HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA-- What a night it was at the 97th Annual Academy Awards.

The star-studded ceremony, which took place March 2 and was hosted by a very funny and enjoyable Conan O'Brien, kicked off with an electrifying performance that nearly shook the rafters of the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. "Wicked" co-stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo set the tone, delivering a show-stopping medley of songs from the iconic "Wizard of Oz" films. Grande's powerhouse rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (from the 1939 classic "The Wizard of Oz") had the audience mesmerized, while Erivo followed with a soul-stirring version of "Home" from the 1978 hit "The Wiz." The pair then joined forces for a breathtaking duet of the "Wicked" fan-favorite "Defying Gravity."

Following that jaw-dropping opening, Queen Latifah brought down the house with a tribute to the late Quincy Jones, performing a moving rendition of "Ease on Down the Road." It was a powerful start to a night that would be filled with excitement and surprises.

There were plenty of unforgettable moments throughout the evening, but none bigger than "Anora's" triumph in the "Best Picture" category. The film's lead star, Mikey Madison, took home the "Best Actress" Oscar, besting frontrunner Demi Moore in a shocking upset.

The celebrations didn't stop there. Paul Tazewell made history as the FIRST Black man to win the Oscar for "Best Costume Design" for "Wicked."

N2Entertainment.net was right there on the scene, capturing all the notable quotes in the press room as Oscar winners stopped to field questions from reporters.

Read on to hear what the night's biggest winners had to say about taking home the coveted Oscar statue.

PAUL TAZEWELL--"Best Costume Design" ("Wicked")
Q. Hi, Paul. First of all, you said it in your acceptance speech, you are the first Black man to receive this Oscar "Costume Design." Congratulations. What does this mean for you? Can you talk about the significance and for those who are going to follow you now that you've opened this door?

A. This is the pinnacle of my career. I've been designing costumes for over 35 years. Much has been on Broadway and now into film, and the whole way through there was never a Black male designer that I saw that I could follow, that I could see as inspiration. And to realize that that's actually me, it becomes a "Wizard of Oz" moment, you know, it's like no place like home. So, to come back to the inspiration being inside of me was--is really remarkable.

Q. Congratulations on the win, Paul. What would you say to your younger self with this historic win?

A. I would say hold on tight, it will all be fine and the world is going to be wonderful.

Q. Paul, congratulations. How did you create that magic for "Wicked?"

A. With the help of a lot of really amazing and talented costume artisans of all types and an amazing staff and assistants and crew. Because, you know, there's no way for me to do it alone. And that also is my greatest joy is to be collaborating with other very talented artists, so I respect what that artistry is, and I give--I share this with them. Because I value what their input is.

Q. Hello, Paul. Congratulations.
I'm wearing green for "Wicked" today. What resonated with you when you saw the final product of your work on the silver screen?

A. I knew it was going to be pretty spectacular, but I was absolutely blown away. Because of how we were working, we were working on two films at the same time. It wasn't until I actually saw a pretty complete cut that I actually experienced the journey that we have created for audiences. And so, to experience that was--I was beside myself. And it defined why I do costume design, why I am a costume designer.

ADRIEN BRODY--"Best Actor In A Leading Role ("The Brutalist")
Q. Hi Adrien congratulations. Your speech was so moving, so powerful.
Can you tell us why you felt that it was such an important time to mention anti-Semitism and hate and racism? Why did you want to highlight that in your speech today specifically?

A. Well, I, think we all know that it's an important time to recognize that there's no place for intolerance, and as I had mentioned in my speech, I'm, oddly receiving recognition for representing a time in history that we witness unchecked anti-Semitism, and that hatred and oppression have no place in this world and that we must learn from the past.

Q. Congratulations Adrien. I wanna ask you a bit about what you were asking before. Do you feel that the issues that you show in the film are something that people are forgetting? Is that another reason you feel that this film is important? And secondly, you seem to talk about your journey, your journey that maybe was a bit of a roller coaster, and almost like, you maybe never thought you would get back to this point again. Can you talk about that as well or am I mistaken maybe?

A. No, you're not mistaken. It is, it's been a long journey and a beautiful one an artistic path, and I've and as you try to navigate creative choices, there are many variables and there are wonderfully there's an enormous amount of talented individuals all vying for very few great opportunities, and that's the bottom line, and I have been working very hard for the past 22 years, but nothing quite connected on this level and so I'm conscious of that an I'm grateful that I had the good fortune of being selected by Brady and Mona to be a part of a very meaningful story, one that speaks to injustice and not just along the lines of what we had discussed, but it's also quite relevant to, to consider the lives of others, the lives of people who have the hopes and dreams to be free of oppression and very difficult circumstances abroad and, you know my grandparents' struggles, and, and their loss and their resilience have paved the way for my own good fortune, and I had an opportunity to honor them in this film, and the truths and the insight that I've gained to these hardships of so many people, of many different backgrounds and ethnicities, have made me aware of a need for us to be empathetic. Thank you all. I really appreciate this.

MICKEY MADISON--"Best Actress In A Leading Role ("Anora")
Q. What does it mean to you to not only for you to win this "Best Actress" Oscar, but for Sean (Baker) to win four Oscars in one night for the same movie?

A. Oh my gosh, it's for lack of a better word, just incredibly surreal. I never thought anything like this would happen in my life. I just, I love making movies and I've dreamed of being an actress that has, that would be able to be in a film like "Anora" my entire career as an actress. And so, it's a huge honor, one that I think will soak in later down the line, hopefully. I really did not expect it at all. I mean Sean (Baker) is such a wonderful, and incredible filmmaker. He is an incredible writer, an amazing editor. He is a true lover of cinema, a kind person. He has dedicated so much of his career to telling really important stories. And so, I'm so happy for him because he's been, you know, he's just a true indie filmmaker. Like we went off and just made this weird crazy movie and had fun and poured our hearts into it. And you know, all of this started at Cannes, which that was just a dream come true for me, a career-long dream to even just go to a film festival, specifically Cannes, and so everything that has followed has been wonderful. But I'm just so happy for him. I adore him and I adore Sammy Quan and Alex Coco and the entire team, and so I could keep talking about them forever, but I'm so, so happy for them.

Q. Huge congratulations. If I'm not mistaken, you've starred in less than 10 feature films so far in your career. How do you hope this win will influence your career going forward?

A. It's interesting. I've been thinking about the future a lot, and also the past. And I've been really trying to remind myself to stay as present as possible throughout all of this, so, I don't know. I really don't know what will happen in the future. I just want to keep making movies and, you know, continue to work with people who inspire me and play interesting characters, tell stories that are compelling. And so that's just what I hope to do, and I really don't know what will happen. I just know that tonight I'm going to go home to my new puppies and probably, you know, clean up their mess, and it's gonna bring me right down to earth. Yeah.

ZOE SALDANA--"Best Supporting Actress ("Emilia Perez")
Q. Now you're standing here with your first Oscar. If you can go back to any moment of your life and let that version of Zoe know this is only going to make you stronger and prepare you for this moment, when would it be?

A. I think it's every time that I went after a part, and I didn't get it. And I cared so much, and I was so heartbroken sometimes for a day, sometimes a week. But I got up again. Because, at the end of the day, if I don't--if I don't act, if I don't do my art, then what am I? Who am I?
And realizing that it's not about the win, when you learn to let that go, it is about the workday in and day out, the day that you do win, you just have a deeper appreciation for it, and you feel that you have appreciated every experience and every moment that has led you here.

Q. What would you say has been the largest obstacle you've had to overcome to get here tonight?

A. I think it was myself. Yes, there're so many external factors that can impede you moving forward. If you stop moving forward, you know? I had a hard time sometimes getting out of my own way. And, you know, self-sabotaging and thinking that, oh, trying to believe what others wanted me to believe or trying to believe what others saw in me and not listening to my voice. We have an instinct and that instinct that keeps us from falling. Or helps us put our hands, you know, in front of our face to protect us when we fall, that's the same instinct that when you're reading a script or you're meeting someone and you just know that you're right for that part, and you being a part of that is going to be something really special. And you just have to listen to that. So, I can spend so much thinking about all the things that I don't have that I should acquire. Let me just, like my husband says, throw myself into the unknown and see what comes of it. And I'm having a lot more fun when I do that.

Q. Hello, Zoe. What would you say about this--the heart of this movie, but also about the topic who is really hurtful for us Mexicans?

A. First of all, I'm very, very sorry that you and so many Mexicans felt offended. That was never our intention. We spoke and we came from a place of love, and I will stand by that. I don't share your opinion. For me, the heart of this movie was not Mexico. We weren't making a film about a country. We were making a film about four women, and these women could have been Russian, could have been Dominican, could have been Black from Detroit, could have been from Israel, could have been from Gaza. And these women are still very universal women that are struggling every day at trying to survive systemic oppression. And trying to find their most authentic voices. So, I will stand by that, but I'm also always open to sit down with all of my Mexican brothers and sisters, and with love and respect, having a great conversation on how "Emilia" could have been done better. Have no problem. I welcome it.

ALEX COCO, SAMANTHA QUAN, AND SEAN BAKER--"Best Picture" "Original Screenplay," "Best Film Editing" and "Best Directing" ("Anora")
Q. What does it mean to you that the "Best Picture" winner and the "Animated Feature Film" winner were both independent films?

A. As I said on stage, it's just, really feels wonderful that the Academy is recognizing independent film, you know. We, in many ways, we always, jump into these projects knowing that we will have to compete with budgets and films that have budgets that are literally almost 100 times what we are, what we've shot our film for and when, when we're actually able to do that, get into the same room as other films such as "Wicked," a wonderful movie, but a totally different type of a film from ours. It means that we're doing something right.

Q. So from one Letterboxd member to another, congratulations. You have spoken so passionately this season about the necessity of independent film and as the voice of the audience, we would love to hear your thoughts on how your community has supported you and your films through their first life in theaters and on 35 millimeter and into their second life on physical media.

A. I'd like to mention Film Independent, that it's been an incredible supporter of my entire career. And all the wonderful film festivals around the world. That's how you birth an independent film, at least, that's how you bring it out into the world. I wanna thank Cannes. I wanna thank Thierry Fremaux and the Cannes Film Festival for allowing us for accepting us so that we could begin this journey. But then, overall, you just mentioned physical media. I know it's a boutique thing now. It's like, you know. It's perhaps a niche, but there are passionate people out there and there are so many incredible films from our past, being restored and re-released on Blu-ray and 4K and that's an incredible thing for cinephiles these days. We're living in a golden age.

Q. I want to know what your message is for all those who judge and criticize the sex workers and what you learned from this movie.

A. I've been pretty outspoken about my stance on sex work. It's our oldest profession, yet it has an incredible, unfair stigma applied to it. And what I've been trying to do with my films is sort of I chip away at that very unfair stigma. Personally, I think it should be decriminalized, and I guess through my work, through hopefully humanizing my characters that are usually seen as perhaps caricatures in most film and television, it will help do that.

PETER STRAUGHAN--"Best Adapted Screenplay" ("Conclave")
Q. what does the Oscar mean to you?

A. I can't tell you how much this means to me. I started out as a playwright in the northeast of England. The first time I got an agent, she said, would you like to work in film? I said, no, I just want to work in theater because it seemed like a sort of alien Hollywood world, so it's surreal to me that I'm standing here now holding an Oscar.

Q. Congratulations. You mentioned Edward Berger on the stage with the best even in German. Can you elaborate a bit on working with him and what makes him so great?

A. It is an absolute joy for me as a writer. I've never had a director invite me to be there for the whole shoot before and be comfortable with me, you know, sort of talking to the actors even. I've never had a director be that open and generous and collaborative. He's an absolute dream to work with and I think now one of our greatest directors.

KIERAN CULKIN--"Best Supporting Actor" ("A Real Pain")
Q. Congratulations Kieran. You went from almost saying no to being a first time Oscar winner. So, knowing all this hard work that you put in, how does this win feel?

A. I don't know. I've already been asked about three or four times in whatever span of minutes it's been. I'm not fully inside my body right now. I'm trying my best to be present. I don't know. But the thing is with almost saying no to the movie was, it wasn't for any creative reason. It was just the way the schedule changed right before we started, it was taking me away from my kids for almost a month, and I was like, well, I don't want to do that. And then I got talked into it, which, obviously I'm very glad that I was. I have no idea how I'm feeling is the answer to that.

Q. Hi Kieran, congratulations on your win. What an achievement. When you were filming this role, did it feel any different to any other role you've done or did it feel a bit more special?

A. It definitely felt different, and the script was incredibly tight that I didn't want to rehearse it or talk about it or anything. It just felt like it was the first time I ever read something and went; I fully understand this guy. I don't even want to read it again. I wanna show up on the day and go, what scene are we doing? Oh yes, this one. And the words got in here really quickly because they were so well written. So that was, that was a fun new approach. And it felt like I knew who this guy was, but I couldn't identify it, and I didn't want to analyze it because right away upon reading it, I went, I know who this guy is. I'm just gonna leave it and just do it. It wasn't until almost a year later when I watched it that I was like, oh my God, I know someone exactly like this, and I didn't realize I was doing that. And the moment I realized it my wife leaned over--it was at like a theater--she leaned over and said his name in my ear. And I was like, you're right, I'm totally doing him, and I didn't even know. Oh, that kind of unusual experience, I've never had that before.

Editor's Note: That's a wrap everyone! Hope to see you at the 98th Annual Academy Awards.