Film Independent Spirit Awards President Talks Category Changes, Streaming Ceremony, and Oscar Impact

The 2024 Oscars clocked up a number of historic firsts and achievements - and topping the bill was British filmmaker Christopher Nolan, who ended his 22-year wait for an Academy Award.

The Oscars took place on Sunday night, with the ceremony celebrating the very best talent in film, design and sound. A whole host of celebrities headed to the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles for the special event, which is celebrating its 96th year.The popular film Oppenheimer cleaned up nicely, taking home a grand total of seven awards including the highly-coveted Best Picture.The film's director Christopher Nolan also picked up the Best Director award, and its star Cillian Murphy was awarded the Best Leading Actor gong.

If Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer marks the high point in the career of Cillian Murphy, and is the film for which he’s always remembered, so be it, the actor said, in an appearance backstage at tonight’s Oscars.

2024 Oscars were hosted by Jimmy Kimmel on Sunday, March 10, airing on ABC (in the new earlier time slot of 7 p.m.). The Christopher Nolan flick starring Cillian Murphy was this year’s frontrunner, with a staggering 13 nominations — including for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor for Murphy and Robert Downey Jr., respectively. The Best Actor race was a battle between Murphy, Bradley Cooper (“Maestro”), Paul Giamatti (“The Holdovers”), Colman Domingo (“Rustin”) and Jeffrey Wright (“American Fiction”).Murphy took home the expected win, and Nolan and Downey Jr.

Oscars 2024 is taking place tonight (March 10) in Los Angeles, with Oppenheimer, Poor Things, and Killers Of The Flower Moon set to battle it out for the top gongs.The ceremony will be held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel for a fourth time.Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer leads the nominations going into the event with 13 nods, including Best Director, Best Picture and Best Actor. Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things follows on 11, while Martin Scorsese’s Killers Of The Flower Moon is in the running in 10 categories.

The stars of American Fiction are hitting the red carpet!

Three times a charm for Robert Downey Jr. who finally won an Oscar on this third nomination tonight for his turn as Lewis Strauss, the hostile United States Atomic Energy Commissioner in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.

competed for the coveted Best Picture award.Hollywood’s elite were in good hands as late-night host Jimmy Kimmel returned as the show’s emcee for the fourth time, having hosted the event in 2017, 2018 and 2023. Kimmel, 56, joked that he “always dreamed of hosting the Oscars exactly four times.”Of course, no award ceremony would be complete without controversy.

The 2024 Academy Awards ceremony is happening tonight!

Refresh for updates: The votes are in, the tuxes are pressed, and the envelopes are sealed: It’s time for the 96th Academy Awards. Deadline is updating the winners list live as they are announced, so check it out below.

Variety Awards Circuit Podcast for some final analysis. Awards guru Clayton Davis, along with Jenelle Riley, Jazz Tangcay and Michael Schneider recorded a Mega Roundtable edition this week to share their final thoughts on this year’s races.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Hoyte Van Hoytema has taken top honors at the 38th annual American Society of Cinematographers Awards for his work on “Oppenheimer.” Van Hoytema topped a field that included Edward Lachman for “El Conde, Matthew Libatique for “Maestro,” Rodrigo Prieto for “Killers of the Flower Moon” and Robbie Ryan for “Poor Things.” The awards were handed out Sunday night at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. All five theatrical feature film nominees are also nominated for best cinematography at the Oscars.

Refresh for latest: Oppenheimer continued its romp through awards season by winning the top film prize at the American Society of Cinematographers‘ 38th annual ASC Awards, which were handed out Sunday night at the Beverly Hilton.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” topped the dramatic feature editing category at the American Cinema Editors’ 74th ACE Eddie Awards, while “The Holdovers” won the category for best edited comedic feature during Sunday’s ceremony at UCLA’s Royce Hall. Jennifer Lame edited “Oppenheimer,” which also took top honors at last week’s SAG Awards and Producers Guild Awards. The recent honor further cements the film’s position to take top prize at the Oscars next weekend.

Adam Sandler is set to remind us he's more than an esteemed comedy performer with his latest Netflix offering. The actor has produced and starred in a number of films on the streaming giant, including the Murder Mystery duology featuring Jennifer Aniston.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor All five of this year’s Academy Award-nominated original songs will be performed on the Dolby Theatre stage at the 96th Oscars. Jon Batiste, Becky G, Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, Scott George and the Osage Singers, and as Variety previously reported, Ryan Gosling and Mark Ronson will perform the memorable numbers.

The most fun awards show of all returned to the giant tent on Santa Monica Beach as the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards crowned “Past Lives” as Best Feature, and Celine Song won Best Director. Hosted by Aidy Bryant, the almost always irreverent ceremony also saw one “Free Gaza” protester scream on a megaphone about a third of the way into the ceremony.  READ MORE: “Oppenheimer” wins Best Film and Best Actor and Dominates The 2024 BAFTA Awards After taking a SAG Award last night, Da’Vine Joy Randolph took yet another Supporting Performance for “The Holdovers.” The Focus Features release also took Best Cinematography, while Dominic Sessa took Best Breakthrough Performance.

The stars of the Oscar-nominated movie American Fiction at the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards!

A lot of A-List stars are in attendance at the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards!

The best in independent film and television is being celebrated today at the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards!