Ultimately, the anticipated moment arrived. Cillian Murphy, who had been the leading contender for just a fortnight – since the Screen Actors Guild awards – still seemed to be embodying a metaphor initially crafted to portray Tony Blair’s challenge in steering his party towards election triumph. This metaphor depicted him as though he was “transporting a precious Ming vase across an exceptionally shiny floor”. Every word mattered, for any deviation could have shifted the public sentiment. Nonetheless, this didn’t occur, and Murphy joined Daniel Day-Lewis in becoming one of the only two Irish nationals to receive the coveted Academy Award for best actor – relegating the description “first Irish-born” to irrelevance – thanks to his laudable performance in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.
Winning an Oscar signifies different aspects to different individuals at different stages in their careers. Marion Cotillard once shared with me how her La Vie en Rose victory transformed her entire life. She recalled, “Indeed, it revolutionised my existence. I embarked on a career in the US, an event I could never have anticipated. I found myself splitting my time between France, the US, and England.”
However, Cotillard’s starting point was unlike where the man from Cork is currently situated. Even though Murphy has been featuring in American films for nearly two decades, he hasn’t yet ascended to the highest echelon of celebrity. The performers who mostly profit from an Oscar triumph are typically those reliable character actors who, despite being consistently active in their professions, hardly ever cause traffic bottlenecks on Santa Monica Boulevard.
Prior to their commendable victories for Shine and Inglourious Basterds, Geoffrey Rush and Christoph Waltz were contented freelancers. Ever since, they’ve been a constant presence. Despite having a higher TV and movie profile than Rush or Waltz when they won their awards, Murphy can position himself amongst the character actors who possess both the charisma and appearance of a main character, striking a balance between good looks and eccentricity.
In light of the 2024 Oscars, Cillian Murphy’s name is now being floated as a potential candidate for the next James Bond, among other revelations from the 96th Academy Awards ceremony. Also, we observed Cillian Murphy’s Best Actor triumph at the Oscars 2024, leading to a tremendous year for the Irish in the film industry.
The expectation is that his success could likely lead to a financial gain, in a very real sense. Research published ten years earlier indicated that after acquiring an Oscar, male actors typically experience an 81 per cent increase in their paycheque. Sadly, this is not the case for their female counterparts. However, it should be noted that to attain large amounts of money, one must be involved in high-grossing films. Murphy, who will soon appear in the much-lauded movie adaptation of Claire Keegan’s ‘Small Things Like These’, is distinctly likely to select an intelligent independent film in lieu of a smashing blockbuster. It’s fair to scoff at the re-emerged hearsay that Murphy, approaching his 48th birthday, is now a frontline contender for succeeding James Bond. He could possibly play a villain, if he so desires.
Element Pictures of Dublin, which saw four wins for ‘Poor Things’, is unequivocally set to financially benefit from the night. Amidst the media focus on Murphy, it went somewhat unnoticed that Yorgos Lanthimos’s film emerged as the second most rewarded of the night, a notable accomplishment for a film from Ireland. The studio will undoubtedly see its already substantial reputation further enhanced.
A further significant moment from an energetic awards event? The internet has been teeming with responses to Jonathan Glazer’s acceptance speech for his win of the ‘Best International Film’ for ‘The Zone of Interest’. The British director was the sole winner to overtly mention the Gaza conflict within his platform speech. His profound statements are worth recounting: “We stand here as men who deny the usurpation of our Jewish heritage and Holocaust by an occupation which has resulted in confrontation for countless innocent victims, be it the ones of October 7th in Israel or the ongoing assault in Gaza,” he proclaimed.
In no time at all, X, previously recognised as Twitter, found itself inundated with enraged Israel supporters, upset at his denial of Judaism – a false interpretation by any measure. Utilising the term “refute,” Glazer could indeed have chosen a less debatable phrasing – ‘object to’ might have been better – yet regardless of the chosen words, his speech was bound to be distorted in all directions. The present commentary includes 24,000 endorsements and approximately 6,000 revamps of a supportive text stating that he drew parallels between Palestinian atrocities and the Holocaust – an assertion he undeniably did not make. The delicacy with which film insiders have been handling this topic during the awards season is understandable given these circumstances.
In a lighter vein, Oscar enthusiasts managed to fill their forlorn diaries with numerous notes. Despite the disappointing performance of Killers of the Flower Moon, Martin Scorsese movies have accumulated 26 nods in 11 years without a single victory. John Cena’s bare presentation (half a century post David Niven’s streaker) of the best costume award brought a humorous element. Messi, the dog from Anatomy of a Fall, was present in a bowtie, contradicting the funny accusations of canine favouritism made earlier in the week. Al Pacino delivered the best-picture award announcement amidst charming disarray. A surprising win was seen in the form of Godzilla receiving an Oscar. Godzilla Minus One attained the Best Visual Effects award, a well-deserved acknowledgment for the iconic lizard 70 years post its initial emergence from the sea. Unfortunately, the notable creature wasn’t around to celebrate its new-found respectability.
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