‘Anora' takes PGA and DGA. Is the Oscar next?

Los Angeles Times

09-02-2025

An awards season notable for wild momentum swings saw another big shift Saturday night with Sean Baker's 'Anora' winning top honors from both the directors and producers guilds.
Baker picked up the DGA's award around 9 p.m. at the Beverly Hilton, delivered an emotional speech, posed for pictures and was then sped down Santa Monica Boulevard to the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel, where he arrived in time to see his movie prevail at the PGA ceremony.
'My impostor syndrome is skyrocketing right now, as well as my cortisol levels,' Baker said, accepting the DGA prize.
Baker's freewheeling fractured fairy tale about a Brooklyn sex worker's heady and, ultimately, heartbreaking relationship with the son of a Russian oligarch, now stands, once again, as the favorite to win the best picture Oscar next month at the 97th Academy Awards.
It's a perch that 'Anora' had enjoyed after taking the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival where had its world premiere in May. It picked up more momentum when it opened in October to ecstatic reviews. But after 'Anora' failed to take any prizes last month at the Golden Globes, there was some thought that the movie might have peaked too soon, eclipsed by later arrivals like 'The Brutalist' and 'A Complete Unknown.'
When Oscar nominations were announced on Jan. 23, 'Anora' picked up all the nods it was expected to earn: picture, director, original screenplay, lead actress Mikey Madison, supporting actor Yura Borisov and film editing. But several films enjoyed bigger hauls, including 'Emilia Pérez,' which earned a leading 13 noms.
But 'Emilia Pérez,' the French-produced, Spanish-language musical soap opera about a Mexican cartel boss who transitions into a woman, soon found itself embroiled in controversy, criticized for its depiction of trans people and excoriated by Mexicans for insensitivity and a lack of representation.
Last week, its star Karla Sofía Gascón, the first openly trans actor nominated for an Oscar, faced a backlash after Canadian journalist Sarah Hagi shared screenshots of offensive posts Gascón wrote in Spanish, expressing insensitive opinions on Islam, Muslims and George Floyd.
Gascón apologized, deleted her X account, but then did an interview with CNN en Español, saying, 'I have been convicted and sacrificed and crucified and stoned without a trial and without the option to defend myself.'
The bad vibes surrounding Gascón and the Netflix film created a vacuum in the best picture race. Many thought 'The Brutalist,' a portrait of an immigrant architect that examines the relationship between patron and artist while considering the purpose and lasting value of art, might fill the void. But that film also found itself enmeshed in controversy when it was reported that it had used AI behind the scenes.
'The whole campaign for that movie was about championing human creativity, so when that came out, it felt a little tainted,' one Oscar voter told me recently.
'The Brutalist' may have also been hurt by another one of its selling points — its three-and-a-half-hour running time. It's an event movie. But if voters can't wrap their heads — and their schedules — around that kind of time investment, it's in danger of losing votes.
The Screen Actors Guild Awards remains the last major ceremony remaining. But its Feb. 23 show will air after Oscar voting has ended, negating the impact of any speeches and celebratory moments. (Oscar balloting begins Tuesday and runs through Feb. 18.) SAG though is another spot where 'Anora' met expectations, picking up nominations for ensemble and individual nods for Madison and Borisov.
Before we get too carried away, it's worth noting that not every movie that won both PGA and DGA honors went on to win the best picture Oscar. 'Apollo 13' lost at the 1996 Academy Awards to 'Braveheart.' Three years later, 'Shakespeare in Love' bested Steven Spielberg's 'Saving Private Ryan.' 'Crash,' infamously, won the Oscar over 'Brokeback Mountain.' Most recently, 'La La Land' won DGA and PGA, only to lose the Oscar (once they found the right envelope) to 'Moonlight.'
But for now, 'Anora' is out in front. And even if this $6-million-budgeted wonder comes up short at the Oscars, the shock and awe of its two-fer with the guilds won't be forgotten by its creator.
Late Saturday evening, responding to a text I sent him, Baker wrote, 'I'm hoping I wake up in the morning and it's still true.' Sweet. He followed that message with another one that sported a cartoon image. 'That's my dog with an 'Anora' thong.'
Really, is there any wonder why 'Anora' is out in front?