There were plenty of references to the infamous moment when Will Smith tackled Chris Rock, including this year’s host Jimmy Kimmel changing the “Number of Incident-Free Oscar Shows” from “000” to “001”. At the 95th Academy Awards, onstage displays gave way to triumphant comebacks, inspiring speeches and some historic wins.
Here are more highlights from Sunday night:
The main EEAAO awards were a big and historic win for the A24 studio
A24’s sci-fi extravaganza entered the night with the most nominations of any film and lived up to its potential with seven wins in total. Notable wins include Best Picture, Best Director (Daniels, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) and three of the four acting categories (Best Actress for Michelle Yeoh, Best Supporting Actor for Ke Huy Quan and Best Supporting Actor for Jamie Lee Curtis plan actress). ).
The studio won all six of the night’s top awards as Brendan Fraser won best actor for another A24 film, The Whale, the first film in Oscar history to do so.
Michelle Yeoh became Asia’s first Best Actress
Michelle Yeoh (EEAAO) and Cate Blanchett (Tár) took turns winning lead actress awards throughout the season. But as the Oscars drew closer, Yeoh emerged as the favorite. She won, becoming the first Asian performer to win an Oscar for Best Actress.
He acknowledged the broader significance of his success on stage, beginning his speech: “To all the little boys and girls who look up to me tonight, this is a light of hope and possibility. This is proof that dreams do come true.”
“And ladies,” he added, “don’t ever let anyone tell you that you’re past your prime.”
“All Quiet on the Western Front” had a very good night
The German horror film about World War I won best international film and won several other Oscars, including cinematography, score and production design. Those who have been paying close attention to the Oscar race in previous weeks may not have been surprised by the success of Edward Berger’s film, but it didn’t garner as much buzz as others in the running.
Released by Netflix, the film is the third feature-length adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s 1929 novel of the same name; it first won an Oscar for best picture in 1930.
Jimmy Kimmel’s monologue (of course) addressed Slap
Hosting the Academy Awards is generally a thankless job, but Kimmel managed to get some well-deserved laughs, especially in his monologue, as he hit on timely topics with the efficiency of someone who reads a lot of Twitter.
He poked fun at this creepy AMC ad (“Glad to see Nicole Kidman finally freed from the abandoned AMC where she’s been held captive for almost two full years”); The Hollywood slimming/Ozempic craze (“Everybody looks so good. I can’t help but look at this room: Is Ozempic right for me?”) and Top Gun: Maverick star Tom Cruise’s height in Scientology (“He’s shirtless in a beach soccer scene ? L. Ron Hubba Hubba”).
And of course he got into Slap. He didn’t mention Smith or Rock, but did make some “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” and “Hitch” jokes.
“If anyone in this theater commits an act of violence at any time during the show … you will be awarded the Oscar for best actor and allowed to give a 19-minute speech,” Kimmel said, chuckling in one of his many jokes. event throughout the broadcast. “But seriously! The academy has a crisis team. If something unexpected or violent happens during the ceremony, just do what you did last year: Nothing. Sit there and do nothing. Maybe they even hug the aggressor.”
Ruth E. Carter made history
The costume designer became the first black woman to win two Oscars, winning best costume design for Black Panther: Always Wakanda. (It also won the award for the first film in the franchise in 2019.) “Nice to see you again,” Carter said as he accepted the trophy.
“Thank you to the academy for recognizing this superhero who is a black woman. He endures. He loves. He wins. She is every woman in this movie. She’s my mom,” Carter told the audience, adding that her mother died last week.
“This film prepared me for this moment. Chadwick, please take care of my mom,” Carter said, referring to “Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman, who died of colon cancer in 2020 at the age of 43.
Ke Huy Quan gave an impressive speech
The tears (on stage and in the audience) started earlier in the evening when Ke Huy Quan won best supporting actor for EEAAO.
“Mom, I just won an Oscar!” Guan sobbed as he held up the statuette and thought of his long journey in Hollywood. When he was a child, his family fled Vietnam during the war. After moving to Los Angeles and appearing in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Suns, he quit acting for about 20 years because of difficulty getting roles.
“My journey began on a ship. I stayed in a refugee camp for a year. And somehow I’m here on the biggest stage in Hollywood. They say such stories only happen in movies. I can’t believe this is happening to me. This is the American dream,” he said. “Dreams are something you have to believe in. I almost gave up on my dream. Please keep your dreams alive to all of you out there.”
Jamie Lee Curtis finally won an Oscar
It’s taken him his entire career, but Curtis—Hollywood’s favorite self-described nepo babe—finally got an Oscar nomination this year for EEAAO. And he won! The crowd seemed moved and Curtis broke down in tears as she recalled that her mother (Janet Leigh) and father (Tony Curtis) were also nominated for Oscars.
“To all the people, thousands and hundreds of thousands, who have supported the genre films I’ve made over the years – we just won an Oscar together!” he said.
Lady Gaga took a (extreme) close-up of him
For reasons no one knows, it’s just Lady Gaga’s world and we’re living in it, as she removes her make-up and changes into a T-shirt and ripped jeans as the camera zooms in on her face as she sings. Acoustic version of “Hold My Hand” from the movie “Top Gun: Maverick”.
The Best Original Song trophy went to Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairavan’s ‘Naatu Naatu’ from ‘RRR’ after a wildly energetic performance. Earlier in the night, Rihanna performed “Lift Me Up” from “Wkanda Forever” accompanied by a backing band; actress Stephanie Hsu stood in for Mitski and shared hot dog fingers with EEAAO’s David Byrne singing “This Is a Life”; and Sofia Carson performed “Applause” from “Tell It Like a Woman,” accompanied on piano by composer Diane Warren, who just lost her 14th Oscar nomination.
Malala gave a perfect response to the dumb joke
For about 2½ hours, Kimmel decided it would be fun to pester celebrities with “questions” sent in from “the audience,” first turning to 25-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai: Was Harry Styles thinking? did you really spit on Chris Pine in the whole “Don’t worry my love” drama?!
Of course, Malala’s answer was ready: “I’m only talking about peace.”
Hugh Grant offered an irresistible interview on the red carpet
Pandemic social awkwardness has arrived for the red carpet — or at least one way to explain why there have been so many awkward interviews this year. But Grant received the most excruciating award, as poor ABC red carpet host Ashley Graham tried to get something out of the one-minute interaction.
Grant refuses to play ball, what he loves most about the Oscars (“Uhh… well… it’s fascinating”); that he was excited to see (“Especially no one”) and even who designed the suit he wore (“I don’t remember. My tailor.”) Graham once again tried to get him to talk about the filming of The Glass. The Onion,” but he stressed that he was only a few seconds into the film.
“But you still showed up and had fun, didn’t you?” Graham asked brightly.
“Pretty much,” Grant replied, and the interview mercifully ended.