Once I saw Poor Things, I understood why Emma Stone was suddenly making this huge awards-season surge, and why she was getting more awards heat than Lily Gladstone. While Lily’s performance in Killers of the Flower Moon was quietly powerful, she was ill served by the script and direction, whereas Poor Things was basically a showcase for Emma Stone’s talent, and Emma made a meal out of that role. All of which to say, I had a feeling that Emma would pull it out and she did. She won her second Best Actress Oscar in seven years. What a night! Reportedly, Emma had been lovely to her fellow Best Actress nominees and she sent them gifts and talked them up in interviews, especially Lily.
There’s some debate about whether Emma actually wanted to win and whether she thought she would win. I doubt she thought she would win, but she did campaign and she’s enormously proud of Poor Things, not just as an actress, but as a producer on the film. Emma’s Oscar look was pretty simple – a pale seafoam green Louis Vuitton with an oversized peplum. Simple styling too – hair down, stud earrings, simple necklace, not a lot of drama. Considering the tragic LV looks she’s worn at other awards shows, I consider this a win across the board. Also: she walked the carpet briefly with her husband Dave McCary! They are rarely photographed together.
Other notable celebrities in Louis Vuitton at the Oscars – Colman Domingo & Cynthia Erivo. They both kind of killed it? Colman has been, hands down, the best dressed of the awards season.
Photos courtesy of Getty, Avalon Red.
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- Cynthia Erivo arrives on the red carpet of the 96th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 10, 2024.,Image: 855655933, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: SI / Avalon
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- Emma Stone arrives on the red carpet of the 96th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 10, 2024.,Image: 855693330, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Nick Agro / Avalon
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- Emma Stone poses backstage with the Oscar® for Actress in a Leading Role during the live ABC telecast of the 96th Oscars® at Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 10, 2024.,Image: 855772469, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red / Avalon
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- Emma Stone poses backstage with the Oscar® for Actress in a Leading Role during the live ABC telecast of the 96th Oscars® at Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 10, 2024.,Image: 855772685, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red / Avalon
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- Oscar® nominee Emma Stone and guest arrive on the red carpet of the 96th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 10, 2024.,Image: 855782808, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red / Avalon
I like the color of Emma’s dress, but I’m not entirely sold on the style. I do think her necklace is beautiful!
Cynthia’s gown mostly works for me except around the bust. I feel like they could have tailored it a bit better.
Coleman looks great!
It’s the peplum structure for me. It’s really horrible – like a walking mushroom.
I don’t have any particular opinion about the other outfits pictured but Cynthia’s gown wows me…except for the bust. I totally agree with you there, ML. That’s where the look stumbled for me, personally. It looks cut for a different figure. And that may be exactly what she and her stylist were going for, but a mere nobody like me is too conditioned to want my boobs to fit into my clothes perfectly to think this looks cool.
Everything else about her look right down to her nails is eye catching and genuinely interesting without being try-hard.
Emma’s skin (skin tone and texture) are beautiful, healthy and glowy. I am so glad fair-skinned women are finally embracing their natural skin and the horrible years of fake tanning seem to have come to an end.
Yes that’s absolutely true.
Absolutely true! (10 years ago you still had to have a tan in the summer (kind of).
That being said the colour of the dress does nothing for her.
Agreed that the dress is the wrong color. Actually I don’t like the hair either, and the too dark eyebrows have got to go. I do like the necklace.
There’s debate about whether Emma wanted to win?! 😂 Only Bradley Cooper wanted to win more. Who starts these crazy rumors?
The seafoam shade of green makes the dress for me.
She did a lot of campaigning. A lot. But I think most nominees do? But she did a lot for someone who didn’t want to win so I don’t buy that. Maybe they’re talking about her face in the moment.
Yeah, she campaigned HARD until recently when it seems like she maybe realized how bad it would look for her to win over Lily, but…too late.
I thought Lily should have won but it’s odd to see so many people coming for Emma because she won. She was a producer on the film and her campaigning helped those nominated in other categories for the film. That’s the way it goes because those people don’t get a chance to campaign. Let’s not malign her for fully, enthusiastically and totally campaigning for her own film and the people who worked on it with her.
I was really hoping for Lily but I don’t think we can ask others to stand down for their own films.
This completely sane take is such a breath of fresh air!! I completely understand why so many people were rooting for Lily, but the suggestion that Emma Stone campaigning for her film (and recognition for her co-workers) was out of line or nefarious is so naive and ridiculous. It was a well-earned win and she has no reason to be ashamed or apologetic.
There’s also the thing of campaigning for a film or role that you don’t think you are going to win for in order for Hollywood to feel sad for you when you lose. The idea is that it will make them want to vote for you in future years because you got “robbed” in the past.
As for Lily, I think she made a big mistake going for lead. She would have been a lock for supporting. She was risking having someone doing an excellent job in a showy, actually lead role. Which is what happened.
Emma definitely wanted to win, there is no doubt about that, but they all want to win. Of course everyone wants to win an Oscar. Emma fought for her Oscar through her campaigning because at the beginning of the season it looked like lily was front runner based off performances alone. But Emma turned it around and got the attention on her and I think lily probably felt overshadowed and out of her depth.
This is one of those instances where campaigning really paid off. I think where Emma succeed and Bradley cooper failed is that ‘Poor Things’ was memorable and a love it or hate it film that look a lot of risks. Maestro on the other hand ticked all the Oscar bait boxes in an obvious way but was completely forgettable.
I’m positive that Emma didn’t think she was going to win, based on her reaction and emotional speech. nice to hear that she is so gracious!
I watched Poor Things over the weekend (made it a double feature with American Fiction) and really loved it. It was so different and interesting and beautiful to look at (I told a friend it was like looking at a collection of paintings), and Emma was amazing. Her win was definitely deserved. I don’t think she thought she was going to win (she may have *wanted* it but that doesn’t mean she thought she’d get it) just because she’s won so recently and may have thought Lili Gladstone would edge her out. All in all it was one of the best ceremonies in a while imo.
Here’s my thinking on it:
I think Emma deserved to win for this role; but not for La La Land where she mostly just looked sad with too dark eyebrows. Also, I simply cannot forgive her getting an Oscar for her unbelievably average singing and dancing (compare it to Liza Minelli in Cabaret or Catherine Zeta Jones in Chicago – it’s ridiculous). If you are going to win an Oscar for a musical then you should be an unbelievable triple threat talent.
I think there are several actresses out there who are better actresses than Emma, who consistently turn in incredible performances, and who haven’t won yet or as often. Glenn Close, Angela Bassett, Annette Bening, Carey Mulligan, Amy Adams, Saoirse Ronan, Michelle Williams… etc etc etc
I noted in The Favourite that Emma was out-acted by her two co-stars.
Which is not to say she’s not great. And she really gave her all to this role in particular.
Emma is lovely and charming and still young. She is given incredible roles in the big style of acting that the Academy likes.
Actresses of colour (and older actresses) are rarely afforded the same opportunities. Lily Gladstone is not given the kinds of roles her talent deserves.
She is “given” roles? She was a producer on this one. I don’t think she’s sitting around being average and people are hooking her up with the best roles because she’s cute. I completely agree that women of color are not considered for nearly enough leading roles or even great supporting roles but I think Emma Stone is hustling and had the talent for this role.
This is all opinion. Also, I just re-watched The Favorite, and Emma Stone was absolutely not out-acted by either of her co-leads. She more than held her own with Olivia Colman and, I’d argue, was better than Rachel Weisz.
@Snoozer, I agree to an extent.
I think dhe is a fine actress and that she deserved that Oscar this time. La Land was a clear Oscar bait because HW is so vain, it falls for HW-actor-artistry theme almost every time.
I also think she is the Master of “who, me? No… Really? Awww…” Schtick.
She is the crticis and public darling, and I thin she may with time be perceived just like Streep: an incredible actress, whose “brand” is also built on fact she is that+ infallible charisma and charm, which I think no human can attain and I think that putting actors on that kind of pedestal makes it hard to be objective in reviewing their work.
I agree with regards to La La Land, I thought it was good but I haven’t reached for it again since. I think because it was visually stunning, that made Emma’s performance appear better than it actually was, but she just didn’t own the screen. I imaging how good La La Land would have been if they used an actress from a musical theatre background, like one of the girls from Hamilton. That would have been amazing.
@josephine She’s a producer because of her own hard work and talent as well in large part because of the power she has gained by being cast repeatedly by auteur directors.
She has been cast in many roles that WoC would never get a shot at. Even playing a half Asian woman at one point.
That accrues power to a person. She is currently the main muse and collaborator of auteur Yorgos Lanthimos. When you get to that level, you can become a producer as well.
I’m not saying Emma doesn’t deserve to get there (I want as many women there as possible); I’m saying that WOC like Lily Gladstone who are equally or potentially even more talented will most likely never get that chance because they won’t be cast in so many big roles and accrue the power necessary.
It’s important to point out inequities and to ensure that our feminism is intersectional and that we examine all of the levels of power – not just those between young, attractive white women and men.
As for the other comments replying to me. I think she was out-acted in The Favourite. She was great; but I thought Olivia and Rachel were better – more subtle and nuanced. But of course, art is subjective and if you think otherwise, that’s fine.
I have no problem with Emma’s acting, it was the premise of the movie that I felt was disgusting. A woman with a baby brain having sex. It was like Hollywood’s legitimate way of portraying pedophilia with Emma’s character as an avatar. I thought I was the only one who thought this but multiple other women agreed with me (the men on the other hand thought it was amazing!).
Why was it a surprise as she had won all the main awards apart from the SAG
And everybody else was saying she had over campaigned
I think it’s assumed that if you win the SAG then you will win the Oscar. That’s usually the pattern.
SAG is the largest voting body so the assumption is that it’s the best indicator for the acting categories.
Emma Stone still looks 22. Incredible skin!
Emma’s bodice was ill-fitting, which when you saw her walk was super distracting. She also needed a bra with it — it was like Gwyneth Paltrow’s pink Ralph Lauren dress she wore when she won — which also didn’t fit around the bodice. Other than that Emma looked great!
I thought Emma looked absolutely beautiful last night. The eyebrows were toned down which was badly needed. Overall the dress was okay, it felt a little Poor Things-y silhouette wise. She was missing from her seat for so many of the Poor Things wins though.
I thought that Emma’s dress was really pretty and she looked lovely. I definitely think that she deserved the Oscar for her performance — the whole film was spectacular to watch, but her work made it something special.
Besides Sandra Hüller, Emma Stone gave my favorite performance of last year and probably the best of her career. I’m so glad she won.
I felt so bad for her with the busted zipper, but I thought the dress looked lovely!
I think I am done with the campaign critiques. Actors are allowed to be proud of their work and their film. They are allowed to want an award and say so, either publicly or privately. I remember being younger and thinking it wasn’t okay for me as a girl to say out loud that I wanted certain good things to happen to me, that somehow that made me arrogant or pushy or desperate or something not ladylike enough for people to like me. I’m not going to impose that outdated standard on anyone else.
Same. Fantastic post
I was rooting for Lily, but Emma did a great job and she shouldn’t feel the need to be coy and self effacing about it.
Excellent post.
I’m so disappointed Lily lost!!!
Emma Stone gave a good performance though and had every right to campaign for her work.
The thing is she shouldn’t have won for La La Land, it was mediocre acting in a mediocre movie, so this win feels uninspired and overdone, her being so young and having won the first one recently.
Despite it being a peplum, I actually thought the shape of this dress was beautiful and interesting. I don’t love the fit or the colour, though. In particular, the bust looks like it’s drooping with the weight of the dress. I would have put her in a much brighter green, too – like a lemony green or pistachio, something a bit more vivid.
I think she’s talented and deserving of the recognition she receives. I do not have an issue with her winning.
At the same time, I am amazed she is now two-time Oscar winner Emma Stone. I still think of the House Bunny and Easy A when I hear her name. If you had asked me whether out of all the young actresses out there in her age range (and possibly above) whether she’d be a two-time Oscar winner at the age of 35, I would not have foreseen this result a decade ago.
Emma shouldn’t have won for La La Land but she definitely deserved the Poor Things win. Lily Gladstone was great but her advisors should have put her up for Supporting Actress where she definitely would have won.