It was a night of historic wins at the 95th annual Academy Awards on Sunday at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, California.
The Oscars ended Everything Everywhere All at Once dominating the ceremony. The night made history, with Michelle Yeoh becoming the first Asian performer to win best actress and India winning two trophies.
Here are some of the key moments from the event.
So, last year…
Serving again as host, Jimmy Kimmel clearly needs to bring The Slap, as it will forever be known.
He lasted about seven minutes into his monologue before he made a sarcastic crack about last year’s surprisingly passive reaction when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock over a joke directed at his wife.
“If anything unpredictable or violent happens at the ceremony, just do what you did last year – nothing,” he told the crowd of A-list celebrities. “Maybe give the killer a hug.”
At the start of the show, two US military planes flew over the theater, and Kimmel landed on stage by parachute in honor of the best picture nominee, Top Gun: Maverick.
Congrats to everyone on an incident free night… #Oscars pic.twitter.com/SjDqbZyP7i
– Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) March 13, 2023
Ke Huy Quan: ‘I can’t believe this happened to me’
Emotions ran high from the second award, as Quan won his Best Supporting Actor trophy – an expected result but no less exciting at the moment.
Presenter Ariana DeBose could barely say her name – she was crying.
“My journey started with a boat. I spent a year in a refugee camp,” said Quan, 51, who is originally from Vietnam.
“Somehow, I came here on the biggest stage in Hollywood. They say stories like this happen only in movies. I can’t believe this is happening to me. This, this is the American dream. “
Jamie Lee Curtis: ‘I am hundreds of people’
Winning for Best Supporting Actress after Quan, Curtis took the stage and even gave a great awards-season speech about industry collaboration.
“I know it looks like I’m standing here myself, but I’m not,” he said. “I am a hundred people.”
He spoke to all the fans and colleagues who “support the genre movies I’ve made all these years, the hundreds and thousands of people: We just won an Oscar together.”
“I know it looks like I’m standing here alone, but I’m not. I’m hundreds of people… we just won an Oscar.”
Jamie Lee Curtis accepts the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”https://t.co/OizA2V2cyr#Oscars pic.twitter.com/TsfrmiEWI5
— ABC News (@ABC) March 13, 2023
‘Stay strong’
Alexey Navalny sits alone in Russia. So it was left to his wife, Yulia Navalnaya, to speak for him – and him, too – when the documentary Navalny won an Oscar.
“My husband went to jail just for telling the truth. My husband is in prison just for defending democracy,” said Navalnaya. “Alexey, I dream of the day when you will be free, and our country will be free. Stay strong, my love.”
Director Daniel Roher dedicated his Oscar to Navalny and all political prisoners around the world.
“Alexey, the world has not forgotten your important message for all of us: We should not be afraid to oppose dictators and authoritarianism wherever it raises its head.”
Ruth E Carter is making history again
Four years later, Carter took home her first historic statue, becoming the first Black woman to win for costume design for Black Panther.
On Sunday, she made history again when she won the award for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, becoming the first Black woman to win two Oscars. He dedicated the tribute to Mabel Carter, his mother, who he said died last week at the age of 101.
“This film prepared me for this moment,” he said. “Chadwick, please take care of Mom” - referring to Chadwick Boseman, the beloved late star of the original film.
Brendan Fraser won the best actor Oscar for The Whale
Fraser won his first Academy Award for his performance as a 270kg (600lb) gay man trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter in The Whale.
The 54-year-old actor faced a new set of physical challenges for The Whale. He wore a heavy bodysuit, prosthetics and makeup, which took six hours to apply, to embody the story’s obese hero, Charlie.
The result made him unable to walk in the narrow house of his character.
“I’m grateful to Darren Aronofsky for throwing me a creative lifeline and hauling me aboard the great ship, The Whale,” Fraser said in accepting the Oscar.
Brendan Fraser accepts the #Oscar for Best Actor for #The Whale. https://t.co/ndiKiHfmID pic.twitter.com/kNuDy85dpH
— Variety (@variety) March 13, 2023
The Daniels thanked the teachers and the mommies
The Daniels – Scheinert and Kwan – had plenty of opportunities to take the stage, collecting awards for Best Original Screenplay and Best Director en route to a Best Picture win for Everything Everywhere All at Once.
For the first time, Scheinert denied that he would name all the teachers who put him and his brother in detention — then instead thanked the teachers, by name, who “educated me and encouraged me and taught me to less of a butthead”.
Kwan thanked “my Mom who protected me as a child, protected my inner storyteller”. Winning Best Director, they came back to thank, in the words of Scheinert, “the mothers of the world …. especially my mom and dad, thank you for not cutting off my creativity”.
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” screenwriters Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert pay tribute to teachers after winning the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay: “You taught me, you inspired me.”#Oscars#Oscars95https://t.co/OizA2V2cyr pic.twitter.com/KlPeKeO5hw
— ABC News (@ABC) March 13, 2023
Michelle Yeoh brought it home to Malaysia – and Mum!
In Everything Everywhere All at Once, one of Yeoh’s most memorable scenes is a kind of reconciliation with his young adult daughter (Stephanie Hsu).
It’s fitting that Yeoh, who accepted her Best Actress award, will also focus on motherhood.
“I have to dedicate this to my mom, to all the moms in the world because they really are the superheroes,” she said. “And without them, none of us would be here tonight.”
He added that his mom is watching in Malaysia with her family.
“He’s 84 years old, and I’m going to bring it home to him.”
Yeoh, 60, has also garnered acclaim for his plug for women as they age in Hollywood, telling them: “Don’t let anyone tell you that you’re past your prime!”
The Indians erupted in celebration
Indians erupted in celebration after Naatu Naatu, the breakout hit of the action movie RRR, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, making history as the first film from the country to win the honor.
The song – a fast-paced number that has found fans around the world, spawned a TikTok challenge and has millions of views on YouTube – won a standing ovation when it was performed on th 95 Academy Awards on Sunday night.
Indians also celebrated a short documentary, The Elephant Whisperers, which won Oscars.
Here is the energetic performance of “Naatu Naatu” from #RRR on #Oscars. https://t.co/ndiKiHeOT5 pic.twitter.com/Lf2nP826c4
— Variety (@variety) March 13, 2023
