‘Oppenheimer’ Producer Charles Roven Calls 20-Year Career With Emma Thomas & Christopher Nolan “Exhilarating” As Trio Collects First Best Picture Win

Oppenheimer capped a big night at the 96th Academy Awards with a Best Picture win.

The film closed the show by collecting its seventh and final win of the night just after Christopher Nolan and Cillian Murphy captured Oscars for Best Director and Best Actor, respectively.

Nolan declined to give another speech on stage, instead deferring to his producing team, Emma Thomas and Charles Roven. This marked the producing trio’s first Best Picture triumph.

“I think any of us who make movies know that you kind of dream of this moment,” Thomas admitted as she clutched her golden statuette. “I could deny it but I have been dreaming about this moment for so long. But it seems so unlikely that it would ever actually happen.”

Thomas also acknowledged Nolan as “the reason this movie was the movie it was,” thanking him for his “brilliance.”

She also echoed Best Actress winner Emma Stone in saying: “The thing that’s fantastic about our jobs is that it’s about collaboration. It’s about teamwork. And our team was just incredible on this movie, so thank you to all of them.”

For his own speech, Roven praised both Nolan and Thomas, who he has worked with for two decades. He called the 20 years “one of the most exhilarating experiences I’ve ever had.”

“They’re a fantastic team, and just to be part of making movies with them has been completely thrilling,” he concluded.

Oppenheimer was nominated for 13 awards at the 2024 Oscars. Read more about its wins here.