London – Kevin Spacey’s trial began Wednesday in London, with the Hollywood actor facing charges of sexual assault, indecent assault and a more serious offense of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Spacey has pleaded not guilty to all of the 12 charges against him.
The 63-year-old arrived at London’s Southwark Crown Court and smiled and waved at media gathered outside the building as he waked in. The trial is expected to last four weeks.
Actor Kevin Spacey, right, arrives at Southwark Crown Court in London, England, June 28, 2023.
Dan Kitwood/Getty
Spacey has repeatedly denied the allegations made by four men who are now in their 30s and 40s over acts they accuse Spacey of committing during a 12-year period between 2001 and 2013. Some of the charges date back to a period when the actor was the artistic director at London’s Old Vic Theatre, a position he held for more than a decade before his departure in 2015.
The alleged victims cannot be identified under English law.
An internal 2017 investigation by the theater resulted in 20 anonymous claims of alleged inappropriate behavior by Spacey during his time as its artistic director.
The Oscar-winner’s “stardom and status at The Old Vic may have prevented people, and in particular junior staff or young actors, from feeling that they could speak up or raise a hand for help,” a statement from the Old Vic said at the time.
Spacey’s glittering Hollywood career largely came to an end in 2017 when actor Anthony Rapp publicly accused him of sexual misconduct in a separate case, alleging that Spacey had targeted him when he was just 14 years old.
In October last year, a New York court dismissed a $40 million civil suit brought against Spacey by Rapp for alleged sexual misconduct dating back to the late 1980s. A judge had ruled separately that Rapp brought the case too late for criminal charges.
Charges of indecent assault and battery were also dropped against the actor in a separate case in Massachusetts in 2019, after a young man who had accused him declined to testify in the case.
In an interview earlier this month with German magazine Zeit, Spacey insisted that it was his work that “will be remembered,” and he expressed a desire to revive his career should he be cleared of the charges against him in the U.K.
“I know that there are people right now who are ready to hire me the moment I am cleared of these charges in London. The second that happens, they’re ready to move forward,” Spacey said.
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Angela Bassett may have gone home empty handed at the Oscars in March, but the two-time nominee will be getting a golden statuette this year after all – and in very good company too.
In November, Bassett, Mel Brooks and film editor Carol Littleton will receive honorary Oscars at the Governors Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Monday.
Michelle Satter, the founding senior director of the Sundance Institute’s Artist Programs, will also be given the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the untelevised event.
“The Academy’s Board of Governors is thrilled to honor four trailblazers who have transformed the film industry and inspired generations of filmmakers and movie fans,” Janet Yang, the academy’s president, said in a statement.
Most recipients of the academy’s honorary awards have not won competitive Oscars. Brooks, is an exception, however, having won an original screenplay Oscar for “The Producers.” At the ceremony, in 1969, he said he wanted to “thank the academy of arts sciences and money for this wonderful award.” In his speech, which had the audience in stitches, he also thanked Gene Wilder three times.
The 96-year-old, who began his career writing for Sid Caesar’s “Your Show of Shows,” and over the next 70 years would write, direct, act, produce for film, television and Broadway and write books, including a recent memoir, is among the rare breed of EGOT-winners. (Those are entertainers who have won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Awards.) He also received two other Oscar nominations, for writing the lyrics to John Morris’s “Blazing Saddles” song and another screenwriting nod for “Young Frankenstein,” which he shared with Wilder.
“Mel Brooks lights up our hearts with his humor, and his legacy has made a lasting impact on every facet of entertainment,” Yang said.
Bassett, whose credits include “Boyz N the Hood,” “Malcolm X,” “Waiting to Exhale” and “How Stella Got Her Groove Back,” received her first Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Tina Turner in “What’s Love Got to Do With It” and her second earlier this year for playing the grieving queen in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” The 64-year-old told the AP earlier this year that “this moment has been so special, it’s been a highlight of my career.”
Yang said in a statement that, “across her decades-long career, Angela Bassett has continued to deliver transcendent performances that set new standards in acting.”
Littleton’s name might not be as immediately recognizable as the celebrities being honored alongside but has been working behind the scenes with top filmmakers for nearly five decades. The 81-year-old Oklahoma native worked frequently with both Lawrence Kasdan and Jonathan Demme, editing films like “Body Heat,” “The Big Chill,” “Swimming to Cambodia” and “The Manchurian Candidate.” She received her first and only Oscar nomination for “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial,” the only film she’s edited for Steven Spielberg. She’s also married to cinematographer and former Academy president John Bailey.
The honorary awards are given, “to honor extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding service to the Academy.”
Satter, meanwhile, has led the Sundance Institute’s famed artist programs for more than 40 years, helping filmmakers at the earliest stages of their careers, from Paul Thomas Anderson to Ryan Coogler.
The Governors Awards will be held on Nov. 18 at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles.
The Academy is bolstering its support for theatrical moviegoing with a major change requiring best picture contenders to play in more theaters across the country.
Starting next year, any film eligible for best picture will have to play in 10 of the top 50 U.S. markets, a major expansion from the current rule, which requires just a week in a theater in just one of the six biggest cities in the U.S. The new rules will also require an expansion into those 10 cities no later than 45 days after the initial release in 2024. “It is our hope that this expanded theatrical footprint will increase the visibility of films worldwide and encourage audiences to experience our artform in a theatrical setting,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang in a joint statement.
How will the rules affect anything worldwide? Turns out that screening in two of the top 15 international markets — London, Paris, etc. — can count toward the requirement, as can a release in the film’s home territory.
Rumors have been swirling that the Academy was leaning towards increasing the theatrical requirements for Oscar contention, though initial reports had suggested the change would be much more aggressive, with 15-20 markets required. It’s a clear effort by the Academy to support movies being seen in theaters, with the exhibition industry still in a post-Covid state of uncertainty.
The new rules will affect a number of major players in the Oscar race. Netflix, for example, often limits its films theatrical release to theaters it owns and operates in New York and Los Angeles, a practice that will now have to expand. And Sony Pictures Classics has had great success with films that are released on an extremely limited number of screens at the end of the year, but only expand to broader audiences in January or February, just in time to take advantage of the buzz from a nomination. Those kinds of delayed runs won’t be totally eliminated in the future — planned expanded runs must be completed no later than January 24 in 2025, the first year the new rules will go in effect, and the distributors must submit release plans to the Academy for verification.
“Based on many conversations with industry partners, we feel that this evolution benefits film artists and movie lovers alike,” adds the statement from Kramer and Yang.
While this new rule will provide a boost for theatrical moviegoing, there could be one group that struggles as a result: smaller independent films that don’t have the budget for a larger theatrical release. Last year’s To Leslie — which, despite only earning $27,000 at the box office, became the story of the season because of Andrea Riseborough’s surprise nomination — is a prime example of the sort of film that might not be able to make the new requirement.
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Cormac McCarthy, long considered one of America’s greatest writers for his violent and bleak depictions of the United States and its borderlands in novels like “Blood Meridian,” “The Road” and “All the Pretty Horses,” died on Tuesday, according to his Penguin Random House publisher Alfred A. Knopf. He was 89.
McCarthy died of natural causes at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Knopf said.
Over a nearly 60-year career, McCarthy – hailed by the late literary critic Howard Bloom as the “true heir” of Herman Melville and William Faulkner – wrote a dozen novels, many of them critically celebrated if not commercial hits, though he would eventually achieve both. For years, he wrote while living on grants, most notably the MacArthur “genius grant,” which he was awarded in 1981.
Despite accolades, McCarthy remained relatively obscure for much of his career; as recently as 1992, 27 years after his first book was published, the New York Times Book Review said he “may be the best unknown novelist in America.”
Both before and since, McCarthy was seen and portrayed in the media as reclusive, eschewing the kind of book tours, signings, interviews and lectures other renowned writers would see as professional obligations. But McCarthy famously abhorred talking about his books, which principally featured male characters and profuse violence, as well as sparse punctuation.
Still, he was a “writer’s writer,” the Times reported, with a cult following and a reputation “far out of proportion to his name recognition or sales.”
“I never had any doubts about my abilities,” McCarthy told the Times in one of his few interviews. “I knew I could write. I just had to figure out how to eat while doing this.”
That obscurity changed with “All the Pretty Horses,” the first installment of his “Border Trilogy,” which became a bestseller and won the 1992 National Book Award, at last marrying the critical acclaim he’d enjoyed with mainstream success.
His Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Road,” which followed a father and son traveling through a post-apocalyptic America, further catapulted McCarthy to popularity, thanks in part to Oprah Winfrey selecting the novel for her book club. McCarthy, in turn, granted Oprah his first and only television interview.
“The Road” was also one of several of McCarthy’s books adapted for film, most notably the Coen Brothers’ adaptation of “No Country for Old Men,” which won four Academy Awards, including best picture.
The author was born Charles McCarthy Jr. on July 20, 1933, in Providence, Rhode Island. His family moved when he was still young to Knoxville, Tennessee, where his father was an attorney for the Tennessee Valley Authority. His was a relatively comfortable childhood, one that played out on a plot of wooded land in a large white house with maids.
“We were considered rich,” he told the Times, “because all the people around us were living in one- or two-room shacks.”
For all his later literary achievements, McCarthy was not a voracious reader in his childhood or adolescence. It wasn’t until he served in the US Air Force after dropping out of the University of Tennessee that McCarthy began reading extensively, in his barracks while stationed in Alaska, he told the Times.
He would later move to Chicago, where he finished his first novel and in 1961 married his first wife, Lee Holleman, with whom he had a son. They soon divorced.
That novel, “The Orchard Keeper,” was published in 1965, after shepherding by the famous Random House editor Albert Erskine, who also edited Faulkner. Erskine, who died in 1993, would go on to edit McCarthy for two decades despite the fact, Erskine admitted to the Times, that McCarthy’s books never sold.
“Outer Dark” followed in 1968 and “Child of God” in 1973, after a stint in Ibiza and McCarthy’s subsequent return to Tennessee with his second wife, Annie DeLisle. But still, they lived in “total poverty,” DeLisle once said, “bathing in the lake.”
“Someone would call up and offer him $2,000 to come speak at a university about his books,” DeLisle told the New York Times. “And he would tell them that everything he had to say was there on the page. So we would eat beans for another week.”
But McCarthy didn’t become a writer to make money, instead “maybe simply, because I can do it,” he told the Maryville-Alcoa Times, a Tennessee newspaper, in 1971. “There are a lot of easier ways to make money. I could sell tickets to people and let them watch while I was run over by a truck.”
His next novel, “Suttree,” was published in 1979. McCarthy was awarded the MacArthur Fellowship two years later, giving him financial security to focus on writing. McCarthy left DeLisle and used the money to abscond to the Southwest, where he spent the next several years steeped in research for “Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West,” published in 1985.
The historically based novel – widely regarded as McCarthy’s masterpiece – follows a brutal gang of scalp hunters as they journey across the Southwest, massacring Apache and members of the Mexican Army.
“All the Pretty Horses” was published in 1992 and was followed over years by “The Crossing” and “Cities of the Plain,” which together comprise “The Border Trilogy” – in all a more idyllic ode to the region that recounted the adventures of two young cowboys.
“No Country for Old Men” in 2005 received a less positive critical reception than McCarthy’s earlier novels, though its standing improved with time. The book, which the author began as a screenplay, did well as a movie under the direction of Joel and Ethan Coen, with the talents of Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin, as well as Javier Bardem as the fearsome but unforgettable killer Anton Chigurh, a role that won Bardem Academy Award for best supporting actor.
McCarthy’s attention turned away from the American West for 2006’s “The Road.” The book, dedicated to his then-young son – he had by then divorced and remarried again – was conceived on a trip to El Paso, Texas, he told Winfrey, as he looked out the hotel window one night.
“I just had this image of these fires up on the hill and everything being laid waste, and I thought a lot about my little boy,” he said, and wrote a couple pages. Revisiting the idea several years later, he realized those pages were the beginning of a book about a man and his son traveling through that ashen landscape while staving off the threat of cannibals.
The book wrote itself, he said, in a few weeks’ time.
The ensuing years were quiet ones, with little in the way of new material. By this time, McCarthy was spending much of his time at the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico, an independent research group of mostly scientists where he eventually became a lifetime trustee.
McCarthy, whose interest in the sciences was well-documented, enjoyed the company of the physicists, biologists and geologists at the institute, and it was there he was often seen writing on his Olivetti typewriter, working on his next novels, “The Passenger” and “Stella Maris,” released just six weeks apart in 2022.
The books dealt with the same story from different perspectives and featured a female main character as McCarthy’s dearth of well-developed women protagonists in his writing had long been a point of criticism. After being married three times, he told Oprah, “I don’t pretend to understand women.”
But he alluded to the twin novels and their story’s female protagonist in an interview with the Wall Street Journal in 2009, saying, “I was planning on writing about a woman for 50 years. I will never be competent enough to do so, but at some point you have to try.”
As for the lavish amounts of violence in his work, McCarthy told Vanity Fair in 2005 he didn’t know what resonated with him about that theme, only that he felt death was the principal motif at the heart of all our lives.
“Death is the major issue in the world. For you, for me, for all of us,” he said. “It just is. To not be able to talk about it is very odd.”
Kevin Costner and his wife of nearly 19 years, Christine Baumgartner, are divorcing, a representative for the actor said Tuesday.
“It is with great sadness that circumstances beyond his control have transpired which have resulted in Mr. Costner having to participate in a dissolution of marriage,” Costner’s publicist Arnold Robinson said in a statement.
Costner and Baumgartner, a model and handbag designer, began dating in 1998 before getting married at his Colorado ranch in 2004.
Actor Kevin Costner (L) and model Christine Baumgartner attend the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences’ 2014 Governors Awards at The Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center on November 8, 2014 in Hollywood, California.
Frazer Harrison, Getty Images
They have two sons, ages 14 and 15, and a 12-year-old daughter together.
It was the second marriage for Costner, 68, the Oscar and Emmy-winning star of TV’s “Yellowstone” and films including “Dances With Wolves,” “The Bodyguard” and “Bull Durham.”
Costner also has four adult children from previous relationships.
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After winning a best actress Oscar for her role in “Everything Everywhere All At Once” last month, Yeoh is preparing to step back into the Star Trek universe to reprise her role as Emperor Philippa Georgiou in the new “Star Trek: Section 31” movie.
Yeoh was first introduced as the character in 2017, when the Emmy-winning “Star Trek: Discovery” TV series debuted on Paramount+.
Paramount+ and CBS Studios announced the news on Tuesday. Yeoh will also serve as an executive producer on the project.
Yeoh said in a press release that she is “beyond thrilled” to reprise her role in the “Section 31” movie, which she says “has been near and dear to my heart since I began the journey of playing Philippa all the way back when this new golden age of ‘Star Trek’ launched.”
“To see her finally get her moment is a dream come true in a year that’s shown me the incredible power of never giving up on your dreams. We can’t wait to share what’s in store for you, and until then: live long and prosper (unless Emperor Georgiou decrees otherwise),” she continued.
It truly has been a year of dreams coming true for Yeoh, who made history as the first woman of Asian descent to win an Oscar in the best actress category in March. “Everything Everywhere All At Once” took home seven Oscars that night, including Yeoh’s big win and the top prize for best picture.
“Section 31” will showcase Yeoh’s character as she joins a secret division of Starfleet and is “tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets and faces the sins of her past,” according to an official synopsis.
“Star Trek: Section 31” will begin production later this year.
Welcome to Look Back At It, a monthly column where some of the most iconic Black actresses in Hollywood reminisce and reflect on the roles that made them stars. For this month’s installment, Mary J. Blige breaks down her career—from Mudbound and How to Get Away With Murder to her current Starz series, Power Book II: Ghost.
In 2018, the musician and actress Mary J. Blige became the first Black woman to be nominated in multiple categories in the same year at the Academy Awards. She earned two nominations for her work in Dee Rees’s Mudbound—one for Best Original Song and the other for Best Supporting Actress. “Those were complete surprises,” says Blige as she reflects on the moment. “I wasn’t even confident about my acting [at that time], but that let me know, ‘You can act.’”
Throughout her career, Blige has honed her skill while playing an array of iconic women like Dr. Betty Shabazz in Betty & Coretta and Dinah Washington in Respect. She’s also guest-starred on the popular television shows Black-ish, Empire, and How to Get Away With Murder. Now, she’s Monet Tejada, the fierce matriarch at the heart of Power Book II: Ghost.
“One thing that threads through all of my characters is that they’re all no-nonsense,” she says. “They’re all strong women. I have to play characters like that to be able to pull from a real place. Can I play a weak woman? Probably. But right now, this is what it is.”
Now, she’s setting her sights behind the camera. Her production company, Blue Butterfly, already has two movies with Lifetime, and she says there’s more to come. “Maybe I’ll direct one day, but I don’t know if I have the patience to deal with people,” Blige adds with a laugh.
Below, Blige takes us through her most iconic roles to share the deep friendships she’s made on set, the joys of acting with people she admires, and the ways she’s evolved onscreen.
Tanya in I Can Do Bad All By Myself (2009)
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Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself – trailer
“This was the first time that I officially met Taraji [P. Henson]. We acted together and then became friends. I Can Do Bad All By Myself reminds me of her and our friendship.”
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“I got to work with one of the most amazing actresses in the business and an amazing woman. I felt so proud and grateful to stand beside Angela Bassett while working on Betty & Coretta. She’s one of the best. I mean, she’s right there with Meryl Streep for me. I watched Angela transform her face and everything on this film. It was the most unbelievable thing to watch. I still go to her for inspiration.”
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Annalise Goes to the Hair Salon – How To Get Away With Murder
“It was an honor to do Viola Davis’s hair in How To Get Away With Murder, which was one of the biggest shows at the time. Being her hairstylist was crazy, but also amazing.”
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“Wow, what a historical moment. This was amazing on every level. I was completely caught off guard and surprised by how much the critics and the audience loved this film. And the Oscar nominations were a big surprise. Mudbound was challenging because I was going through so much in my life and was so insecure. And for the film, I had to peel back the things that were making me feel secure. You couldn’t wear weaves and you couldn’t wear lashes and you couldn’t wear nails. You had to have on old-timey clothes. I had be that person. That was a challenge because it kind of hurt my feelings a little bit, but it also gave me confidence in just looking like that. That’s who I am.”
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“I had a blast. The word fun comes to mind when I think about The Umbrella Academy. We lived in Canada for five months and I met some great people. And, of course, I learned how to shoot guns and do martial arts.”
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Power Book II: Ghost | Official Trailer | Season 3
“Now, I’m comfortable with just falling into [acting]. Monet has given me so much confidence and she’s one of my favorite roles that I’ve played. For this character, I have to visit dark places in my real life. I have to go back to those places and grab that stuff to get those emotions to Monet. But this show is so much fun. The cast is amazing. The writing is amazing. It’s a blessing. I’m just so grateful to Courtney [A. Kemp, the show’s creator] and 50 [Cent, the show’s producer].”
The team behind the global sensation “Naatu Naatu,” from the Indian film “RRR,” made history at the Academy Awards on Sunday by taking home the Oscar for best original song. It marked the first song ever from an Indian movie to win an Oscar.
The song was performed on stage at the ceremony — the first Indian song to get that opportunity since “Jai Ho” and “Oh Saya” from 2009 best picture winner “Slumdog Millionaire.”
While the “Naatu Naatu” performance was a big moment in representation for the South Asian community, and especially the South Indian and Telugu communities, there was one major issue: out of the 20 dancers on stage, none appeared to be of South Asian descent.
Dancers perform ‘Naatu Naatu’ from “RRR” onstage during the 95th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre on March 12, 2023 in Hollywood, California.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
South Asian creators have been critical of the performance on social media, slamming the Academy for having non-Indian duo Tabitha and Napoleon D’uomo, or NappyTabs, choreograph, direct and cast the performance, as well as oversee costume and set design.
The two leads from “RRR” — Telugu actors N.T. Rama Rao Jr., who also goes by Jr. NTR, and Ram Charan — declined to participate in the performance because of other commitments and a limited amount of time to rehearse, Oscars producer Raj Kapoor said in an interview published on the Academy’s website Tuesday. In an interview withThe Juggernaut ahead of the Oscars, Jr. NTR said the team didn’t want to take away from the attention the singers should be getting.
In the song that appears in the movie, Jr. NTR and Charan’s characters dance in front of Caucasian British colonists who say that the two are not sophisticated enough to dance. The characters proceed to put on a spectacular show with a dance native to their culture, impressing the women and angering the men who can’t keep up with their skill.
Both the song and the movie emphasize strong anti-colonial themes.
In the Oscars rendition, the two leads were played by American Jason Glover and Canadian Billy Mustapha, who were made to look like the two main characters of the movie, despite not being South Indian.
While the choreography and production teams made the ensemble cast more diverse by casting people of color in some of the “White” colonist roles, they failed to extend that representation to South Asians in the ensemble and lead roles, argued Shivani Reddy, a Telugu-American film and TV critic and TikTok content creator.
“I liked that they went a more diverse route, because the movie itself became this global phenomenon,” Reddy told CBS News. “It just felt very exclusionary that the one race they didn’t include was the one that was supposed to be represented because of the film and where it’s from.”
Reddy, who is a part of the South Asian dance scene in Los Angeles, said that South Asians are rarely represented in the arts, and that this performance would have been the perfect opportunity to give them that representation on Hollywood’s biggest stage.
“It’s unfortunate because there are so many South Asian dancers that I know that are in the industry trying to get into those spaces that just don’t get afforded those opportunities,” she said. “And for the one time that we maybe could have gotten access, we were denied.”
Joya Kazi, a professional dancer, choreographer, consultant and producer in Los Angeles, who is a member of both the Screen Actors Guild and the Television Academy, said her agent submitted her for consideration as a dancer or member of the production team for the Oscars’ “Naatu Naatu” performance. Her agent later told her that NappyTabs had decided not to audition or even consider dancers they had not worked with previously.
Kazi explained to CBS News that that is not an uncommon practice, and that she assumed the duo had decided to go with other South Asian performers for the performance. However, when she saw a now-deleted social media post from a friend and one of the “Naatu Naatu” Oscars dancers, Lauren Gottlieb, who has previously participated in Bollywood productions, she was surprised to see no one appeared to be South Asian on the crew.
Many of the dancers who ended up getting to perform were alums of “So You Think You Can Dance” — the show where NappyTabs gained popularity from being supervising choreographers.
“I felt weird about it, because I just had a feeling that maybe we’re not going to see any South Asians on stage,” Kazi said.
After watching the performance, the artist, who has worked on Hollywood sets like “Never Have I Ever,” felt it was a bittersweet moment. She said she was happy to see her friends performing on a massive stage, but that it was unfair of NappyTabs to skip over South Asian talent, especially in a song that comes directly from South Indian cinema and has lyrics about the merits of the “villagers’ dance.”
“It was just really disheartening,”Kazi said. “I feel as though NappyTabs really needs to just take a moment and acknowledge the fact that there was a misstep, and [that] they should have included someone from the culture.”
Heena Patel, a cultural strategist, consultant and producer in the South Asian performing arts community, told CBS News that Asian representation was at the forefront of the Oscars this year with big wins for films such as “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and “Elephant Whispers.” But, Patel said, the misrepresentation of the Indian community in the “Naatu Naatu” dance casting was hard to ignore.
“It’s just so unfortunate that this piece has now marred what really would have been a flawless execution of an evening with regards to diversity and equity,” Patel said. “If you don’t find people right away, it is on you to try harder, if it is a priority. [NappyTabs] chose the easy route.”
Reddy said another disappointing aspect of the performance was how little screen time the song’s actual singers received while performing at the Academy Awards.
“Of course, the dance is this huge reason why [“Naatu Naatu”] became a phenomenon,” she said. “But like Lady Gaga, and like Rihanna, the camera should have stayed on those singers, because that should have been the focal point of the performance.”
She added that the original choreographer, Prem Rakshith, while involved in the Oscars production according to the Academy, did not receive the recognition he deserved at the awards show for creating the viral steps.
In Kapoor’s interview published on the Oscar’s website, he explained the process of creating the “Naatu Naatu” dance for the Oscars stage, and said the team tried to involve Rakshith and the “RRR” team in India in order to capture the energy of the dance.
But Kazi said the explanation was not enough.
“I feel like it was an attempt to justify how this entire production came together,” she said. “And they completely failed to acknowledge the fact that they left out people of India, in trying to make this feel like it was like a global performance.”
“In a way, it’s this very calm public gaslighting, where they’re just making it seem as though there was no issue,” she added.
Divya Jethwani, a music manager, co-founder of a music label, dancer and choreographer who has worked with Indian Canadian artist Tesher, especially on his hit “Jalebi Baby,” told CBS News that it is important to recognize that the way Indians in India perceived this performance may be different than the way Indians in America perceived it.
“People in India don’t think that there’s anything wrong with this. The reason behind that is because they are just so happy to see the song being performed on an Oscar stage. To them that is representation,” Jethwani said. “But to people here who like literally haven’t seen themselves represented on the big screen … it’s like it is a big deal because we don’t get those opportunities. We don’t get to celebrate our culture on these big screens.”
Reddy said aside from the casting issue, there should have been more context provided about the culture from which the film originated.
“There’s just improvements that could have been made to better represent the culture, and the industry in which the movie came from,” she said. “There was largely no information really about the Telugu film industry, or Tollywood.”
In fact, Kazi, Patel, Jethwani and Reddy all pointed out how Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel referred to “RRR” as a Bollywood production, which is usually a Hindi-language movie, rather than a Tollywood production, a Telugu-language movie.
Jethwani said that in the future, when dealing with a specific culture, it’s up to the industry to select the right people to make decisions like casting.
“You put up a person that has the cultural competency and understands the nuances of the culture in that position of power. And then beyond that, that’ll serve your casting,” Jethwani said. “You need to start at the top. Creatives can’t be helped if there’s nobody to help them in that position.”
Despite the flaws, the performance had some bright spots too, Patel said.
“Great job on having not just an Indian person introduce the song, but a South Indian person, with Deepika Padukone,” she said. “The choreographers, Napoleon and Tabitha, involving Prem Rakshith, who was the original choreographer of the film, in this piece…great job, spot on.”
The Telugu-language song was written by Chandrabose and sung by Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava, and the music was made by M.M. Keeravani. Jr. NTR and Ram Charan, who both primarily work in Telugu cinema, starred in “RRR” and performed the viral dance in the movie.
The “kuthu” style song, with its contagious dance and rhythm and important anti-colonialist themes, managed to beat out stiff competition at the awards show, including Rihanna’s “Lift Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and Lady Gaga’s “Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick.”
CBS News reached out to NappyTabs for comment but did not immediately get a response. We also reached out to the Academy, which referred us to the interview with Kapoor mentioned above.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Michelle Yeoh’s mother cried for joy for her “little princess” when the Malaysian performer became the first Asian to win the best actress Oscar.
Yeoh’s family and two Cabinet ministers were among the supporters roaring with joy at Yeoh’s win during a special Academy Awards viewing party in Malaysia on Monday morning. Her trophy for her performance as a laundromat owner was one of seven Oscars for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” including best picture.
Janet Yeoh, 84, praised the actor as intelligent and hardworking and a filial daughter.
“I so love my daughter and she has made Malaysia proud,” Yeoh told a news conference after the viewing at a cinema in Kuala Lumpur. “Malaysia Boleh (Malaysia Can)!”
Janet Yeoh said she was immensely proud of “my little princess,” who wanted to be a ballerina before entering the movie world. Yeoh said she pushed her daughter out of her cocoon despite protests from her late husband, a lawyer whom she described as “old-fashioned.”
In her acceptance speech, Yeoh dedicated her award to her mother and said “all the moms in the world” were the real superheroes.
Shortly after, Yeoh made a video call to her mom, holding up her trophy in triumph.
“It was such a jaw-dropping moment. I was speechless, I cried,” said Vicki Yeoh, Michelle Yeoh’s niece, who was at the special viewing. “The nominees are really strong, but we had no doubt. We keep telling her that you will win … you will stand on the stage with the golden man.”
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Malaysia’s government joined the nation to congratulate Yeoh for creating history.
“Coupled with this achievement, Michelle’s illustrious and exemplary career in this field will certainly continue to be a source of great inspiration and motivation to our homegrown actors and actresses and provide even greater impetus to the growth of our local industry,” Anwar said in a statement. “Way to go, Michelle!”
Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh, who was at the viewing, immediately posted on social media: “Most inspiring quote for all of us aunties – ‘Ladies, don’t let anybody ever tell you that you are past your prime’ – Michelle Yeoh.”
Lawmakers Sim Tze Sin and Wee Ka Siong thanked Michelle Yeoh for “breaking glass ceilings” for Asian and Malaysian women. They praised her for being an icon for resilience and perseverance.
Michelle Yeoh, 60, learned ballet before turning to acting. Her first major Hollywood role was playing a Chinese spy in the Bond film “Tomorrow Never Dies” in 1997 alongside Pierce Brosnan.
She gained renown for her role in the 2000 martial arts masterpiece “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” a best-picture nominee that won the Oscar for best foreign language film.
Yeoh had more recent success in the 2018 movie “Crazy Rich Asians” and Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” in 2021.
“We are incredibly proud. We hope she goes to break more records and win more awards,” her nephew Kelvin Yeoh said.
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See more AP Academy Awards coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/academy-awards
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” took home the top prize and several other award winners made history. Entertainment Tonight’s Kevin Frazier takes a look at the key moments from the 2023 Oscars.
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Ruth E. Carter made history at the Oscars when she became the first Black woman to win her second Academy Award.
Carter, 62, took home the Oscar for best costume design for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” She had previously won an Oscar for best costume design for the first Black Panther movie in 2019.
In her acceptance speech Sunday night, she dedicated the victory to her late mother, Mabel Carter, who died recently, and called upon late actor Chadwick Boseman to look after her.
“Thank you to the Academy for recognizing the superhero that is a Black woman. She endures. She loves. She overcomes. She is every woman in this film. She is my mother. This past week Mabel Carter became an ancestor. This film prepared me for this moment. Chadwick, please take care of mom.”
Following her speech, she further reflected on her win and her place in history as the first Black woman to win two Oscars in the 95-year history of the award show.
“I wanted to be a costume designer,” she told reporters. “I studied. I scraped. I dealt with adversity in the industry that sometimes didn’t look like me and I endured. I feel that this win opens the door for other young costume designers that may not think that this industry is for them and hopefully they’ll see me, and they’ll see my story and they’ll think they can win an Oscar, too.”
Ruth E. Carter, winner of the Oscar for Best Costume Design for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” poses at the 95th Annual Academy Awards.
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images
Carter has also been nominated for “Malcolm X” in 1992 and “Amistad” in 1997. She joins four other Black winners who have at least two Oscars — a list that includes actors Denzel Washington and Mahershala Ali and audio engineers Willie D. Burton and Russell Williams II.
Sunday night’s Academy Awards also featured a history-making win for Michelle Yeoh, who became the first actress of Southeast Asian descent to win the Academy Award for best actress.
“Right before this night started, Corey Feldman, one of my ‘Goonies’ brothers, called,” said Quan, mentioning other cast members from the 1985 movie who spoke to him ahead of the ceremony.
“We are always bonded. We’re family forever. Goonies never say die!” added Quan.
Ke Huy Quan, winner of the Oscar for best actor in a supporting role for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” attends the Vanity Fair 95th Oscars Party in Beverly Hills, California, on March 12, 2023.
MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images
Quan’s first role as a child actor was as Short Round in the 1984 film “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.” Just a year later, he played Data in “The Goonies.”
But by the early 2000s, despite his childhood successes, acting roles were few and far between, and he shifted to working behind the scenes.
With “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” he finally got an opportunity to give acting another shot, and it paid off.
As Quan cried Sunday night while accepting his first Academy Award, former “Goonies” stars posted fond memories, words of encouragement and more — more than 35 years after the movie brought them together.
From left to right: Jeff Cohen, Sean Astin, Corey Feldman and Ke Huy Quan in a scene from the film “Goonies,” 1985.
Michael Ochs Archives / Stringer / Getty Images
Sean Astin, who played Mikey alongside Quan in the comedic adventure film, wrote on Twitter, “always with dignity, grace, loyalty, hope, joy & inspiration…. A forever moment Ke… I’m so happy, proud and over the moon… CONGRATULATIONS. Well earned!!!!”
He then posted a photo of Quan in the 1992 film “Encino Man,” with the caption reading, “Never a doubt…”
“MY GOONIE BROTHER KE HUY QUAN JUST WON THE OSCAR GOLD LIKE I SAID HE WOULD! CUZ HE DESERVES IT! NOT JUST 4 A FANTASTIC PERFORMANCE IN EEAAO BUT 4 THE PERSEVERANCE OF FOLLOWING HIS DREAM & NEVER GIVING UP!” wrote Corey Feldman, who played Mouth in the film.
He also posted video of himself and others reacting to Quan’s win, even shedding tears of pride for his former co-star.
Entertainment lawyer Jeff B. Cohen, who played Chunk in “Goonies,” also congratulated Quan on Twitter, writing, “Kudos to the Iconic Michelle Yeoh 楊紫瓊 and my Brother, Ke Huy Quan, on their remarkable and well deserved Oscar Wins,” alongside photos of himself with the two actors at the Academy Awards.
Whenever I watch an awards ceremony for the “biggest names in Hollywood,” I regret tuning in about 30 minutes in. It sounds like a great idea to watch The Oscars in theory, but in practice, it’s more agonizing than a low-scoring football game. Last night’s 95th Annual Academy Awards hosted by Jimmy Kimmel held us hostage and threatened to go on for almost four hours.
This year, we were faced with the cold, hard truth: every celeb we know and love is on Ozempic. And Nicole Kidman will forever give us a meme even if she doesn’t speak.
The Winners
The worst part about these award shows is that you know who’s going to win. Everything, Everywhere, All At Once was going for a sweep of their 11 Oscar nominations, so why do I have to watch everyone, everywhere, all at once make a five minute speech? Seems borderline criminal.
The first award of the night was given to Best Supporting Actress, with EEAO having two nominees in Jamie Lee Curtis and Stephanie Hsu, alongside a roster of talent in Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) and Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin). Controversially, or maybe not, Jamie Lee won.
A24’s multiverse EEAO became the most awarded filem of all time, winning Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Leading Actress with Michelle Yeoh becoming the first Asian actress to win. I was on the edge of my seat for one of the closer races of the night, Best Leading Actor. With names like Austin Butler (Elvis), Brendan Fraser (The Whale), Colin Farrell (Banshees), Paul Mescal (Aftersun), and Bill Nighy (Living), Fraser ended up taking home the Best Leading Actor award.
Believe me, between Ke Huy Quan and Brendan Fraser’s speeches, not a dry eye was in the house.
The Drama
It wouldn’t be The Oscars without drama. So let’s dig in. Starting with the red carpet – which was actually champagne colored and very ugly this year – we had Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Graham doing interviews. There was a very clear opportunity for millions of TikTok clips if you would have let Baby V interview ex-boyfriend and permanent Elvis stand-in, Austin Butler, but no. Of course not.
Ashley Graham instead interviewed Hugh Grant for quite possibly the most awkward interview of all time. Hugh Grant all but refused to answer questions, even calling The Oscars “Vanity Fair,” to which Graham responds “Vanity Fair is where you’ll be letting loose later.” The whole thing made me sick to my stomach.
And does anyone else feel bad that we keep inviting Rihanna to perform “Lift Me Up” at these shows and then she doesn’t win the award? I think adding her and A$AP Rocky to the audience brings added style and attractiveness that would otherwise lack without them – so maybe give her an award to keep her coming back?
We also have Jamie Lee Curtis’s controversial win as one of the only white women nominated in her category. And while I agree Angela Bassett did the thing both in her performance in Black Panther and her outfit last night, it’s hard to get mad at an actress for winning an award the Academy designated for her. Blame The Academy, not the women.
This year’s major cringe wasn’t a slap, but rather Jimmy Kimmel asking activist Malala Yousafzai if she thought Harry Styles really spit on Chris Pine. After she proceeds to say she only talks about peace, Kimmel nicknamed her Malala-land. Again, just gauge my eyes out at this point.
And for those wondering about hookups, Bad Bunny and Kendall Jenner were seen together at Jay-Z and Beyonce’s afterparty. Also in attendance? Gigi Hadid and Leonardo DiCaprio. Do with that information what you will.
The Style
Perhaps my favorite part of the night: the clothes. Some of my favorite looks of the night were as follows:
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Michelle Yeoh and Angela Bassett locked in a long embrace, their bare, muscle-bound arms wrapped around each other. They whispered, laughed and squealed with glee as nearly every phone in the vicinity came out to take photos.
Vanity Fair’s annual post- Oscars party was full of such moments of warmth and joy as Sunday night led into Monday morning after a drama-free Academy Awards, with none of the head-shaking heaviness that hung over last year’s post-slap edition.
Yeoh, whose best actress Oscar was one of seven on a dominant night for “ Everything Everywhere All at Once,” had just walked into the party and was swarmed by well-wishers and selfie-seekers before seeing Bassett, who hadn’t looked happy when she lost best supporting actress to Yeoh’s castmate Jamie Lee Curtis but was all smiles here.
Yeoh later grasped her Oscar as she rocked back and forth to the Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me” at the edge of the dance floor, though it was hard to do much dancing with all the attention she was getting.
Brendan Fraser got the same treatment when he walked in holding his best actor Oscar for “The Whale” shortly before Yeoh, making his way very slowly across the room amid constant congratulations.
Half of the directing duo behind “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Daniel Scheinert, with none of the three Oscars he won Sunday night nor his partner Daniel Kwan in sight, stood outside and ate an In-N-Out burger, the party’s traditional meal, as he bopped up and down to House of Pain’s “Jump Around.”
“Finally getting some dinner,” Scheinert said as a long night, and an even longer awards season, neared its end. “This is nice.”
The champagne-soaked affair, which begins as a viewing party for 100 people and grows into the night’s most sought-after invitation, is thrown in a space that connects the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts with Beverly Hills City Hall and is hosted by Vanity Fair editor Radhika Jones.
It’s always also full of far-less-famous folks holding Oscars, winners in categories including best documentary short, who get an automatic invite with their statuette.
Oscar night is just beginning for many stars once the ceremony itself ends, and the first stop is always the Governors Ball, just an escalator ride up from the Dolby Theatre in the Ovation Hollywood complex.
Winners go with one main objective: getting their Oscars engraved with their names, which this year was in plain sight of the party. Others take the chance to get a bite to eat of the Wolfgang Puck-prepared bites. Harrison Ford even made a quick loop around the room.
Here, too, the mood couldn’t have been more different from the year prior, when the slap cast a pallor on the celebration. This time around, the winners could simply focus on their own moment.
“ Navalny ” director Daniel Roher took his newly personalized best documentary feature Oscar with him to wait in line for prime rib. Sarah Polley followed, bounding her way up the stairs with her adapted screenplay Oscar in hand.
It was relatively calm until Curtis made her way to the platform and photographers clamored to snap pictures.
When Ke Huy Quan finally appeared to get his best supporting actor statuette personalized, he hammed it up for the cameras, pumping his fist and pointing toward the word “Oscars” emblazoned on the screen above him.
“The Whale” playwright and screenwriter Samuel D. Hunter was still processing the fact that Fraser not only won, but name-checked him in his acceptance speech.
“We set our expectations low, so it was incredible,” Hunter said. His husband standing at his side added, “He was totally crying.”
Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel meanwhile was waylaid outside of the main party, chatting with “Top Gun: Maverick” director Joseph Kosinski and “The Whale” director Darren Aronofsky. Judd Hirsch also made his way to Kimmel, who was in good spirits standing next to his wife and producer, Molly McNearney, as he sipped red wine.
“I thought it was a good show,” screenwriter Tony Kushner said on his way out. “I thought Jimmy Kimmel did great.”
Brian Tyree Henry snapped a photo with Troy Kotsur, who won a best supporting actor award for his role in “CODA” at last year’s Oscars, on his way out the door, leaving Kotsur free a few moments later to run after Michelle Williams. When she stopped and turned around, Kotsur complimented Williams on bringing such authenticity to her role in “The Fabelmans.”
“Thank you so much,” she said. “That’s exactly what we wanted to do.”
By 9:30, some were ready to go. Hugh Grant pointed to the exit and, separately, Sigourney Weaver wasn’t far behind. Vanity Fair was underway already, after all, and a drive away. Grant would be sipping champagne there soon after. Weaver, Kimmel and Hirsch soon followed.
“The Fabelmans” director and Hollywood royalty Steven Spielberg made a rare, and brief, party appearance. He was greeted and embraced by Ariana DeBose, who won an Oscar last year for his “West Side Story.”
The fame, and fortune, of the Vanity Fair party goes well beyond Hollywood.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and partner Lauren Sanchez traded hugs, posed for photos and suggested travel plans with Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson and wife Ciara.
Tennis great John McEnroe, his wife, singer Patty Smyth, and actor and screenwriter Mindy Kaling chatted and stood for their own photos across the room.
Outside on the smoky patio, Andrew Garfield and Seth Rogen shouted to each other over the pumping music from the nearby dance floor, and Rogen let loose his unmistakable laugh. Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai strolled up to say hi soon after.
Yeoh and Fraser, best actress and best actor, ran into each other in the valet area outside the party and had one last warm hug at the end of a triumphant awards season for both that had the happiest of endings.
Both were still getting constant kudos and requests for photos as they climbed into their cars and were whisked away.
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AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr reported from Los Angeles. Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ldbahr. Follow AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton
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For more coverage of this year’s Oscars, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/academy-awards
Triangle of Sadness never stood a chance as a major Oscar contender, of course. And as a skewering of the rich and a society that worships them, it was certainly not going to topple the likes of Everything Everywhere All At Once. Which, say what you will about it, is not some kind of “love letter” to moms (in the spirit of the 1942 children’s book, Runaway Bunny) or “ordinary people,” so much as a thinly-veiled push to accept your fate—no matter how mediocre—make the most of it and, obviously, never try to outsmart/dodge the IRS. Even though it seems like one ought to be able to mentally maneuver around somebody as toady as Deirdre Beaubeirdra (Jamie Lee Curtis, who swept up an Oscar for her part in the movie as well), Kafka long ago made it clear that bureaucracy always triumphs. And so do schmaltzy movies at the Oscars—regardless of such movies being masked as “profound” and “rooted in realism.”
That “realism” begins when Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh) is confronted at the IRS office by Alpha-Waymond (Ke Huy Quan), another version of her husband from the multiverse. But it’s difficult to focus on what Alpha-Waymond is saying to her about the collapse of every universe while the “voice of reason” throughout the film, Deirdre, a star IRS agent (with the butt plug-shaped Auditor of the Month awards to prove it), keeps trying to bring Evelyn back to “reality,” whatever that means. But to Deirdre, it means reminding this non-taxpayer that “hobbies” are not businesses, and that Evelyn is going to be in some serious trouble if she doesn’t get her story straight with regard to her tax return “narrative.” Notably, Everything Everywhere All at Once’s major sweep of the Oscars comes just in time for tax season—how fucking convenient is that, as Cardi B would say. Because yes, amid all the smokescreens about nihilism and how “nothing matters,” the Daniels (Kwan and Scheinert) ultimately seem to want to remind viewers that nothing is ever so chaotic in any universe as to excuse away not correctly filling out and filing a tax return.
In truth, the only way to gauge whether or not a bona fide apocalypse has occurred is if people stop paying their taxes and are able to “get away with it.” This tending to refer to something like a The Last of Us scenario wherein it’s irrefutably true that nothing matters, save for basic survival (thanks to the 28 Days Theory on Humans Enduring for No Good Reason Other Than It’s Encoded Within Them). Or, in the instance of Triangle of Sadness, you find yourself in a Lord of the Flies situation, stranded on a deserted island. That’s when humanity in its most unbridled form reveals itself. But naturally, the Academy doesn’t likely care to remind viewers of such “ugly” realities, like “buying sex with the common food” as Abigail (Dolly de Lion) does in her newfound role as leader.
In contrast, while she was a cleaner on a 250-million-dollar yacht, Abigail was “valueless.” In the rough of the wild, however, her skills (what the Daniels would bill as being part of “competency porn”) are worth everything to the passengers that now depend on her for survival. Paula (Vicki Berlin), the head of staff on the yacht, makes the mistake of trying to treat Abigail the same way she does on the boat, having the gall to ask her after Abigail does all the work to finagle them a fish dinner, “Why do you get so much food? Why?” This question forces Abigail, The Little Red Hen of the outfit, to spell it out by explaining, “I caught the fish, I made the fire, I cooked. I did all the work, and everybody got something.” In capitalist existence, this is simply called a laborer. In Lord of the Flies existence, this is called running shit and everyone else without any viable skills can shut the fuck up.
When Yaya (Charlbi Dean), the proverbial hot model/influencer of the yacht’s remaining passengers, ends up hiking with Abigail over a mountain to find that they’re actually on an island that houses a bougie resort, the look on Abigail’s face is one of sheer disappointment. She doesn’t want to go back to how it used to be. To the existence, or “universe,” as Everything Everywhere All at Once would bill it, where she’s a lowly peon whose skills are rendered useless again now that money as the sole source of clout has reentered the equation. In Everything Everywhere All at Once, the Daniels attempt to lift up the working class by spotlighting them as the “real superheroes” in this world. Of course, what would be far more uplifting to them is if they were paid accordingly. Not given some propaganda about accepting how shitty things are and, by the way, keep paying your taxes.
Perhaps the vastly opposing messages of each film, with Everything Everywhere All at Once disguised as something it’s not, proves that the only side people want to see of themselves is the rose-colored one. With “normal” Waymond saying such dialogue as, “The only thing I do know is that we have to be kind.” A more debonair Waymond in the universe where Evelyn is a film star and didn’t up marrying him finds her telling Waymond how bleak it would have been if she had opted for a life with him. As he leaves, Waymond ripostes, “In another life, I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you.”
This is what finally warms Evelyn’s heart back up to Waymond in the universe where they do just that, turning her back on the darkness that Jobu Tupaki a.k.a. her daughter, Joy (Stephanie Hsu), has infected Evelyn with on her journey through the multiverse. Although it seems like Joy might have won with her darkness (and the everything bagel that encompasses it), Evelyn chooses to employ Waymond’s combat style of “killing with kindness” (it was a grave error that Selena Gomez’s “Kill ‘Em With Kindness” was not used at any point during this scene). This, in turn, leads laundromat owner Evelyn to not let her daughter go even though she asks to be.
Chasing after Joy outside the laundromat, Evelyn explains that she would rather be in this universe with Joy over any other. Joy counters, “[But] here all we get are a few specks of time where any of this actually makes sense.” Needless to say, Joy isn’t referring only to the literal way in which she and her mother have a tendency to tune their being into different universes, but the way in which none of life really makes sense to any of us. Except for those rare moments of clarity we’re meant to get by being surrounded with loved ones and friends during those precious, errant hours of time off from work. Work is what people do, after all, in order to support those around them. Including institutions that profit from (usually underpaid) labor. Especially the IRS.
“Then I will cherish these few specks of time,” Evelyn assures. As though to say that we all should do the same with vacation weeks and “leisure hours” spent recovering from the horrors of working so that said wage can be gutted like a fucking fish by the government. To act like the Daniels aren’t complicit in perpetuating this inherently flawed cycle, they have Joy announce at the end, “Taxes suck.” But, clearly, you still have to do them if you want to be considered a Viable Member of Society (meaning, ultimately, a law-abiding one—laws being a social construct created by—ding! ding! ding!—the government a.k.a. the rich people that control it).
Incidentally, the final line of the movie consists of Evelyn inquiring, “Sorry, what did you say?” It’s an appropriate question for those viewers who thought that they had heard something infinitely wise and profound when, at the core of Everything Everywhere All at Once is the longstanding societal reiteration that you must do your taxes and honor the family unit. Not just by never abandoning it, but by making sure that the same “beliefs” are imparted down the generational line. In other words, of course this would get the Academy hard as a rock compared to something as “Eat the Rich” in sentiment as the aforementioned Triangle of Sadness.
LOS ANGELES — Ke Huy Quan had mostly disappeared from Hollywood for over two decades, dispirited by the lack of on-camera work for Asian Americans. He returned in a big way, winning the supporting actor Oscar to cap an inspiring comeback story.
Quan accepted the trophy Sunday night for his role in “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” becoming just the second Asian winner ever in the supporting actor category, joining Haing S. Ngor for “The Killing Fields” in 1984.
As his name was announced, Quan rose and hugged co-stars Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis, who won supporting actress honors after him. He clasped his hands to his mouth.
“My mom is 84 years old and she’s at home watching,” Quan said. “Mom, I just won an Oscar!”
An emotional Quan kissed his statue repeatedly and sniffled into the microphone on stage after receiving a standing ovation. Presenter Ariana DeBose was in tears.
“My journey started on a boat. I spent a year in a refugee camp and somehow I ended up here on Hollywood’s biggest stage,” he said. “They say stories like this only happen in the movies. I can’t believe this is happening to me. This is the American dream.”
As a child actor, Quan followed his manager’s advice to adopt an Americanized name, so he went by Jonathan Ke Quan.
“When I decided to get back into acting three years ago, the very first thing I wanted to do was to go back to my birth name,” he said backstage. “To see Ariana open that envelope and say Ke Huy Quan, it was so emotional.”
Quan rode a huge wave of momentum into the Oscars, having won every major award except the BAFTA. Quan endeared himself during acceptance speeches as much as he did in his winning performance. He used his position to encourage other struggling actors that one day they also will find success.
Along the awards show trail, the enormously likeable Quan compiled a photo album for the ages as he posed for selfies with everyone from Tom Cruise to directors James Cameron and Steven Spielberg. It seemed anyone famous was happy to smile or make funny faces alongside Quan.
The Vietnam-born actor whose family immigrated to California in the late 1970s first gained attention as a pre-teen in the hugely popular 1980s movies “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and “The Goonies.” He went on to roles in the TV show “Head of the Class” and the movie “Encino Man” (starring fellow Oscar nominee Brendan Fraser ) in the early 1990s before work dried up.
Finding few on-camera opportunities, Quan turned elsewhere. He earned a film degree from the University of Southern California and worked behind the scenes as a stunt coordinator and assistant director.
“I owe everything to the love of my life, my wife Echo,” he said, “who month after month, year after year for 20 years told me that one day, one day my time will come. Dreams are something you have to believe in. I almost gave up on mine. To all of you out there, please keep your dreams alive.”
Inspired by the success of the 2018 movie “Crazy Rich Asians,” Quan returned to acting and landed an audition for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which earned a leading 11 Oscar nominations. His former “Goonies” co-star, Jeff Cohen, serves as his lawyer who drew up the contract for his Oscar-winning role.
“Thank you to my ‘Goonies’ brother for life, Jeff Cohen,” Quan said.
Now, people stop him to talk about a movie he made as a grown-up, “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
As Waymond Wang, Quan appears in three different incarnations in the critically acclaimed film. He won a Golden Globe and became the first Asian man to win an individual category at the SAG Awards.
Quan won the Oscar over fellow nominees Brendan Gleeson and Barry Keoghan of “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Brian Tyree Henry of “Causeway” and Judd Hirsch of “The Fabelmans.”
During a commercial break, Quan said he ran up to Spielberg, who gave Quan his first big break by casting him in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.” They hugged.
“He said, ‘Ke, you are now an Oscar-winning actor,’” Quan said. “Hearing him say that meant the world to me and I still cannot believe it.”
He had another reunion on stage after “Everything Everywhere All at Once” was announced as best picture by Harrison Ford, Quan’s co-star in “Indiana Jones.”
The 51-year-old Quan is set to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series “Loki” on Disney+.
However, he’s in search of more work. Quan recalled years ago calling his agent every three and six months asking if there were any jobs for him only to be told no.
“First thing tomorrow I’m going to call my agent,” he said. “Hopefully, he’ll give me a different answer.”
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For more coverage of this year’s Academy Awards, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/academy-awards
LOS ANGELES — Ke Huy Quan had mostly disappeared from Hollywood for over two decades, dispirited by the lack of on-camera work for Asian Americans. He returned in a big way, winning the supporting actor Oscar to cap an inspiring comeback story.
Quan accepted the trophy Sunday night for his role in “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” becoming just the second Asian winner ever in the supporting actor category, joining Haing S. Ngor for “The Killing Fields” in 1984.
As his name was announced, Quan rose and hugged co-stars Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis, who won supporting actress honors after him. He clasped his hands to his mouth.
“My mom is 84 years old and she’s at home watching,” Quan said. “Mom, I just won an Oscar!”
An emotional Quan kissed his statue repeatedly and sniffled into the microphone on stage after receiving a standing ovation. Presenter Ariana DeBose was in tears.
“My journey started on a boat. I spent a year in a refugee camp and somehow I ended up here on Hollywood’s biggest stage,” he said. “They say stories like this only happen in the movies. I can’t believe this is happening to me. This is the American dream.”
Quan rode a huge wave of momentum into the Oscars, having won every major award except the BAFTA. Quan endeared himself during acceptance speeches as much as he did in his winning performance. He used his position to encourage other struggling actors that one day they also will find success.
Along the awards show trail, the enormously likeable Quan compiled a photo album for the ages as he posed for selfies with everyone from Tom Cruise to directors James Cameron and Steven Spielberg. It seemed anyone famous was happy to smile or make funny faces alongside Quan.
The Vietnam-born actor whose family immigrated to California in the late 1970s first gained attention as a pre-teen in the hugely popular 1980s movies “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and “The Goonies.” He went on to roles in the TV show “Head of the Class” and the movie “Encino Man” (starring fellow Oscar nominee Brendan Fraser ) in the early 1990s before work dried up.
Finding few on-camera opportunities, Quan turned elsewhere. He earned a film degree from the University of Southern California and worked behind the scenes as a stunt coordinator and assistant director.
“I owe everything to the love of my life, my wife Echo,” he said, “who month after month, year after year for 20 years told me that one day, one day my time will come. Dreams are something you have to believe in. I almost gave up on mine. To all of you out there, please keep your dreams alive.”
Inspired by the success of the 2018 movie “Crazy Rich Asians,” Quan returned to acting and landed an audition for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which earned a leading 11 Oscar nominations. His former “Goonies” co-star, Jeff Cohen, serves as his lawyer who drew up the contract for his Oscar-winning role.
“Thank you to my ‘Goonies’ brother for life, Jeff Cohen,” Quan said.
Now, people stop him to talk about a movie he made as a grown-up, “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
As Waymond Wang, Quan appears in three different incarnations in the critically acclaimed film. He won a Golden Globe and became the first Asian man to win an individual category at the SAG Awards.
The 51-year-old Quan is busy juggling new roles, including joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe series “Loki” on Disney+.
Quan won the Oscar over fellow nominees Brendan Gleeson and Barry Keoghan of “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Brian Tyree Henry of “Causeway” and Judd Hirsch of “The Fabelmans.”
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LOS ANGELES — Brendan Fraser won the best-actor Oscar for “The Whale,” a transformative role in which he revived a career that was once so bright.
“I started in this business 30 years ago and things didn’t come easily to me,” said an emotional Fraser, breathing heavily on stage Sunday night. “I just want to say thank you for this acknowledgement.”
Fraser was one of five first-time nominees in the category, the first time that had happened since 1935. Fraser beat out Austin Butler of “Elvis,” Colin Farrell of “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Paul Mescal of “Aftersun,” and Bill Nighy of “Living.”
Fraser figures the role of Charlie, a 600-pound reclusive gay English teacher who tries to restore his relationship with his teenage daughter, found him at the perfect time.
Any earlier in his career and Fraser has said he wouldn’t have had the life experience or heartache to authentically play a character who lives with sadness, pain and life-threatening obesity.
“I think it’s a film that’s going to change some hearts and minds, and that feels really good,” he said backstage.
Fraser’s portrayal earned him standing ovations at film festivals in Venice and Toronto, and the early praise continued building through the fall and winter. In addition to receiving the best reviews of his career, he earned a SAG Award for his performance. Along the way, he’s given emotional acceptance speeches, unafraid to cry at times.
His eyes were rimmed red as he clutched his Oscar in one hand, clearly moved by the reaction from his Hollywood peers.
“This has been incredibly rewarding and affirming,” he said backstage, “and it’s given me a lesson in humility and gratitude.”
It’s a career comeback, which Hollywood has always loved.
The 54-year-old American Canadian actor broke out in the early 1990s with the comedy “Encino Man” and the drama “School Ties.” He was the face on movie posters for “George of the Jungle” and “The Mummy” trilogy, where he worked with fellow Oscar nominee Michelle Yeoh. He did dramatic turns in “Gods and Monsters,” “The Quiet American” and 2006 best-picture winner “Crash.”
He had his share of projects that bombed, too.
Then Fraser all but disappeared.
He was off the big screen for several years dealing with a series of personal issues involving divorce, his mother’s death, health problems and an alleged assault by the then-president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. He boycotted this year’s Golden Globes as a result.
He regained career momentum with a series of cable TV shows before appearing in director Steven Soderbergh’s movie “No Sudden Move” two years ago.
Now, he owns one of the biggest prizes in movies.
“I hope I live up to this,” he said.
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Actors Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors showed support for actress Angela Bassett after she lost out to Jamie Lee Curtis in the best supporting actress category at the 95th Academy Awards on Sunday night.
“Hey auntie,” Jordan started off as he and Majors took the stage to present the award for best cinematography. The words were a direct reference to 2018’s “Black Panther,” in which Jordan’s character Killmonger said the exact same thing to Basset, who plays Ramonda.
A win by Basset, who was nominated for her role in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” would have been the first Academy Award for an acting role in a Marvel movie. This was Basset’s second Oscar nomination.
The actress received her first nomination for best supporting actress nearly three decades ago for her performance as Tina Turner in the 1993 biopic “What’s Love Got To Do With It.”
Leading up to the 95th Academy Awards, Basset reflected on her career and opened up to “CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King about her shocking loss in 1994.
“In the moment … you’re hoping, and praying, and wishing, but I don’t walk away thinking ‘I’ve been robbed,’” Bassett said. “That’s too negative of an emotion to carry with me for the rest of my life.”
Though worlds away from Oscar bait, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s anarchic ballet of everything bagels, googly-eyed rocks and one messy tax audit emerged as an improbable Academy Awards heavyweight. The indie hit, A24’s second best-picture winner following “Moonlight,” won seven Oscars in all.
Fifty years after “The Godfather” won at the Oscars, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” triumphed with a much different immigrant experience. Its eccentric tale about a Chinese immigrant family — just the second feature by the Daniels, as the filmmaking duo is known — blended science fiction and alternate realities in the story of an ordinary woman and laundromat owner.
“Everything Everywhere,” released all the way back in March 2022, helped revive arthouse cinemas after two years of pandemic, racking up more than $100 million in ticket sales. And despite initially scant expectations of Oscar glory, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” toppled both blockbusters (“Top Gun: Maverick,” “Avatar: The Way of Water”) and critical darlings (“Tar,” “The Banshees of Inisherin”).
Yeoh became the first Asian woman to win best actress, taking the award for her lauded performance in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” The 60-year-old Malaysian-born Yeoh won her first Oscar for a performance that relied as much on her comic and dramatic chops as it did her kung fu skills. She’s the first best actress win for a non-white actress in 20 years.
Michelle Yeoh at the 95th Annual Academy Awards held at Dolby Theatre on March 12, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Rich Polk/Variety via Getty Images
“Ladies, don’t let anyone ever tell you you’re past your prime,” said Yeoh, who received a raucous standing ovation.
Yeoh dedicated the award to her mom and “all the moms in the world.”
“They are really the superheroes, and without them, none of us would be here tonight,” she said, echoing director Kwan, who also thanked moms in one of his acceptance speeches.
In winning best director, the Daniels — both 35 years old — won for just their second and decidedly un-Oscar bait feature. They’re just the third directing pair to win the award, following Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins (“West Side Story”) and Joel and Ethan Coen (“No Country for Old Men”). Scheinert dedicated the award “to the moms of the world.”
Best actor went to Brendan Fraser, culminating the former action star’s return to center stage for his physical transformation as a 600-lb. reclusive professor in “The Whale.” The best-actor race had been one of the closest contests of the night, but Fraser in the end edged Austin Butler.
Brendan Fraser at the 95th Annual Academy Awards held at Dolby Theatre on March 12, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Rich Polk/Variety via Getty Images
“So this is what the multiverse looks like,” said a clearly moved Fraser, pointing to the “Everything Everywhere All at Once” crew.
The former child star Quan capped his own extraordinary comeback with the Oscar for best supporting actor for his performance in the indie hit “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” Quan, beloved for his roles as Short Round in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and Data in “Goonies,” had all but given up acting before being cast in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
His win, among the most expected of the night, was nevertheless one of the ceremony’s most moving moments. The audience — including his “Temple of Doom” director, Steven Spielberg — gave Quan a standing ovation as he fought back tears.
“Mom, I just won an Oscar!” said Quan, 51, whose family fled Vietnam in the war when he was a child.
“My journey started on a boat,” Quan said. “I spent a year in a refugee camp and somehow I ended up here on Hollywood’s biggest stage. They say stories like this only happen in the movies. I cannot believe it’s happening to me. This is the American Dream.”
Minutes later, Quan’s castmate Jamie Lee Curtis won for best supporting actress. Her win, in one of the most competitive categories this year, denied a victory for comic-book fans. Angela Bassett (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”) would have been the first performer to win an Oscar for a Marvel movie.
Ke Huy Quan, winner of Best Actor In A Supporting Role award for “Everything Everywhere All At Once” and Jamie Lee Curtis, winner of Best Supporting Actress for “Everything Everywhere All at Once, both backstage at the 95th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre on March 12, 2023 in Hollywood, California.
Robert Gauthier
It also made history for Curtis, a first-time winner who alluded to herself as “a Nepo baby” during her win at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. She’s the rare Oscar winner whose parents were both Oscar nominees, something she emotionally referenced in her speech. Tony Curtis was nominated for “The Defiant Ones” in 1959 and Janet Leigh was nominated in 1961 for “Psycho.” Curtis thanked “hundreds” of people who put her in that position.
The German-language WWI epic “All Quiet on the Western Front” — Netflix’s top contender this year — took four awards as the academy heaped honors on the craft of the harrowing anti-war film. It won for cinematography, production design, score and best international film.
Though Bassett missed on supporting actress, Ruth E. Carter won for the costume design of “Wakanda Forever,” four years after becoming the first Black designer to win an Oscar, for “Black Panther.” This one makes Carter the first Black woman to win two Oscars.
“Thank you to the Academy for recognizing the superhero that is a Black woman,” said Carter. “She endures, she loves, she overcomes, she is every woman in this film.”
Carter dedicated the award to her mother, who she said died last week at 101.
Ruth E. Carter, winner of the Best Costume Design award for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” poses in the press room during the 95th Annual Academy Awards on March 12, 2023 in Hollywood, California.
Getty Images
The telecast, which aired live on ABC, opened traditionally: with a montage of the year’s films (with Kimmel edited into a cockpit in “Top Gun: Maverick”) and a lengthy monologue. Kimmel, hosting for the third time, made several references to Will Smith’s infamous slap of Chris Rock at the previous year’s ceremony.
“If anything unpredictable or violent happens during the ceremony, just do what you did last year — nothing,” the comedian said during his monologue.
Kimmel also joked that this year, there were “strict policies in place” in case of another violent outburst.
“If anyone in this theater commits an act of violence at any point during the show, you will be awarded the Oscar for best actor and permitted to give a 19-minute long speech,” he said, referencing Smith’s win in 2022 following the slap.
After landmark wins for Chloé Zhao (“Nomadland”) and Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog”), no women were nominated for best director. Sarah Polley, though, won best adapted screenplay for the metaphor-rich Mennonite drama “Women Talking.”
“Thank you to the academy for not being mortally offended by the words ‘women’ and ‘talking,’” said Polley.
Daniel Roher’s “Navalny,” about the imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, took best documentary. The film’s win came with clear overtones to Navalny’s ongoing imprisonment and Vladimir Putin’s continued war in Ukraine. Yulia Navalnaya joined the filmmakers on the stage.
“My husband is in prison just for telling the truth,” said Navalnaya. “Stay strong my love.”
Some big names weren’t in attendance for other reasons. Neither Tom Cruise, whose “Top Gun: Maverick” was up for best picture, nor James Cameron, director of best-picture nominee “Avatar: The Way of Water,” were at the ceremony. Both have been forefront in Hollywood’s efforts to get moviegoers back after years of pandemic.
“The two guys who asked us to go back to theater aren’t in the theater,” said Kimmel, who added that Cruise without his shirt on in “Top Gun: Maverick” was “L. Ron Hubba Hubba.”
After last year’s Oscars, which had stripped some categories from being handed out in the live telecast, the academy restored all awards to the show and leaned on traditional song and dance numbers. That meant some show-stopping numbers, including the elastic suspenders dance of “Naatu Naatu” from the Telugu action-film sensation “RRR,” an intimate, impassioned performance by Lady Gaga of “Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick,” and a Super Bowl follow-up by Rihanna.
Originally, it was announced that Lady Gaga would not be able to perform because of a scheduling conflict with the filming of “Joker: Folie à Deux.” However, she arrived on the red carpet prior to the ceremony, and ET confirmed she planned to perform.
Best song went to “Naatu Naatu.”
Dancers perform “Naatu Naatu” from “RRR” onstage at the 95th Annual Academy Awards held at Dolby Theatre on March 12, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
Rich Polk/Variety via Getty Images
It also meant a long show. “This kind of makes you miss the slapping a little bit, right?” Kimmel said mid-show.
The night’s first award went to “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” for best animated film. That handed Netflix its first Oscar in the category.
After last year’s slap, the academy created a crisis management team to better respond to surprises. Neither Rock, who recently made his most forceful statement about the incident in a live special, nor Smith, who was banned by the academy for 10 years, attended.
The Academy Awards is attempting to recapture some of its old luster. One thing working in its favor: This year’s best picture field was stacked with blockbusters. Ratings usually go up when the nominees are more popular, which certainly goes for “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Avatar: The Way of Water.”
Neither won much, though. “The Way of Water,” with more than $2.28 billion in box office, won for best visual effects. The “Top Gun” sequel ($1.49 billion), took best sound.
Last year, Apple TV’s “CODA” became the first streaming movie to win best picture. But this year, nine of the 10 best picture nominees were theatrical releases. After the movie business cratered during the pandemic, moviegoing recovered to about 67% of pre-pandemic levels. But it was an up and down year, full of smash hits and anxiety-inducing lulls in theaters.
This year, ticket sales have been strong thanks to releases like “Creed III” and “Cocaine Bear” — which made not one but two cameos at Sunday’s show.
Elizabeth Banks and Cocaine Bear on stage during the 95th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre on March 12, 2023 in Hollywood, California.
/ Getty Images
Elizabeth Banks, who directed “Cocaine Bear,” announced the nominees for best visual effects alongside a co-presenter wearing a full bear costume. Banks’ new thriller, which has earned $65 million globally since it opened just weeks ago in theaters, is inspired by the true story of a 175-pound black bear in Georgia 40 years ago that ingested a massive dose of cocaine apparently dropped from a plane piloted by a convicted drug smuggler.
“Without visual effects, this is what the bear would look like,” Banks said. “It’s terrifying.”
But there remain storm clouds on the horizon. The Writers Guild and the major studios are set to begin contract negotiations March 20, a looming battle that has much of the industry girding for the possibility of a work stoppage throughout film and television.
The Oscars, too, are seeking steadiness. Last year’s telecast drew 16.6 million viewers, a 58% increase from the scaled-down 2021 edition, watched by a record low 10.5 million.
