History MediaNotes / AcademyAwardsCeremonies

*** The second was in 1999 (a year after ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2'' was released), when Buzz, Woody, Jessie and Bullseye presented the Best Animated Short Film award, while [[{{Toys/MrPotatoHead}} Mr. and Ms. Potato Head]] were sitting under the seats. The Rock'em Sock'em Robots also appeared there guarding Buzz.

* MusicalGag: When presenters come out on stage there's often thematically appropriate music accompanying them, such as the theme from one of their past movies, but sometimes GeniusBonus gags of this sort turn up instead. For instance, in 1989 Creator/JeffGoldblum and Creator/GeenaDavis' entrance was scored by [[Film/TheFly1986 "Flight of the Bumblebee"]].

* IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine: A guaranteed crowd-pleaser is to pair the co-stars of a classic film as presenters. RealLife couples and parent/child teams are also favorites of the producers. Taken to extremes with the 1989 telecast: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/61st_Academy_Awards The night's theme was pairs]], including three at-the-time couples, twelve co-stars of popular and/or upcoming films, two parent/child groups, and two pairs that qualified as both co-stars AND lovers (Creator/JeffGoldblum / Creator/GeenaDavis and Creator/KurtRussell / Creator/GoldieHawn) and that was just among the ''presenters''. The notorious Snow White opening number had a few more co-star/couple pairings trucked out (Roy Rogers / Dale Evans, Vincent Price / Coral Browne).

* IWantSong: The 1988 telecast had "I Wanna Be an Oscar Winner", a number performed by various "stars of tomorrow" including, among others, Creator/CoreyFeldman and Creator/ChristianSlater. It went over about as well as the Snow White/Rob Lowe opener did (and to date, none of the performers have even been as much as been ''nominated'' for the award)

NOTE: All the year references are for the awarded year, rather than the year the ceremony was broadcast.

* AdamWesting: At the 1999 show, Creator/JimCarrey presented Film Editing [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1PruACVorM only to break down in mock tears]] over not being nominated for Best Actor for ''Film/TheTrumanShow'', which was widely seen as a massive surprise snub. When he was snubbed '''the very next year''' for his equally acclaimed ''Film/ManOnTheMoon'' performance the producers attempted to get him to appear in the PsychoShowerMurderParody in Creator/BillyCrystal's opening film montage to reference his awful luck, but he declined. Carrey would present awards at later ceremonies, however.

** One of the largest shocks in the history of the Oscars happened in 1948, when Creator/RosalindRussell was considered the only possible Best Actress winner for her role in the tragic Creator/EugeneONeill melodrama ''Theatre/MourningBecomesElectra''. In fact, Russell's win was so assumed that it was less like "sure thing" and more like "foregone conclusion". So when it was time for the award, Russell was actually rising from her seat before the envelope was opened, and the presenter even said her first name before looking at the envelope and realizing that Creator/LorettaYoung had actually won for a light-hearted, mostly-forgotten comedy called ''The Farmer's Daughter''.

** At the 2006 Oscars, it was expected that ''Film/BrokebackMountain'' would win for Best Picture. But ''Film/{{Crash}}'' took home the trophy instead. Creator/JackNicholson, who presented the category, sounded disappointed when he announced the winner, letting out a much-memed "Whoa".
** For the 2007 Oscars, it was pretty much assumed that Creator/EddieMurphy would win Best Supporting Actor for ''Film/{{Dreamgirls}}'' after having won the Golden Globe and SAG Award, despite releasing the highly-offensive and poorly received ''Film/{{Norbit}}'' a few weeks before the ceremony. Many people were surprised when the award went to Creator/AlanArkin instead.
** The 2015 Oscars had one of the more notorious examples of this when Best Actor, which Creator/MichaelKeaton was all but assumed to be a lock for with his widely praised and career-resurrecting starring role in ''Film/BirdmanOrTheUnexpectedVirtueOfIgnorance'', was instead given to Creator/EddieRedmayne for playing Creator/StephenHawking in ''Film/TheTheoryOfEverything''. Redmayne notably looked absolutely thunderstruck when his name was announced and [[https://www.businessinsider.com.au/michael-keaton-caught-pulling-out-oscars-speech-2015-2 Keaton could be seen both pulling his acceptance speech out of his pocket in the lineup shot before the actual announcement and also putting his speech back in his pocket in a wide shot as Redmayne took the stage.]]
** ''Film/LaLaLand'' was considered the odds-on-favorite for Best Picture at the 2017 Oscars, and was ''actually announced'' as the winner, but before all the producers could finish their acceptance speeches, it was revealed that ''Film/Moonlight2016'' was the real winner for Best Picture and that presenters Creator/WarrenBeatty and Creator/FayeDunaway had received the wrong envelope.
** After losing six previous times, Creator/GlennClose was heavily expected to win Best Actress in 2019 for ''Film/TheWife''. After Creator/OliviaColman won it instead (ironically enough, for ''Film/TheFavourite''), she actually apologized to Close in her acceptance speech.
** At the 2021 Oscars, it was widely assumed that Creator/ChadwickBoseman would posthumously win Best Actor for ''Film/MaRaineysBlackBottom'', to the point where the category reveal was held back for the end-of-ceremony spot usually given to Best Picture. However, Creator/AnthonyHopkins won instead for ''Film/TheFather''. Presenter Creator/JoaquinPhoenix looked distinctly uncomfortable making the announcement, and simply gave a brief comment that he would be accepting the award on the absent Hopkins' behalf before racing off the stage... and then the show abruptly rolled credits.
* AttackOfThePoliticalAd: PlayedForLaughs on the 2006 Awards, which was hosted by Creator/JonStewart, then host of the news/political satire show ''Series/TheDailyShowWithJonStewart''. One was about Creator/KeiraKnightley and took a shot at Creator/CharlizeTheron "hagging it up" in movies such as ''Film/{{Monster}}''.

** During the 1993 ceremony, Billy Crystal mentioning that Creator/{{Disney}} had bought a hockey team (the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim), and then saying he'd thought that the only "Disney on Ice" was Walt himself (alluding to the urban legend that Creator/WaltDisney was [[HumanPopsicle encased in a block of ice]] after his death). Crystal mentioned afterward that the reason he wore black was so that he could make that joke.
** Creator/SethMacFarlane, when speaking about ''{{Film/Lincoln}}'' in 2013, quipped that in his opinion the actor who "really got inside Lincoln's head" was John Wilkes Booth. The audience [[DudeNotFunny audibly winced at that one]].

* {{Camp}}: In general, the show's production numbers -- such as the chorus numbers that opened many shows up through the 1990s, interpretive dance/variety performances used to introduce categories such as Original Score and Costume Design, and performances of Best Song nominees that don't take a minimalist approach have often qualified as low/unintentional camp. The notorious Snow White-meets-Rob Lowe opening of 1989 was actually high/intentional camp, adapted from the beloved San Francisco-based revue ''Beach Blanket Babylon'', but to say audiences didn't get the joke is an understatement (though some of it was also due to that type of humor not really translating well to television or to a large concert hall in the first place). Post-1989, there have been production numbers led by the hosts that are intentionally tongue-in-cheek but more obviously humorous, which are usually well-received (see Hugh Jackman's opening in 2009).

** Also applies to global broadcasters since the ceremonies airs in more than 300 countries, so channel-hopping across the world is to be expected.[[note]]One exception of this were China and Hong Kong due to the 2021 presentation being literally BannedInChina due to Creator/ChloeZhao, an outspoken critic of the Chinese government, being nominated for an Oscar for Best Director (and ''winning'') for ''Film/{{Nomadland}}'', the 2022 presentation was also not shown in both regions for unknown reasons. In 2023, the presentation returned to broadcast in Hong Kong, this time on PCCW's [=ViuTV=] channels.[[/note]]

** Creator/JackPalance shows off with one-armed push-ups on stage when he receives his Best Supporting Actor Oscar for ''Film/CitySlickers'' in 1992. In 1993, the curtain goes up on him towing a giant Oscar, upon which sits host (and his costar in the aforementioned film) Creator/BillyCrystal, onto the stage -- and doing a few more one-armed push-ups along the way.
** Creator/AdrienBrody plants TheBigDamnKiss on Creator/HalleBerry after receiving Best Actor in 2003. An AnticipatoryBreathSpray is employed before he delivers Best Actress in 2004 (for the record, the winner, Creator/CharlizeTheron, did kiss him, though much more chastely than he had kissed Berry).
** Creator/JohnTravolta somehow mangles Creator/IdinaMenzel's name into "Adele Dazeem" in 2014; the following year she is asked to introduce him on stage with the same treatment -- but not before Creator/NeilPatrickHarris quips that Creator/BenedictCumberbatch is "what you get by asking John Travolta to introduce Creator/BenAffleck."
** 2024 marked the 50th anniversary of when a streaker unexpectedly passed in the 1974 ceremony. So in the 2024 ceremony, Creator/JohnCena appears completely nude (with his crotch covered by the envelope) to present the Best Costume Design category.

* CreatorsApathy / TookTheBadFilmSeriously: [[https://www.theringer.com/movies/2021/4/14/22381783/2011-oscars-james-franco-anne-hathaway-behind-the-scenes-story By the Oscar crew's own admission]], the 2011 award show, hosted by Creator/JamesFranco and Creator/AnneHathaway, is remembered as one of the most notorious duds in the ceremonies' history because of a combination of this by the hosts. Franco wasn't too invested in the material in rehearsal and had very low energy onstage, while Hathaway was extremely committed to every segment and sustained very high energy throughout. But since the two didn't mesh, their duo came off as "the world's most uncomfortable blind date between the cool rocker stoner kid and the adorable theater camp cheerleader."

** The 74th Awards, in 2002, set a record by running 4 hours and 23 minutes; in the same amount of time, you could watch Best Picture winner ''Film/ABeautifulMind'' and fellow nominee ''Film/MoulinRouge'' back-to-back. There were several factors that led to this: There was a first-time producer (Laura Ziskin) working on a show that had been flirting with the 4-hour mark in the years since it was moved to an early evening Sunday timeslot. But there was also a huge sense of "a historic night" that permeated the show. It was the first Oscars held in the newly-built theater at the Hollywood & Highland complex, and with Creator/WhoopiGoldberg hosting and the expected (and ultimately delivered) wins of Creator/DenzelWashington and Creator/HalleBerry for Best Actor and Best Actress, the night was anticipated to be a watershed moment for race relations in Hollywood. Add the fact that it was the first post-[[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror 9/11]] Oscars, with all the expected tributes and "[[Film/ThePlayer Movies: Now More Than Ever]]" rhetoric, and you had plenty of statements that the show wanted to make. Most reviews acknowledged that Oscar's heart was in the right place, but felt the whole thing just got too bloated. The Academy vowed to tighten things up in the future, and the show hasn't gone over four hours since.
** [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by Creator/JimmyKimmel during the 2018 ceremony, when he announced that he would give a jet ski as a prize to the winner who makes the shortest acceptance speech (presented ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' style -- with '''Creator/HelenMirren''' as the model). Mark Bridges (Best Costume Design, ''Film/PhantomThread'') won with a time of 30 seconds.
** Ironically, in 2022, the hugely controversial decision to pre-tape nearly a third of the award presentations (mostly within the technical categories) so as to make sure the ceremony did not run over three hours (which was allegedly mandated by the network) backfired completely, with the ceremony running 40 minutes over the planned limit, making it longer than the average ceremony.
* EyeTake: Creator/SteveMartin hosted the 2001 show. This trope came into play in re the AccidentalInnuendo in Creator/PenelopeCruz' filmography.

** Creator/BobHope hosted a record 19 times, either alone or in conjunction with others, between 1940 and 1978. A RunningGag was Hope's disappointment over failing to get a Best Actor statue himself.
** Creator/BillyCrystal comes in second, having hosted nine times, and is regarded by many as the best Oscar host ever. Perhaps his most memorable moment came in 1992, when he opened the show by being wheeled onto the stage in a [[Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs Hannibal Lecter]] getup.

** In some years there have been multiple hosts sharing the duties. This has been a rarity since the '80s, although in 2010 Steve Martin co-hosted with Creator/AlecBaldwin, while the 2011 ceremony paired Creator/JamesFranco with Creator/AnneHathaway and the 2022 ceremony featured Creator/AmySchumer, Creator/WandaSykes and Creator/ReginaHall.
** There was also the "Friends of Oscar" era (1969-71), when MC duties rotated throughout the show among a big group of stars (34 [!] in 1971).
** Averted with the 1989 ceremonies, which went one step beyond the "Friends of Oscar" idea: There was no designated hosts at all, just a ''long'' series of presenters (some only introduced the actual presenters of an award!), most of whom were themed pairs as per Allan Carr's "Couples, Companions, Costars, Compadres" theme.
** The 2019 ceremony also went hostless after planned host Creator/KevinHart dropped out (due to the controversy over some old homophobic comments he'd made on Website/{{Twitter}}) and the Academy was unable to find a replacement. When ratings improved from the previous year, the decision was made to forego a host for the 2020 ceremony as well, and in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the stripped-down, socially-distanced 2021 ceremony also went host-less. After 2022 had a ''trio'' of hosts, the ceremony finally returned to a single host in '23.

* InTheStyleOf: Creator/RyanGosling's instantly memetic performance of [[Film/Barbie2023 "I'm Just Ken"]] at the 96th Awards in 2024 was an extended homage to Creator/MarilynMonroe's "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" from ''Film/GentlemenPreferBlondes'' (leading it to be called "Diamonds are a Ken's Best Friend" or "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Ken").

* InterfaceSpoiler: Occasionally you can guess who the winner will be based on the presenters, although the Academy usually avoids this on most occasions. One very obvious example is the 2007 Ceremony, where Creator/MartinScorsese was nominated for Best Director for ''Film/TheDeparted'' with many believing he would finally win this time. As soon as the presenters came on stage (Creator/FrancisFordCoppola, Creator/StevenSpielberg, Creator/GeorgeLucas), it became clear that Scorsese would win owing to the fact that he and the presenters were part of the "movie brats" generation, mostly because of the association, but also because it was rare for three presenters to give the Best Director award.
* {{Irony}}: Presenting the Best Makeup award at the 1987 show, Creator/RodneyDangerfield pondered "In the movies, everybody wants to look good, you know? And who always wins the [makeup] award? The guy who creates the ugliest creature there is!" Even funnier, he was right on the money: ''Film/TheFly1986'' beat ''[[Literature/EarthsChildren The Clan of the Cave Bear]]'' and ''Film/Legend1985'' for the award.
* IWantSong: The 1989 telecast had "I Wanna Be an Oscar Winner", a number performed by various "stars of tomorrow" including, among others, Creator/CoreyFeldman and Creator/ChristianSlater. It went over about as well as the Snow White/Rob Lowe opener did.

** The 2014 ceremony led to memes of "Adele Dazeem" ([[Creator/IdinaMenzel Idina Menzel's]] name, accidentally butchered by Creator/JohnTravolta) and the [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BhxWutnCEAAtEQ6.jpg:large Oscar Selfie]].
** The Best Picture gaffe of 2017 became an instant meme, with the card that had ''Moonlight'''s name frequently being photoshopped to include everything from [[AwardSnub snubbed films]] to complete nonsense such as copypastas. The gaffe also includes the photo of the celebrities' reactions to the blunder, especially that of [[Creator/DwayneJohnson the Rock]].
** 2022's ceremony featured Creator/WillSmith slapping Creator/ChrisRock after the latter made a joke about the [[Creator/JadaPinkettSmith former's wife]]'s baldness. Videos of the event (and Smith's PrecisionFStrike of "Keep my wife's name out your fucking mouth!") have gone viral. A [[https://i.imgflip.com/6a9d61.png?a457932 still of the slap]] has been turned into a common meme template. Reaction shots of the other attendees also made the meme rounds, though many of them were later revealed to not have actually been taken at the time of the incident. The widely-circulated shot of [[https://pyxis.nymag.com/v1/imgs/0f9/716/a0812d866e8cde3f40a68440b964625ff9-nicole-kidman.rsquare.w330.jpg Nicole Kidman]] gasping was taken hours earlier when she saw Creator/JessicaChastain's dress for the first time before the show.

** Clips of the Best Picture nominees being spread out over the entire show, as well as presenters saying "And the Oscar goes to..."[[note]]Instead of "And the winner is..."[[/note]] only date back to the 61st ceremonies in 1989--yes, the notorious Allan Carr-produced "Worst Oscars Ever". Other Oscar staples that Carr introduced were extended red carpet coverage prior to the show, and Bruce Vilanch as a member of the writing staff (he stuck around for the next 25 years).
** The ObituaryMontage has only been an annual part of the show since 1994.
** The current venue, the Dolby Theatre (formerly the Kodak Theatre) at Hollywood and Highland, opened in 2002. Before that, Hollywood's biggest night hadn't actually been held in Hollywood for 41 years. It moved to Santa Monica for 8 years, then bounced between two downtown LA venues (the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and the Shrine Auditorium) for the next few decades. In 2021, additional venues were added in Union Station, the (Megabox COEX) Dolby Cinema in Seoul, additional venues in the UK, Europe, Australia and (exclusively for the preshow musical segments) The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. This was a response to the ongoing global travel restrictions around the world. (With no audience attending except for nominated people and their families) During the 1990 presentation, the theme of that presentation was about global unity (after the devastating presentation prior) for the film industry with venues being held via satellite in London, Moscow, Buenos Aires, Sydney, and Tokyo.
** The ceremonies only started being ''really long'' in 1974, when the show ran 3 hours and 23 minutes, a full 45 minutes longer than the previous year. Before then, it wasn't at all uncommon for the show to finish in under two hours, or for the Oscars to be ''shorter'' than the film that won Best Picture (the ceremonies honoring ''Film/TheGodfather'', ''Film/LawrenceOfArabia'', ''Film/{{West Side Story|1961}}'' and ''[[Film/BenHur1959 Ben-Hur]]'' all had this odd distinction).
** They've only been held on a Sunday night since the 71st Awards in 1999. Before that, they were traditionally a Monday night show.

* OlderThanTheyThink: Repurposing the lyrics to an older song to be about the show and/or the nominees predated Billy Crystal and even the "Proud Mary" rewrite of the 1989 ceremony. The 1987 ceremony featured a rewrite of [[Theatre/GuysAndDolls "Fugue for Tinhorns"]] performed by Telly Savalas, Pat Morita, and Creator/DomDeluise, and the 1988 ceremony revamped [[Theatre/AChorusLine "I Hope I Get It"]] performed by a chorus of singers dressed as Oscar statuettes.
* TheOtherDarrin: The first official performance of WesternAnimation/BugsBunny by a different voice actor after Creator/MelBlanc's death was at the 62nd awards in 1990, when Creator/JeffBergman voiced him presenting the MediaNotes/AcademyAwardForBestAnimatedShortFilm

** There have been several occasions from the late 1980s onward where animated characters "came on stage" to present the Best Animated Short Film award, including WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse, WesternAnimation/BugsBunny, WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck, [[WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast Belle and the Beast (plus Chip)]], [[WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs Snow White]], and [[WesternAnimation/ChickenLittle Chicken Little and Abby Mallard]]. This hasn't just happened for that one category; WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead presented the award for Best Sound Editing in 1997 and [[Franchise/TheIncredibles Edna Mode]] presented for Best Costume Design in 2005!
** Ironically, an original concept for the 1989 show was for the [[Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit trope-naming character and his wife Jessica]] to present the film's animation director Creator/RichardWilliams with his Honorary Oscar, but producer Allan Carr said it was scrapped when they learned how expensive and time-consuming it would be.
** WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck actually served as one of several ''co-hosts'' for the 1958 ceremony.

*** The first was in 1996, when [[WesternAnimation/ToyStory1 the first film]]'s director Creator/JohnLasseter was honored with a Special Achievement Awards for creating the first computer-animated film ever created. Woody and Buzz Lightyear came to life as well as a talking Oscar statuette.
*** The second was in 2000 (a year after ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2'' was released), when Buzz, Woody, Jessie and Bullseye presented the Best Animated Short Film award, while [[{{Toys/MrPotatoHead}} Mr. and Ms. Potato Head]] were sitting under the seats. The Rock'em Sock'em Robots also appeared there guarding Buzz.
*** The third was in 2016 (in time for the franchise's [[{{MilestoneCelebration}} 20th anniversary]]) and this time, the Best Animated Feature Film award was presented by Woody and Buzz.
** The 2002 show, which introduced the Best Animated Feature category, had the lead characters from the three nominated films (''WesternAnimation/Shrek1'', ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc1'' and ''WesternAnimation/JimmyNeutronBoyGenius'') appear to be sitting in the auditorium as the nominations were read. Moreover, when ''Shrek'' was announced as the winner, its characters celebrated while those from the losing films ''looked shocked and/or disappointed that they did not win''. This was repeated for the 2007 show, too.

** Creator/JohnnyCarson was well-known for taking an odd moment from early in the show and referring to it later on. The most memorable case was at the 52nd Awards in 1980. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Splet Alan Splet]] won a special award for his sound effects work on ''Film/TheBlackStallion'', but couldn't be at the ceremony because he was in England working on ''Film/TheElephantMan''. Seizing on Splet's [[InherentlyFunnyWords Inherently Funny Name]], Carson joked that actually he was stuck in traffic driving to the ceremony and gave updates on the various mishaps Splet was facing on his journey. When Melvyn Douglas, also absent, won Best Supporting Actor for ''Film/BeingThere'', Carson joked that he was in Splet's carpool.
** Creator/BillyCrystal's second hosting gig in 1991 had him make his entrance riding a steer, referencing his soon-to-open film ''Film/CitySlickers''. The next two years had similarly silly entrances -- being wheeled out on a gurney just like Hannibal Lecter in ''Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'' in 1992, and being towed out on a giant Oscar by Creator/JackPalance in 1993. That last one doubled as a ContinuityNod to the previous year...

** As well, self-promoting his own films became one of Crystal's standard schticks post-1991. The Best Picture nominee medley in 1993 ended with him doing a tribute to ''Film/MrSaturdayNight'' even though that film wasn't up for anything bigger than Best Supporting Actor, and the 1998 medley, when it got to ''Film/{{Titanic|1997}}'', worked in his hopes that its continued box-office success wouldn't affect "''Film/MyGiant'' in three weeks."
** Overly-long acceptance speeches have been the target of recurring jokes during the ceremony. In the 2018 ceremony, noting how overly-long the ceremony had become due primarily to excessive acceptance speeches, Kimmel announced that whoever gave the shortest acceptance speech would win a brand-new jet ski. Some of the winners inevitably made references to this as a forewarning.

** The climax of the opening montage of the 1997 ceremony, the first in which Billy Crystal wandered through various films of the previous year, has him fleeing the crashing plane from ''Film/TheEnglishPatient''. Its pilot is Creator/DavidLetterman, who gleefully suggests Crystal do the "Oprah...Uma" gag that went over so badly for him at the 1995 show.

** Following the aforementioned Best Picture gaffe in the 2017 edition, the promotional poster for the 2018 edition featured contact sheets with various photos of Kimmel, labelled "What could possibly go wrong?"
** In 2020, James Corden and Rebel Wilson presented the Best Visual Effects award in cheap cat costumes, acknowledging the importance of ''good'' visual effects on a film's success (criteria which [[Film/{{Cats}} a certain movie they starred in]] didn't exactly satisfy).[[note]]They in fact would "win" Worst Supporting Actor and Actress respectively at the UsefulNotes/{{Golden Raspberry Award}}s the next month.[[/note]]

* SoundEffectBleep: When Creator/RobinWilliams performed [[WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut "Blame Canada"]] at the 2000 ceremony, the female backup chorus gasped in order to cover up the word "fuck".[[note]]It is generally believed that "Blame Canada" got the nomination for Best Original Song over any of the other songs from ''South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut'' because it was the only one that wouldn't have to be heavily censored to be performed live at the Oscars.[[/note]]

** Billy Crystal's response to applause as he came out to host the 1990 ceremony: "Is that for me or are you just glad I'm not Snow White?", referencing the notorious Snow White musical opening number of the 1989 ceremony.
** Creator/WhoopiGoldberg, back for her second hosting gig in 1996 after a well-received 1994 show, asked "Did you miss me?" upon coming out -- referencing Creator/DavidLetterman's disastrous gig in '95.
** While hosting the 2023 ceremony Creator/JimmyKimmel couldn't resist ripping into how poorly the Will Smith/Chris Rock incident had been handled the previous year, remarking "If anyone in this theater commits an act of violence at any point during the show, you will be awarded the Oscar for Best Actor and permitted to give a 19-minute-long speech." He even called out everyone who had been in attendance that night, saying "If anything unpredictable or violent happens during the ceremony, just do what you did last year: nothing. Sit there and do absolutely nothing. Maybe even give the assailant a hug."

* TragicKeepsake: The two acting Oscars to be (thus far) won posthumously basically turned the statuette into this. In both cases, members of the winner's family (Peter Finch's widow, Creator/HeathLedger's parents and sister) accepted the award and gave a speech thanking the Academy for honoring the winner's legacy. In a weird coincidence, both actors were UsefulNotes/{{Australia}}n.

** The audience and viewers alike were stunned to see Creator/WoodyAllen walk out on the stage in 2002, for his first (and so far, only) appearance at the Oscars, to introduce the post-9/11 "Love Letter to New York in the Movies" tribute. His appearance used OOCIsSeriousBusiness as a way to underline the theme of [[BigApplesauce New York's]] importance as a film location.
** Nobody expected Music/{{Eminem}} to show up at the 2020 Oscars to perform "Lose Yourself", 17 years after it won the award for Best Song

** The 2011 ceremony. The previous year's ceremony had been the first with multiple co-hosts (Creator/SteveMartin and Creator/AlecBaldwin) in over twenty years, and it had gone over very well (with the highest ratings in five years[[note]]albeit almost certainly because the highest-grossing film of the year, ''Film/{{Avatar}}'', was nominated for and was the favorite to win Best Picture[[/note]]), but it was observed that the combined age of the two hosts was 116 (Martin was 64, Baldwin 51) and the Oscars should probably appeal toward a younger audience with younger hosts. The problem was that the producers seem to have decided to pick names out of a hat, landing on Creator/JamesFranco and Creator/AnneHathaway, who had never worked together before and had onscreen personas that didn't mesh at all. (Their first choice, Music/JustinTimberlake, turned them down flat.) Franco accepted the gig but was extremely busy and had little time for attending writer's meetings or rehearsals. Hathaway, on the other hand, committed fully to preparing for her role and endeared herself to pretty much everyone. When Franco finally ''did'' show up for rehearsals he seemed very unimpressed with the material that had been prepared for him (despite him okay-ing it beforehand). It also became very clear that Franco and Hathaway had extremely different comedic energies and zero chemistry. Franco decided to adopt a bored, disaffected persona to contrast with Hathaway's perky enthusiasm, but come Oscar night it just made him appear stoned. (To this day, producers swear he wasn't.) A decade after the fact, ''The Ringer'' [[https://www.theringer.com/movies/2021/4/14/22381783/2011-oscars-james-franco-anne-hathaway-behind-the-scenes-story published a thorough post-mortem]].
** The 2022 ceremony was accused of being this due to [[ExecutiveMeddling several changes made at ABC's insistence]] to attract a younger audience and reverse the ratings abyss of the last year's COVID-afflicted show, including: having awards or tributes presented by celebrities not known for film work, hosting two online polls for viewers to choose their favorite movie and movie moment (to give recognition to popular films that aren't OscarBait beyond the tech categories), building a huge production number around ''WesternAnimation/{{Encanto}}'''s "We Don't Talk About Bruno" despite it ''not'' being up for Best Original Song ("Dos Oruguitas" ''was'' nominated, but that hadn't become a viral hit on [=TikTok=]), multiple tributes to films like the James Bond series, ''Film/TheGodfather'', and ''Film/PulpFiction'' (the first two were {{Milestone Celebration}}s of 60th and 50th anniversaries, but ''Pulp Fiction'' was only 28), an InMemoriam segment combined with a chorale's gospel-style dance number, and most controversially having eight "lesser" awards be presented ahead of the main ceremony to make the show last a hard three hours. It ''still'' didn't work:
*** The show ran 42 minutes overtime -- and 23 minutes longer than the 2021 ceremonies where all the categories were telecast -- thanks largely to time spent on all the gimmicks.

*** Industry people and fans alike criticized the diminishment of the technical awards, calling it an insult to the often overlooked people working behind the scenes, and denounced it as the Academy's JumpingTheShark moment. Similarly, having the Animated Feature award introduced by several Disney performers enforcing the AnimationAgeGhetto (in the year ''WesternAnimation/{{Flee}}'' was nominated!) was seen as insulting to those who work on adult-oriented productions, and many jokes made by the hosts at the expense of the actual Best Picture nominees (commonly for presumably being boring and overlong) were seen was demeaning. Even though these tactics ironically ended up ''improving'' the show's ratings (albeit slightly), time will tell as to how much damage they cause to the Academy's reputation as a whole. Eventually, the Academy backed out, decided to broadcast all categories again in 2023, and opened the ceremony with the Animated Feature award with a much more respectable presentation of the medium.

** From Creator/{{NBC}} (which first televised the ceremonies in 1953) to Creator/{{ABC}} in 1961, back to NBC in 1971, and back to ABC in 1976.

** ''Film/LaLaLand'' was considered the odds-on-favorite for Best Picture at the 2017 Oscars, and was ''actually announced'' as the winner, but before all the producers could finish their acceptance speeches, it was revealed that ''Film/Moonlight2016'' was the real winner for Best Picture and that Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway received the wrong envelope.

** The 2002 show, which introduced the Best Animated Feature category, had the lead characters from the three nominated films (''WesternAnimation/Shrek1'', ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'' and ''WesternAnimation/JimmyNeutronBoyGenius'') appear to be sitting in the auditorium as the nominations were read. Moreover, when ''Shrek'' was announced as the winner, its characters celebrated while those from the losing films ''looked shocked and/or disappointed that they did not win''. This was repeated for the 2007 show, too.

* InTheStyleOf: Creator/RyanGosling's instantly memetic performance of [[Film/Barbie2023 "I'm Just Ken"]] at the 96th Awards in 2024 was an extended homage to Creator/MarilynMonroe's "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" from ''Literature/GentlemenPreferBlondes'' (leading it to be called "Diamonds are a Ken's Best Friend" or "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Ken").

** Creator/JimmyKimmel couldn't resist ripping into how poorly the Will Smith/Chris Rock incident had been handled the previous year, remarking "If anyone in this theater commits an act of violence at any point during the show, you will be awarded the Oscar for Best Actor and permitted to give a 19-minute-long speech." He even called out everyone who had been in attendance that night, saying "If anything unpredictable or violent happens during the ceremony, just do what you did last year: nothing. Sit there and do absolutely nothing. Maybe even give the assailant a hug."