The stars were out in Hollywood Sunday for the 97th Academy Awards.

The show opened with a musical tribute to cinematic versions of The Wizard of Oz, featuring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, then cut to a The Substance-inspired video with host Conan O’Brien appearing from Demi Moore’s body.

Conan was then finally introduced as a “four-time Oscar viewer” and cracked jokes about all the Oscar-nominated films.

Regarding the length of The Brutalist, he noted, “I love The Brutalist, I didn’t want it to end. And luckily it didn’t.”

He also poked fun at the controversy surrounding Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón’s past tweets, joking about how many times fellow nominee Anora uses the F-word, then adding, “That’s three more than the record set by Karla Sofía Gascón’s publicist.”

Conan also warned winners about their speeches being too long, and threatened to show early headshots of the actors if they were, including Timothée Chalamet‘s, whose picture was a sonogram. There was even a cameo from a dressed-down Adam Sandler.

Conan also got serious and talked about having the Oscars in the wake of recent Los Angeles wildfires.

“At moments like this, any award show can seem self-indulgent and superfluous,” he said, but then noted how the show “shines a light on a community of people you never see,” including those behind the camera.

He added, “So yes, even in the face of terrible wildfires and divisive politics, the work, which is what this is about, the work continues. And next year and through years to come, in trauma and joy, this seemingly absurd ritual is gonna be here,” before joking, “I will not.”

Finally, Conan ended the monologue with a musical number about how he won’t waste time during the show, thereby obviously wasting everyone’s time. 

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.