The metaphysical multiverse comedy wrapped its hot dog fingers around Hollywood㽶Ƶֱs top prize Sunday, winning best picture at the , along with awards for , Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Though worlds away from Oscar bait, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert㽶Ƶֱs anarchic ballet of everything bagels, googly-eyed rocks and one messy tax audit emerged as The indie hit, A24㽶Ƶֱs second best picture winner following 㽶ƵֱMoonlight,㽶Ƶֱ won seven Oscars in all. Only two other films in Oscar history 㽶Ƶֱ 㽶ƵֱA Streetcar Named Desire㽶Ƶֱ and 㽶ƵֱNetwork㽶Ƶֱ 㽶Ƶֱ won three acting Academy Awards.
Fifty years after 㽶ƵֱThe Godfather㽶Ƶֱ won at the Oscars, 㽶ƵֱEverything Everywhere All at Once㽶Ƶֱ triumphed with a much different immigrant experience. Its eccentric tale about a Chinese immigrant family 㽶Ƶֱ just the , as the filmmaking duo is known 㽶Ƶֱ blended science fiction and alternate realities in the story of an ordinary woman and laundromat owner.
㽶ƵֱThe world is changing rapidly and I fear our stories are not keeping that pace,㽶Ƶֱ said Kwan, who shared best director and best original screenplay with Scheinert. 㽶ƵֱSometimes it㽶Ƶֱs a little scary knowing that movies move at the rate of years and the world on the internet is moving at the rate of milliseconds. But I have great faith in our stories.㽶Ƶֱ
Yeoh became the first Asian woman to win best actress, taking the award for her lauded performance in 㽶ƵֱEverything Everywhere All at Once.㽶Ƶֱ The 60-year-old Malaysian-born for a performance that relied as much on her comic and dramatic chops as it did her kung fu skills. It㽶Ƶֱs the first best actress win for a non-white actress in 20 years.
㽶ƵֱLadies, don㽶Ƶֱt let anyone ever tell you you㽶Ƶֱre past your prime,㽶Ƶֱ said Yeoh, who received a raucous standing ovation.
㽶ƵֱEverything Everywhere,㽶Ƶֱ released all the way , helped revive arthouse cinemas after two years of pandemic, racking up more than $100 million in ticket sales with scant initial expectations of Oscar glory. In winning best director, the Daniels 㽶Ƶֱ both 35 years old 㽶Ƶֱ are just the third directing pair to win the award, following Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins (㽶ƵֱWest Side Story㽶Ƶֱ) and Joel and Ethan Coen (㽶ƵֱNo Country for Old Men㽶Ƶֱ). Scheinert dedicated the award 㽶Ƶֱto the moms of the world.㽶Ƶֱ
Best actor went to Brendan Fraser, culminating the to center stage for his physical transformation as a 600-lb. reclusive professor in 㽶ƵֱThe Whale.㽶Ƶֱ The best-actor race had been of the night, but Fraser in the end edged out Austin Butler.
㽶ƵֱSo this is what the multiverse looks like,㽶Ƶֱ said a clearly moved Fraser, pointing to the 㽶ƵֱEverything Everywhere All at Once㽶Ƶֱ crew.
㽶ƵֱEverything Everywhere All at Once,㽶Ƶֱ a shock of freshness in a movie industry awash in sequels and reboots, helped Hollywood turn the page from one of the most infamous moments in Oscar history: The Slap. Jimmy Kimmel, hosting for the third time, pledged a ceremony with 㽶Ƶֱno nonsense.㽶Ƶֱ He said anyone who wanted to 㽶Ƶֱget jiggy with it㽶Ƶֱ this year would have to come through a fearsome battalion of bodyguards, including Yeoh, Steven Spielberg and his show㽶Ƶֱs 㽶Ƶֱsecurity guard㽶Ƶֱ Guillermo Rodriguez.
The former child star capped his own extraordinary comeback with the for his performance in the indie hit 㽶ƵֱEverything Everywhere All at Once.㽶Ƶֱ Quan, beloved for his roles as Short Round in 㽶ƵֱIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom㽶Ƶֱ and Data in 㽶ƵֱGoonies,㽶Ƶֱ had all but given up acting before being cast in
His win, among the most expected of the night, was nevertheless one of the ceremony㽶Ƶֱs most moving moments. The audience 㽶Ƶֱ including his 㽶ƵֱTemple of Doom㽶Ƶֱ director, Steven Spielberg 㽶Ƶֱ gave Quan a standing ovation as he fought back tears.
㽶ƵֱMom, I just won an Oscar!㽶Ƶֱ said Quan, 51, whose family fled Vietnam in the war when he was a child.
㽶ƵֱThey say stories like this only happen in the movies. I can㽶Ƶֱt believe it㽶Ƶֱs happening,㽶Ƶֱ said Quan. 㽶ƵֱThis is the American dream.㽶Ƶֱ
Minutes later, Quan㽶Ƶֱs castmate Jamie Lee Curtis won for . Her win, in one of the , denied a victory for comic-book fans. Angela Bassett (㽶ƵֱBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever㽶Ƶֱ) would have been the first performer to win an Oscar for a Marvel movie. Curtis is the rare Oscar winner whose parents were both Oscar nominees: Tony Curtis was nominated for 㽶ƵֱThe Defiant Ones㽶Ƶֱ in 1959 and Janet Leigh was nominated in 1961 for 㽶ƵֱPsycho.㽶Ƶֱ
The German-language WWI epic 㽶ƵֱAll Quiet on the Western Front㽶Ƶֱ 㽶Ƶֱ Netflix㽶Ƶֱs top contender this year 㽶Ƶֱ took four awards as the academy heaped honors on the craft of the harrowing anti-war film. It won for cinematography, production design, score and .
Though Bassett missed on supporting actress, Ruth E. Carter won for the costume design of 㽶ƵֱWakanda Forever,㽶Ƶֱ four years after becoming the first Black designer to win an Oscar, for 㽶ƵֱBlack Panther.㽶Ƶֱ This one makes Carter the .
㽶ƵֱThank you to the Academy for recognizing the superhero that is a Black woman,㽶Ƶֱ said Carter. 㽶ƵֱShe endures, she loves, she overcomes, she is every woman in this film.㽶Ƶֱ
ABC㽶Ƶֱs telecast opened traditionally: with a montage of the year㽶Ƶֱs films (with Kimmel edited into a cockpit in 㽶ƵֱTop Gun: Maverick㽶Ƶֱ) and a lengthy monologue. Kimmel struggled to find lessons from the year㽶Ƶֱs prior scandal when Will Smith smacked presenter Chris Rock, and went on to win best actor. If anyone tried any violence this year, Kimmel said, 㽶Ƶֱyou will be awarded the Oscar for best actor and permitted to give a 19-minute-long speech.㽶Ƶֱ
After landmark wins for Chloé Zhao (㽶ƵֱNomadland㽶Ƶֱ) and Jane Campion (㽶ƵֱThe Power of the Dog㽶Ƶֱ), no women were nominated for best director. Sarah Polley, though, won best adapted screenplay for
㽶ƵֱThank you to the academy for not being mortally offended by the words 㽶Ƶֱwomen㽶Ƶֱ and 㽶Ƶֱtalking,㽶Ƶֱ㽶Ƶֱ said Polley.
Daniel Roher㽶Ƶֱs 㽶ƵֱNavalny,㽶Ƶֱ about the imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, . The film㽶Ƶֱs win came with clear overtones to Navalny㽶Ƶֱs ongoing imprisonment and Vladimir Putin㽶Ƶֱs continued war in Ukraine. Yulia Navalnaya joined the filmmakers on the stage.
㽶ƵֱMy husband is in prison just for telling the truth,㽶Ƶֱ said Navalnaya. 㽶ƵֱStay strong, my love.㽶Ƶֱ
Some big names weren㽶Ƶֱt in attendance for other reasons. Neither Tom Cruise, whose 㽶ƵֱTop Gun: Maverick㽶Ƶֱ was up for best picture, nor James Cameron, director of best-picture nominee 㽶ƵֱAvatar: The Way of Water,㽶Ƶֱ were at the ceremony. Both have been forefront in Hollywood㽶Ƶֱs efforts to get moviegoers back after years of pandemic.
㽶ƵֱThe two guys who asked us to go back to theater aren㽶Ƶֱt in the theater,㽶Ƶֱ said Kimmel, who added that Cruise without his shirt on in 㽶ƵֱTop Gun: Maverick㽶Ƶֱ was 㽶ƵֱL. Ron Hubba Hubba.㽶Ƶֱ
Blockbuster nominees typically help boost Oscar ratings. Neither 㽶ƵֱMaverick㽶Ƶֱ or 㽶ƵֱAvatar㽶Ƶֱ 㽶Ƶֱ with some $3.7 billion in combined box office 㽶Ƶֱ took home much, though. 㽶ƵֱThe Way of Water㽶Ƶֱ won for visual effects; 㽶ƵֱMaverick㽶Ƶֱ took best sound.
After last year㽶Ƶֱs Oscars, which had stripped some categories from being handed out in the live telecast, the academy restored all awards to the show and leaned on traditional song and and dance numbers. That meant some show-stopping numbers, including the elastic suspenders dance of 㽶ƵֱNaatu Naatu㽶Ƶֱ from the an intimate, impassioned performance by Lady Gaga of 㽶ƵֱHold My Hand㽶Ƶֱ from 㽶ƵֱTop Gun: Maverick,㽶Ƶֱ and an Super Bowl follow-up by Rihanna. 㽶Ƶֱ from 㽶ƵֱRRR.㽶Ƶֱ
It also meant a long show. 㽶ƵֱThis kind of makes you miss the slapping a little bit, right?㽶Ƶֱ Kimmel said midway.
After last year㽶Ƶֱs slap, the academy created a crisis management team to better respond to surprises. Neither Rock, who recently made his about the incident in a live special, nor Smith, who was banned by the academy for 10 years, attended.
Last year, Apple TV㽶Ƶֱs 㽶ƵֱCODA㽶Ƶֱ became the first streaming movie to win best picture. But this year, nine of the 10 best picture nominees were theatrical releases. After the movie business cratered during the pandemic, moviegoing recovered to about 67% of pre-pandemic levels. But it was an up and down year, with smash hits and anxiety-inducing lulls.
This year, ticket sales have been strong thanks to and 㽶Ƶֱ which made not one but two cameos at Sunday㽶Ƶֱs show. Meanwhile, the Writers Guild and the major studios are set to begin contract negotiations March 20, a looming battle that has much of the industry girding for a possible work stoppage.
The Oscars, too, are seeking steadiness. Last year㽶Ƶֱs telecast drew 16.6 million viewers, a 58% increase from the scaled-down 2021 edition, watched by a record-low 10.5 million.
㽶ƵֱJake Coyle, The Associated Press