- Farrell set for 'challenge' of downing Bordeaux in Top 14
- Springbok Etzebeth diverts attention from looming caps record
- Inter on a high ahead of Milan derby as Napoli face Juve test
- Bank of Japan leaves key interest rate unchanged
- Asian markets track Wall Street record to extend global rally
- Guirassy and Anton to return to Stuttgart with new side Dortmund
- Marseille bidding to continue 'almost perfect' Ligue 1 start
- Arnold quits as coach of Australia men's football team
- Harris and Oprah hold star-studded US election rally
- Allies to remember failed WWII parachute operation
- Perez leading new-look Villarreal charge against leaders Barca
- Man City face Arsenal in Premier League title showdown, Postecoglou under pressure
- Fake celebrity endorsements, snubs plague US presidential race
- Documentary brings Argentine 'death flights' to the big screen
- Strike shows challenge to Boeing 'reset' of labor relations
- World leaders to gather at UN as crises grow and conflicts rage
- How plastic pollution poses challenge for Canada marine conservation
- Scientists track plastic waste in pristine Canada marine park
- South Africa's Buhai grabs LPGA Queen City lead
- Japan inflation firms to 2.8% ahead of BoJ rate decision
- Russia's Kadyrov accuses Musk of 'remotely disabling' his Cybertruck
- Titan sub had to abort a dive days before fatal implosion: testimony
- Ohtani eyes MLB history after surpassing 50 stolen bases
- Barca downed by Monaco as Arsenal held in Champions League stalemate
- Head's 'good night at office' after century seals win over England
- Dubois seeks legitimacy with Joshua scalp
- Rate cut could lift consumer spirits before US elections
- Last-gasp Gimenez strike sends Atletico past Leipzig
- Barca stumble at Monaco after early red card
- Raya heroics save Arsenal in Champions League opener at Atalanta
- Guardians beat Twins to secure MLB playoff berth
- Jihadist attack in Mali capital killed more than 70: security sources
- Alonso hails 'efficient' Leverkusen after Feyenoord rout
- Ex-Man United striker Anthony Martial joins AEK Athens
- NFL unbeatens meet as Texans visit Vikings, Steelers host Chargers
- Head's hundred seals Australia win over England in 1st ODI after Labuschagne strikes
- Dream debut for Wirtz as Leverkusen thump dire Feyenoord
- Myanmar flood death toll climbs to 293: state media
- Israel army says West Bank air strike kills 4 militants
- LIV golfers get green light for US Ryder Cup team, PGA Championship
- US accuses social media giants of 'vast surveillance'
- Ten Hag to bed Hojlund, Mount in carefully when they return for Man Utd
- Breaking bad as McIlroy endures 'weird' day
- EU chief announces $11 bn for nations hit by 'heartbreaking' floods
- Spanish PM, Palestinian leader urge Mideast de-escalation
- New study reinforces theory Covid emerged at Chinese market
- World Bank boosts climate financing by 10 percent
- Bagnaia eyeing summit on home ground in 100th MotoGP
- 'Something was wrong', defendant in French mass rape tells court
- Hezbollah chief admits 'unprecedented' blow in device blasts
'Oppenheimer' sweeps up at Oscars
"Oppenheimer" swept the board on Sunday at the Oscars, Hollywood's biggest night of the year, with seven awards including best picture and best director, crowning a triumphant year for filmmaker Christopher Nolan.
Nolan's masterful drama about the father of the atomic bomb, half of last summer's massive "Barbenheimer" phenomenon, also bagged acting prizes for lead Cillian Murphy and supporting actor Robert Downey Jr.
Nolan -- a British-American filmmaker hailed as a generational talent -- said that film as an art form still has room to grow.
"Movies are just a little bit over 100 years old. I mean, imagine being there 100 years into painting or theater," he told the audience at the Dolby Theatre.
"We don't know where this incredible journey is going from here. But to know that you think that I'm a meaningful part of it means the world to me."
The haul was not quite complete -- "Oppenheimer" was nominated for 13 prizes, but with seven statuettes on the night it is still one of the most awarded films in Oscar history.
Robert Downey Jr was recognized for his stellar performance as J. Robert Oppenheimer's political nemesis Lewis Strauss.
"I would like to thank my terrible childhood and the Academy, in that order," Downey said after accepting the statuette.
Downey, who had been the butt of a joke by host Jimmy Kimmel about his well-documented drug problems, lavished thanks on his wife Susan for her support.
"She found me a snarling rescue pet and loved me back to life," he said.
Nolan's cerebral take on the man he has called "the most important person who ever lived" also snapped up prizes for editing, cinematography and best original score.
It seemed fitting that the story of the development of nuclear weapons was recognized on a night where the drumbeat of war was never far away.
"We made a film about the man who created the atomic bomb. And for better or for worse, we're all living in Oppenheimer's world so I would really like to dedicate this to the peacemakers, everywhere," Murphy said as he accepted his award.
- He's just Ken -
The other huge smash of 2023, Greta Gerwig's pop feminist blockbuster "Barbie," featured heavily throughout the gala in Los Angeles.
While the movie, which grossed $1.4 billion at the box office, only won one Oscar for best original song, the bubblegum fun it generated provided fodder for the whole evening.
Supporting actor nominee Ryan Gosling brought the house down with a star-studded rendition of "I'm just Ken," accompanied by Guns 'n Roses guitarist Slash, as well as some of his on-screen Ken pals like Simu Liu and Ncuti Gatwa.
The performance slid into a karaoke session as Gosling passed the microphone around to some of the A-list guests.
Billie Eilish's "What Was I Made For?" was the winning song from the summer hit film.
The 22-year-old, who delivered a heartfelt rendition of the reflective song, now has two Oscars to her name after a previous win two years ago for James Bond theme "No Time To Die" with her brother and frequent collaborator Finneas O'Connell.
- Four wins for 'Poor Things' -
In one of the few competitive awards of the evening, Emma Stone won best actress for her daring performance in the surreal, Frankenstein-esque "Poor Things," which won three other technical prizes.
She pipped Lily Gladstone, who was bidding to become the first Native American to win an acting Oscar for her role in Martin Scorsese's crime saga "Killers of the Flower Moon."
Stone, who previously won an Academy Award for "La La Land," paid tribute to the other women in her category, and the five women on stage who presented the category.
Stone also beat out Sandra Hueller of Oscars sleeper "Anatomy of a Fall."
But the French courtroom thriller did not go home empty handed, with a win for best original screenplay.
Co-writer Justine Triet revealed backstage that the 50 Cent song that features heavily in the film was originally going to be a Dolly Parton track.
"But they refused to give us the rights," she told reporters.
As well as the legacy of "Oppenheimer," there were several other reminders of the toll of human conflict.
The United Kingdom scored its first-ever best international film Oscar with Auschwitz drama "The Zone of Interest," which also won best sound.
Several nominees wore lapel pins calling for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, while sporadic protests erupted around the event's security perimeter.
There were also references to the war in Ukraine, with a best documentary statuette for "20 Days in Mariupol," and a brief tribute paid to Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, the subject of last year's Oscar-winning documentary.
O.Salvador--PC