THE 95th ACADEMY AWARDS – THE WINNERS

And the Oscar Goes To…

Best Picture
“Everything Everywhere All at Once”

Best Director
Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)

Best Actress
Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)

Best Actor
Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”)

Best Supporting Actor
Ke Huy Quan (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)

Best Supporting Actress
Jamie Lee Curtis (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)

Best International Feature Film
“All Quiet on the Western Front” (Germany)

Best Cinematography
James Friend (“All Quiet on the Western Front”)

Best Adapted Screenplay
Sarah Polley (“Women Talking”)

Best Original Screenplay
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)

Best Animated Feature
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”

Best Visual Effects
“Avatar: The Way of Water”

Best Editing
“Everything Everywhere All at Once”

Best Production Design
“All Quiet on the Western Front”

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
“The Whale”

Best Costume Design
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”

Best Sound
“Top Gun: Maverick”

Best Documentary Feature
“Navalny”

Best Documentary Short Subject
“The Elephant Whisperers”

Best Live Action Short
“An Irish Goodbye”

Best Animated Short
“The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse”

Best Original Song
“Naatu Naatu”— Kaala Bhairava, M.M. Keeravani, and Rahul Sipligunj (“RRR”)

Best Original Score
“All Quiet on the Western Front,” Volker Bertelmann

After last year’s Oscars debacle, it was refreshing to see this year’s ceremony go off without a hitch as the film community celebrated films like Everything Everywhere All at Once and All Quiet on the Western Front. Everything Everywhere All at Once was the big winner of the evening taking home seven Oscars out of its eleven nominations. It took home Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Editing. I don’t think anyone went into this award season thinking Jamie Lee Curtis would win Best Supporting Actress, but she nabbed the SAG Award prior to the Oscar and rode out the campaign trail the entire season. She beat out Angela Bassett, an early favorite and Golden Globe winner for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. One of the greatest moments of the night came with Michelle Yeoh’s win for Best Actress. Halle Berry and Jessica Chastain presented the award to her. Berry and Yeoh are the only two women of color to win Best Actress, and Berry won it 2002. That gap is way too wide, and hopefully it won’t be another 20+ years before a woman of color wins again.The late season push for that film proved successful as early season favorites like The Fabelmans, TÁR, The Banshees of Inisherin, and Elvis went home empty-handed.

The Oscar’s broadcast was an easy and safe telecast with host Jimmy Kimmel. His jokes played it safe, while yes, touching on last year’s slap. The producers shied away from montages or unnecessary audience bits that usually drag out the runtime. The only unnecessary time-filler was the presentation of the trailer for The Little Mermaid. It was easy ABC/Disney promotion, but felt so odd as they never run trailers during the actual telecast. Another strong touch this year was having the pair of presenters present two Oscars. It cut the runtime down for having to introduce new sets of presenters for each award which would then be filled with more banter. This felt like it was focused on the winners and keeping the show moving.

All in all, it was another wonderful night, and I was so proud to see an energetic and progressive film like Everything Everywhere All at Once named Best Picture. Here’s to next award season!