Ryan Gosling and the border collie Messi star at the 2024 Oscars

On Sunday night, during the 96th edition of the Oscars, two films stood out as the big winners of 2023: the heavy favorite "Oppenheimer," and surprise candidate "Poor Things." However, stars from other movies, like Ryan Gosling and the border collie Messi, shone in several of the best moments of the evening.

A few days before, the Hollywood Academy of Arts and Sciences banned the dog who starred in “Anatomy of a Fall” from attending the red carpet, as The Hollywood Reporter exclusively revealed. However, the border collie appeared early in the afternoon accompanying the ceremony's host, Jimmy Kimmel, backstage:

That seemed to indicate that, ultimately, the dog would be allowed at the exclusive ceremony. This seemed to be confirmed when, as soon as the gala began, Kimmel alluded to Messi, who was seen sitting in the crowd.

However, minutes later, the truth was discovered. Messi was, in fact, not at the Oscar gala. Their scenes had been recorded previously and with a smaller audience. The reason was to prevent the border collie from becoming upset during the ceremony due to the stress that loud noise and a big crowd could cause the dog:

It wasn't Messi's only big moment. The border collie also went for a walk with Jimmy Kimmel and starred in another of the great moments of the evening when he peed on Matt Damon's star on the walk of fame:

Jimmy Kimmel alludes to the Hollywood strikes during his opening monologue

It was the fourth time that comedian Jimmy Kimmel has hosted the Oscars. In the opening monologue of the ceremony, he alluded to the event that paralyzed Hollywood for almost six months: the writers' strike followed, months later, by the actors' strike.

The comedian decided to refer, on this occasion, to the actors, who he assured no longer had to worry about being replaced by artificial intelligence. Instead, he said, they should once again worry about being replaced by "younger, more attractive people." There were also no shortage of allusions to the "Barbenheimer" phenomenon, or to "Madame Web," the movie that has become the most criticized of the year.

The comedian also took on former President Donald Trump, who posted on his social network, Truth Social, claiming that Kimmel was the "worst host." The comedian did not hesitate to respond during the Oscars:

Billie Eilish's standing ovation during the Oscars

The first performance of the night was given by Billie Eilish, who would later become the youngest performer to win two Oscars, the latter for her song "What Was I Made For?" from the movie "Barbie." That was the song she performed during the ceremony, earning applause from the audience.

Her performance, accompanied by her brother, Finneas O'Connell, on the piano, who was later joined by an orchestra that gave a more intimate touch to the song. The duo later won the award for Best Original Song, which was announced by singer Ariana Grande, their second Oscar. They also won in 2022 for their song in "No Time to Die" from the James Bond saga:

John Cena gives the award for Best Costume without any clothes

A comic touch returned to the 96th edition of the Oscars with John Cena. The actor, encouraged by Jimmy Kimmel, who wanted to repeat the iconic moment from 1974, appeared naked on the Dolby Theater stage. They wanted to remember the moment in which a streaker named Robert Opel ran naked on stage while David Niven introduced Elizabeth Taylor:

Cena came out only covered with the envelope with the winner for Best Costume Design was announced, although he was given the curtain just before he announced one of the first awards of the night, won by "Poor Things."

Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling try to end 'Barbenheimer' rivalry

The entire fill world was aware of the success that "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" achieved together. The two movies created a promotion phenomenon unlike anything seen before that will be remembered for years. Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling, who played, respectively, Kitty Oppenheimer and Ken, tried to put an end to the rivalry.

They did it, again, with a humorous touch and taking advantage of the fact that, until then, neither of the two productions had won any awards. Blunt assured, "I am glad that we can finally put this 'Barbenheimer' rivalry aside. And it turned out that it wasn't much of a rivalry so..."

The peace did not last long. Ryan Gosling reignited the rivalry with a moment that resulted in Blunt and Gosling improvising a small fight that unleashed laughter from the audience:

The curious speech from Robert Downey Jr. after being named Best Supporting Actor for 'Oppenheimer'

Actor Robert Downey Jr. received the first award of the night for "Oppenheimer." He did so after winning Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Lewis Strauss in the film about the creation of the atomic bomb.

During his acceptance speech, in which, unlike Best Supporting Actress winner Da'Vine Joy Randolph, he remembered to mention the name of his publicist, the actor also took the opportunity to give thanks to his "terrible childhood and to the Academy," the reasons why, according to him, he was deserving of the award:

The reunion of the ‘twins’ Danny DeVito and Arnold Schawarzenegger

Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzennegger reunited on stage 36 years after starring in the film "Twins." They ensured that both had been defeated by Batman, alluding to the third star of this film, Michael Keaton, who last year played both Batman and his alter ego, the billionaire Bruce Wayne, in "The Flash":

Creators of '20 Days in Mariupol' say they ‘wish they had never made this film’

Director Mstyslav Chernov, creator of "20 Days in Mariupol," surprised everyone during his acceptance speech after becoming the winner of Best Documentary Film.

"I will probably be the first director on this stage who will say that I wish I had never made this film," saying he would trade the Oscar away if "Russia never attacks Ukraine," Chernov said. This was one of the many allusions to the wars, both in the Gaza Strip and in Ukraine, throughout the gala:

Becky G performs ‘The Fire Inside Me’ from ‘Flamin' Hot’ at the Oscars

Hispanic artist Becky G also had her moment of glory at the 2024 Oscars. She performed "The Fire Inside Me," the song nominated for the Oscar for Best Original Song for "Flamin' Hot," Latin American actress Eva Longoria’s debut as a director. It tells the origin story of Flamin' Hot, one of the iconic symbols of the Cheetos brand in the United States:

Ryan Gosling stars in the most anticipated performance of the night: ‘I'm Just Ken’

The most anticipated moment of the night, without a doubt, was Ryan Gosling's musical performance. After weeks of back-and-forth, the performer finally decided to perform his well-known song, also nominated for Best Original Song, "I'm Just Ken," from the movie "Barbie" at the 96th Oscars. During his performance, the actor was accompanied by more than 60 dancers, including Simu Liu and Ncuti Gatwa, co-stars in the feature film about the Mattel doll.

However, what no one expected was that the guitarist Slash, from the band Guns N’ Roses, would also join one of the musical numbers that, without a doubt, will go down in Oscars history. The actor also invited Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie, America Ferrera and even a stunned Emma Stone on stage.

The Oscars ‘In Memoriam,’ presented by Andrea Bocelli and his son Mateo

The emotional moment of the night involved Andrea Bocelli and his son Mateo. They presented the "In Memoriam," the moment in which the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences remembers the film legends who died over the past year.

In this case, the artists performed the song "Time to Say Goodbye," while movie icons such as Michael Gambon, Chita Rivera, Alan Arkin, Julian Sands, Mathew Perry and Carl Weathers, among many others, were honored on screen:

Vanessa Hudgens announces her pregnancy during the Oscars red carpet

Although the vast majority of the best moments were experienced during the Oscars ceremony itself, the parade of stars during the red carpet also left moments to remember. The carpet regained its usual color after, last year, changing to a champagne tone that no one expected and that, in the end, did not succeed.

Actress Vanessa Hudgens also used the opportunity to announce her first pregnancy, the first big moment of the night and thus beginning the red carpet tradition where a multitude of celebrities paraded before a flurry a cameras and media before taking their seats at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles: