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Where to Stream 2024 Oscar Winners, From ‘Oppenheimer’ to ‘Poor Things’
Most of the night’s winners can be watched at home. Here’s a guide to help you find the honorees.
For the second year in a row, following “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” a single film dominated the Oscars with seven awards as “Oppenheimer,” Christopher Nolan’s imposing portrait of the architect of the atomic bomb, took picture and director, and picked up nods for two of its stars, Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. Subscribers to Peacock can currently stream the film, but it’s an affordable rent on all the major platforms. With the exception of the visual effects wonder “Godzilla Minus One” and the two animated films, Hayao Miyazaki’s feature “The Boy and the Heron” and the short “War Is Over! Inspired by the Work of John and Yoko,” all of the other Oscar winners are accessible through either streaming services or the usual outlets. With war as a major theme throughout the ceremony, it’s worth noting that “20 Days in Mariupol,” the documentary winner about the Russian siege on the Ukrainian city, is currently available for free on Frontline PBS’s YouTube page.
‘Oppenheimer’
transcript
‘Oppenheimer’ | Anatomy of a Scene
The writer and director Christopher Nolan narrates the opening sequence from the film, starring Cillian Murphy.
Hi, I’m Christopher Nolan director, writer, and co-producer of “Oppenheimer.” Opening with the raindrops on the water came late to myself and Jen Lane in the edit suite. But ultimately, it became a motif that runs the whole way through the film. Became very important. These opening images of the detonation at Trinity are based on the real footage. Andrew Jackson, our visual effects supervisor, put them together using analog methods to try and reproduce the incredible frame rates that their technology allowed at the time, superior to what we have today. Adapting Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin’s book “American Prometheus,” I fully embraced the Prometheun theme, but ultimately chose to change the title to “Oppenheimer” to give a more direct idea of what the film was going to be about and whose point of view we’re seeing. And here we have Cillian Murphy with an IMAX camera inches from his nose. Hoyte van Hoytema was incredible. IMAX camera revealing everything. And I think, to some degree, applying the pressure to Cillian as Oppenheimer that this hearing was applying. “Yes, your honor.” “We’re not judges, Doctor.” “Oh.” And behind him, out of focus, the great Emily Blunt who’s going to become so important to the film as Kitty Oppenheimer, who gradually comes more into focus over the course of the first reel. We divided the two timelines into fission and fusion, the two different approaches to releasing nuclear energy in this devastating form to try and suggest to the audience the two different timelines. And then embraced black-and-white shooting here. Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss being shot on IMAX black-and-white film. The first time anyone’s ever shot that film. Made especially for us. And he’s here talking to Alden Ehrenreich who is absolutely indicative of the incredible ensemble that our casting director John Papsidera put together. Robert Downey Jr. utterly transformed, I think, not just in terms of appearance, but also in terms of approach to character, stripping away years of very well-developed charisma to just try and inhabit the skin of a somewhat awkward, sometimes venal, but also charismatic individual, and losing himself in this utterly. And then as we come up to this door, we go into the Senate hearing rooms. And we try to give that as much visibility, grandeur, and glamour to contrast with the security hearing that’s so claustrophobic. And takes Oppenheimer completely out of the limelight. [CROWD SHOUTING]
Won for: Best picture, director, actor, supporting actor, cinematography, editing, score.
How to watch: Stream it on Peacock. Rent it on Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu and YouTube.
Conjuring the dark wizardry of the Manhattan Project, the director Christopher Nolan turned the Trinity test into a seat-rumbling summer spectacle, placing it at the center of “Oppenheimer” like the nuclear core of 20th-century history. But there’s a disturbing intimacy to the film as well, with Cillian Murphy’s tremulous J. Robert Oppenheimer leading an unstable band of scientists while nearly drowning in uncharted political and ethical waters. In exploring the origins of a technological boogeyman that continues to haunt humankind, Nolan embraces the contradictions of the flawed, brilliant man whose spirit seems to embody it.
‘Poor Things’
transcript
‘Poor Things’ | Anatomy of a Scene
The director Yorgos Lanthimos narrates a sequence from the film in which the characters played by Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo share a dance.
“I’m Yorgos Lanthimos, the director of ‘Poor Things.’” “Understand we never lived outside God’s house.” “What?” “So Bella’s so much to discover. And your sad face makes me discover angry feelings for you.” “This is a scene that takes place in a restaurant in Lisbon, where Bella Baxter and Duncan, played by Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo, are having dinner. And there’s other people dancing. During that, the music attracts Bella, and just instinctively, gets up and starts wanting to join the dance. It’s a very funny, awkward, physical situation where Bella has never really danced before, and it’s very intuitive, what she does. He’s not a good dancer. He’s trying to keep up with her. We had a lot of help from Constanza Macras, who did the choreography. So the dance, because she’s done it for the first time, it just felt like it should be something quite primitive, slightly baby-like, but then it quickly develops into something that she wants to take hold of and lose control of her self. And Mark, in real life, is also not a great dancer. And on the other hand, Emma is a really good dancer, so we kind of used that dynamic as we were building the choreography. And it actually became funnier than what we thought.” “What do you keep doing that for?” “A man over there repeated blinks at me. I blink back for polite, I think.” [MUSIC PLAYING]
Won for: Best actress, production design, costume design, makeup and hairstyling.
How to watch: Stream it on Hulu. Buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu and YouTube.
Why should you not thank your publicist if you win an Oscar?
The idea, some think, is that publicists work behind the scenes to promote you, so they should be kept in the background. But the Oscars are the ultimate promotion, so I agree that if they helped get you there, they are worth a thank you.
How did the award get the nickname “Oscars”?
There’s some debate. Some say the statue reminded academy librarian Margaret Herrick of her uncle Oscar. Others say Bette Davis said its derriere reminded her of her second husband, Harmon Oscar Nelson. Hollywood gossip columnist Sidney Skolsky said he gave the nickname. It’s not, as far as we know, named for the Grouch.
What’s the deal with the floating straps trend seen on the red carpet?
The working theory is that the straps were a design accent that allowed the actresses (Emily Blunt and Florence Pugh, both representing “Oppenheimer”) to safely stand out — to inject just the right amount of strangeness and direction into their look, without verging too far into risk-taking, worst-dressed territory. The futuristic floating straps were polarizing, but memorable. And at the end of the day, the gowns you remember are the gowns that won the night.
Why aren’t stunts an Oscar category?
They should be! (In my opinion.) The Screen Actors Guild Awards honor the stunt people for film and TV already. But adding a category to the Oscars is a fraught process, and has been known to go haywire. (Anyone remember the “achievement in popular film” Oscar, which was introduced in 2018 and then scrapped a week later after an outcry?) Still, there is hope: There have reportedly been talks within the academy about a stunt Oscar.
How do they choose presenters? Some folks, besides past winners, seem random.
This is part previous winners, part actors who were in some of the nominated films and part publicists working overtime. A number of presenters have projects to promote, so it’s good for them to get face time on the show for those future (and current) releases.
Do the actors announcing the nominees write their own introductions?
They usually do not. Often, their intros are put together by the show’s writers, and the actors don’t get much time with the material, which is why some read the lines so awkwardly. The exception is usually with comedian presenters, like John Mulaney, who no doubt wrote his funny/oddball bit about “Field of Dreams” that he delivered when presenting the Oscar for best sound this year.
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