The metaphysical multiverse comedy wrapped its hot dog fingers around Hollywoodsa国际传媒檚 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 Scheinertsa国际传媒檚 anarchic ballet of everything bagels, googly-eyed rocks and one messy tax audit emerged as The indie hit, A24sa国际传媒檚 second best picture winner following sa国际传媒淢oonlight,sa国际传媒� won seven Oscars in all. Only two other films in Oscar history sa国际传媒� sa国际传媒淎 Streetcar Named Desiresa国际传媒� and sa国际传媒淣etworksa国际传媒� sa国际传媒� won three acting Academy Awards.
Fifty years after sa国际传媒淭he Godfathersa国际传媒� won at the Oscars, sa国际传媒淓verything Everywhere All at Oncesa国际传媒� triumphed with a much different immigrant experience. Its eccentric tale about a Chinese immigrant family sa国际传媒� just the , as the filmmaking duo is known sa国际传媒� blended science fiction and alternate realities in the story of an ordinary woman and laundromat owner.
sa国际传媒淭he world is changing rapidly and I fear our stories are not keeping that pace,sa国际传媒� said Kwan, who shared best director and best original screenplay with Scheinert. sa国际传媒淪ometimes itsa国际传媒檚 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.sa国际传媒�
Yeoh became the first Asian woman to win best actress, taking the award for her lauded performance in sa国际传媒淓verything Everywhere All at Once.sa国际传媒� 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. Itsa国际传媒檚 the first best actress win for a non-white actress in 20 years.
sa国际传媒淟adies, donsa国际传媒檛 let anyone ever tell you yousa国际传媒檙e past your prime,sa国际传媒� said Yeoh, who received a raucous standing ovation.
sa国际传媒淓verything Everywhere,sa国际传媒� 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 sa国际传媒� both 35 years old sa国际传媒� are just the third directing pair to win the award, following Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins (sa国际传媒淲est Side Storysa国际传媒�) and Joel and Ethan Coen (sa国际传媒淣o Country for Old Mensa国际传媒�). Scheinert dedicated the award sa国际传媒渢o the moms of the world.sa国际传媒�
Best actor went to Brendan Fraser, culminating the to center stage for his physical transformation as a 600-lb. reclusive professor in sa国际传媒淭he Whale.sa国际传媒� The best-actor race had been of the night, but Fraser in the end edged out Austin Butler.
sa国际传媒淪o this is what the multiverse looks like,sa国际传媒� said a clearly moved Fraser, pointing to the sa国际传媒淓verything Everywhere All at Oncesa国际传媒� crew.
sa国际传媒淓verything Everywhere All at Once,sa国际传媒� 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 sa国际传媒渘o nonsense.sa国际传媒� He said anyone who wanted to sa国际传媒済et jiggy with itsa国际传媒� this year would have to come through a fearsome battalion of bodyguards, including Yeoh, Steven Spielberg and his showsa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒渟ecurity guardsa国际传媒� Guillermo Rodriguez.
The former child star capped his own extraordinary comeback with the for his performance in the indie hit sa国际传媒淓verything Everywhere All at Once.sa国际传媒� Quan, beloved for his roles as Short Round in sa国际传媒淚ndiana Jones and the Temple of Doomsa国际传媒� and Data in sa国际传媒淕oonies,sa国际传媒� had all but given up acting before being cast in
His win, among the most expected of the night, was nevertheless one of the ceremonysa国际传媒檚 most moving moments. The audience sa国际传媒� including his sa国际传媒淭emple of Doomsa国际传媒� director, Steven Spielberg sa国际传媒� gave Quan a standing ovation as he fought back tears.
sa国际传媒淢om, I just won an Oscar!sa国际传媒� said Quan, 51, whose family fled Vietnam in the war when he was a child.
sa国际传媒淭hey say stories like this only happen in the movies. I cansa国际传媒檛 believe itsa国际传媒檚 happening,sa国际传媒� said Quan. sa国际传媒淭his is the American dream.sa国际传媒�
Minutes later, Quansa国际传媒檚 castmate Jamie Lee Curtis won for . Her win, in one of the , denied a victory for comic-book fans. Angela Bassett (sa国际传媒淏lack Panther: Wakanda Foreversa国际传媒�) 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 sa国际传媒淭he Defiant Onessa国际传媒� in 1959 and Janet Leigh was nominated in 1961 for sa国际传媒淧sycho.sa国际传媒�
The German-language WWI epic sa国际传媒淎ll Quiet on the Western Frontsa国际传媒� sa国际传媒� Netflixsa国际传媒檚 top contender this year sa国际传媒� 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 sa国际传媒淲akanda Forever,sa国际传媒� four years after becoming the first Black designer to win an Oscar, for sa国际传媒淏lack Panther.sa国际传媒� This one makes Carter the .
sa国际传媒淭hank you to the Academy for recognizing the superhero that is a Black woman,sa国际传媒� said Carter. sa国际传媒淪he endures, she loves, she overcomes, she is every woman in this film.sa国际传媒�
ABCsa国际传媒檚 telecast opened traditionally: with a montage of the yearsa国际传媒檚 films (with Kimmel edited into a cockpit in sa国际传媒淭op Gun: Mavericksa国际传媒�) and a lengthy monologue. Kimmel struggled to find lessons from the yearsa国际传媒檚 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, sa国际传媒測ou will be awarded the Oscar for best actor and permitted to give a 19-minute-long speech.sa国际传媒�
After landmark wins for Chlo茅 Zhao (sa国际传媒淣omadlandsa国际传媒�) and Jane Campion (sa国际传媒淭he Power of the Dogsa国际传媒�), no women were nominated for best director. Sarah Polley, though, won best adapted screenplay for
sa国际传媒淭hank you to the academy for not being mortally offended by the words sa国际传媒榳omensa国际传媒� and sa国际传媒榯alking,sa国际传媒檚a国际传媒� said Polley.
Daniel Rohersa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒淣avalny,sa国际传媒� about the imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, . The filmsa国际传媒檚 win came with clear overtones to Navalnysa国际传媒檚 ongoing imprisonment and Vladimir Putinsa国际传媒檚 continued war in Ukraine. Yulia Navalnaya joined the filmmakers on the stage.
sa国际传媒淢y husband is in prison just for telling the truth,sa国际传媒� said Navalnaya. sa国际传媒淪tay strong, my love.sa国际传媒�
Some big names werensa国际传媒檛 in attendance for other reasons. Neither Tom Cruise, whose sa国际传媒淭op Gun: Mavericksa国际传媒� was up for best picture, nor James Cameron, director of best-picture nominee sa国际传媒淎vatar: The Way of Water,sa国际传媒� were at the ceremony. Both have been forefront in Hollywoodsa国际传媒檚 efforts to get moviegoers back after years of pandemic.
sa国际传媒淭he two guys who asked us to go back to theater arensa国际传媒檛 in the theater,sa国际传媒� said Kimmel, who added that Cruise without his shirt on in sa国际传媒淭op Gun: Mavericksa国际传媒� was sa国际传媒淟. Ron Hubba Hubba.sa国际传媒�
Blockbuster nominees typically help boost Oscar ratings. Neither sa国际传媒淢avericksa国际传媒� or sa国际传媒淎vatarsa国际传媒� sa国际传媒� with some $3.7 billion in combined box office sa国际传媒� took home much, though. sa国际传媒淭he Way of Watersa国际传媒� won for visual effects; sa国际传媒淢avericksa国际传媒� took best sound.
After last yearsa国际传媒檚 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 sa国际传媒淣aatu Naatusa国际传媒� from the an intimate, impassioned performance by Lady Gaga of sa国际传媒淗old My Handsa国际传媒� from sa国际传媒淭op Gun: Maverick,sa国际传媒� and an Super Bowl follow-up by Rihanna. sa国际传媒� from sa国际传媒淩RR.sa国际传媒�
It also meant a long show. sa国际传媒淭his kind of makes you miss the slapping a little bit, right?sa国际传媒� Kimmel said midway.
After last yearsa国际传媒檚 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 TVsa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒淐ODAsa国际传媒� 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 sa国际传媒� which made not one but two cameos at Sundaysa国际传媒檚 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 yearsa国际传媒檚 telecast drew 16.6 million viewers, a 58% increase from the scaled-down 2021 edition, watched by a record-low 10.5 million.
sa国际传媒擩ake Coyle, The Associated Press
