Most viral moments of the 96th Academy Awards
The Panther breaks down some of the most viral moments that blew up the internet on Hollywood’s biggest night. Jimmy Kimmel hosted the March 10 event, marking this night as his fourth time hosting. Photo courtesy of Trae Patton / © A.M.P.A.S.
Access into the Dolby Theater may be highly exclusive, but internet discourse is fair game for anyone with an internet connection.
Another year of Academy Awards means another year of cinephiles live-tweeting about the shocking snubs, worst flubs and hilarious moments of the ceremony. The 96th Academy Awards broadcast gave the internet plenty of food for thought to discuss via retweets, subreddits and YouTube comment sections.
From nearly full-frontal nudity to yet another confusing Best Picture announcement, it’s become clear that even if the nominees may be predictable, Hollywood’s biggest night will always be full of surprises. The Panther broke down some of the most viral moments from this year’s ceremony.
Jimmy Kimmel's opening monologue slammed
Jimmy Kimmel is no newbie to the Academy Awards stage, the 2024 broadcast being the fourth time he has hosted. The internet had been very critical of recent Golden Globes host Joy Koy, so it was no surprise to them when Kimmel made some questionable jokes right out of the gates — the most criticized of which being his string of jokes about Robert Downey Jr.’s Hollywood redemption story and history of drug abuse. The internet saw it as a cheap shot at some laughs.
“This is the highest point of Robert Downey Jr.’s long and illustrious career — well, one of the highest points,” Kimmel said. The camera cuts to Downey, who puts a finger on his nose. Kimmel continues: “Is that too on-the-nose, or is that a drug motion you’re making?” Downey’s final effort to make the jokes stop was mouthing, “Keep it going, keep it going,” while making a rolling motion with his fingers.
John Cena mimicked the streaker from the 1974 Oscars ceremony when presenting the Oscar for Costume Design. Photo courtesy of Dana Pleasant / © A.M.P.A.S.
John Cena and the value of costumes
Step by step, inch by inch, John Cena carefully made his way to the microphone fully nude with only an envelope to cover his crotch. Mimicking the streaker from 1974’s Oscar ceremony, the former WWE wrestler-turned-actor put as much as he could on display — without violating the Federal Communications Commission’s guidelines — to showcase the importance of costumes.
A quick break to announce the nominees allowed for a costume change — is it really a change if he had nothing on? — and Cena announced Holly Waddington of “Poor Things” as the winner for Best Costume. Although the envelope was revealed to be velcro-ed, Cena’s stunt was still pushing the envelope, much to the dismay of ABC executives. Whether or not this was a welcomed sight for viewers, Michelle Yeoh found it hysterical. “Good for him. We need some laughter,” she told ExtraTV.
Ryan Gosling (center), Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Kingsley Ben-Adir and Scott Evans performed “I’m Just Ken” during the event. Photo courtesy of Trae Patton / © A.M.P.A.S.
Kenergy through the roof
Waves of hot pink and cowboy hats flooded the Oscar stage during Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken” performance. Although the song lost the Best Original Song award to its counterpart featured in the same film — “What Was I Made For?” — Ryan Gosling managed to be effortlessly entertaining.
Reminiscent of the iconic Marilyn Monroe Gentlemen Prefer Blondes number, Gosling channeled every last bit of his Kenergy into the final stop on the Barbie press tour. Co-stars Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Kingsley Ben-Adir and Scott Evans revived their respective versions of Ken, along with an army of 62 other Kens in an all-out sparkly dance number.
If you don’t believe in the magnitude of Kenergy radiating through the screen, Gosling’s stage presence broke Emma Stone’s dress!
Awards campaigning gets Messi
How can you hate a seven-year-old Border Collie sporting a tie with acting chops on par with the night’s nominees? Well, campaigners of Oscar-nominated films weren’t pleased with the “Anatomy of a Fall” scene-stealer after Messi the dog stole the spotlight at the Oscars Luncheon, claiming he gave the film an unfair advantage during the voting window.
Following reports that Messi would stay home for the ceremony, many fans were ecstatic to see him in attendance. He had one more buzz-worthy moment after the broadcast showed him “clapping” for Robert Downey Jr. for his Best Supporting Actor win. The show even ended with a shot of Messi peeing on Matt Damon’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star, further pushing the long-running “feud” between Damon and Kimmel.
John Mulaney took the stage next to present the Oscar for Sound. Photo courtesy of Trae Patton / © A.M.P.A.S.
John Mulaney is really good at being John Mulaney
We have learned to expect the unexpected from John Mulaney anytime he finds his feet in front of an award show audience. He channeled Saturday Night Live sketch energy when he took to the stage to announce the award for Best Sound. For the most part, he took time to describe the entire plot of the movie “Field of Dreams” — the 1989 Kevin Costner film that he believes should have won Best Picture.
He did make time to talk about how important sound is in films, reminding us of the classic line “You’re going to need a bigger boat” and a new addition to the hall of fame for the most memed line in film history with “Madame Web’s,” “He was in the Amazon with my mother when she was researching spiders just before she died.”
Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling followed, celebrating stunt performers and stunt coordinators. The two will appear in the upcoming film “The Fall Guy.” Photo courtesy of Trae Patton / © A.M.P.A.S.
‘Barbenheimer’ feud continues
Stunts still may not be recognized by an Academy Awards category, but the men and women who put their bodies on the line for the sake of cinema were honored with a montage package introduced by Ryan Gosling of “Barbie” and Emily Blunt of “Oppenheimer.” The two films have become tied together after sharing a July 21 release date, sparking the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon.
The moment could have been used to promote Gosling and Blunt’s upcoming project “The Fall Guy” — featuring Gosling as a stunt-man and Blunt as his director. Instead, the two hashed out their Barbenheimer feud in a series of playful blows.
“That’s right, here’s Ken and Kitty just leaving all that fodder in the dust. And the way this awards season turned out, it wasn’t that much of a rivalry, so, just let it go,” Blunt asserted.
Gosling countered with, “It’s true, you guys are doing very well, congratulations. But you know, I think I’ve figured out why they called it 'Barbenheimer' and they didn’t call it 'Oppenbarbie’. Well, I think you guys are at the tail end of that because you were riding ‘Barbie’s’ coattails all summer.”
Andrea Bocelli (right) and his son Matteo sang “Time To Say Goodbye” during this year’s In Memoriam segment. Photo courtesy of Trae Patton / © A.M.P.A.S.
Sometimes touching, sometimes tone-deaf In Memoriam
This year, many have deemed the In Memoriam segment of the Oscars “an astronomical failure.” In addition to the typical slideshow of names and faces of deceased stars in the emotional In Memoriam, the ABC broadcast put dozens of dancers in front of the screen. If audiences thought that was too much, Italian singers Andrea Bocelli and his son Matteo were frequently shown singing “Time To Say Goodbye” instead of the names of those who passed.
Some famous names were left out of the picture portion, listed with the names of many others at the end. Norman Lear, Suzanne Somers, Lance Reddick, Burt Young and Ron Cephas Jones were among them. “Euphoria” actor Angus Cloud, who died in July 2023, was left out entirely.
Viewers clearly prefer the Academy sticking to the old-fashioned slideshow and not turning the sorrowful In Memoriam segment into a Hollywood production itself.
And my eyes see ‘Oppenheimer’
Al Pacino took a surprise approach to announcing “Oppenheimer” as this year’s Best Picture. Photo courtesy of Phil McCarten / © A.M.P.A.S.
“Best Picture…uh, I have to go to the envelope for that. And I will. Here it comes. And my eyes see ‘Oppenheimer.’ Yes. Yes. Emma Thomas. Charles Roven… What happened?”
“Oppenheimer” may have been the predicted favorite to win Best Picture, but no one could have predicted how legendary actor Al Pacino would announce the film as the winner, as seen above. Pacino forwent announcing the ten nominees and got straight to the point. By the delayed applause, it seems the audience wasn’t so sure this was the official announcement until the orchestra chimed in.
Pacino told the Associated Press that the decision not to announce the ten nominees was made by Oscars producers since they were all highlighted individually throughout the ceremony. While not as disastrous as the “Moonlight”-”La La Land” mix-up, but not as riveting as a classic suspense-builder, Pacino’s performance — as most of his are — was memorable as the 96th Academy Awards came to a close.