films?

But this year’s Academy Awards didn’t disappoint in the humor department.

First-time Oscar host Conan O’Brien landed some memorable monologue jokes and survived a dubious musical number about wasting time during the broadcast. Los Angeles firefighters got to deliver a funny bit. And iron-woman actress June Squibb was funnier at 95 than most presents a third of her age.

In case you dozed off after Cynthia Erivo and Ariane Grande’s opening medley of songs from “The Wizard of Oz,” “The Wiz” and “Wicked,” here are the key laughs you missed.

Conan O’Brien on ‘Emilia Pérez’

O’Brien deftly addressed the controversy over “Emilia Pérez” best actress contender Karla Sofia Gascón, whose offensive past tweets resurfaced after her nomination. “Little fact for you, ‘Anora’ uses the f-word 479 times,” he joked. “That’s three more than the record set by Karla Sofia Gascon’s publicist.”

Sad John Lithgow

Kudos for Conan’s warning to winners who droned on with their acceptance speeches: Talk too much and the camera will cut to a disappointed John Lithgow. Playing along expertly, Lithgow delivered one of the all-time great unhappy expressions. If only the producers had had the guts to use it when best actor winner Adrien Brody (“The Brutalist”) threatened to push the show into four hours with his speech.

Adam Sandler called out

Adam Sandler showed up in a bright blue hoodie, basketball shorts, and a Hawaiian shirt, just so that O’Brien could berate him for going casual. “Adam, what are you wearing?” griped O’Brien. “Nobody even thought about what I was wearing until you brought it up!,” Sandler yelled angrily before storming out of the theater, but not before rushing down to the front row to deliver his last catch-phrase, “Chalamet!”

A nod to ‘The Substance’

Before his monologue, O’Brien parodied the body horror of best picture nominee “The Substance” with a filmed bit that had him emerging from Demi Moore’s back, then diving into her back again to search for his missing shoe.

O’Brien jabs at Trump

O’Brien’s biggest laugh came when he skewered President Donald Trump’s attitude toward Russian President Vladimir Putin. Noting at one point that ‘Anora,’ which is about an exotic dancer who marries the son of a Russian oligarch, already had won two Oscars, he said, “I guess Americans are excited to see somebody finally stand up to a powerful Russian.”

Ben Stiller’s jumping

In a fine display of physical comedy, Ben Stiller presented the Oscar for production design by praising its importance while getting stuck on a moving stage that, at one point, lowered so much that Stiller had to jump repeatedly to be visible.

Mick Jagger’s Bob Dylan impression

Surprise presenter Mick Jagger displayed superb comic timing before handing out the best song Oscar to “El Mal” from “Emilia Perez.” Said Jagger: “The producers really wanted Bob Dylan to do this. Bob didn’t want to do it because he said the best songs this year were obviously in the movie ‘A Complete Unknown.’” Then the limber 81-year-old did an impression of Dylan, who’s 83, while teasing, “Bob said, ‘you should find somebody younger.’ I said ‘OK, I’m younger. I’m younger than Bob, I’ll do it.’”

LA firefighters have jokes

After bringing Los Angeles firefighters onstage to honor their courage in battling the city’s devastating wildfires, O’Brien let three of them tell jokes that he wasn’t brave enough to deliver. The best zinger was Los Angeles Fire Department captain Erik Scott’s line: “Our hearts go out to those who have lost their homes. And I’m talking about the producers of ‘Joker 2.’”

June Squibb’s ‘revelation’

Before giving the makeup and hair Oscar to “The Substance” team, the delightful nonagenarian star of “Thelma,” June Squibb, told her co-presenter, Scarlett Johansson, that she actually was “Nosferatu” star Bill Skarsgård in heavy makeup. “Oh yeah, I mean half the time you see me, it’s not me. It’s Bill Skarsgård,” she quipped. “The real June Squibb is at home with a book right now.”

Halle Berry gets “payback” for Adrien Brody kiss at Oscars

Halle Berry and Adrien Brody recreated one of the most infamous moments in Academy Awards history on the 2025 Oscars red carpet — 22 years after their headline-making onstage kiss at the 2003 ceremony.

Berry, who was presenting at this year’s ceremony, spotted Brody on the red carpet while he was speaking with Access Hollywood host Mario Lopez.

Before making her move, Berry jokingly addressed Brody’s longtime girlfriend, designer Georgina Chapman. “I’m sorry, Georgina, but I have to do it,” she said before grabbing Brody’s neck and kissing him passionately.

After the kiss, the two laughed and embraced. Speaking to Extra afterward, Berry explained that she had been waiting a long time for this moment. “Twenty-one years I’ve been waiting to get him on a red carpet and slap one on,” she joked.

Berry later confirmed that Sunday’s red carpet was the first time she and Brody had crossed paths at an awards show since the 2003 incident. “That was one hell of a night for him, and for me as well. To be a part of his moment… tonight I had to pay him back. I’ve seen him out at parties, but this is the first time since that night that I’ve seen him on the red carpet somewhere. He’s nominated this year. He deserved that,” Berry told Variety.

At the 2003 Oscars, Brody, who had just won Best Actor for The Pianist, stunned Berry — and the audience — when he pulled her in for an unplanned kiss after she handed him the award. While the audience erupted in cheers, the moment was unexpected and Berry later said the kiss was not planned.

Berry, who had won Best Actress the previous year for Monster’s Ball, admitted in a 2017 interview that she had been completely caught off guard. “No, that was not planned. I knew nothing about it,” she said on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. “For real, I was like, ‘What the f*** is happening right now?’”

Brody, reflecting on the 2003 moment in a recent interview with Variety, said, “We live in a very conscious time, which is a wonderful thing. And nothing that I ever do or have done or would’ve done is ever done with the intention of making anyone feel bad.”

Chapman, Brody’s girlfriend, appeared to take the moment in stride. When asked about the red carpet kiss, she responded with a laugh, “How can you deny a man a kiss with Halle Berry?”

Berry’s playful reenactment of the moment set the tone for an Oscars night filled with high-profile reunions and red carpet surprises. The actress, 58, dazzled in a disco-ball-inspired Christian Siriano gown adorned with hundreds of mirrors and crystals. “Can’t sit down in this baby,” she joked on the red carpet.

While the red carpet moment between Berry and Brody made headlines, Brody had an even bigger night at the Oscars. The Brutalist star won Best Actor for his performance as Hungarian-Jewish architect László Tóth, a Holocaust survivor navigating life in postwar America.

The film, which had been a major player this awards season, was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor for Guy Pearce.

The coveted Best Picture award went to Anora, which also took home the Best Original Screenplay and Best Directing awards for Sean Baker, as well as Best Actress for Mikey Madison.

CNY’s Adrien Brody wins 2nd Oscar, irks viewers with ‘gross’ move and long speech

Central New York resident Adrien Brody won his second Academy Award on Sunday night, but he didn’t win over everyone with his acceptance speech.

Brody, who owns a historical mansion in Vienna, N.Y., took home the Best Actor trophy for his performance in “The Brutalist.” It’s his second Oscar win, after previously becoming the youngest actor to win the category for “The Pianist,” another Holocaust film, in 2003.

Before he went onstage, however, Brody shocked viewers when he spit out his gum — and threw it to his girlfriend, Georgina Chapman. She caught it, helping him in an awkward moment.

“Gross,” one viewer wrote on X (formerly Twitter) afterwards.

“Who does that?” another tweeted.

“You’ve just won the Oscar; why not put that gum in the pocket of the tux?” a third asked.

“I would never degrade my partner like this,” a fourth said. “Georgina — you’re 0 for 2 in picking men. You deserve better.”

Brody had already irked some fans by beating out other actors Timothée Chalamet (“A Complete Unknown”), Colman Domingo (“Sing Sing”), Ralph Fiennes (“Conclave”) and Sebastian Stan (“The Apprentice”) for the 2025 Oscars statuette. If Chalamet won for his performance as Bob Dylan, he would have broken Brody’s record for youngest Best Actor winner by eight months.

Brody faced further criticism for his lengthy acceptance speech — more than six minutes long — including telling the Oscars to cut the wrap-up music.

“I’m wrapping up, please, please, please, I will wrap up,” he said when the orchestra began to play. “Please turn the music off. I’ve done this before, it’s not my first rodeo. Thank you.”

Brody thanked Chapman, not for catching his gum, but for her support and love, including her two “beautiful children.” Chapman, who reportedly first started dating Brody in 2019, shares India and Dash with her ex-husband, disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.

“Popsy’s coming home a winner!” Brody said, revealing the kids’ nickname for him.

Variety reports Brody is one of just a handful of actors to win Best Actor at the Academy Awards twice, joining Spencer Tracy, Jack Nicholson, Marlon Brando, Dustin Hoffman, Gary Cooper, Tom Hanks, Fredric March, Sean Penn and Anthony Hopkins. Daniel Day-Lewis is the only person to win Best Actor three times.

At the 2003 Oscars, Brody sparked a different kind of controversy when he surprised presenter Halle Berry by kissing her onstage when accepting his award. Berry later said she had no hard feelings about it, and proved it by kissing Brody Sunday night for “some payback.”

Brody, 51, has appeared in more than 75 movies and TV shows, including “King Kong,” “Houdini,” “Midnight in Paris,” “Peaky Blinders,” “Angels in the Outfield,” “Succession,” and Wes Anderson titles like “The Grand Budapest Hotel.” He also starred in “Clean,” shot in Utica, and “Manodrome,” filmed in Syracuse.

Since 2008, he’s owned what he calls an “architectural relic” commonly known in Central New York as “Stone Barn Castle.” He made a documentary about his renovations to the dairy barn that premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in 2015, but has never released the film commercially.

“It’s a place that is still dear to my heart – the seasonal shifts and hiking in the woods,” Brody recently told Condé Nast Traveler of the Oneida Lake-adjacent home. “I love New York City: it’s home, but the proximity of all that nature is really special. I run away all the time, as much as I can. I think solitude is good for creativity and contemplation.”

During Sunday’s speech, he spoke about the “fragile profession” of acting and his pride in “once again” representing the lingering traumas and the repercussions of war and systematic oppression, and of antisemitism and racism and othering.”

“I pray for a healthier and a happier and a more inclusive world, and I believe if the past can teach us anything, it’s a reminder to not let hate go unchecked,” Brody said. “I love you. I appreciate you all. Let’s fight for what’s right. Keep smiling, keep loving one another. Let’s rebuild together. Thank you.”

Adrien Brody Wins Best Actor for ‘The Brutalist,’ Taking Home His Second Career Oscar

Brody took home best actor at the 97th Academy Awards for his powerful portrayal of Lázló Tóth, who escapes the Holocaust and sails to the United States to find his American Dream. The film spans 30 years in the life of Tóth, a fictional character whose unorthodox designs challenged societal norms, and his relentless pursuit of artistic integrity.

Brody triumphed over fellow nominees Timothée Chalamet, “A Complete Unknown,” Colman Domingo, “Sing Sing,” Ralph Fiennes, “Conclave,” and Sebastian Stan, “The Apprentice.”

“The Brutalist,” which was nominated for 10 Oscars including best picture, is Brady Corbet’s three-and-a-half-hour postwar American epic filmed in VistaVision. Brody starred in the film alongside Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce.

After winning best actor at the 78th British Academy Film Awards in February, Brody said “The Brutalist” carries a powerful message for divided times.

“It speaks to the need for all of us to share in the responsibility of how we want others to be treated and how we want to be treated by others,” he said. “There’s no place any more for antisemitism. There’s no place for racism.”

Brody won an Academy Award for best actor in 2003 for his role in “The Pianist.” His gap of 22 years would be the second longest between best actor wins. It was 29 years between wins for “Silence of the Lambs” and “The Father” for Anthony Hopkins.

Brody is also known for his performances “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “The Darjeeling Limited” and “Midnight in Paris.”

For Brody, his role in “The Brutalist” had obvious echoes with arguably his most defining performance. In Roman Polanski’s 2002 “The Pianist,” Brody also played a Jewish artist trying to survive during WWII.

__

For more coverage of this year’s Academy Awards, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/academy-awards

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Sean Baker wins best director Oscar for ‘Anora’ in Academy Awards sweep

“Anora” creator Sean Baker won best director, best picture and two other Academy Awards at the Oscars, bookending a dominant awards season for the American filmmaker whose stories seek to humanize sex workers and immigrants.

Baker, 53, wrote, produced, directed and edited the most dominant film of the night. The comedy-drama stars Mikey Madison as a Brooklyn exotic dancer who marries the impetuous son of a Russian oligarch. They impulsively tie the knot on a ketamine-induced Las Vegas getaway, angering his parents, who send their bumbling henchmen after the couple to force an annulment.

“Anora” swept on Sunday, March 2, with five overall wins — two more than “The Brutalist.” Four of those statues went to Baker, who now ties Walt Disney for the most wins in a single year in Academy Awards history. (Unlike Disney in 1954, all Baker’s wins were for a single project. Bong Joon Ho was the previous record holder for most wins for a single film, in 2020 for “Parasite.”)

In addition to best director and best picture, Baker won for best original screenplay and best editing — a rarity as directors don’t typically cut their own films. He came into the night the favorite for the directing Oscar after earning the top prize from the Directors Guild of America, a win that historically all but guarantees an Oscars victory. He also took home the top awards at the Producers Guild and Independent Spirit Awards.

In his best director acceptance speech, he exhorted filmmakers to keep creating projects for the big screen, bemoaning the erosion of the theatergoing experience.

“In a time in which the world can feel very divided, this is more important than ever,” Baker said. “It’s a communal experience you simply don’t get at home. If we don’t reverse this trend, we’ll be losing a vital part of our culture. This is my battle cry.”

Baker told Quentin Tarantino, who presented the award, that if he hadn’t cast Madison in 2019’s “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood,” there would be no “Anora.” On Sunday, Madison took home the lead actress award — her first Oscar.

“Thank you so much to Sean. I adore you. This is all because of you,” Madison said onstage.

This year’s best director lineup featured five first-time nominees in the category for the first time in nearly three decades. All had writing credits on their respective films, demonstrating the academy’s growing preference for auteurs who can masterfully bring their own vision to life. For the Oscar, Baker beat out Brady Corbet of “The Brutalist,” James Mangold of “A Complete Unknown,” Jacques Audiard of “Emilia Pérez” and Coralie Fargeat of “The Substance.”

“Anora” brings Baker’s signature style of provocative comedy from indie theaters into the mainstream, blending slapstick humor with social commentary in a way that makes lessons about marginalized groups palatable to a wider audience. He made the film on a modest budget of $6 million — an amount one producer previously joked is smaller than the catering budget of some of its competitors. He said Sunday that it was the best $6 million ever spent. Last year’s best picture winner, “Oppenheimer,” had a $100 million budget.

Baker has been vocal about the difficulty of making independent films and surviving as an indie filmmaker in an industry that increasingly supports big-budget spectacles. In a rousing speech at the Independent Spirit Awards, he said indies are in danger of becoming “calling card films” — movies made only as a means to get hired for projects at major studios. Without backing for independent films, he said, some of the most creative and innovative projects might never be made.

He said he hopes the success of “Anora” will increase support for indie projects.

Baker has long been passionate about using his craft to help destigmatize sex work. His 2012 film “Starlet” follows a budding friendship between an adult film star and a crotchety widow who sells her a thermos full of cash at a yard sale. Baker said the connections he formed with sex workers involved in the project inspired him to feature them in several other films.

He received widespread praise for “Tangerine” (2015), in which he used three iPhone 5S smartphones to tell a story about transgender sex workers in Los Angeles. In “The Florida Project” (2017), a single mother living in an Orlando motel turns to sex work to provide for her daughter. And “Red Rocket” (2021) follows a retired porn actor’s journey back to his small Texas hometown.

Baker and Madison weren’t the only ones to pick up Oscars for “Anora” — producers Alex Coco and Samantha Quan, Baker’s wife, also received statues for the best picture win.

The papal thriller “Conclave,” which some had picked to upset “Anora,” went home with just one award, for best adapted screenplay.

Over the course of the nearly four-hourlong event, eight of the 10 movies nominated for best picture came away with at least one award in a ceremony buoyantly hosted by Conan O’Brien that favored song and dance over strong political statements.

Netflix’s beleaguered contender, “Emilia Pérez,” the lead nominee going into the show, went home with two awards — best song and best supporting actress, for Zoe Saldaña — after a scandal caused by offensive tweets by star Karla Sofía Gascón torpedoed its chances.

“Mami! Mami!” a tearful Saldaña said. “My mom is here. My whole family is here. I am floored by this honor. Thank you to the academy for recognizing the quiet heroism and the power in a woman like Rita and talking about powerful women. My fellow nominees, the love and community that you have offered to me is a true gift, and I will pay it forward.”

Saldaña accepted the award from the reigning winner in the category, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who told Saldaña that she “took us on a journey. One that made us question the very limits we put on ourselves. And then you showed us exactly how to break them. You are fearless, and it is so inspiring to watch.”

The win adds to a collection of successes for the star on the awards circuit: Saldaña won her first Golden Globe in January, and notched wins at the British Academy Film Awards, the Critics Choice Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

“My grandmother came to this country in 1961. I am a proud child of immigrant parents. With dreams and dignity and hard working hands,” Saldaña said. “And I am the first American of Dominican origin to accept an Academy Award. And I know I will not be the last.”

“Wicked” stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo kicked off the ceremony with a tribute to Los Angeles following the wildfires that devastated the Southern California metropolis earlier this year. Grande sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and Erivo performed Diana Ross’ “Home” before the “Wicked” stars joined together for “Defying Gravity” from their blockbuster big-screen musical.

Later, “Wicked,” the biggest box-office hit among the best-picture nominees, won awards for production design and costume design.

“I’m the first Black man to receive the costume design award,” said costume designer Paul Tazewell, who couldn’t finish that sentence before the crowd began to rise in a standing ovation. “I’m so proud of this.”

Twenty-two years after winning best actor for “The Pianist,” Adrien Brody won the same Oscar again for his performance as another Holocaust survivor in Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist. His win came over Timothée Chalamet (“A Complete Unknown”), who had the chance of becoming the youngest best actor ever, a record owned by Brody.

“I’m here once again to represent the lingering traumas and the repercussions of war and systematic oppression and of antisemitism and racism and othering,” said Brody. “I pray for a healthier and happier and more inclusive world. If the past can teach us anything it’s to not let hate go unchecked.”

Brody took home the best actor Oscar for his powerful portrayal of Lázló Tóth, a visionary Hungarian architect who escapes the Holocaust and sails to the United States to find his American Dream. The film spans 30 years in the life of Tóth, a fictional character whose unorthodox designs challenged societal norms, and his relentless pursuit of artistic integrity.

He’s the 11th man to win best actor more than once. Daniel Day-Lewis is a three-time winner and nine others — Spencer Tracy, Jack Nicholson, Marlon Brando, Dustin Hoffman, Gary Cooper, Tom Hanks, Fredric March, Sean Penn and Anthony Hopkins — are two-time best actor winners.

“The one thing that I’ve gained, having the privilege to come back here, is to have some perspective,” he said. “No matter where you are in your career, no matter what you’ve accomplished, it can all go away. And I think what makes this night so special is the awareness of that.”

Brody also called out antisemitism and racism during his speech.

“I’m here once again to represent the lingering traumas and the repercussions of war and systematic oppression and of antisemitism and racism and othering,” he said. “I pray for a healthier and a happier and a more inclusive world. And I believe if the past can teach us anything, it’s a reminder to not let hate go unchecked.”

The night’s first award went to Kieran Culkin for best supporting actor. Culkin has cruised through the season, picking up award after award, for his performance alongside Jesse Eisenberg in “A Real Pain.”

“I have no idea how I got here,” said Culkin, “I’ve just been acting my whole life.”

Best makeup and hairstyling went to “The Substance” for its gory creations of beauty and body horror. “Dune: Part Two” won for both visual effects and sound, and its sandworm — arguably the star of the night — figured into multiple gags throughout the evening.

Though the Oscars featured the first time an actor was nominated for portraying a sitting U.S. president (Sebastian Stan as a young Donald Trump in “The Apprentice”), politics went largely unmentioned through most of the ceremony.

The president’s name was never uttered. While the show featured several striking political moments, much of this year’s Oscars was more dedicated to considering the fluctuating place of movies in today’s culture, and in Los Angeles’ resilience following the devastating wildfires of January.

O’Brien avoided politics completely in his opening monologue. The first exception was nearly two hours in, when presenter Daryl Hannah announced simply: “Slava Ukraini” (“Glory to Ukraine!”)

“No Other Land,” a documentary about Israeli occupation of the West Bank made by a collation of Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers, won best documentary. After failing to find a U.S. distributor, the filmmakers opted to self-distribute “No Other Land.” It grossed more than any other documentary nominee.

“There is a different path, a political solution, without ethnic supremacy, with national rights for both our people,” said Yuval Abraham, an Israeli, speaking beside co-director Basel Adra, a Palestinian. “And I have to say, as I am here, the foreign policy in this country is helping to block this path. Why? Can’t you see that we are intertwined, that my people can’t be truly safe if Basel’s people aren’t truly free?

Walter Salles’ “I’m Still Here,” a portrait of resistance under the Brazilian military dictatorship, won best international film. At one point, that award seemed a lock for “Emilia Pérez.” But while “Emilia Pérez” collapsed, “I’m Still Here” rode a wave of passionate support in Brazil and political timeliness elsewhere.

The biggest upset early on came in the best animated feature category. “Flow,” the wordless Latvian film upset DreamWorks Animations’ “The Wild Robot.” The win for “Flow,” an ecological parable about a cat in a flooded world, was the first Oscar ever for a Latvian film.

Hulu’s Oscars Stream Stopped Working Before Best Picture

Now that Anora beat early-season front-runner Emilia Pérez for Best Picture, a new Oscars villain has emerged, and its name is Hulu. This year, for the first time, the Academy Awards streamed live on Hulu for all subscribers, not just for those with the Hulu + Live TV plan. So many, many, many viewers were disappointed when, at approximately 10:32 p.m. ET, the Oscars live feed abruptly cut out, with no way to keep watching the events unfolding on the ABC broadcast. It couldn’t have happened at a worse time: Mikey Madison was just announced as the winner of the Oscar for Best Actress for her title role in Anora, beating category front-runner Demi Moore. Just as she got out of her chair and made her way through the aisle, the feed grayed out, with a message stating that the video feed was no longer available. Back on the Hulu homepage, the Oscars had disappeared as an option to even click on. This continued through to the end of the broadcast, so Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal’s presentation of Best Picture to Anora, as well as the acceptance speech and host Conan O’Brien’s closing remarks, weren’t viewable to many. Writing now, as of 11:11 p.m. ET (okay, portentous …) the 97th annual Academy Awards stream still isn’t available for playback.

This glitch followed one that occurred toward the beginning of the broadcast, when many viewers were booted out after the red-carpet livestream or found themselves unable to log in to Hulu to watch the awards show. According to Deadline, Hulu resolved the “technical issue with a login system” and told viewers they’d be able to log back in after rebooting their devices. The ABC broadcast continued to stream normally on ABC.com (both Hulu and ABC are under the Disney umbrella).

On Twitter, thousands of viewers voiced their troubles with the streaming service. Many humorously drew connections between Sean Baker’s acceptance speech for Best Director (also for Anora), in which he advocated for distributors to prioritize theatrical runs over going straight to streaming, and Hulu seemingly “pulling the plug.”

Vulture reached out to Hulu for comment about the outage.

‘No Other Land’ directors plead for an end to Israeli-Palestinian conflict

‘No Other Land’ directors plead for an end to Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Daniel Arkin

March 3, 2025 at 3:57 AM

“No Other Land,” a portrait of a West Bank village under Israeli military occupation, won the Oscar for best documentary feature at the 97th Academy Awards on Sunday. In their acceptance speech, two of the film’s four directors pleaded for an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“About two months ago, I became a father, and my hope to my daughter [is] she will not have to live the same life I am living now,” said co-director Basel Adra, a Palestinian activist who is from Masafer Yatta, a region of the West Bank.

Adra went on to describe the issues faced by his village, including home demolitions and displacement. “We call on the world to take serious actions to stop the injustice and to stop the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people,” he said.

Yuval Abraham, an Israeli investigative journalist who co-directed “No Other Land,” described Adra as his “brother” but decried that they are considered “unequal.”

“We live in a regime where I am free under civilian law and Basel is under military laws that destroy his life,” Abraham said.

Abraham called for an end to the violence that has consumed the Middle East for decades and worsened after Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the ensuing Israeli military offensive in Gaza.

“We made this film, Palestinian and Israelis, because together our voices are stronger,” Abraham said. “We see each other. The atrocious destruction of Gaza and its people must end. The Israeli hostages brutally taken in the crime of Oct. 7 must be freed.”

Abraham urged the world to seek “a different path, a political solution, without ethnic supremacy, with national rights for both of our people.” He criticized the U.S. government, accusing the “foreign policy in this country” of “helping to block this path.”

“No Other Land” was one of the best-reviewed documentary features of last year. It did not secure theatrical distribution in the United States — a fact that the filmmakers attributed to political sensitivities around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

However, “No Other Land” screened at independent cinemas in select cities; digital screeners were made available for academy voters.

Adra and Abraham’s joint acceptance speech was one of the few explicitly political moments of the Oscars ceremony. Conan O’Brien, making his debut as host, largely shied away from jokes about world events or domestic politics.

However, “Conclave” screenwriter Peter Straughan wore a blue and yellow pin in honor of Ukraine. Daryl Hannah, presenting one of the awards, briefly expressed solidarity with Ukraine as it repels Russia’s invasion.

The expressions of support followed a tense meeting at the White House on Friday during which President Trump Donald and Vice President JD Vance clashed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

‘The White Lotus’ Season 3, Episode 3 recap: Work and politics at the dinner table

“The White Lotus,” Mike White’s black comedy anthology series, is back on HBO for a third season. Times staffers love an escape, but since we can’t take a trip to Thailand to stay at a luxury resort, the next best thing is to immerse ourselves in the new season. Follow along with us for each episode as we discuss theories, observations and our favorite moments leading up to the finale. (Read our recaps: Episode 1 and Episode 2.)

Episode 3 opens with the Ratliff family (minus their patriarch, Tim, played by Jason Isaacs) on the shore, under foreboding gray-blue skies that saturate the surrounding area. The three siblings are sitting together — “This is what it looks like before a tsunami,” Lochlan (Sam Nivola) says — while matriarch Victoria (Parker Posey) is staring out to the sea. Their North Carolina home, lighted up inside with a fiery glow, stands behind her, signaling it’s all a dream. As Victoria wakes up, she overhears Tim taking another stressful call about the scandal he’s caught up in but that she knows nothing about. After sharing the contents of her dream with her family over breakfast, Piper (Sarah Catherine Hook) suggests: “It could be some kind of warning … [dreams] are a window into something.” Dun, dun, DUNNN. As the calls keep coming in — and Saxon (Patrick Schwarzenegger), who works for his father, nearly learns that something’s amiss — Tim challenges the family to do away with all their devices for the duration of the trip, letting Pam collect them into a jumbo bag. What could possibly go wrong?

Elsewhere, Rick (Walton Goggins) sidles up to hotel owner Sritala Hollinger (Lek Patravadi) at breakfast, claiming to be a producer who is working on a secret project and asks the former actor if she would be open to taking a meeting in Bangkok with a director he’s working with. She agrees. Before all that, Rick has a hankering for some weed and takes a trip out of the hotel, with Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) tagging along. The pair wind up at a snake show, where tourists marvel at the reptiles while munching on potato chips. Rick, high as a kite and feeling a kinship to the misunderstood animals, takes it upon himself to set some of the snakes free. A cobra bites Chelsea and she’s whisked away to a hospital. Her resort pal Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon), who had invited them for a dinner date, makes the keen observation upon her return: “Chelsea, you’ve had two brushes with death in two days. Maybe you guys shouldn’t come on the boat tomorrow.”

The three musketeers, meanwhile, continue their fascinating and painfully realistic friendship dance. At dinner, Kate (Leslie Bibb) reveals that, since her move to Austin, she goes to church every Sunday, which surprises her coastal liberal friends who imagine it might be awkward to connect with people who don’t align with their political views. “Wait. Are you a Republican?” Laurie (Carrie Coon) asks, which elicits a look of horror from Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan). “Noooo!” Kate says. “I’m an independent. But Dave is.” When Laurie wants some assurance that Kate didn’t vote for Donald Trump, her bob-haired friend offers a tight smile and evades the questions. And yes, later that night, Laurie and Jaclyn gather to trash talk about this development, which Kate overhears.

But the bigger OMG moments concerned Tanya McQuoid (Jennifer Coolidge). First, Chloe mentions to Chelsea that Greg/Gary (Jon Gries) has an ex-wife whom he never talks about because she was a troubled woman who killed herself. (One can only assume this is a story that he’s given Chloe about Tanya; unless he has another ex-wife … ). Later, at dinner, it finally clicks for Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) that she recognizes Greg/Gary as Tanya’s beau; she approaches him at dinner and brings up Tanya (in front of Chloe, Chelsea and Rick). Greg/Gary tells her she’s mistaken. But Belinda can’t shake the feeling. She manages to forget long enough to share a walk to her room with Pornchai (Dom Hetrakul).

Finally, the other employees of the resort have their own developments. He may have been friendzoned, but Gaitok (Tayme Thapthimthong) is still pining for Mook (Lisa Manobal); but at least he’s still trying to make career moves, letting Sritala know he’d be interested in being her bodyguard if she needed extra security on her trip to Bangkok.

Now it’s time for Meredith Blake, Greg Braxton and Yvonne Villarreal, platinum-status members of “The White Lotus” frequent guest program, to break it all down.

Who do we think is the corpse this week? Does the snake imagery from recent episodes offer a clue?

Blake: I am actually more intrigued by all the water imagery in this episode and what it might indicate. There’s Victoria’s elusive dream, the torrential downpour she wakes up to, and then there’s Lochlan holding up his iPad to show Tim, who is gripped with panic over whatever is going on at the office, a video of a man standing on the beach during the 2004 tsunami and calmly being overtaken by the waves. “He didn’t even run, he just stood there,” Lochlan observes. Tim looks like he understands this impulse. Maybe he will let the waves wash over him, too.

Braxton: I’m going to sideline my earlier prediction, at least for the moment, and contend that Victoria’s tsunami dream was a clue she might be the one who is the floating ghost.

Villarreal: Ooh, I’m intrigued by both readings. Victoria’s suspicions that something is amiss with Tim and her choice to not press too much for an answer she doesn’t really want to know feels like it could set her up to be collateral damage to Tim’s poor decisions.

Do we believe what Rick says in these meditation sessions? Or is it an act?

Braxton: Rick says he needs satisfaction as revenge for his father’s murder. I predict he will somehow be involved in the finale mayhem, possibly with guns ablazing.

Villarreal: Look, Walton Goggins’ delivery is so powerful in these meditation sessions that I am willing to release every caged snake on his behalf. You see the face of a lost boy whose self-worth, seemingly because of his daddy issues, is strained — “I don’t need to detach, I’m already nothing…” This man is coming for his Emmy. But because I trust no one, I’m also side-eyeing these moments. Is it all part of some grand manipulation? I don’t know if that’s enough of a red flag for me. I’m just a girl charmed by his curmudgeon demeanor and annoyance for everything.

The episode gives us our first Tanya mentions. What did you think?

Blake: I thought it was interesting, and maybe a tad implausible, that word of Tanya’s death hadn’t gotten back to Belinda, either through news reports or the White Lotus grapevine. Surely if a fabulously wealthy heiress like Tanya died under mysterious circumstances after traveling aboard a yacht where numerous people were shot and killed, it would attract media attention and probably spawn a million podcasts. And I am also sure the employees at the White Lotus would be buzzing about the high-roller guest who drowned. My question is how Greg/Gary has managed to escape unnoticed — and why he’s dumb enough to show up at another White Lotus. But you know what they say … criminals always return to the scene of the crime.

Braxton: We’re going to find out soon how evil Greg/Gary is. It’s one thing to plot the murder of a wealthy spouse. But there’s literally nothing that can connect him to Tanya’s death. If he really fears that Belinda might expose him as a suspect, he could decide that she has to go. We’ll find out how dark his soul truly is.

Villarreal: To your point, Meredith, the lack of awareness from Belinda about Tanya’s death seems strange, which is why I could maybe see this season happening at the same time as the events of Season 2. Like, is he in hiding as the stuff in Sicily is going down, waiting for final word? And is the ex whom Chloe mentions someone else entirely or is it the story he gives her knowing Tanya’s end is near? Or does this season actually take place afterward and Greg/Gary is extra mysterious and quietly vengeful because his (maybe?) lover Quentin (Tom Hollander) is dead? (He was one of the murderous gay men whom we learn has a past with Greg/Gary judging from the old picture Tanya discovered of them.) Being in conspiracy theory mode is really making my head hurt.

What did you make of the Trump conversation between the Real Housewives of Koh Samui?

Blake: I admit I was a little thrown by the Trump reference. “The White Lotus” engages with real-world issues but is not usually so bluntly topical. It also made me wonder which election were they talking about. But it did not surprise me to hear that Kate is an “independent,” or that she probably leans conservative. You can tell a lot about a woman from the forced smile she gives to everyone she encounters. What’s more interesting is that Kate’s politics give Jaclyn and Laurie something to gossip about and leave her feeling like the third wheel. I wonder when Jaclyn is finally going to be the odd woman out?

Braxton: It was jarring to hear Trump’s name and an element that I don’t think will necessarily age well in a few years. But if you’re going to go there, then really go there. Instead of asking Kate whether she was a Republican, Jaclyn and Laurie should have asked her if she was MAGA.

Villarreal: I felt like I went through the Tanya McQuoid gamut of facial expressions while watching this scene.

Who has you most suspicious so far — Chloe, Greg/Gary or Valentin (Arnas Fedaravičius)? Are they working together?

Blake: We all know Greg/Gary is a villain. But now I find myself questioning what exactly Chloe knows about Tanya and whether she’s running a long con on Chelsea. The way she sidled up right next to her at the bar in the premiere felt like someone zeroing in on a mark. And surely Chloe is no idiot and is savvy enough to ask questions about where all of GG’s money comes from. I think it’s safe to assume she knows more than she’s letting on.

Villarreal: Yeah, the snake imagery has me trying to determine who is slithering with deception — I’m starting to suspect Mook isn’t as sweet and nice as we think she is. Is she in cahoots with Valentin? Is Valentin working with Chloe to undermine Greg/Gary? Or is she working with Greg/Gary to con Chelsea and Rick? And why do I feel like Piper has something up her sleeve? I only trust the monkeys at this point.

Are Rick and Chelsea the best couple of the franchise?

Blake: Why yes, they are. I am surprised at how I’ve grown to care about this couple who seem mismatched in many ways — starting with their age but also their entire personalities. Chelsea is sunny and compassionate, while Rick seems like the dictionary definition of a misanthrope. But he clearly cares about her, in his own strange, emotionally stunted way. And thanks to his stoned snake liberation, we know that he’s capable of feeling empathy (however misguided) for other living creatures, which is more than I can say of many people on this show. Especially Saxon.

Braxton: Are we watching the same show, Meredith? One of the things that bothers me this season is Rick and Chelsea don’t make sense as a couple. I don’t see any connection that would help define why they are together in the first place. And she keeps calling him her “soulmate” even though he seems totally annoyed and detached from her. He didn’t seem to really care about her potentially fatal snake bite. He cared more for the snakes and dismissed the incident as “I was high.” I compare them to Harper (Aubrey Plaza) and Ethan (Will Sharpe) from Season 2. They clearly had issues, but there still seems to be a connection. Their marriage had just hit a rough patch. Rick and Chelsea are all rough patches.

Villarreal: Maybe Chelsea knows about Rick’s high arch (see photo 8 of this spread) and just couldn’t resist him? I dunno. I find them endearing as a couple. But I also know I shouldn’t because they could definitely benefit from a “Couple’s Therapy” session.

Who is Frank, the person whom Rick called in the final moments of the episode?

Blake: I have to believe Frank is some sort of shady underworld connection Rick met while doing “this and that.”

Villarreal: After Ke Huy Quan’s voice made a surprise cameo as Kenny, one of the professional contacts calling Ted amid the chaos, I hope we get a fun surprise with Frank.

Which group table would you want to sit at for dinner?

Blake: I’d definitely sit with Chelsea, because she’s a good time. But I might ask Laurie to join with us, too. Because if there’s anyone I can relate to it’s a tired working mom.

Braxton: It might change. But for me so far, it’s a “table for one.”

Villarreal: Meredith, please save me a seat at that table. I want in. But I’d add Rick to the mix after he’s gotten his hands on some weed.

‘No Other Land’ Wins Best Documentary Feature Oscar

Beating out fellow nominees “Sugarcane,” “Porcelain War,” “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat,” and “Black Box Diaries,” the Palestinian/Israeli doc “No Other Land” has won Best Documentary Feature at the 97th Academy Awards. Helmed by the film’s two central figures, Basel Adra and Yuval Abraham, along with Hamdan Ballal and Rachel Szor, the tragic exposé reveals the long-held inequities faced by Palestinians in the community of Masafer Yatta in the West Bank.

As Adra and his family constantly have their home and belongings ripped from them amidst the Israeli Defense Forces’s continued encroachment and settlement of their land, the young Palestinian man is forced to decide between a submissive life of constant uncertainty or risking it all by acting in opposition to this oppression. An outsider to Adra’s community, Abraham works to fight alongside these individuals and end their suffering, only to discover that this is not a battle with a clear conclusion in sight.

“Masafer Yatta is completely under the Israeli military control. If we want to build a home, we need the permission,” said Adra in an interview on IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast back in November 2024. “In the past decade, Israel has made our life in these areas unlivable, preventing people to have clean water to drink, water for their animals, preventing people access to land where they can cultivate and feed their animals, preventing people to have homes or schools.”

“No Other Land” was largely shot prior to the October 7 attacks Hamas made against Israel in 2023, but by releasing in its aftermath, the film has garnered a great deal of controversy. Despite multiple wins across awards season — from Best Documentary Film at Berlinale 2024 where it had its world premiere to Outstanding Non-Fiction Feature at the 2024 CinemaEye Honors — and despite being the top grossing Best Documentary nominee, the film still remains without an official U.S. distributor (though Cinetic Media has been handling its bookings at theaters across the country). Also speaking on Filmmaker Toolkit, Abraham shared his thoughts on how “No Other Land” was kept from being seen and how he hopes that will change with the greater attention being put on it.

“It’s a crime if it’s not out there to be seen, to spark conversations,” Abraham said. “Maybe some distributors are afraid to engage with the topic of Israel and Palestine, but isn’t this why we’re making documentaries, to spark [conversations]? Even if you label this as politically sensitive, I think anybody who watches the film leaves it feeling there’s a very deep truth in the film.”

To both celebrate the film’s Oscar nomination and provide further context for the ongoing battle between Israeli forces and Palestinian civilians, Adra recently contributed a guest column to IndieWire. In addition to outlining further atrocities committed since making “No Other Land,” Adra also made a call to action, pleading for further global support in ending the horrors taking place in Gaza and the West Bank.

“‘No Other Land’ wasn’t just a creative endeavor for me; it was an act of resistance,” wrote Adra. “By bringing the story of Masafer Yatta — and the issue of ethnic cleansing and home demolitions in the West Bank — to audiences worldwide, we did not seek to evoke sorrow or pity, but to inspire action, and urge people to join our struggle against the occupation.”

4 winners and 3 losers from a madcap Oscars

It won’t go down as the most exciting Oscars on record — there was no slap or envelope mix-up after all — but for this year’s Academy Awards, ending an unexpectedly cacophonous awards season with a smooth, calamity-free ceremony clocking in at under four hours was arguably the best of all possible outcomes.

The big winner of the evening, Anora, scooped up five of its six nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress for Mikey Madison (sorry, Demi!). The Brutalist also flexed several wins, including one for actor-slash-gum-thrower Adrien Brody, while several more overtly political films, like Palestinian-Israeli documentary No Man’s Land and the anti-authoritarian Brazilian film I’m Still Here, picked up some trophies.