The 11-category nominee “Everything Everywhere All at Once” took home seven awards at the 95th Academy Awards, including best picture, best leading actress, best supporting actor, and best supporting actress.
Michelle Yeoh won best leading actress for her role in “Everything Everywhere All at Once”, while co-stars Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis won best supporting roles for an actor and actress.
“This is proof that dreams do come true,” Yeoh said in her acceptance speech. “And ladies, don’t let anybody tell you are ever past your prime.”
This was the best night for filmmakers Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert who won best directing. For Kwan and Scheinert, this was their first Oscar win.
“We’ve said enough tonight. Thank you so much to everyone here. You have all inspired me,” Kwan said in his acceptance speech. One of the things I realized growing up is that one of the best things we can do for each other is shelter each other from the chaos of this crazy world. Thank you to the storytellers here who did that for me.”
“Thank you for not squashing my creativity when I was making really disturbing horror films or really perverted comedy films or dressing in drag as a kid, which is a threat to nobody,” Scheinert said.
The 95th Academy Awards was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, his third time hosting the awards since 2017 and 2018.
Jessica Chastain and Halle Berry presented the best actor and actress for a leading role. The best actress award was expected to be presented by the previous winner for best leading actor from 2022, which was Will Smith. However, Smith is currently banned from the award ceremony for 10 years for slapping Chris Rock over comments about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, at the 2022 ceremony.
Brendan Fraser won an Oscar for best actor in a leading role for his performance on “The Whale”, where he played an obese and recluse English professor struggling to reconnect with his daughter.
“Things – they didn’t come easily to me, but there was a facility that I didn’t appreciate at the time until it stopped,” Fraser said in his acceptance speech reflecting on his start of his acting career 30 years ago.
This isn’t the first film where Fraser has been part of an Oscar caliber feature film. Ian McKellen was nominated for best leading actor for “Gods and Monsters” and “Crash,” which won best picture in 2005.
Other actors who were nominated included Austin Butler for his performance in “Elvis,” Colin Farrell for his performance in “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Paul Mescal for his performance in “Aftersun,” and Bill Nighy for his performance in “Living.”
Stage performances included Lady Gaga, who sang “Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick”; Rihanna, who sang “Lift Me Up,” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and Rahul Sipligunji and Kaala Bhairava who performed “Naatu Naatu” from the film RRR.
David Byrne, Stephanie Hsu and Son Lux all sang “This Is a Life” from the best picture film “Everything Everywhere All at Once”; Sofia Carson performed Dian Warren’s “Applause” from “Tell It Like a Woman.” Lenny Kravitz performed during the “In Memoriam” segment honoring those in the entertainment industry that have passed away.
Other nominations in different categories of film included “Top Gun: Maverick”, “Elvis”, “Babylon”, “The Fablemans”, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”, “The Whale”, “All Quiet on the Western Front”, and many more.
