Sadly for Joker fans, the film lost out to other nominees for Best Film Editing (that went to Ford v Ferrari), Best Adapted Screenplay (Taika Waititi's Jojo Rabbit), Best Cinematography (1917), Best Costume Design (Little Women), Best Makeup and Hairstyling (Bombshell), Best Sound Editing (Ford v Ferrari), Best Sound Mixing (1917), and Best Director (Parasite's Bong Joon-ho beat Todd Phillips).
But it wasn't all doom and gloom, of course. Later on during the 2020 Oscars ceremony, Joker spun one of its nods into a win — the one for Best Original Score. Other composers in the running for the Oscar were Little Women's Alexandre Desplat, Marriage Story's Randy Newman, 1917's Thomas Newman, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker's John Williams.
Joker composer Hildur Guðnadóttir accepted the award, presented by Gal Gadot, Brie Larson, and Sigourney Weaver. She took the stage to thank director Todd Phillips, producer Bradley Cooper, and her husband, mother, and son. Then, Guðnadóttir delivered a poignant message to young girls and women: "To the girls, to the women, to the mothers, to the daughters who hear the music bubbling within — please speak up, we need to hear your voices."
