From Overcoming Adversity to Celebrity Drama: A Sneak Peek at the Wildest Oscars Yet

The 2023 Oscars Ceremony has come to an end, and it has done so without a Will Smith slap but with several stories of overcoming that have reminded us of the importance of cinema and the emotion of the movies. It has been a gala full of emotional moments and with a clear winner, Everything Everywhere All at Once, but in which there have been many protagonists.

Films such as The Fabelman, The Banshees of Inisherin or The Triangle of Sadness have left empty-handed despite being nominated in several categories and starting as favorites in some of them. Undoubtedly, the biggest disappointment was for Steven Spielberg, who expected to go further with his most personal film. In the end, almost everything was divided between two great feature films: Everything Everywhere All at Once and and All Quiet on the Western Front.

The Daniels’ film has been the most praised by the Academy, winning a whopping seven statuettes, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Actress in a Leading Role. For its part, Netflix‘s feature film has won four awards, including best soundtrack, best cinematography, best production design and best international film.

However, there have been other very interesting protagonists who have not been left behind in their respective moments. Brendan Fraser is the most prominent of them, who has received a resounding ovation from the audience in his impressive comeback. Jamie Lee Curtis, Ke Huy Quan and Michelle Yeoh also won their respective awards, which were celebrated by all.

But the gala was much more than an awards ceremony. Returning to the original classic format and forgetting the aftermath of COVID-19, this will be remembered as a dynamic gala full of emotion. So we leave you with some of its most iconic moments.

Jimmy Kimmel succeeds in bringing peace to Hollywood

After a ceremony like that of 2022, in which the slap was practically the least of it, since Chris Rock did not fail to put a slap in the face of the entire industry, in 2023 the Academy wanted to lower tensions. For this they have counted on Jimmy Kimmel, a friend of almost the entire industry thanks to his late night, white humor and good-natured but effective in any case.

Kimmel maintained his elegance throughout the ceremony, with an opening speech in which he couldn’t forget Will Smith but with enough poise not to hurt either side. During the gala he had moments of all kinds, from his usual jokes to Matt Damon – something inside that only fans of his show will understand – to strolls through the audience without any malice.

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Perhaps some “sauce” was missing at some point, since Kimmel was limited to lead the gala from one side to the other and his interventions did not stand out too much. However, after what happened just a year ago, perhaps it was the best thing to do, and the rhythm of the gala was also grateful for it.

The divas take the stage: Lady Gaga vs. Rihanna

The stage of the Dolby Theatre has not fallen for very little on this last night. And beyond all the stars who have paraded and have released their emotional speeches during the celebration of the awards, it has been the territory of two of the most important stars in the United States: Lady Gaga and Rihanna.

The former, who is currently filming Joker: Folie à Deux with Joaquin Phoenix -who will play Harley Quinn- performed Hold My Hand, the original song from the film Top Gun: Maverick for which she has been nominated for the statuette. It was a beautiful moment, in which she only needed a small band and a costume free of pretensions to delight the audience with her voice.

For her part, Rihanna has looked pregnant in a sublime way. After her comeback at the Super Bowl, the artist had her moment of glory singing Lift Me Up, the original song from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever that serves as a tribute to the memory of Chadwick Boseman.

Neither of the two finally won the award for best song. The Oscar finally went to Naatu Naatu, the fun and catchy track by India’s RRR. However, they got their own audience in two impressive moments.

All Quiet on the Western Front: a surprise that goes beyond the technical aspects

After its multiple wins at the BAFTA awards, it was to be expected that All Quiet on the Western Front would get some Oscars. Especially on the technical side, Netflix’s German film commanded attention and was expected to outperform other Hollywood features.

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However, the film has gone beyond expectations and has won some very interesting awards, beating some of the favorites in their respective categories. In cinematography it beat the spectacular Elvis, in soundtrack the memorable Babylon, and in production design none other than Avatar: The Way of Water. But its great triumph was to win the statuette for best international film, beating Argentina, 1985.

It has done so well that many of us thought it might even beat Everything Everywhere All at Once for Best Picture. But, after being beaten by Women Talking for Best Adapted Screenplay, it finally became clear that it was not going to get that far.

Poetic justice for Brendan Fraser and Jamie Lee Curtis

There is no doubt that Brendan Fraser‘s award was one of the most anticipated by the public. Although the bets were on Austin Butler, the interpreter of Elvis who has been able to put himself in the shoes of the king of rock, it was Fraser who finally took the cat to water with his performance in The Whale.

With tears in his eyes and a dedicated audience, Fraser collected the award while remembering how hard he has had it in recent decades, where he was relegated to the bottom after a brutal depression after being abused by senior managers in the industry. His victory, in addition to being well deserved, has been a lesson for many.

For her part, Jamie Lee Curtis has also felt the poetic justice she has long deserved. The “scream queen” won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for Everything Everywhere All at Once. And she has done it without starting as a favorite and knowing that Hollywood has never taken her too much in genre for being a genre film actress. It has been a full-fledged “hit” to the industry, and also with a film in which she literally goes through all possible registers.

A cokehead bear sneaks onto the stage

Not that it was a particularly fun gala. Other factors such as emotion or overcoming have outweighed the fun on this occasion. However, there have been some hilarious moments. And beyond Kimmel’s jokes, the protagonist of one of the craziest moments was a bear.

The always wonderful Elizabeth Banks presented the award for best special effects, and she did it together with the “star” of her latest film: Cocaine Bear. This fun film about a bear who does cocaine has gone viral thanks to the director’s good work, and they had to take advantage of the opportunity.

Banks praised the special effects, saying that this is what his film would look like if it weren’t for them -with a man dressed as a bear doing the canelo-. And then he went on to give the Avatar 2 team a well-deserved award.

Ke Huy Quan, Michelle Yeoh and the importance of representation

Another wonderful comeback of the night was that of Ke Huy Quan, actor of the Goonies and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom who had not done much as an adult beyond being a martial arts coordinator for films. Thanks to the Daniels’ confidence in Everything Everywhere All at Once, he has achieved an accomplishment he thought unattainable: the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

The interpreter could not hold back the tears and thanked his family and Steven Spielberg, who discovered him as a child, for the great opportunity. For a child of Chinese origin who did not have it easy, it was like opening the doors to a new world.

Michelle Yeoh wanted to talk about the latter in her speech. The actress has won the Oscar for best actress despite Cate Blanchett was the favorite, and took the opportunity to make it clear that representation is very important and that any Asian child who sees the film can be inspired by it.

The Daniels: Hollywood’s hottest new directors

But if there is one name that stood out above the rest at this gala, it was that of the Daniels. Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert won the Oscar for Best Director and Best Screenplay, in addition to Best Picture, for their impeccable work in Everything Everywhere All at Once.

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Being a sci-fi adventure film, however many layers it has behind it, this story may be an impressive springboard for the filmmakers. They already caught the industry’s attention with the very rare Swiss Army Man, starring Daniel Radcliffe and Paul Dano, but with Everything Everywhere All at Once they have become go-to figures for everyone.

We will see what happens with them. But they are certainly the most sought after names in cinema this year, and this may make them big stars in the future. Hopefully we can see many more films like Everything Everywhere All at Once in the near future.

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