One win after another: Oscar Night from the press room

Photo courtesy of Al Seib / The Academy

In the midst of the 98th Academy Awards, where “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners” took home 10 awards collectively, lesser-known pieces of the movie-making puzzle were honored.

Guillermo Del Toro’s “Frankenstein” won in both the Costume Design and Makeup and Hairstyling categories. The Panther got to speak directly with the makeup team after their win. Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey spoke highly of Jacob Elordi, nominated for his performance in the film, whose transformation into “The Creature” took around 10 hours at a time and included 42 prosthetic pieces.

“We had to make him into a living statue basically,” Hill said. “When I first met Jacob, I said, ‘Look, you're going to hate me at 2:00 a.m., and I'm going to hate you for hating me, but we've got a movie to do.’ He's the nicest man on the planet. The most patient man on the planet. Ten hours a day, 56 times, and the man didn't complain even once. And now we're good mates.”

Makeup artist Samuel chimed in, noting an additional challenge for the actor in the daily transition: for half of that process, Elordi had to stand in a T-pose.

“So when Cliona and I would start work every morning, these guys were already working for five or six hours. They'd been there since midnight, in some cases, and we would come in at six or seven in the morning,” said Samuel. “He was not sitting in a chair and relaxing. So again, hats off to him.” 

It wasn’t just unsung heroes who made noise, however, as long-revered filmmakers and actors finally got their due. Fresher talent also cemented their places in the annals of Hollywood history. The Panther was in the press room for the show, seeing and hearing from nearly every award winner.

After an expectedly irreverent opening sketch and monologue from host Conan O’Brien, the night started with a lovely moment of recognition. Amy Madigan won Best Supporting Actress, the first Academy Award in her nearly 50-year career, for her performance as the villainous Aunt Gladys in “Weapons.”

In the press room, Madigan was joyous. At one point, she flipped the script and asked the moderator how she selected which journalists from the press pool to ask questions. She also told the room what about Gladys spoke to her the most.

“As soon as I read it, I knew. I knew this woman … I just knew that I could grab it by the throat. She's someone that's just pushed to the limit. She's just fighting for survival. I think in particular, a lot of people relate to that,” Madigan said. “I always like to ask people, what is it about Gladys that you like? She's inspiring in a strange way.”

The night continued apace with wins for “KPop Demon Hunters” in Best Animated Feature, and shortly thereafter, it was time for the debut of a new Oscar category: Best Casting. 

The first new Oscar in 24 years was introduced by one actor cast in each of the films nominated: Delroy Lindo, Paul Mescal, Wagner Moura, Gwyneth Paltrow and Chase Infiniti. The award ultimately went to Cassandra Kulukundis, who cast “One Battle” and notably cast Infiniti in what was her first feature film. On stage, Kulukundis took a moment to thank her frequent collaborator writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson.

“Ten movies, we’ve done this for over 30 years. We grew up together … this is friggin’ insane. And I have won before you, which is also crazy, so yeah, I hope you get one tonight,” Kulukundis said.

She was asked about her and Anderson’s insistence on finding fresh faces, in particular seamlessly mixing A-list and non-professional actors.

“In a lot of ways, it keeps everyone on their toes. We don't really know what's going to come out of the real people's mouths,” Kulukundis said. “So if you're in the military, you're playing military. If you're a jail nurse, you're playing a jail nurse. If you skateboard, you're going to hang off a car in a Paul Thomas Anderson movie. And that's kind of the fun of it.”

Best Supporting Actor went to a notably absent Sean Penn for his villainous role in “One Battle,” his third Oscar, leading right into a pair of wins for “Sinners” and “One Battle.” The visionaries behind each film, Ryan Coogler and Paul Thomas Anderson, won Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay, respectively.

Both filmmakers took a moment to acknowledge how both their films and these moments of victory reminded them of their kids.

“I wrote (‘One Battle After Another’) for my kids to say sorry for the housekeeping mess we’ve left in this world we’re handing off to them, but also with the encouragement that they will be the generation that will hopefully bring us some common sense and decency,” Anderson said.

Coogler took a moment in the press room to appreciate his late uncle James, who introduced him to the blues music that is the crux of “Sinners.”

“I haven't talked about my uncle James enough tonight. He meant the world to me. I'm so proud that he gave me the gift of his stories about Mississippi, that he played blues music for me and talked to me about it. He continues to give me gifts from where he is now,” Coogler said. 

A new precedent was set in Best Cinematography, when the Oscar went to “Sinners” cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw, the first woman to ever win in the category. In a lovely moment on the telecast, Coogler ran to grab her son so she could see him from the stage. In her speech, she took a moment to thank fellow cinematographers Ellen Kuras and Rachel Morrison and had all the women in the room stand up for a moment of recognition.

She was asked in the press room about what this moment meant to her and what she thought this landmark win could mean in the bigger picture. 

“A lot of little girls that look like me will sleep really well tonight because they'll want to become cinematographers,” Arkapaw said.

Best Actor went to Michael B. Jordan for his dual roles as twins Smoke and Stack in “Sinners.” The press room erupted into a frenetic cacophony of cheers. Jordan became only the sixth Black actor to win in this category, acknowledging the moment’s significance and the lineage that preceded him.

“To be amongst those giants, amongst those greats, amongst my ancestors, amongst my guides over my career — I feel it,” Jordan said.

That same sense of gratitude followed Jordan to the press room when he was asked about how much people were rooting for him throughout awards season.

“I've been doing this for 25 years, and there's a lot of people who've seen me grow up in this industry and grow up in this town. And they looked out for me when they didn't have to. They wanted me to do well when they didn't have to,” Jordan said. “That goodwill, those guides … I've always felt like people had genuine support for me.”

Jessie Buckley won Best Actress for the crushing period drama “Hamnet,” and dedicated her win to the “beautiful chaos of a mother’s heart.”

“One Battle”’s run wouldn’t stop at its script, though, as it went on to win Anderson two more Academy Awards for Best Director and the biggest one of the night, Best Picture. Anderson seemed enormously humbled by the awards for his latest film throughout the night.

“There is no best among them, there is just what the mood might be that day, but we’re happy to be a part of this,” Anderson said. “What a night. Let's have a martini.”