by Laundry, taxes. Dreams and Oscars.
The “weirds” behind the multiverse, awards season juggernaut “Everything Everywhere All At Once” staked their claim in the Oscar verse on Sunday, dominating the 95th Academy Awards with seven wins, including best picture and best director.
The film was up for 11 Academy Awards and, on a night enlivened by Will Smith’s slap during last year’s ceremony, we’ll quote ‘The Whale’ star and winning actor Brendan Fraser: ‘So this is what the multiverse?”
The flamboyant late-night Jimmy Kimmel hosted the ceremony for the third time, and the ceremony lasted at least 30 minutes of its scheduled three-hour running time — a certainty the host referred to repeatedly throughout the evening as the telecast prevented incidents that required The Oscars’ “crisis team.” In the end, however, Kimmel reset his “Number of Oscars without episodes” counter as the show tried to return to post-slap and post-pandemic normalcy.
Here’s a look at this year’s highlights:
Jimmy Kimmel slaps back — repeatedly
The host didn’t let last year’s slap go quietly, repeatedly targeting 2022 front-runner Will Smith in his opening monologue and throughout the show.
“We want you to feel safe. And most importantly, we want me to feel safe,” Kimmel said during his monologue. “So we have strict policies. If anyone in this theater commits an act of violence, you will be awarded the Oscar for Best Actor and be allowed to give a 19-minute speech.”
Oscar course correction past
Academy Award winners Jessica Chastain and Halle Berry present the awards for actor and actress in a leading role.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Last year’s documentary feature winner Questlove presented the category this year after the slapstick ‘skirmish’ overshadowed its big win last year. While the “Summer of Soul” director didn’t directly address the incident on stage (he already did at last year’s Grammy Awards and on the Oscars red carpet), his appearance was one of the producers’ apparent attempts at course correction.
The Best Actor Oscar, which is usually presented by the previous year’s Best Actor winner (Smith in this case), was shared by previous winners Jessica Chastain and Halle Berry, who welcomed Michelle Yeoh into their ranks.
Meanwhile, “Creed III” star director Michael B. Jordan called out supporting actress nominee Angela Bassett when he and Jonathan Majors presented together. “Hey, auntie,” he said, repeating one of his lines from “Black Panther” and giving anyone who felt Bassett snubbed at the Oscars a chance to feel seen. When “Wakanda Forever” costume designer Ruth E. Carter returned to the stage to pick up another Oscar, she thanked the academy “for recognizing the superhero that is a black woman.” (“She endures. She loves. She wins. She’s every woman in this movie. And she’s mine [101-year-old late] mother.”)
And the “hopelessly devoted” John Travolta — he of “Adele Dazeem” villainy — introduced the In Memoriam segment with a tearful tribute to his “Grease” co-star Olivia Newton-John.
Those “Everything everywhere everything at once” speeches are still happy
After a long awards season and many wins, the cast and crew of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” kept up the momentum of their talk. If you didn’t believe in the magic of the multiverse, at least let its stars help you believe in the magic of the slow-burning career. (THE see Ke Huy Quan wrap frenzy Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) co-starring Harrison Ford as Ford presented him and the team with the best picture award.)
Starting with supporting actor winner Quan’s final emotional speech about the American Dream at the start of the show, volleying Jamie Lee Curtis’ triumphant “we just won an Oscar” supporting actress, Daniels’ multiple accolades and Yeoh’s words of wisdom , the big winners honored mothers, the “genius that emerges from the collective” and the “greatness in each individual.”
“This is a beacon of hope and possibility… Dreams come true,” said Yeoh. “Ladies, don’t let anyone tell you that you’re past your prime.”
Pop stars win live shows
The nominee for original song Lady Gaga arrived at the Oscars and even performed! The “Hold My Hand” singer-songwriter made headlines earlier this week after producers said she would be the only singing nominee not to perform during this year’s telecast because she “didn’t feel like she could pull off a performance on caliber that we”. he’s used to her and that he’s used to’ in time.
Then, after walking the champagne-colored red carpet, Gaga completely blew away expectations with an intimate, stripped-down rendition of the power ballad “Top Gun: Maverick” wearing a black T-shirt, ripped jeans and sneakers — with nary a hint. a lick of makeup on her face.
Rihanna performs her Oscar-nominated song ‘Lift Me Up’ from ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ at the 95th Academy Awards.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Rihanna made her exciting return to live television after appearing at last month’s Super Bowl LVI to deliver her Oscar-nominated song “Life Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” The ballad was written as a tribute to late ‘Black Panther’ star Chadwick Boseman, and seeing it performed live by the pregnant pop powerhouse just struck a chord, as they say.
And David Byrne joined Son Lux and “Everything Everywhere All at Once” star Stephanie Hsu to give us the “This Is a Life” cover we didn’t know we needed.
“All Quiet on the Western Front” makes some noise
For much of the night, Edward Berger’s World War II epic “All Quiet on the Western Front” looked poised to replace “Everything Everywhere All At Once” as the big winner. Scoring wins for cinematography, international feature, production design and original score, the film hit a mid-ceremony streak that made it the second-winningest film of the night with four Oscars from nine nominations.
The Oscars are becoming a veritable zoo
“Cocaine Bear” director Elizabeth Banks presents the visual effects award at the 95th Academy Awards.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
We tuned into a zoo! Kimmel happily brought some wildlife to the stage when he introduced Jenny, the now-retired donkey from “The Banshees of Inisherin,” as an emotional support animal — or so the airline was told — for the show. (But she wasn’t the real Jenny.)
Later, “Cocaine Bear” director Elizabeth Banks presented the award for visual effects accompanied by a person in a huge bear costume. The furry guest star later went into the audience for a ride with Kimmel, who made another move on longtime nemesis Matt Damon. The Oscars, man, are wild.
Four awards and a reunion
Andie MacDowell and Hugh Grant present the production design award.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Upsetting Oscars viewers at home and going viral with his rude and reserved red carpet interview with ‘On the Red Carpet’ co-host Ashley Graham, ‘Glass Onion’ actor Hugh Grant apparently tried to cash in on the feature of derogatory humor during the ceremony. The British actor reunited on stage with his ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’ co-star Andie MacDowell to present the production design award. That’s when he waxed poetic about the power of hydration and then called himself “basically a scrotum” during the ceremony. (Did you hear that, Ashley?!)
