Sean Baker wins Best Director, asks other directors to make movies for theaters

Sean Baker also won for Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing.

By Matt Schimkowitz  |  March 2, 2025 | 11:04pm
Kyusung Gong / The Academy
Film News Oscars
Sean Baker wins Best Director, asks other directors to make movies for theaters

Sean Baker is having a Cinderella story of his own. From making phones on his iPhone to a whirlwind Pretty Woman riff about a sex worker from Brooklyn, Baker has been named the Best Director in Hollywood for Anora, the Academy decided. He added to a pretty sweet haul this year, also taking home Oscars for Best Editing and Original Screenplay. 

Accepting the award from Quentin Tarantino, he yelled, “Quentin, if you didn’t cast Mikey in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, there never would have been Anora.” After he was through with the niceties, Baker put a period on his season-long advocacy for movie theaters. “We’re all here tonight because we love movies,” he said. “Where did we fall in love with movies? At the movie theater.”

“Filmmakers keep making films for the big screen. I know I will. Distributors, please focus first on the theatrical releases of your films. Neon did that to me. Parents introduce your children to cinema in movie theaters. All of us, let’s see movies in theaters.”

Baker was a first-time Oscar nominee when he entered the Dolby Theater earlier tonight. Now a three-time winner, Baker dedicated his wins to the sex worker community and the idea of artistic interpretation in his first two acceptance speeches. His third went out to see movies in movie theaters.

Nominated for six awards, Anora also nabbed five, sailing into a Best Actress win for Mikey Madison and a Best Picture win.

 
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