Everything, everywhere at once lived up to its name at the 2023 Academy Awards held at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood on Sunday (March 12). EEAAO became only the third film – and the first in nearly 50 years – to win three acting Oscars. The first two, both classics, were A tram named Desire (1951) and Network (1976). The film’s star, Michelle Yeoh, won best actress, while Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis received the supporting awards.
“The Daniels” – Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert – won three Oscars for co-producing, co-writing and co-directing the busy film. This is only the second time in Oscar history that two people have shared three awards on Oscar night. Joel and Ethan Coen won Oscars for serving in the same three capacities 15 years ago No country for old men.
The Daniels are only the third couple to win an Oscar for directing. They follow Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise for West Side Story (1961) and the Coen Brothers for the aforementioned No country for old men (2007).
Kwan is the first writer of Chinese descent to win Best Original Screenplay.
Many others set records at the 95th Academy Awards. Take a look:
“Naatu Naatu” from RRR won Best Original Song. It is the first song performed in a language other than English to win in this category since “Jai Ho”. Slumdog Millionaire 14 years ago. “Naatu Naatu” is an Indian Telugu language song. “Jai Ho” was performed in Hindi.
Three other such songs have won over the years — “Mona Lisa” from Captain, Carey, United States (which is performed in Spanish by a troubadour in the 1950 film, although best known for Nat King Cole’s smash cover version in English); “Never on Sunday” from the film of the same name (which is performed in Greek in the 1960 film); and “Al otro lado del río” from The Motorcycle Diaries (which is performed in Spanish in the 2004 film).
In a charming speech, MM Keeravaani said that he grew up listening to the Carpenters and now he is here for the Oscars. The Carpenters performed the nominated “Bless the Beasts and Children” on the Oscar stage in 1972.
Ruth E. Carter won Best Costume Design for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Carter is the first African-American woman to win multiple Oscars. She has previously won for the first round of Black Panther. Only four other African-Americans – all men – have won two competitive Oscars – actors Denzel Washington and Mahershala Ali; and sound experts Willie D. Burton and Russell Williams II.
Accepting her second Oscar, Carter said “Thank you for recognizing the superhero that is the black woman.” She dedicated the award to her mother, who, in Carter’s words, “became an ancestor” last week at the age of 101.
For the second year in a row, all four acting winners — Brendan Fraser, Yeoh, Quan and Curtis — had previously won at the SAG Awards. It’s the eighth time in the past 14 years that all four Oscar winners had previously won at the SAG Awards, a surprisingly high level of agreement.
Fraser won Best Actor for The whale, becoming the first Canadian to win in that category. The actor has dual Canadian-American citizenship.
Yeoh is the first Southeast Asian actress to win Best Actress. Quan is the first actor born in Vietnam to win an Oscar.
Curtis’ parents, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, were both nominated for acting Oscars but did not win. Curtis was nominated for Best Actor for The defiant (1958); Leigh for Best Supporting Actress for Psycho (1960).
Completely quiet on the west front won Best International Feature Film. It is the third German film to win in that category since 2000. Nowhere in America won the award in 2002. Others life took the prize in 2006. Before that, the West German entry The tin drum won the award in 1979.
Volker Bertelmann won Best Original Score for Completely quiet on the west front. It is the second year in a row that the award goes to a German composer. Hans Zimmer won last year for Dune. Bertelmann prevailed in a strong field that included John Williams, a five-time winner for his scores, and Justin Hurwitz, who won for his La La Land score. Bertelmann’s score also won a BAFTA award last month.
James Friend won Achievement in Cinematography for Completely quiet on the west front. Just as notably, Mandy Walker lost for her work on Elvis. She fought to become the first woman to win in the category. Only two other women have ever been nominated in the category – Rachel Morrison for Mud bound (2018) and Ari Wegner for The power of the dog (2021).
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio won the year’s best animated feature film. It is del Toro’s third Oscar win. He won five years ago for producing and directing The shape of the water.
Avatar: The Way of the Water won for achievement in visual effects The first Avatar the film also won in this category. Avatar is the sixth franchise to win multiple Oscars in this category. It follows Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings, Aliens, King Kong and Star wars.