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New York Times
03-03-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
The Fairy Tale Night of Sean Baker, Director of Dreams Gone Awry
Sean Baker came equipped with extra speeches, and that was wise: On the night of the Oscars, he wound up onstage four times to receive four statues. That's not just unusual. It's almost unheard-of. Baker's film 'Anora,' about a sex worker in the Brighton Beach neighborhood of Brooklyn who marries the son of a Russian oligarch and then watches it all go sideways, earned five Oscars overall on Sunday. One went to its ingénue star, Mikey Madison, and four to Baker: best director, best original screenplay, best editing and best picture. By taking home four Oscars on a single night, Baker joins just one other luminary: none other than Walt Disney, who pulled off the same trick in 1954. That year, Disney won best documentary feature ('The Living Desert'), best documentary short subject ('The Alaskan Eskimo'), best cartoon short subject ('Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom') and best two-reel short subject ('Bear Country'). But even Disney didn't pull off Baker's feat: earning four Oscars on one night for the same movie. Doing so requires wearing a lot of hats, and Baker, who started his career in ultra-low-budget independent films, has a deep hatrack. Movies are a collaborative art, and even the most hands-on filmmakers work with a team of artists and craftspeople. But writing, directing, editing and producing a film leaves a distinctive personal mark. Disney, who was heavily involved with his studio's projects, certainly did so. Similarly, 'Anora' audiences who know Baker's work probably spotted his fingerprints from the moment the film starts. (And not just because Baker emulates John Carpenter, Woody Allen, Stanley Kubrick and Wes Anderson by sticking with one typeface for the titles of all his films — Aguafina Script Pro, if you were wondering.) One of Baker's hallmarks, the one people most often associate with him, is a focus on people who live on the margins of society, especially but not exclusively sex workers. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The Guardian
03-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Sean Baker matches 70-year-old Oscars record held by Walt Disney
Sean Baker's four Oscar wins for Anora has seen the director match a 70-year old record held by one of Hollywood's biggest names: Walt Disney. In winning for best picture, best director, best editing and best original screenplay, Baker has become only the second person to claim four individual Oscars on a single night, a feat last completed by Disney in 1954, when he won best documentary for The Living Desert, best documentary short for The Alaskan Eskimo, best short cartoon Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom; and best short subject for Bear Country. Unlike Disney though, Baker has won all of his awards for a single film, and where Disney failed to claim two awards on his record-breaking night, for films also nominated in short cartoon and short subject, Baker managed to win for all the awards that he was nominated in. Anora also received a fifth Oscar, for best actress, which went to its star, Mikey Madison. The haul completes a remarkable rise for Baker, a director who had previously been considered something of an arthouse film outsider and who, before Anora, had never received a single Oscar nomination. Despite Baker's impressive haul at this year's Oscars, he still has some way to go to match Disney's total Oscar haul, which stands at a record 22 wins. Read more about the 2025 Oscars: Anora takes home best picture Oscar Adrien Brody and Mikey Madison win best acting prizes Kieran Culkin and Zoe Saldaña win supporting awards Anora's Sean Baker wins for directing, editing and screenplay
