Oppenheimer sweeps up at Oscars

HOLLYWOOD, California — Oppenheimer swept the board on Sunday at the Oscars, Hollywood's biggest night of the year, scooping seven awards including best picture and best director, crowning a triumphant year for filmmaker Christopher Nolan.

Nolan's masterful drama about the father of the atomic bomb also bagged gongs for lead actor Cillian Murphy and supporting actor Robert Downey Jr.

Nolan — a British-American filmmaker hailed as a generational talent — however said film as an art form still has room to grow.

"Movies are just a little bit over 100 years old. I mean, imagine being there 100 years into painting or theater," he said at the Dolby Theatre.

"We don't know where this incredible journey is going from here. But to know that you think that I'm a meaningful part of it means the world to me."

The haul was not quite complete — Oppenheimer was nominated for 13 prizes, but with seven statuettes on the night, it is still one of the most awarded films in Oscar history.

Downey was recognized for his stellar performance as J. Robert Oppenheimer's political nemesis Lewis Strauss. It was the third overall Oscar nod for one of Hollywood's most versatile performers but whose career has been marked by extreme setbacks.

"I'd like to thank my terrible childhood," Downey said in a lighthearted speech, pausing for the audience's laughter, "and the academy — in that order."

He also gave thanks to his wife, Susan. "You loved me back to life and that's why I'm here."

Nolan's cerebral take on the man he has called "the most important person who ever lived" also snapped up prizes for editing, cinematography and best original score.

"For better or worse, we're all living in Oppenheimer's world," Murphy said in his acceptance speech. "I'd like to dedicate this to the peacemakers."

Emma Stone won Best Actress for her daring performance in the surreal, Frankenstein-esque Poor Things, which won three other technical prizes.

Stone, who previously won an Academy Award for La La Land, paid tribute to the other women in her category, and the five women on stage who presented the category.

Agencies via Xinhua