Everything Everywhere

March 13, 2023 6:38 a.m.. Directors ...

This was a year in which they didn't try much in terms of change; in fact, the goal seemed to be the most normal Oscars possible. At the same time, it was a reminder that while only a few years ago, Netflix was trying to wedge itself into the Oscars, it's now established a home there. It was perhaps the most utterly traditional choice they could have made in every way except for the fact that it's a film that's not in English. The film perhaps sneaked up on people, but as Oscar night wore on and it started to rake in prizes, including for score, cinematography, production design and international feature, the fondness that Academy voters still have for epic war sequences became perfectly clear. Some montages, a nice In Memoriam segment, an okay monologue, solid musical performances from Lady Gaga and Rihanna among others, and a return to theater seating after last year's cocktail tables and the train station set the year before. Perhaps it's fitting that Avatar won for visual effects and Top Gun: Maverick for sound — the spectacles won awards that relate, in part, to their status as such. That theory might turn out to be right or it might be wrong, but if this year didn't do it, then nominating big movies isn't a solution to the ratings problem as has so often been speculated. [Ke Huy Quan](https://www.npr.org/2023/03/12/1160156811/ke-huy-quan-best-supporting-actor-oscar-everything-everywhere-all-at-once) once found himself shut out of Hollywood after a big start as a child actor in movies like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies. The awards for supporting actor and supporting actress went to two very, very different "newcomers." But it's also part of the Academy's effort to revive interest in the ceremony after years of hearing the theory that the ratings were dropping because blockbusters weren't being nominated. What's perhaps most surprising is how many films that once seemed like strong contenders for major awards wound up getting completely shut out: Tár, The Banshees of Inisherin, The Fabelmans and Elvis all went home empty-handed. Of the 20 acting nominees across lead and supporting categories, 16 were first-time nominees.

Michelle Yeoh reacts in the audience with excitement as she accepts the award for best performance by an actress in a leading role for "Everything Everywhere ...

[Apple](https://fortune.com/company/apple/) TV’s “CODA” became the first streaming movie to win best picture. [Telugu action-film sensation “RRR,”](https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-india-4d04b6d032cabfc91b6d0beb6642c1ef) an intimate, impassioned performance by Lady Gaga of “Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick,” and a Super Bowl follow-up by Rihanna. Meanwhile, the Writers [Guild](https://fortune.com/company/guild-instride/) and the major studios are set to begin contract negotiations March 20, a looming battle that has much of the industry girding for a possible work stoppage. “The Way of Water” won for visual effects; “Maverick” took best sound. “Thank you to the Academy for recognizing the superhero that is a Black woman,” said Carter. [best supporting actress](https://apnews.com/article/oscars-2023-best-supporting-actress-18481e06d1e3c03d337d100f10b9e382). Scheinert dedicated the award “to the moms of the world.” [an improbable Academy Awards heavyweight.](https://apnews.com/article/oscars-2023-best-picture-everything-everywhere-all-at-once-c6db5dc1477c28e2b9e41270a036ac12) The indie hit, A24’s second best picture winner following “Moonlight,” won seven Oscars in all. [former action star’s return](https://apnews.com/article/brendan-fraser-the-whale-darren-aronofsky-1b3e71f1022f11b26b764f238b421363) to center stage for his physical transformation as a 600-lb. The audience — including his “Temple of Doom” director, Steven Spielberg — gave Quan a standing ovation as he fought back tears. Jimmy Kimmel, hosting for the third time, pledged a ceremony with “no nonsense.” He said anyone who wanted to “get jiggy with it” this year would have to come through a fearsome battalion of bodyguards, including Yeoh, Steven Spielberg and his show’s “security guard” Guillermo Rodriguez. “Sometimes it’s a little scary knowing that movies move at the rate of years and the world on the internet is moving at the rate of milliseconds.

At this point in awards-season history, you don't want to be “The Fabelmans.” The Oscar race is above all an expectations game, and “Everything Everywhere ...

(This was when I knew the film could win.) Once the precursors began in earnest, they pitched a perfect game. In the old days, Best Picture was an award for Best Artistic Achievement. The film was a rare beacon of light during a dark spring for theatrical moviegoing, [breaking A24’s box-office record](https://www.vulture.com/2022/05/everything-everywhere-all-at-once-beat-uncut-gems-a24-box-office-record.html) and inspiring a rabid cult following who saw it over and over and over again. One of the film’s biggest weaknesses was the fact that its fans were, well, a little annoying. The rest of the night was a coronation. The EEAAO campaign proved equally effective at meeting the demands of the day. It was simply too strange not to feel like an underdog, even when it started racking up the nominations befitting a major contender. [To Leslie](https://www.vulture.com/article/andrea-riseborough-to-leslie-oscar-buzz-timeline.html), we’ve spent the past few months debating over the true meaning of “grassroots” campaigns. But there was also the cast, which — Curtis aside — was almost entirely Asian or Asian American, and almost entirely made up of actors who were either unknown The Oscars race is above all an expectations game, and Everything Everywhere benefited all season long from the sense that it was playing with house money. That’s two different Oscar records broken: the most trophies won by a Best Picture winner since the category expanded in 2009, and the most awards a film has ever won in the above-the-line categories. (The film also tied A Streetcar Named Desire and Network as the only films to win three acting trophies.) It was the kind of old-fashioned Oscars sweep I didn’t think we’d see again, to go along with

'Everything Everywhere All At Once' won seven Oscars, including Best Picture, at the 95th annual Academy Awards on Sunday night (March 12).

Accepting the shiny trophies were Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett. Rounding out the sci-fi spectacle's seven-win night, Paul Rogers was honored for his adept cinematic cutting. Michelle Yeoh, who portrays multiversal heroine Evelyn Wang, became the first Asian woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress. The directing pair also won for Best Original Screenplay. [Avatar: The Way of Water](https://www.space.com/avatar-the-way-of-water-movie-review)," "The Banshees of Inisherin," "All Quiet on the Western Front," "The Fabelmans," "Elvis," and others, "Everything Everywhere All At Once" shone in a multitude of categories. [science fiction film](https://www.space.com/best-sci-fi-movies) "Everything Everywhere All At Once" swept most of the major categories, winning Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Editing and Best Original Screenplay.

There's no Oscar for Best Location. But if there were, the San Fernando couple who own Majors Coin Laundry, the laundromat used in “Everything Everywhere ...

And just like they project in the movie, there's always a lot of bills and taxes and family. The laundromat has, like Kenny says, has a lot of ups and downs. But when I took my daughter and I saw — oh my goodness, it was like us, like me, my husband, and my daughter. Kenny Majers: They pay a lot more. Kenny Majers: There's a lot of maintenance issues and utilities. And I feel like in the movie, Stephanie and Michelle, they project that respect for mother and daughter, and also the traditions, the family. Kenny Majers: Oh, my friends for a long time, they know the struggles and the ups and downs I've had. So I was thinking I can use two productions like that, at least two to two times a year would be nice. And there's a lot of setbacks. Did they try to explain the movie to you? My dad was ready to sell it, and then I took it over. Kenny Majers: Unfortunately, no.

Los Angeles Times film critic Justin Chang joined William Brangham and discussed if the results could change how Hollywood goes about making movies. It's for ...

And so that is a success story very much in itself. I certainly hope so, because I feel safer in a movie theater. Do you think — I mean, all your criticisms aside, the points that you're making aside, do you think that this night does change the way movies get made going forward? But I think that's a shame because that is very — seven Oscars for one movie, and for that movie, to be "Everything Everywhere," is disproportionate. I mean, that is — there's something remarkable about that. What do you make of "Everything Everywhere All at Once" sweeping so much gold last night? It was a big night for indie films overall. But best original song went to Naatu Naatu from the film "RRR." Quan won for best supporting actor. We are all descendants of something and someone. We are all products of our context. It's for our arts and culture series, CANVAS.