Hollywood’s acceptance speeches are know for being emotional, funny, awkward and in the rare case, inspiring. The celebs at the 2024 Oscars brough their A Game when it comes to their speeches, as they delivered some amazing, powerful and tearjerking speeches at this years Academy Awards.
Winning an Oscar can be the greatest moment of someone’s life, with so many people to thank and so much going through one’s head, what can one do with just 45 seconds to speak? Some took the chance to tackle the real issues we are facing, some spoke words of inspiration that we simply needed to hear and some turned to comedy. Here are some of the most impactful speeches from this year’s Academy Awards.
Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Best Supporting Actress
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In what was perhaps one of the most beautiful and inspiring speeches of the night, Da’Vine Joy Randolph who won Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mary in “The Holdovers”, tearfully reflected on her journey to get to where she is now “I didn’t think I was supposed to be doing this as a career,” Randolph said “My mother said to me: Go across that street to that theater department, there’s something for you there. I thank my mother for doing that. I thank all the people who have stepped in my path and have been there for me and ushered me and guided me. I am so grateful for all you beautiful people out there,” She went on so say one of the most memorable phrases from the event, “I prayed for so long … I always wanted to be different, but now I realize that I just need to be myself. I thank you for you seeing me.”
Jonathan Glazer, International Feature Film
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Cord Jefferson, Best Adapted Screenplay
Courtesy of Getty Images
Cord Jefferson made his big-screen directorial debut with the film “American Fiction” and won his first Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, in doing so, he used his speech as a platform to plead with Hollywood to take a chance on smaller budget movies and first time directors, and he called for for more risk-taking, “I’ve been talking a lot about how many people passed on this movie, and I worry that sometimes sounds vindictive. I don’t want to be vindictive, I’m not a vindictive person anymore and I’ve worked very hard to not be vindictive anymore,” he said. “It’s more a plea to acknowledge and recognize that there are so many people out there who want the opportunity that I was given.” Jefferson made sure to highlight how Hollywood has become blockbuster obsessed “I understand that this is a risk-averse industry, I get it, but $200 million movies are also a risk. And it doesn’t always work out, but you take the risk anyway. Instead of making one $200 million movie, try making 20 $10 million movies. Or 50 $4 million movies.” He went on to say that there are plenty of directors out there just waiting for a shot, and taking a chance on films like these could find “The next Martin Scorsese” or “the next Christopher Nolan” He ended his speech by saying “Thank you all who worked on this movie for trusting a 40-year-old Black guy who has never directed anything before.”
Mstyslav Chernov, Best Documentary Feature Film
Kris Bowers, Documentary Short Film
Courtesy of LA Times
The heartwarming short film “The Last Repair Shop,” is about a group of craftspeople in Los Angeles, who keep over 80,000 student instruments in good repair to ensure no student is deprived of the Joy of music, directed by Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers. The film took home the Oscar for best Documentary short.
In a moving speech, Bowers spoke about L.A. public school and the people in schools who are often overlooked despite how much they do, “The Last Repair Shop is about the heroes in our schools who often go unsung, unthanked and unseen. Tonight, you are sung, you are thanked, and you are seen,” said Bowers. “John Williams inspired me to become a composer. He went to L.A. public schools. I went to L.A. public schools,” He ended his speech by saying, “Music education isn’t just about creating incredible musicians. It’s about creating incredible humans.”
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