Ben Stiller pretended to suffer a stage mishap in a hilarious bit, while presenting at the Oscars this Sunday at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre.
Parks And Recreation star Nick Offerman, who was narrating the ceremony, introduced him once – then again when he failed to materialize the first time.
At that point Ben, 59, began to be lifted onto the stage from underneath with the help of an elevator, only for the machine to stall.
To gales of laughter from the audience, Ben stared out at them stony-faced, visible only from the chest up because of the supposedly malfunctioning lift.
The Tropic Thunder star got an even bigger laugh from the assembled celebrities when he announced the category he was presenting – production design.
‘It is a field where the slightest miscalculation can lose the trust of the audience and humiliate the performers onscreen,’ he deadpanned.
Ben Stiller pretended to suffer a stage mishap in a hilarious bit, while presenting at the Oscars this Sunday at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre
As he worked his way through his speech, he clambered painfully out of the lift and onto the stage, stumbling as he went.
Once he got to his proper mark, Ben presented the Oscar for best production design to Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales for Wicked.
This year’s Oscars are hosted by beloved former late-night host Conan O’Brien, who is compering the ceremony for the first time.
After his hiring was announced, the famously self-effacing comedian joked: ‘I only agreed to host so that I could get invited.’
Emilia Pérez, the Spanish-language musical starring Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldana and Karla Sofia Gascon, leads the nominations with 13 nods including best picture.
Karla is nominated for best actress for her performance as a cartel chief who pretends to die in order to transition into a woman.
Her Oscars campaign was torpedoed by resurfaced old tweets in which Karla made controversial remarks on such subjects as George Floyd and Islam.
Zoe is also nominated for best supporting actress, with Jacques Audriard also in the running for best director for his work on the picture.
Parks And Recreation star Nick Offerman , who was narrating the ceremony, introduced him once – then again when he failed to materialize the first time
At that point Ben, 59, began to be lifted onto the stage from underneath with the help of an elevator, only for the machine to stall
To gales of laughter from the audience, Ben stared out at them stony-faced, visible only from the chest up because of the supposedly malfunctioning lift
The Tropic Thunder star got an even bigger laugh from the assembled celebrities when he announced the category he was presenting – production design
‘It is a field where the slightest miscalculation can lose the trust of the audience and humiliate the performers onscreen,’ he deadpanned
As he worked his way through his speech, he clambered painfully out of the lift and onto the stage, stumbling as he went
Once he got to his proper mark, Ben presented the Oscar for best production design to Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales for Wicked
The Brutalist, starring Adrien Brody as a Hungarian Jewish Holocaust survivor working as an architect in postwar America, is just behind Emilia Perez with 10 nods.
Adrien is nominated for best actor, as are Brady Corbet for best director, Guy Pearce for best supporting actor and Felicity Jones for best supporting actress.
Anora, Sean Baker’s rollicking Palme d’Or winner from last year’s Cannes Film Festival, is also competing for the best picture honor.
Its leading lady Mikey Madison is up for best actress for her role as a New York stripper, as is Russian actor Yura Borisov for best supporting actor.
Other best picture nominees include the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, starring Timothee Chalamet, who is in contention for best actor.
The drama Conclave about the election of a new Pope, the sci-fi epic Dune: Part Two and the Brazilian political film I’m Still Here are also up for best picture.
So is last year’s buzzy horror film The Substance, whose leading lady Demi Moore is nominated for best actress for the first time in her long and glamorous career.
Adrien was widely tipped to win best actor, until Timothee won the Screen Actors Guild Award last weekend in a surprise turn that has upset many predictions.
Best actress is a hazier category, with some predicting that Demi will win after the shower of acclaim she received for her comeback performance in The Substance.
Kieran Culkin seems likely to win best supporting actor for A Real Pain, written and directed by his co-star Jesse Eisenberg, given he has swept the awards circuit so far.
Anora won best picture at both the Directors Guild Of America Awards and the Producers Guild Of America Awards, both of which are regarded as bellwethers for the Oscars, particularly taken together.
Oscar winners 2025 full list – see who received honors for this year’s Academy Awards
Best Picture
Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
I’m Still Here
Nickel Boys
The Substance
Wicked
Emilia Pérez leads this year’s Oscar nominees with 13, including for best picture, actress, supporting actress and director
Best Director
Jacques Audiard — Emilia Pérez
Sean Baker — Anora
Brady Corbet — The Brutalist
Coralie Fargeat — The Substance
James Mangold — A Complete Unknown
Actress in a Leading Role
Karla Sofía Gascón — Emilia Pérez
Demi Moore — The Substance
Fernanda Torres — I’m Still Here
The Substance has been nominated for numerous Oscars, including Best Actress for Demi Moore
Actor in a Leading Role
Timothée Chalamet — A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo — Sing Sing
Sebastian Stan — The Apprentice
The Brutalist came in second place with 10 nods, including for best picture, actor (Adrien Brody), supporting actor (Guy Peare) and supporting actress (Felicity Jones)
Actress in a Supporting Role
Monica Barbaro — A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande — Wicked
Felicity Jones — The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini — Conclave
Zoe Saldaña — Emilia Pérez – WINNER
Actor in a Supporting Role
Yura Borisov — Anora
Kieran Culkin — A Real Pain – WINNER
Edward Norton — A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce — The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong — The Apprentice
Animated Feature Film
Flow – WINNER
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot
Cinematography
The Brutalist — Lol Crawley – WINNER
Dune: Part Two — Greig Fraser
Emilia Pérez — Paul Guilhaume
Maria — Ed Lachman
Nosferatu — Jarin Blaschke
Original Screenplay
Anora — Sean Baker – WINNER
The Brutalist — Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold
A Real Pain — Jesse Eisenberg
September 5 — Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum; co-Written by Alex David
The Substance — Coralie Fargeat
Adapted Screenplay
A Complete Unknown — James Mangold and Jay Cocks
Conclave — Peter Straughan – WINNER
Emilia Pérez — Jacques Audiard with Thomas Bidegain, Léa Mysius and Nicolas Livecchi
Nickel Boys — RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes
Sing Sing — Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar; Story by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, John ‘Divine G’ Whitfield
Achievement in Production Design
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
Wicked – Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales – WINNER
Achievement in Sound
A Complete Unknown
Dune: Part Two – WINNER
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
The Wild Robot
Original Song
El Mal – Emilia Pérez – Clément Ducol, Camille, and Jacques Audiard – WINNER
The Journey – The Six Triple Eight
Like A Bird – Sing Sing
Mi Camino – Emilia Pérez
Never Too Late – Elton John: Never Too Late
Original Score
The Brutalist — Daniel Blumberg
Conclave — Volker Bertelmann
Emilia Pérez — Clément Ducol and Camille
Wicked — John Powell and Stephen Schwartz
The Wild Robot — Kris Bowers
Live-Action Short Film
A Lien
Anuja
I’m Not a Robot – WINNER
The Last Ranger
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
Animated Short Film
Beautiful Men
In the Shadow of the Cypress – WINNER
Magic Candies
Wander to Wonder
Yuck!
Documentary Feature Film
Black Box Diaries
No Other Land – WINNER
Porcelain War
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Sugarcane
Flow is nominated for both International Feature Film and Animated Feature Film
Documentary Short Film
Death by Numbers
I Am Ready, Warden
Incident
Instruments of a Beating Heart
The Only Girl in the Orchestra – WINNER
International Feature Film
I’m Still Here (Brazil) – WINNER
The Girl With the Needle (Denmark)
Emilia Pérez (France)
The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Germany)
Flow (Latvia)
Kieran Culkin has dominated the supporting actor categories in recent weeks for Jesse Eisenberg’s drama A Real Pain
Makeup and Hairstyling
A Different Man
Emilia Pérez
Nosferatu
The Substance – Pierre Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon, and Marilyne Scarselli – WINNER
Wicked
Achievement in Costume Design
A Complete Unknown — Arianne Phillips
Conclave — Lisy Christl
Gladiator II — Janty Yates and Dave Crossman
Nosferatu — Linda Muir
Wicked — Paul Tazewell – WINNER
Achievement in Film Editing
Anora — Sean Baker – WINNER
The Brutalist — David Jancso
Conclave — Nick Emerson
Emilia Pérez — Juliette Welfling
Wicked — Myron Kerstein
Anora is nominated for several Oscars, including best picture, actress, supporting actor, director, screenplay and editing
Visual Effects
Alien: Romulus
Better Man
Dune: Part Two – WINNER
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Wicked
