Members of the film industry entered the Dolby Theater on a champagne carpet, instead of a typical red carpet, for the 95th Academy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, on Sunday, March 12th.
Kimmel, both before and during the Oscars, made several references to Will Smith’s infamous slap last year. At the end of the opening, Kimmel announced that “If anyone in this theater commits an act of violence during this show, you will be awarded the Oscars for Best Actor and be permitted to give a nineteen-minute speech,” after which he pointed out the various members of the Academy’s crisis team: Michelle Yeoh, Micheal B. Jordan, Pedro Pascal, and Steven Spielberg.
As always, films released between January 1st and December 31st of 2022 qualify for an Oscar in the following categories: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Original Song, Best International Feature Film, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Animated Feature, Best Original Score, Best Documentary Feature, Best Live Action Short Film, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Documentary(Short Subject), Best Original Screenplay, Best Visual Effects, Best Animated Short Film, Best Cinematography, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Production Design, and Best Sound.
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” won seven Oscars out of the eleven nominations it received. The film won four of what are considered to be the Big Five Academy Awards(Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Original/Adapted Screenplay), only missing the Oscar for Best Actor. Michelle Yeoh became the first woman of Asian heritage to win Best Actress. In her acceptance speech, Yeoh said, “So many of us have been working on pushing the envelope and trying to make it happen, because it’s very simple. We believe in us. We believe in our Asian talent. We believe all of us have stories that need to be told and need to be embraced.” The film also won Best Supporting Actor(Ke Huy Quan), Best Supporting Actress(Jamie Lee Curtis), and Best Film Editing.
“All Quiet on the Western Front” won four Oscars out of its nine nominations: Best International Feature Film, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, and Best Production Design. Netflix-produced, German-made film is the third adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s 1929 anti-war novel, with adaptations made in 1930, 1979, and 2022. Though widely received by American audiences and being credited as a savior of the German film industry, the film has received controversy at home for straying too far from “one of the most important books ever written in the German language.” German critic Hubert Wetzel said that “you have to ask yourself whether director Berger has even read Remarque’s novel.” Differences between the book can be seen throughout the book, but the one that sticks out the most to critics is that of narrator Paul Bäumer’s death. The book reads “He fell in October 1918, on a day that was so quiet and still on the whole front, that the army report confined itself to a single sentence: All quiet on the Western Front” (Remarque 280). However, the film has Paul die in a noisy, violent, close-combat scene. The movie has been criticized for being too violent and vying for an Oscar.
“The Whale” won two Oscars out of three nominations. Brendan Fraser won Best Actor and makeup team Adrien Morot, Judy Chin and Anne Marie Bradley won Best Makeup and Hairstyling. Backlash over these two wins, especially the latter, has since happened over Hollywood’s portrayal of obesity and the use of the fat suit. The title of the movie itself suggests mockery towards this underrepresented group, however, the film’s team defends the title, saying that an underlying, yet important, plot of the film is an essay about Moby Dick. Still, twitter users are distraught over the film’s misrepresentation. Hygiene company Dove, in fact, tweeted, on the night of the Oscars, “Stop giving fat suits awards!! We want better representation in Hollywood!”
In other categories, however, there are no repeats of films. Featured in the Indian action/drama, RRRI, “Naatu Naatu” by M. M. Keeravani and Chandrabose won Best Original Song. “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” won Best Animated Feature and “The Boy, the Mole”, “The Fox and the Horse” won Best Animated Short Film. Navalny won Best Documentary Feature and The Elephant Whisperers won Best Documentary(Short Subject). “An Irish Goodbye” won Best Live Action Short Film. “Women Talking”, based on the novel of the same name by Miriam Toews, won Best Adapted Screenplay. “Top Gun: Maverick” won Best Sound. And, two Disney films won Oscars: “Avatar: Way of the Water” taking home Best Visual Effects and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” with Best Costume Design.
This year’s Oscars striked quite a controversy. As is every year, not all viewers are pleased with the outcomes of Hollywood’s biggest night. Some, however, were still happy with the recipients, as, this year, the first woman of Asian heritage won an Oscar. Fans of the film industry look forward to next year.
