Drama, emotion was 'Everything Everywhere' for 95th Academy Awards
| Los Angeles
The metaphysical multiverse comedy 鈥淓verything Everywhere All at Once鈥� wrapped its hot dog fingers around Hollywood鈥檚 top prize Sunday, winning best picture at the 95th Academy Awards, along with awards for Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Though worlds away from Oscar bait, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert鈥檚 anarchic ballet of everything bagels, googly-eyed rocks, and one messy tax audit emerged as an improbable Academy Awards heavyweight. The indie hit, A24鈥檚 second best picture winner following 鈥淢oonlight,鈥� won seven Oscars in all. Only two other films in Oscar history 鈥� 鈥淎 Streetcar Named Desire鈥� and 鈥淣etwork鈥� 鈥� won three acting Academy Awards.
Fifty years after 鈥淭he Godfather鈥� won at the Oscars, 鈥淓verything Everywhere All at Once鈥� triumphed with a much different immigrant experience. Its eccentric tale about a Chinese immigrant family 鈥� just the second feature by the Daniels, as the filmmaking duo is known 鈥� blended science fiction and alternate realities in the story of an ordinary woman and laundromat owner.
鈥淭he world is changing rapidly and I fear our stories are not keeping that pace,鈥� said Mr. Kwan, who shared best director and best original screenplay with Mr. Scheinert. 鈥淪ometimes it鈥檚 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.鈥�
Ms. Yeoh became the first Asian woman to win best actress, taking the award for her lauded performance in 鈥淓verything Everywhere All at Once.鈥� The Malaysian-born Ms. Yeoh won her first Oscar for a performance that relied as much on her comic and dramatic chops as it did her kung fu skills. It鈥檚 the first best actress win for a nonwhite actress in 20 years.
鈥淟adies, don鈥檛 let anyone ever tell you you鈥檙e past your prime,鈥� said Ms. Yeoh, who received a raucous standing ovation.
鈥淓verything Everywhere,鈥� released all the way back in March 2022, helped revive arthouse cinemas after two years of the pandemic, racking up more than $100 million in ticket sales with scant initial expectations of Oscar glory. In winning best director, the Daniels are just the third directing pair to win the award, following Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins (鈥淲est Side Story鈥�) and Joel and Ethan Coen (鈥淣o Country for Old Men鈥�). Mr. Scheinert dedicated the award 鈥渢o the moms of the world.鈥�
Best actor went to Brendan Fraser, culminating the former action star鈥檚 return to center stage for his physical transformation as a 600-lb. reclusive professor in 鈥淭he Whale.鈥� The best-actor race had been one of the closest contests of the night, but Mr. Fraser in the end edged out Austin Butler.
鈥淪o this is what the multiverse looks like,鈥� said a clearly moved Mr. Fraser, pointing to the 鈥淓verything Everywhere All at Once鈥� crew.
鈥淓verything Everywhere All at Once,鈥� 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 鈥渘o nonsense.鈥� He said anyone who wanted to 鈥済et jiggy with it鈥� this year would have to come through a fearsome battalion of bodyguards, including Ms. Yeoh, Steven Spielberg, and his show鈥檚 鈥渟ecurity guard鈥� Guillermo Rodriguez.
The former child star Mr. Quan capped his own extraordinary comeback with the Oscar for best supporting actor for his performance in the indie hit 鈥淓verything Everywhere All at Once.鈥� Mr. Quan, beloved for his roles as Short Round in 鈥淚ndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom鈥� and Data in 鈥淕oonies,鈥� had all but given up acting before being cast in 鈥淓verything Everywhere All at Once.鈥�
His win, among the most expected of the night, was nevertheless one of the ceremony鈥檚 most moving moments. The audience 鈥� including his 鈥淭emple of Doom鈥� director, Steven Spielberg 鈥� gave Mr. Quan a standing ovation as he fought back tears.
鈥淢om, I just won an Oscar!鈥� said Mr. Quan, whose family fled Vietnam in the war when he was a child.
鈥淭hey say stories like this only happen in the movies. I can鈥檛 believe it鈥檚 happening,鈥� said Mr. Quan. 鈥淭his is the American dream.鈥�
Minutes later, Mr. Quan鈥檚 castmate Jamie Lee Curtis won for best supporting actress. Her win, in one of the most competitive categories this year, denied a victory for comic-book fans. Angela Bassett (鈥淏lack Panther: Wakanda Forever鈥�) would have been the first performer to win an Oscar for a Marvel movie. Ms. Curtis is the rare Oscar winner whose parents were both Oscar nominees: Tony Curtis was nominated for 鈥淭he Defiant Ones鈥� in 1959, and Janet Leigh was nominated in 1961 for 鈥淧sycho.鈥�
The German-language Word War I epic 鈥淎ll Quiet on the Western Front鈥� 鈥� Netflix鈥檚 top contender this year 鈥� 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 best international film.
Though Ms. Bassett missed on supporting actress, Ruth E. Carter won for the costume design of 鈥淲akanda Forever,鈥� four years after becoming the first Black designer to win an Oscar, for 鈥淏lack Panther.鈥� This one makes Ms. Carter the first Black woman to win two Oscars.
鈥淭hank you to the Academy for recognizing the superhero that is a Black woman,鈥� said Ms. Carter. 鈥淪he endures, she loves, she overcomes, she is every woman in this film.鈥�
After landmark wins for Chlo茅 Zhao (鈥淣omadland鈥�) and Jane Campion (鈥淭he Power of the Dog鈥�), no women were nominated for best director. Sarah Polley, though, won best adapted screenplay for the metaphor-rich Mennonite drama 鈥淲omen Talking.鈥�
鈥淭hank you to the academy for not being mortally offended by the words 鈥榳omen鈥� and 鈥榯alking,鈥欌�� said Ms. Polley.
Daniel Roher鈥檚 鈥淣avalny,鈥� about the imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, took best documentary. The film鈥檚 win came with clear overtones to Navalny鈥檚 ongoing imprisonment and Vladimir Putin鈥檚 continued war in Ukraine. Yulia Navalnaya joined the filmmakers on the stage.
鈥淢y husband is in prison just for telling the truth,鈥� said Ms. Navalnaya. 鈥淪tay strong, my love.鈥�
Some big names weren鈥檛 in attendance for other reasons. Neither Tom Cruise, whose 鈥淭op Gun: Maverick鈥� was up for best picture, nor James Cameron, director of best-picture nominee 鈥淎vatar: The Way of Water,鈥� were at the ceremony. Both have been forefront in Hollywood鈥檚 efforts to get moviegoers back after years of the pandemic.
Blockbuster nominees typically help boost Oscar ratings. Neither 鈥淢averick鈥� or 鈥淎vatar鈥� 鈥� with some $3.7 billion in combined box office 鈥� took home much, though. 鈥淭he Way of Water鈥� won for visual effects; 鈥淢averick鈥� took best sound.
After last year鈥檚 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 鈥淣aatu Naatu鈥� from the Telugu action-film sensation 鈥淩RR,鈥� an intimate, impassioned performance by Lady Gaga of 鈥淗old My Hand鈥� from 鈥淭op Gun: Maverick,鈥� and an Super Bowl follow-up by Rihanna. Best song went to 鈥淣aatu Naatu鈥� from 鈥淩RR.鈥�
Last year, Apple TV鈥檚 鈥淐ODA鈥� became the first streaming movie to win best picture. But this year, 9 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 releases like 鈥淐reed III鈥� and 鈥淐ocaine Bear鈥� 鈥� which made not one but two cameos at Sunday鈥檚 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 year鈥檚 telecast drew 16.6 million viewers, a 58% increase from the scaled-down 2021 edition, watched by a record-low 10.5 million.
This story was reported by The Associated Press. AP writers Jonathan Landrum Jr. and Lindsey Bahr contributed to this report.
