ON Culture | Unpacking the Oscars
This edition of ON Culture was originally emailed to subscribers on February 28, 2025. To receive Leslie Dinaberg’s arts newsletter in your inbox on Fridays, sign up at independent.com/newsletters.
ON the Oscar Beat
This year’s SBIFF festivities felt like we got our own personal peek into Sunday night’s Academy Awards ceremony. Best actor nominees Adrien Brody (The Brutalist), Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown), Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), Ralph Fiennes (Conclave), and Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice) were all honored with SBIFF tributes. And the best director nominees — Sean Baker (Anora), Brady Corbet (The Brutalist), James Mangold (A Complete Unknown), Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez), and Coralie Fargeat (The Substance) — also all appeared on the Arlington stage for multiple panels and tributes, along with a slew of other big name nominees (Demi Moore, Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña, and Ariana Grande, to name a few). (Click on links on their names for our coverage.)
I always feel a little bit more ownership or skin in the game, as well as an even greater appreciation for the films after I’ve seen their makers in the SBIFF hot seat, which makes it hard to root for specific films or performances this year when there are so many compelling ones.
I’m always a sucker for Oscar trivia and all of the records that could potentially be broken this weekend. According to VegasInsider.com, Emilia Pérez, which received 13 nominations, could tie or break the record for the most Oscars won by a single film in one night (the current record of 11 wins, is a three-way tie between Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Emilia Pérez could also break the record for the most Oscars won by a non-English-speaking film in one night. The current record of four wins is a four way tie between Fanny and Alexander (1982), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Parasite (2019), and All Quiet on the Western Front (2022).
Sean Baker or Jacques Audiard, who both received four nominations in various categories, could tie Walt Disney’s record for the most Oscar wins in a single night: four. And, as I wrote about here, 29–year-old Timothée Chalamet, could break Adrien Brody’s record and become the youngest actor to win in the Best Actor in a Leading Role category. (Brody was 29 years, 11 months old when he won for The Pianist and Chalamet will be 29 years, 2 months old this weekend.)
Other fun Oscar facts to dazzle your friends with:
The Substance could become only the second horror film to ever win Best Picture following The Silence of the Lambs, which won Best Picture more than 30 years ago in 1992.
Cynthia Erivo (Wicked), who was one of SBIFF’s Virtuosos honored in 2020, could become only the second Black actress to ever win in the Best Actress in a Leading Role category and the first one in more than 20 years — the first and only Black Best Actress in a Leading Role winner was Halle Berry who won for Monster’s Ball at the 2002 ceremony.
Isabella Rossellini (so fabulous in Conclave) could become the first actress in history to win an Oscar for an acting performance following a mother’s win for acting (Rossellini’s mother is legendary actress Ingrid Bergman, who won three acting Oscars).
Meanwhile, the only child who went on to win an acting Oscar following a parent winning an Oscar for acting is Angelina Jolie (sadly snubbed by Oscar but feted this year by SBIFF for her role in Maria), who won the Best Supporting Actress for Girl, Interrupted following her father Jon Voight’s win in the Best Actor category for Coming Home.
Jane Fonda and her father Henry Fonda also both won Oscars for acting; however, in their case, Jane Fonda was the first to win two Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Klute and Coming Home) and her father won his Best Actor Oscar for On Golden Pond years later.
Liza Minnelli won the Best Actress Oscar for Cabaret following her mother Judy Garland’s win; however, Garland’s Oscar was a special non-competitive honorary Juvenile Academy Award recognizing young performers.
And finally, the Susan Lucci of the Academy Awards, Diane Warren (“The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight and part of SBIFF’s 2022 Women’s Panel) could finally get rid of her record as the most nominated individual without a win. Warren has been nominated in the Best Original Song category a record-breaking 16 times, which not only makes her the most nominated individual in the Best Original Song category without a win, but it also makes her the overall most nominated individual without a competitive win, regardless of a category (in a tie with a recording mixer Greg P. Russell).
If you’re looking for somewhere to watch the Academy Awards broadcast on Sunday, March 2, the Arlington Theatre is hosting a FREE watch party. The festivities begin at 1 p.m. with the Arlington Courtyard Red Carpet Arrival (watch pre-show), then doors open for the main event at 3:30 p.m. (popcorn, candy, and cocktails are available for purchase), followed by the 4 p.m. Academy Awards live broadcast viewing. For more information see ArlingtonTheatreSB.com.
ON the Calendar
The One805 Rock for First Responders Benefit Concert to support our First Responders in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles as well as the community of artists and musicians who have been impacted by the recent fires just keeps getting hotter. Macy Gray was recently added to the lineup of stars, which also includes Hootie and the Blowfish, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald, and Alan Parsons. Recently released general admission tickets for the show, which takes place on Saturday, March 8, at the Granada, start at $204. Click here for tickets and visit one805.org for more information.
For a complete calendar of events this week and beyond, visit independent.com/events/.
You must be logged in to post a comment.