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. (AP) — Michelle Yeoh and Angela Bassett locked in a long embrace, whispering and laughing 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.
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.
Celebs gathered at the Dolby Theatre in California on Sunday night to celebrate the best of films at the 95th Academy Awards.
The Oscars, hosted by Jimmey Kimmel went (incident-less, as Kimmel highlighted at the end of the show) with strong punchlines, emotional performances, tear-jerking speeches by winners and foot-tapping dance performance.
Here are some top moments from the Oscars, this year:
Jimmy Kimmel Jokes About The Will Smith Slap (Of Course)
Host Jimmy Kimmel took aim at Will Smith’s actions last year in his opening monologue.
“We want you to have fun, we want you to feel safe, and most importantly, we want me to feel safe,” he began. “So we have strict policies in place. If anyone in this theatre commits an act of violence at any point in this show, you will be awarded the Oscar for Best Actor and permitted to give a 19-minute long speech.”
Pregnant Rihanna Stuns On The Red Carpet & Performs “Lift Me Up”
Rihanna turned heads and dropped jaws as she elegantly walked the red carpet in a stunning sheer black Alaïa gown while pregnant with her second child. She later performed “Lift Me Up” in the night during the ceremony as A$AP Rocky adorably lifted his glass in support.
Rihanna at the 95th Annual Academy Awards held at Ovation Hollywood on March 12, 2023, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty Images)
— Photo: Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty Images
Hugh Grant’s Awkward Moment
Grant’s excruciatingly awkward interview on the champagne carpet went viral as he seemed less than enthusiastic about attending this year’s awards show. When asked who he was most excited to see tonight the actor responded: “No one in particular.”
“Creed III” co-stars Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors were presenting the Best Cinematography award when they gave a brief shout-out to Angela Bassett. “Hey Auntie, we love you,” they said, paying respects to the Oscar-nominated actress.
Jimmy Kimmel & The Donkey
Jenny, who played the donkey in “The Banshees of Inisherin,” graced the Oscars stage wearing a bedazzled emotional support animal vest. “Not only is Jenny an actor, she’s a certified emotional support donkey,” host Jimmy Kimmel said. “At least that’s what we told the airline to get her on the plane from Ireland.”
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 12: Host Jimmy Kimmel speaks onstage during the 95th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre on March 12, 2023 in Hollywood, California. ()
Cocaine Bear’s Oscar Moment
Elizabeth Banks brought the titular creature from her “Cocaine Bear” to present — but unlike the movie, which featured an entirely CGI bear, this was clearly some guy in a suit.
Elizabeth Banks and Cocaine Bear speak onstage during the 95th Annual Academy Awards.
— Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Lady Gaga’s Last Minute Performance
After initially planning not to attend this year’s ceremony, Lady Gaga made a last-minute switch and decided to perform the Oscar-nominated “Take My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick”. The performance was stripped back than what Lady Gaga typically sports, with the actress and musician wearing little to no makeup and a black T-shirt and jeans.
Lady Gaga
— Photo: Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
“Naatu Naatu” Performance
Bollywood superstar Deepika Padukone introduced the performance of Best Original Song nominee “Naatu Naatu” from the Telegu-language “RRR.” The performance was extremely high energy and featured dozens of dancers and vocals from Kaala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj.
Happy Birthday At Oscars
An impromptu performance of “Happy Birthday” was conducted on the Oscar stage on Sunday night to celebrate the 31st birthday of “Irish Goodbye” actor James Martin. Martin has Down syndrome, and his awe-inspiring story from Starbucks barista to the Oscars has warmed the hearts of many.
Brendan Fraser Gets Emotional Winning Best Actor
Brendon Fraser took home the big win in the Best Actor category for his riveting performance in “The Whale”. During his acceptance speech, the 54-year-old actor became notably teary-eyed as he thanked the studio A24 and the director Darren Aronofsky for “throwing him a creative lifeline.”
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 12: Brendan Fraser, winner of the Best Actor in a Leading Role award for “The Whale,” poses in the press room during the 95th Annual Academy Awards on March 12, 2023 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
— Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Michelle Yeoh Becomes First Asian To Win Best Actress
Michelle Yeoh makes Oscar history as the first Asian to win in the Best Actress category. Yeoh said the award was for “all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight.” “This is the beacon of hope and possibility. Dreams do come true,” she added. “And ladies: don’t let anybody ever tell you, you are past your prime.”
Michelle Yeoh
— Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images
“Everything Everywhere All At Once” Wins Best Picture
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” took home a whopping 7 out of their 11 nominations, proclaiming the film as the big winner of the night. Ultimately the cast and crew took home the coveted Best Picture category at the end of Hollywood’s biggest night.
‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ cast and directors. Photo: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
— Photo: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
Michelle Yeoh made history at the Oscars on Sunday, becoming the first actress of Southeast Asian descent to win the Academy Award for best actress. Yeoh won for her role as Evelyn Wang in “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which also won best picture.
Yeoh is known for her roles in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Tomorrow Never Dies” in the James Bond franchise, and “Crazy Rich Asians” Despite decades of work and dozens of roles, this is Yeoh’s first Oscar nomination.
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
In her Oscar-winning role, Yeoh plays a Chinese immigrant who can explore alternative lives in other universes.
When she got up on stage to accept her award she received a standing ovation. “Thank you, thank you. For all the little girls and boys who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibility,” she said in her speech. “This is proof to dream big, and dreams do come true.”
“And ladies, don’t let anybody ever tell you you are past your prime,” Yeoh, who is 60, continued. The comment came after CNN anchor Don Lemon received backlash for saying presidential candidate and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley was past her prime at age 51. Lemon later apologized.
“Never give up,” Yeoh said, as the audience erupted in cheers. She then thanked her directors, the production company A24 and the cast and crew, and 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 one of the film’s directors, Daniel Kwan, who also thanked moms in one of his acceptance speeches.
Yeoh said her mom is 84 and she is watching in Malaysia with friends and family. “I love you guys, I’m bringing this home to you,” she said. And she thanked her “extended family” in Hong Kong, where she got her start in acting.
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” was written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, a duo known as The Daniels, who also won the Oscars for best director and best screenplay.
Yeoh’s co-star Ke Huy Quan, who got his start as a child actor in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and “The Goonies,” took home best supporting actor award, becoming just second performer of Asian descent to win that award.
And longtime film star Jamie Lee Curtis won best supporting actress for her role in the film — her first Oscar. The film also won for best editing.
The 95th Academy Awards this Sunday bring distinguished stars and behind-the-scenes players from across the film industry to Los Angeles for Hollywood’s biggest night of the year.
Hosted for a third time by late-night personality Jimmy Kimmel, the ceremony is set to begin at 8 p.m. ET at L.A.’s Dolby Theatre. ABC will broadcast the show live, with options to livestream the event on its app or website (with a verified cable or satellite provider).
In addition to the nominees, expected attendees at the Oscars include a stacked roster of presenters, like Riz Ahmed, Emily Blunt, Glenn Close, Jennifer Connelly, Ariana DeBose, Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson, Michael B. Jordan, Troy Kotsur, Jonathan Majors, Melissa McCarthy, Janelle Monáe and more.
The show will also feature musical sets by Rihanna, who is due to perform “Lift Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”; Rahul Sipligunj and Kala Bhairava, who will sing MM Keeravaani’s “Naatu Naatu” from “RRR”; and Lenny Kravitz, who will deliver the night’s “In Memoriam.” Lady Gaga was originally scheduled to perform “Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick,” but later canceled due to scheduling conflicts, an Oscars producer confirmed this week.
“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s universe-jumping sci-fi knockout, leads this year’s Oscar nominations with 11 nods from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, with at least one in every major category. Trailing closely behind are Martin McDonagh’s “The Banshees of Inisherin” and Netflix’s German-language film “All Quiet on the Western Front,” from director Edward Berger, with nine nominations each.
This image released by A24 Films shows, from left, Stephanie Hsu, Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan in a scene from, “Everything Everywhere All At Once.”
Allyson Riggs/A24 Films via AP
The spread of contenders for this year’s most prestigious accolades looks different than those at the last couple of Oscars ceremonies. Where projects backed by streaming services took many of the highest honors in 2022, the tides turned in 2023 to recognize a number of larger-than-life movies that performed well at the box office and pulled audiences back to theaters. They are accompanied by hard-hitting dramas and semi-nonfiction films, and, as usual, the prize in several leading Oscars categories could be anyone’s game. Here is what to expect from the award ceremony’s top contests.
Best Picture
Arguably the most coveted award of the night, the Oscar for best picture will be chosen from a competitive pool of 10 nominees. This year’s entrants span a broad range of genres, styles and subject matters, with popcorn picks like “Top Gun: Maverick” up against multiple critically acclaimed films, many of which are darker in tone, even the satires.
Clear frontrunners in the race for best picture are: “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” the chaotic sensation from creators Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert whose genre-bending plot delivered to audiences exactly what its title promised; “Tár,” the psychological drama by Todd Field that had a strong start in the festival circuit and became an instant favorite in critics’ circles; “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Martin McDonagh’s deadpan tragic comedy that hearkened back to his roots as a playwright and was praised as a clever allegory for the Irish Civil War; and “The Fabelmans,” Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical family drama that charmed cinephiles and reviewers alike.
Each film has already won recognition this awards season, with “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” “Tár,” “The Banshees of Inisherin” and “The Fabelmans” taking top spots at the Critics Choice Awards, the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Golden Globes, potentially foreshadowing how they will fare at the Oscars.
Cate Blanchett as an orchestra conductor in “Tár.”
Focus Features
Buzz surrounding Sunday’s ceremony mainly places “Everything Everywhere All At Once” as the obvious choice for best picture, given its impressive track record of nominations and previous wins. In addition to leading the Oscars roster, it won the top titles at the SAG, Producers Guild, Directors Guild and Writers Guild Awards, tying a record only met by four previous Oscar winners for best picture: “American Beauty,” “No Country for Old Men,” “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Argo.” But because “Everything Everywhere All At Once” rebels against structural and narrative conventions, an analogous predecessor has not been seen before in this Oscars category and some argue it could be too offbeat to earn a majority of votes from AMPAS.
The German antiwar film “All Quiet on the Western Front” may be the dark horse of the Oscars’ best picture race, although critics disagree on whether the film is as powerful as it intends. Edward Berger’s remake of the American World War I epic of the same name — which won the Oscar for best picture in 1930, alongside several other accolades — took home the highest honors at this year’s British Academy Film Awards and earned widespread critical acclaim despite a relative lack of publicity in the U.S. The success of Alfonso Cuarón’s 2019 best picture nominee “Roma” and Bong Joon Ho’s 2020 winner “Parasite” have paved the way for other foreign-language films to be taken seriously in this category. Plus, history shows war stories tend to perform well at the Oscars.
A scene from “All Quiet on the Western Front.”
Netflix
But arguments could be made for any one of this year’s best picture nominees as plausible candidates to win. Rounding out the category are the blockbusters “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Avatar: The Way of Water,” the biopic “Elvis,” which was also a huge commercial success, the social satire “Triangle of Sadness” and the sobering drama “Women Talking.”
Best Actress
The Oscar category for best actress was steeped in controversy when nominations were unveiled at the end of January. In an unusual turn, Andrea Riseborough, who starred as an addict attempting recovery in the small independent film “To Leslie,” earned a nomination after a relatively brief but fervent grassroots campaign driven by celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet and Cate Blanchett, who is also nominated for “Tár.”
Riseborough’s nod drew public backlash since neither Viola Davis nor Danielle Deadwyler were nominated, as anticipated, for their roles in “The Woman King” and “Till,” despite both reaping acclaim in the pre-Oscars awards circuit. Omitting Davis and Deadwyler meant that no Black women would contend for this year’s best actress prize, and the allegations of corruption that ensued prompted the Academy to open an investigation into Riseborough’s nomination and whether it was fair. Her nomination was not revoked after the probe.
Viola Davis in TriStar Pictures’ “The Woman King.”
Ilze Kitshoff
That aside, the best actress competition has shaped up to be a fairly tight race between Blanchett, whose portrayal of a renowned conductor’s downfall in the character study “Tár” has been called a career performance for the two-time Oscar winner and eight-time nominee, and Michelle Yeoh, whose leading role as a laundromat owner thrust into the multiverse in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” has garnered comparable praise.
Both Blanchett and Yeoh have already won honors at major award shows this season, with Blanchett winning at the Golden Globes, the Critics Choice Awards and the BAFTAs, and Yeoh at the Golden Globes and the SAG Awards. The latter star’s chances of winning the Oscar for best actress are bolstered by the momentum of her film, which is unrivaled.
Michelle Yeoh in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
A24
This is Yeoh’s first Oscar nomination, and she became the first Asian actor to earn a nod in this category when she landed it. Yeoh would become the second woman of color, after Halle Berry, to take home the prize should she win.
Joining them in the category for best actress are Ana de Armas, who earned critical acclaim for her cerebral take on Marilyn Monroe in Andrew Dominik’s divisive drama “Blonde,” and Michelle Williams, a five-time Oscar nominee whose performance in “The Fabelmans” was hailed as the highlight of the film.
Best Actor
Who wins the best actor prize at this year’s Oscars ceremony could prove to be one of the night’s biggest surprises, as four of the five nominees have been neck-and-neck for every major acting award given out since the current season began. Austin Butler, for “Elvis”; Brendan Fraser, for “The Whale”; Colin Farrell, for “The Banshees of Inisherin” and Bill Nighy, for “Living,” all received nominations at the Critics Choice, Golden Globe and SAG Awards before securing their spots in this Oscars race.
Fraser’s comeback performance as a reclusive English teacher in Darren Aronofsky’s psychological drama won top honors at the Critics Choice and SAG Awards, while Butler’s lauded portrayal of Elvis Presley, which was celebrated by the rock-and-roll icon’s family as well as critics, won the Golden Globe for best actor in a drama.
Academy Award-nominees for best actor, from left: Austin Butler (“Elvis”), Colin Farrell (“The Banshees of Inisherin”), Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”), Paul Mescal (“Aftersun”), and Bill Nighy (“Living”).
Warner Brothers; Searchlight; A24; Sony Pictures Classics
Farrell won the corresponding comedy award at the Globes for his leading performance in McDonagh’s film — which, for what it is worth, marks the director’s return to the Oscars after 2018’s “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” gave Frances McDormand her first best actress win in two decades. In “Banshees,” Farrell’s performance was hailed as one of the greatest of 2022. But the rousing response to Fraser, who for “The Whale” earned standing ovations at the Venice Film Festival and the London Film Festival that lasted so long they made headlines, may tip the scales in his favor.
Paul Mescal finishes off the best actor category this year as its final nominee, for his performance in “Aftersun,” the critically-adored independent film by Charlotte Wells in her feature directorial debut.
Best Supporting Actress
At the outset of award season, Angela Bassett’s seemed to have a future Oscar win for best supporting actress all but locked up, after the longtime Hollywood legend won the equivalent title at the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards, plus a nod from the Screen Actors Guild, for her performance in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”
While her ties to “Wakanda Forever” — the second installment in beloved franchise and another box office smash from Marvel Studios — likely make Bassett the fan favorite to take home the Academy Award, she is vying for it among a drove of tough competitors, many of whom moved to the front of the pack as the season progressed.
This year’s Oscar nominees for best supporting actress: Angela Bassett (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”), Hong Chau (“The Whale”), Kerry Condon (“The Banshees of Inisherin”), and Jamie Lee Curtis and Stephanie Hsu (both “Everything Everywhere All at Once”).
Marvel Comics/Disney, A24 and Searchlight Pictures
Kerry Condon, who is nominated for “The Banshees of Inisherin,” won best supporting actress at the BAFTAs, before Jamie Lee Curtis, who is nominated for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” took the corresponding title at the SAG Awards in a victory that was perhaps underestimated. Curtis’ co-star Stephanie Hsu is also nominated in this category for her breakout role in “Everything Everywhere,” as is Hong Chau for a standout performance in “The Whale.”
The outcome in this category is still a toss-up. But Curtis’ win at the SAG Awards, which have predicted best supporting actress at the Oscars every year but one since 2010, could be a reliable indicator of how things shake out.
Best Supporting Actor
Among the contenders for best supporting actor this year, Ke Huy Quan may have the edge. He won the hearts of guild voters, critics and viewers with his emotional performance in “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” returning to acting to play the role decades after stepping away from the profession. (He’d once been a child star in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and “The Goonies.”)
Ke Huy Quan, nominated for best supporting actor for “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
CBS News
Quan received the Golden Globe, the Critics Choice Award and, in a historic win, the SAG Award for his work in the film. Like Yeoh, the fact that Quan is one of the faces of a movie at the helm of the awards circuit can only boost his chances of seeing that sweep through at the Oscars.
Joining Quan in the category for best supporting actor are Brian Tyree Henry, who gave a transformative performance opposite Jennifer Lawrence in “Causeway” that also earned a nod at the Critics Choice Awards; Barry Keoghan, whose role in “The Banshees of Inisherin” won him the BAFTA for best supporting actor; Brendan Gleeson, also for “The Banshees of Inisherin”; and Judd Hirsch, for “The Fabelmans.”
Gabriel LaBelle as Sammy Fabelman in The Fabelmans, co-written, produced and directed by Steven Spielberg.
Merie Weismiller Wallace/Universal Pictures
At one time it did not seem inconceivable that Hirsch would win. Now 87, he has been acting for almost 60 years. “The Fabelmans” is Hirsch’s second Oscar nomination since he received a nod in the same category for “Ordinary People” in 1980, and it recognizes his fleeting portrayal of an irascible relative in just a few memorable minutes of Spielberg’s nominated film.
Best Director
After two consecutive wins by women directors — Chloé Zhao for “Nomadland” and Jane Campion for “The Power of the Dog” — and although a number of this year’s qualifying films, including “Aftersun,” “The Woman King” and “Women Talking,” were directed by women, only men are nominated for the Oscar for best director this year.
The nominees are Martin McDonagh, for “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Daniel Kwan and Daniel Schienert, for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Steven Spielberg, for “The Fabelmans,” Todd Field, for “Tár,” and Ruben Östlund, for “Triangle of Sadness.” Spielberg, an nine-time nominee in this category who last won in 1999 for “Saving Private Ryan,” initially seemed like a shoo-in for the Oscar for best director for “The Fabelmans,” his most personal work to date. But Kwan and Scheinert, having earned directing accolades over the powerhouse filmmaker at the Critics Choice and Directors Guild Awards, are probably more likely to win.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The best actress category at the 95th Oscars is full of great awards season drama, from the surprise nomination of Andrea Riseborough to the potential history to be made if Michelle Yeoh wins, which AP’s film writers predict will happen.
“Blonde” may have been reviled by many critics, but you’d be hard-pressed to find any who didn’t admire Ana de Armas’s portrayal of Marilyn Monroe nonetheless. De Armas prepped for a year and was thrown into the fire on her first day on set: In the actual apartment Norma Jeane lived in with her mother — a nightmare sequence in which she rescues a baby from the dresser drawer that she was kept in as an infant, as the place burns around her. Her second day was her visit to her mother in the mental hospital, where she got to speak as Marilyn for the first time on camera.
“I wasn’t in character all the time. But … I felt that heaviness and that weight in my shoulders. And I felt that sadness,” de Armas said. “She was all I thought about. She was all I dreamed about. She was all I talked about.”
Trivia: De Armas is the first Cuban woman to be nominated for best actress.
“I am still processing the experience, not only because it spoke to a lot of things that I had been thinking about, but I feel so expanded by having been in Todd’s orbit,” Blanchett said. “It was a very, very fluid, dangerous, alive process making the film.”
Riseborough rose into the Oscar ranks thanks largely to the grassroots efforts of “To Leslie” director Michael Morris and his wife, actor Mary McCormack. They urged stars to see the film and either host a screening or praise Riseborough’s performance on social media. And a whole lot of them did: Kate Winslet, Charlize Theron, Jennifer Aniston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Amy Adams and Courteney Cox all hosted screenings for the film.
After a review of the campaign, the Academy said that Andrea Riseborough would not be stripped of her nomination.
Age: 41
MICHELLE WILLIAMS
The pivotal event of “The Fabelmans” comes when Mitzi Fabelman, a fictionalized version of Steven Spielberg’s own mother played by Michelle Williams, reluctantly leaves her husband for his best friend.
“I thought she already suffered a near-death experience. When she gave up her dream of being a concert pianist, she experienced what it’s like for part of you to die,” says Williams. “So when she’s faced with another near-death experience — Do I stay in this marriage or do I allow myself to go where my heart is leading? — she knows that she can’t die again. There will be nothing left of her.
“What is this thing in her that allows her to make this decision? Is it her artistry? Is it bravery? Is it how big her emotions are? What allowed this woman to stake a claim on her life like this?” says Williams. “I don’t know but I do think it’s what’s allowed her children to do the same thing, to stake a claim on their own lives. That, I think, is one of the greatest gifts that you give to your kids, showing them how they can be a full person.”
Lifetime Oscar Nominations: 5
Age: 42
MICHELLE YEOH
After decades first as a star in Hong Kong cinema and then more mainstream hits like “Tomorrow Never Dies” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” the Malayasian-born Yeoh has grown into a movie queen. She’s had integral roles in what have been the first large U.S. studio movies in years with Asian-led casts—Marvel Studios’ “Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings” and “Crazy Rich Asians.” As much as those films mean to her, she was a polished supporting player in them — then came “Everything Everywhere All At Once.”
The Daniels originally named the multiverse hopping matriarch Michelle, as a “love letter” to Yeoh. But then she asked to change that and Evelyn was born.
“I’m like ‘No, no, no’ because I believe this person, this character that you’ve written so rich, deserves a voice of her own. She is the voice of those mothers, aunties, grandmothers that you pass by in Chinatown or in the supermarket that you don’t even give a second glance to. Then you just take her for granted,” Yeoh said. “She’s never had a voice.”
Trivia: If Yeoh were to win, she would become the first Asian woman awarded in that category.
Age: 60
Notable Wins: Golden Globes (Musical/Comedy), Screen Actors Guild, Film Independent Spirit Award.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — All at once, they were everywhere.
After claiming their biggest triumph yet in an awards season full of them — the Screen Actors Guild Award for best ensemble to go with three of the four individual film SAG Awards — the cast of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” was supposed to head backstage as a group to be led through the kitchen at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles and into the area where a horde of cameras awaited winners.
But like the multiple versions of multiverse characters in the film that has become the Oscars favorite for best picture, the cast members — including best female actor winner Michelle Yeoh, best supporting male actor winner Ke Huy Quan and best supporting female actor winner Jamie Lee Curtis — scattered all over the place, some back into the audience, some to the bathroom, some who-knows where.
Of the top-billed cast, only 94-year-old James Hong showed up backstage, where an Associated Press reporter was waiting to embed with them on their victory lap. Hong, as the senior member, gave the last speech of the night and took full advantage, talking at length about his 70 years as a member of the acting guild.
“I hope I will come back when I’m 100 years old!” Hong said to close his speech.
Andy Le and Brian Le, who play minor but menacing martial artists in the film, were nothing but gentle as they each took one of Hong’s arms and helped him down the makeshift stairs at the back of the stage and into the hallway.
Mark Wahlberg, who had just given the cast the night’s biggest award, greeted Hong.
“I just wanted to say hi,” Wahlberg said with a smile. “You are truly a legend. You brought the house down.”
Hong, Le and Le slowly made their way through the kitchen and back into the spotlight of the media room, where castmate Tallie Medel awaited them.
Curtis, an upset winner over Angela Bassett in her category, was next to appear, holding one of the blue, stone SAG statuettes and wearing a red gown.
“Alright, I’m here sorry, sorry, I had to pee!” she said.
Jenny Slate, who plays Debbie the Dog mom, Yeoh’s laundromat customer-turned fighting foe in the film, emerged from another hallway, as did Harry Shum Jr.
Yeoh then burst through a door from the ballroom like a gowned version of one of the many action heroes she has played through the decades.
She was followed soon after by Quan, who played several incarnations of her husband in the film.
“Coming everyone!” Quan shouted as he bounded gleefully into his castmates.
Photographers began shooting pictures, but Curtis wouldn’t have it until the whole ensemble had assembled. Stephanie Hsu, who plays Yeoh’s daughter and antagonist in the film and was also nominated in Curtis’ category, was not among them yet.
“Wait wait wait, wait until Stephanie is here!” Curtis said. Pointing at each person shooting photos, she said, “You, put the camera down, you, put the camera down. Not without Stephanie.”
While they waited, they noticed Brendan Fraser, best male actor winner for “The Whale,” standing nearby with his trophy, looking overwhelmed. Several walked over to celebrate him.
“I’m so glad I got to watch you have this beautiful moment,” Slate told him.
Quan reached up and gave the much larger Fraser an enthusiastic hug.
“You made me cry again!” Fraser told Quan, who had given a tearful speech about becoming the first Asian actor to win his award.
Quan, who like Fraser has made a dramatic comeback after a long Hollywood hiatus, is likely to get another opportunity at the Academy Awards on March 12.
After also taking the top prizes at the Directors Guild and Producers Guild awards, it would be a stunner if any film other than “Everything Everywhere” wins best picture at the Oscars.
When Hsu finally appeared, Curtis told the photographers to shoot away.
The cast shouted for Fraser join them for photos. Hesitating at first, he gave in and joined them, his eyes beaming. “We did it!” he said as they smiled for cameras.
The group has won so many awards, it was becoming hard to keep track of them.
“I put one down and it’s lost,” Curtis said.
“Wait, Michelle has two!” someone shouted.
Quan, Yeoh and Curtis then posed individually while holding an award in each hand. Curtis handed one to Hong, who pretended he couldn’t bear its weight before cradling the statue like a baby.
Daniel Scheinert, the film’s co-director with Daniel Kwan, watched from the side and stayed out of pictures, letting his actors have the stage on this night.
When Yeoh saw Scheinert, she hurried over and hugged him. Several photographers descended on the duo. Scheinert didn’t stop them, pointing out he had been an actor of sorts in his movie.
The unlikely awards season juggernaut “Everything Everywhere All at Once” marched on at the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday, and even gathered steam with wins not just for best ensemble, Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan but also for Jamie Lee Curtis.
The SAG Awards, often an Oscar preview, threw some curve balls into the Oscars race in a ceremony streamed live on Netflix’s YouTube page from Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles.
But the clearest result of the SAG Awards was the overwhelming success of Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s madcap multiverse tale, which has now used its hotdog fingers to snag top honors from the acting, directing and producing guilds. Only one film (“Apollo 13”) had won all three and not gone on to win best picture at the Oscars.
After so much of the cast of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” had already been on the stage to accept awards, the night’s final moment belonged to 94-year-old James Hong, a supporting player in the film and a trailblazer for Asian American representation in Hollywood. He brought up the ignoble yellowface history of the 1937 film “The Good Earth.”
“The leading role was played with these guys with their eyes taped up like this and they talked like this because the producers said the Asians were not good enough and they were not box office,” said Hong. “But look at us now!”
Hong added that the cast of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” wasn’t all Chinese, though he granted Jamie Lee Curtis had a good Chinese name. Curtis’ win was one of the most surprising of the night, coming over the longtime favorite, Angela Bassett (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”), who had seemed to be on a clear path to becoming the first actor to win an Oscar for a performance in a Marvel movie.
A visibly moved Curtis said she was wearing the wedding ring her father, Tony Curtis, gave her mother, Janet Leigh.
“I know you look at me and think ‘Nepo baby,’” said Curtis, who won in her first SAG nomination. “But the truth of the matter is that I’m 64 years old and this is just amazing.”
The actors guild, though, lent some clarity to the lead categories. Though some have seen best actress as a toss up between Yeoh and BAFTA winner Cate Blanchett (“Tár”), Yeoh again took home the award for best female lead performance.
“This is not just for me,” said Yeoh, the first Asian actress to win the SAG Award for female lead. “It’s for every little girl that looks like me.”
Quan, the former child star, also won for best supporting male actor. The “Everything Everywhere All at Once” co-star had left acting for years after auditions dried up. He’s also the first Asian to win best male supporting actor at the SAG Awards.
“When I stepped away from acting, it was because there were so few opportunities,” said Quan. “Now, tonight we are celebrating James Hong, Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Hong Chau, Harry Shum Jr. The landscape looks so different now.”
Some online commentators suggested there was irony in Mark Wahlberg, who presented best ensemble, handing out the night’s final award to a film with a predominantly Asian and Asian American cast. In 1988, a 16-year-old Wahlberg attacked two Vietnamese men while trying to steal beer near his home in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Wahlberg, who said race wasn’t a factor in the assault, served 45 days of a two-year sentence. Wahlberg also announced the film “Women Talking” as “Women Are Talking.”
Best actor has been one of the hardest races to call. Austin Butler (“Elvis”), Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”) and Colin Farrell ( “The Banshees of Inisherin” ) have all been seen as possible winners. But it was Fraser who went home with the SAG Award for his comeback performance as an obese shut-in in “The Whale.”
“Believe me, if you just stay in there and put one foot in front of the other, you’ll get where you need to go,” said Fraser, who anxiously eyed the actor-shaped trophy and left the stage saying he was going to go look for some pants for him.
The SAG Awards are considered one of the most reliable Oscar bellwethers. Actors make up the biggest percentage of the film academy, so their choices have the largest sway. Last year, “CODA” triumphed at SAG before winning best picture at the Oscar s, while Ariana DeBose, Will Smith, Jessica Chastain and Troy Kotsur all won at a SAG Award before taking home an Academy Award.
After the SAG Awards, presented by the film and television acting guild SAG-AFTRA, lost their broadcast home at TNT/TBS, Netflix signed on to stream Sunday’s ceremony. Next year’s show will be on Netflix, proper.
Sunday’s livestream meant a slightly scaled-down vibe. Without a broadcast time limit, winners weren’t played off. A regal and unbothered Sam Elliott, winner for male actor in a TV movie or limited series for “1883,” spoke well past his allotted time. The show sped through early winners, including awards for Jean Smart (“Hacks”), Jeremy Allen White (“The Bear”) and Jason Bateman (“Ozark”).
Another streaming effect: No bleeping.
Quinta Brunson and Janelle James of “Abbott Elementary” kicked off the ceremony with a few opening jokes, including one that suggested Viola Davis, a recent Grammy winner, is beyond EGOT status and has transcended into “ShEGOTallofthem.”
Brunson later returned to the stage with the cast of “Abbott Elementary” to accept the SAG award for best ensemble in a comedy series. Brunson, the sitcom’s creator and one of its producers, said of her castmates, “These people bring me back down to Earth.”
“The White Lotus” also took a victory lap, winning best ensemble in a drama series and another win for Jennifer Coolidge, coming off her wins at the Emmys and the Golden Globes. A teary-eyed Coolidge traced her love of acting to a first-grade trip to see a Charlie Chaplin film. She then thanked her date, a longtime friend, the actor Tim Bagley.
“You’re a wonderful date tonight,” said Coolidge. “I can’t wait until we get home.”
The ceremony’s first award went to a winner from last year: Jessica Chastain. A year after winning for her lead performance in the film “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” Chastain won best female actor in a TV movie or limited series for Showtime’s country music power couple series “George & Tammy.” Chastain jetted in from previews on the upcoming Broadway revival of “A Doll’s House.”
One award was announced ahead of the show from the red carpet: “Top Gun: Maverick” won for best stunt ensemble. Though some have cheered that blockbusters like “Maverick” and “Avatar: The Way of Water” are best picture nominees at this year’s Oscars, the indie smash “Everything Everywhere All at Once” increasingly looks like the biggest blockbuster at this year’s Academy Awards.
The SAG Awards, often an Oscar preview, threw some curve balls into the Oscars race in a ceremony streamed live on Netflix’s YouTube page from Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles.
But the clearest result of the SAG Awards was the overwhelming success of Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s madcap multiverse tale, which has now used its hotdog fingers to snag top honours from the acting, directing and producing guilds. Only one film (Apollo 13) had won all three and not gone on to win best picture at the Oscars.
After so much of the cast of Everything Everywhere All at Once had already been on the stage to accept awards, the night’s final moment belonged to 94-year-old James Hong, a supporting player in the film and a trailblazer for Asian American representation in Hollywood. He brought up the ignoble yellowface history of the 1937 film The Good Earth.
“My first movie was with Clark Gable, but in those days the leading role was played by these guys with their eyes taped like this, and the producer said ‘the Asians are not good enough, and they’re not box office.’ But look at us now!” —James Hong during EEAAO’s SAG speech pic.twitter.com/Ww6leTOT1A
“The leading role was played with these guys with their eyes taped up like this and they talked like this because the producers said the Asians were not good enough and they were not box office,” said Hong. “But look at us now!”
Hong added that the cast of Everything Everywhere All at Once wasn’t all Chinese, though he granted Jamie Lee Curtis had a good Chinese name. Curtis’ win was one of the most surprising of the night, coming over the longtime favourite, Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), who had seemed to be on a clear path to becoming the first actor to win an Oscar for a performance in a Marvel movie.
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A visibly moved Curtis said she was wearing the wedding ring her father, Tony Curtis, gave her mother, Janet Leigh.
“I know you look at me and think ‘Nepo baby,’” said Curtis, who won in her first SAG nomination. “But the truth of the matter is that I’m 64 years old and this is just amazing.”
The actors guild, though, lent some clarity to the lead categories. Though some have seen best actress as a toss-up between Yeoh and BAFTA winner Cate Blanchett (Tár), Yeoh again took home the award for best female lead performance.
“This is not just for me,” said Yeoh, the first Asian actress to win the SAG Award for female lead. “It’s for every little girl that looks like me.”
Quan, the former child star, also won for best supporting male actor. The Everything Everywhere All at Once co-star had left acting for years after auditions dried up. He’s also the first Asian to win best male supporting actor at the SAG Awards.
“When I stepped away from acting, it was because there were so few opportunities,” said Quan. “Now, tonight we are celebrating James Hong, Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Hong Chau, Harry Shum Jr. The landscape looks so different now.”
Some online commentators suggested there was irony in Mark Wahlberg, who presented best ensemble, handing out the night’s final award to a film with a predominantly Asian and Asian American cast. In 1988, a 16-year-old Wahlberg attacked two Vietnamese men while trying to steal beer near his home in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Wahlberg, who said race wasn’t a factor in the assault, served 45 days of a two-year sentence. Wahlberg also announced the film Women Talking as “Women Are Talking.”
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Best actor has been one of the hardest races to call. Austin Butler (Elvis), Brendan Fraser (The Whale) and Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin) have all been seen as possible winners. But it was Fraser who went home with the SAG Award for his comeback performance as an obese shut-in in The Whale.
“Believe me, if you just stay in there and put one foot in front of the other, you’ll get where you need to go,” said Fraser, who anxiously eyed the actor-shaped trophy and left the stage saying he was going to go look for some pants for him.
The SAG Awards are considered one of the most reliable Oscar bellwethers. Actors make up the biggest percentage of the film academy, so their choices have the largest sway. Last year, CODA triumphed at SAG before winning best picture at the Oscars, while Ariana DeBose, Will Smith, Jessica Chastain and Troy Kotsur all won at a SAG Award before taking home an Academy Award.
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After the SAG Awards, presented by the film and television acting guild SAG-AFTRA, lost their broadcast home at TNT/TBS, Netflix signed on to stream Sunday’s ceremony. Next year’s show will be on Netflix, proper.
Sunday’s livestream meant a slightly scaled-down vibe. Without a broadcast time limit, winners weren’t played off. A regal and unbothered Sam Elliott, winner for male actor in a TV movie or limited series for 1883, spoke well past his allotted time. The show sped through early winners, including awards for Jean Smart (Hacks), Jeremy Allen White (The Bear) and Jason Bateman (Ozark).
Movie making in Edmonton
Another streaming effect: No bleeping.
Quinta Brunson and Janelle James of Abbott Elementary kicked off the ceremony with a few opening jokes, including one that suggested Viola Davis, a recent Grammy winner, is beyond EGOT status and has transcended into “ShEGOTallofthem.”
Story continues below advertisement
Brunson later returned to the stage with the cast of Abbott Elementary to accept the SAG award for best ensemble in a comedy series. Brunson, the sitcom’s creator and one of its producers, said of her castmates, “These people bring me back down to Earth.”
The White Lotus also took a victory lap, winning best ensemble in a drama series and another win for Jennifer Coolidge, coming off her wins at the Emmys and the Golden Globes. A teary-eyed Coolidge traced her love of acting to a first-grade trip to see a Charlie Chaplin film. She then thanked her date, a longtime friend, the actor Tim Bagley.
Jennifer Coolidge crying and laughing while telling a story about her dad sneaking her out of 1st grade so they could go to a Charlie Chaplin film festival…I love her #SAGAwardspic.twitter.com/438LD5kJJ5
“You’re a wonderful date tonight,” said Coolidge. “I can’t wait until we get home.”
The ceremony’s first award went to a winner from last year: Jessica Chastain. A year after winning for her lead performance in the film The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Chastain won best female actor in a TV movie or limited series for Showtime’s country music power couple series George & Tammy. Chastain jetted in from previews on the upcoming Broadway revival of A Doll’s House.
One award was announced ahead of the show from the red carpet: Top Gun: Maverick won for best stunt ensemble. Though some have cheered that blockbusters like Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water are best picture nominees at this year’s Oscars, the indie smash Everything Everywhere All at Once increasingly looks like the biggest blockbuster at this year’s Academy Awards.
There are perfectly good celebrity style moments, and then there are the looks that really stick with you, the ones you try desperately to recreate at home. In ‘Great Outfits in Fashion History,’ Fashionista editors are revisiting their all-time favorite lewks.
Michelle Yeoh is, and will always be, an award-winner in our eyes — and not just at the Golden Globes. She’s been a fashion superstar since she hit it big with the 1997 film “Tomorrow Never Dies.”
The year 2000 was no different: On Dec. 5, the actor appeared at the premiere of Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” in Beverly Hills in a bright yellow leather jacket with a matching fur trim, layered over a sequin mock-neck top, and styled with snakeskin pants and black pumps. She wore her hair and her full fringe pin-straight, with subtle eyeshadow, rosy cheeks and a pink lip.
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Photo: Vince Bucci/Newsmakers
The fuzzy shearling jacket isn’t a new trend, but a consistent favorite from the archives, known for turning heads even in the colder months. Like Yeoh’s red carpet pick, the style comes in many colorways and patterns that can be worn with just about any outfit.
Though we can’t necessarily shop Yeoh’s exact jacket from the 2000s, scroll to see where you can find similar options, below.
Brandon Blackwood The Sena Trench, $1,100, available here (sizes S-XL)
Urban Outfitters Amber Brocade Faux Fur Coat, $129, available here (sizes XS-XL)
edikted Faux Fur Trim Coat, $57 (from $142), available here (sizes XS-XL)
Hollister Vegan Shearling Coat, $70 (from $140), available here (sizes XXS-XXL)
Please note: Occasionally, we use affiliate links on our site. This in no way affects our editorial decision-making.
Red carpet season rolls on, with the 2023 Critics Choice Awards bringing out the best and brightest of Hollywood for a night of awards — and fashion, of course.
The night’s big winners also won on the best-dressed front: Best Actress Cate Blanchett in a matching button-down and maxi skirt set from Max Mara, accessorized with Louis Vuitton High Jewelry; Best Supporting Actor Ke Huy Quan in a rich burgundy velvet jacket and black trousers; Best Supporting Actress Angela Bassett in tiered velvet ruffle Christian Siriano gown; Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Sheryl Lee Ralph in a gilded Jovana Louis ensemble; Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series Niecy Nash in a fit-to-perfection Jason Wu look.
Louis Vuitton won on the most custom looks front, with Aubrey Plaza’s dégradé neckline dress and Thuso Mbedu’s embellished tulle gown as stand-outs, while Carolina Herrera’s ruffle-caped column gown really made a statement on Michelle Yeoh.
See all of the best dressed celebrities from the 2023 Critics Choice Awards red carpet below.
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Cate Blanchett wearing Max Mara at the 2023 Critics Choice Awards. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Janelle Monáe wearing Vera Wang at the 2023 Critics Choice Awards. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Michelle Yeoh wearing Carolina Herrera at the 2023 Critics Choice Awards. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Niecy Nash wearing Jason Wu at the 2023 Critics Choice Awards. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Aubrey Plaza wearing Louis Vuitton at the 2023 Critics Choice Awards. Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Elle Fanning wearing Alexander McQueen at the 2023 Critics Choice Awards. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Ayo Edebiri wearing Thom Browne at the 2023 Critics Choice Awards. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Daisy Edgar-Jones wearing Gucci at the 2023 Critics Choice Awards. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Ke Huy Quan at the 2023 Critics Choice Awards. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Viola Davis wearing Valentino at the 2023 Critics Choice Awards. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Devery Jacobs wearing Simone Rocha at the 2023 Critics Choice Awards. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Kerry Condon wearing vintage Donna Karan at the 2023 Critics Choice Awards. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Sheryl Lee Ralph wearing Jovana Louis at the 2023 Critics Choice Awards. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Seth Rogen wearing Zegna at the 2023 Critics Choice Awards. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Angela Bassett wearing Christian Siriano at the 2023 Critics Choice Awards. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Thuso Mbedu wearing Louis Vuitton at the 2023 Critics Choice Awards. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Kelsey Asbille wearing Saint Laurent at the 2023 Critics Choice Awards. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Busy Phillips wearing St. John at the 2023 Critics Choice Awards. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
In case you missed it, the less important version of the Oscars was last night! The Golden Globes were three and a half arduous hours of acceptance speeches and praise for what felt like the same three movies and shows. If you didn’t get to see the entire awards ceremony, don’t worry. I sure did. Let me catch you up.
For starters: Austin Butler. No surprise here, Butler won best Actor in a Drama Motion Picture for Elvis. I mean, with a voice permanently stuck in Elvis’ cadence, you’d hope he gets his recognition.
Austin Butler
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There were several awards given to the cast of Abbott Elementary, but the real award of the night goes to Tyler James Williams’ power pantsuit. Quinta Brunson’s mid-speech shoutout to a front-row Brad Pitt will forever live in my memory.
Tyler James Williams
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We’ve all learned that what makes these shows bearable is inviting Jennifer Coolidge and handing her the mic. After warning the crowd that pronunciation wasn’t her strongsuit, the White Lotus favorite stole the show with quite the tearjerker.
With equally iconic speeches from herself and creator, Mike White, Coolidge credits White for getting her neighbors to speak to her again and giving her life even though he killed her off in the show. Similarly, Mike White called out the audience for “passing on” White Lotus originally.
What a year it was for streaming TV shows. Hopeful nominees like Jenna Ortega (Wednesday), Evan Peters (Dahmer), Selena Gomez (Only Murders in the Building), and Jeremy Allen White (The Bear) were notable names in the crowd. Both Jeremy Allen White and Evan Peters received their first ever Golden Globe.
Michelle Yeoh
CAROLINE BREHMAN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Movies like The Fabelman’s, The Banshees of Inisherin, and Everything, Everywhere, All At Once took home multiple awards. My personal favorite speeches came from Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan, who spoke about second chances in the industry. Yeoh even threatened physical violence when the music turned on to usher her off stage.
And with the season opener of Awards Season behind us, it’s time to buckle up. We’re just getting started.
“I’m just going to stand here and take this all in,” Michelle Yeoh said as she took the stage to accept her award at the Golden Globes 2023 for best actress in a musical or comedy.
Yeoh won for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once, A24’s genre-bending action-drama film in which she plays Evelyn, a laundromat owner who is pulled into a plot across multiple universes to save the human race from destruction. Her competition included Lesley Manville for Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris,Margot Robbie for Babylon,Anya Taylor-Joy for The Menu, and Emma Thompson for Good Luck to You, Leo Grande.
In her acceptance speech, Yeoh reflected on how her decades-long career resulted in this role that she considers one of her most important and fulfilling. “It’s been an incredible journey, an incredible fight, but I think it’s all been worth it,” she said.
Yeoh has been raking in the awards and critics prizes this season already, including the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s highest honor and the National Board of Review’s actress prize just this past weekend. “I guess my 40 years of experience was like a long rehearsal for this movie,” she recently told Vanity Fair of the role in the film by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert.
“I think all of you women understand this. As the days and the years and the numbers get bigger, it seems like the opportunities get smaller,” said Yeoh, now 60, who also reflected on the difficulties she had as an actor of Asian descent in Hollywood.
She wrapped up her speech by acknowledging those who came before her. “This is for all the shoulders I stand on, all who came before me who look like me, and all who are going with me on this journey forward.”
As for best actress in a drama, Cate Blanchett won but was not present to accept the award (presenter Henry Golding stated she was filming in the UK). She faced off against Olivia Colman for Empire of Light,Viola Davis for The Woman King,Ana de Armas for Blonde, and Michelle Williams for The Fabelmans. Blanchett’s gripping work as composer-conductor Lydia Tár in Todd Field’s film has been one of the most talked-about performances of the year ever since the film debuted at the Venice Film Festival, where Blanchett won the award for best actress. Among the awards she’s already received are ones from the National Society of Film Critics and the New York Film Critics Circle, as well as an honor from the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
Blanchett and Yeoh are both tipped to earn several other nominations (SAG Award nominations are announced tomorrow) and have all but locked their slots for Academy Award nominations. Their dual wins today cement this year’s best-actress race as one of the most exciting in many years.
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If the 2023 Golden Globes tell us anything about the fashion we’ll be seeing on the red carpet this awards season, we’re in for a treat.
The first big ceremony of the circuit kicked off with a parade of standout looks. Among our favorites: Sheryl Lee Ralph’s embellished purple Aliétte number, Seth Rogen’s delightfully pink Dior Men suit, Britt Lower’s sculptural Bach Mai gown.
Catch all the best dressed celebrities from the 2023 Golden Globes below.
Sheryl Lee Ralph wearing Aliétte at the 2023 Golden Globes. Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Britt Lower wearing Bach Mai at the 2023 Golden Globes. Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Michaela Jaé Rodriguez wearing Balmain at the 2023 Golden Globes. Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Michelle Williams wearing Gucci at the 2023 Golden Globes. Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Michelle Yeoh wearing Armani Privé at the 2023 Golden Globes. Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Nicole Byer wearing Christian Siriano at the 2023 Golden Globes. Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Margot Robbie wearing Chanel Haute Couture at the 2023 Golden Globes. Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Tyler James Williams wearing Amiri at the 2023 Golden Globes. Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Hannah Einbinder wearing Carolina Herrera at the 2023 Golden Globes. Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Letitia Wright wearing Prada at the 2023 Golden Globes. Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Jenna Ortega wearing Gucci at the 2023 Golden Globes. Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Jessica Chastain wearing Oscar de la Renta at the 2023 Golden Globes. Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Seth Rogen wearing Dior Men at the 2023 Golden Globes. Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images.
Laverne Cox wearing vintage John Galliano at the 2023 Golden Globes. Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Megan Stalter wearing vintage Versace at the 2023 Golden Globes. Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Jenny Slate wearing Rodarte at the 2023 Golden Globes. Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
The Golden Globes are back, with celebrities ready to kick off the 2023 award show season with head-turning fashion.
Despite the controversy surrounding this particular stop on the awards circuit, the Golden Globes are set to attract a head-turning crowd, with nominations for films like “Avatar: The Way of Water,” Top Gun: Maverick” and “Babylon” as well as confirmed appearances from Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez and more.
See all the looks from the 2023 Golden Globes as they walk the red carpet below.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Salma Hayek wearing Gucci at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Nicole Byer wearing Christian Siriano at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Michelle Yeoh wearing Armani Privé at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Selena Gomez wearing Valentino at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Margot Robbie wearing Chanel at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Letitia Wright wearing Prada at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Jenna Ortega wearing Gucci at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Laverne Cox wearing vintage John Galliano for Dior at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Lily James wearing Atelier Versace at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Donald Glover wearing Saint Laurent at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Britt Lower wearing Bach Mai at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Sheryl Lee Ralph wearing Aliétte at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Angela Bassett wearing Pamella Roland at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Tyler James Williams wearing Amiri at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Jennifer Coolidge wearing Dolce and Gabbana at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Stephanie Hsu wearing Giambattista Valli at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Julia Garner wearing Gucci at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Janelle James wearing Safiyaa at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Billy Porter wearing Christian Siriano at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Claire Danes wearing Giambattista Valli Haute Couture at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Ke Huy Quan wearing Thom Browne at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Anna Taylor-Joy wearing Dior at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Ana de Armas wearing Louis Vuitton at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Dolly De Leon wearing AZ Factory at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Viola Davis wearing Jason Wu at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Michelle Williams wearing Gucci at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Diego Calva wearing Gucci at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Jamie Lee Curtis wearing Valentino at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Niecey Nash wearing Dolce and Gabbana at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Jenny Slate wearing Rodarte at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Michaela Jaé Rodriguez wearing Balmain at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Natasha Lyonne wearing Givenchy at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Andrew Garfield wearing Zegna at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Kerry Condon wearing Brandon Maxwell at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Quinta Brunson wearing Christian Siriano at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Daisy Edgar-Jones wearing Gucci at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Hilary Swank wearing Prada at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Barry Keoghan wearing Louis Vuitton at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Milly Alcock wearing Givenchy at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Eddie Redmayne wearing Valentino at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Heidi Klum wearing Kevin Germanier at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Henry Golding wearing Giogio Armani at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Jessica Chastain wearing Oscar de la Renta at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Austin Butler wearing Gucci at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Jean Smart wearing Tadashi Shoji at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Evan Peters wearing Dior Men at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Sigourney Weaver wearing Saint Laurent at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Jeremy Allen White wearing Dior Men at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Percy Hynes White wearing Saint Laurent at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Megan Statler wearing vintage Versace at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Joe Scarnici/Getty Images
Monica Barbaro wearing Dolce and Gabbana at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Bailey Bass wearing Dior at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Tim Burton at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for Icelandic Glacial
Jennifer Hudson wearing CD Greene at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Kevork Djansezian/NBC/Getty Images
Rhea Seehorn wearing Naeem Khan at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Hannah Einbinder wearing Carolina Herrera at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Chris Perfetti wearing Maison Margiela at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Sepideh Moafi wearing House of Milad at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Abby Elliott wearing Pamella Roland at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Jay Ellis wearing Louis Vuitton at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Mario Lopez at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Colman Domingo wearing Dolce and Gabbana at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Zanna Roberts Rassi wearing Alexander McQueen at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Amelia Dimoldenberg wearing LaQuan Smith at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Tefi Pessoa wearing Tom Ford at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Zuri Hall wearing Nicole by NF at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Li Jun Li wearing Dolce and Gabbana at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Gigi Paris at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Jen Statsky wearing vintage Maison Martin Margiela at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
William Stanford at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
David McMillan at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Rachel Lindsay wearing Tarik Ediz at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Chloe Flower wearing Stéphane Rolland at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Liza Koshy wearing Morphew at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Corporate Natalieat the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Carl Franklin at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Mark Indelicato at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Josh Richards at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Reece Feldman at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Elisabeth Holm at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Lionel Boyce at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Noel Miller at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Aleena Miller at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images
Davis Burleson wearing Golden Goose at the 2023 Golden Globes.
Good fortune, witch hunters! Variety has reported that none other than Michelle Yeoh,Time’s Icon of the Year and star of Everything Everywhere All at Once, has joined the cast of the Wicked movies as Madame Morrible, the headmistress of Shiz University with a penchant for making up words and controlling the weather. The news comes one day after it was announced that Broadway’s Ethan Slater had landed the plum role of Boq, the munchkin head over heels for Glinda.
Slater and Yeoh join the previously announced Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande,Jonathan Bailey, and Jeff Goldblum in the wonderful world of Oz. Clearly, the cast of Wicked is taking shape, with a few key roles still to be announced and a fairly long road until the movies are ready for public consumption. Before you fly off the handle with anticipation, here’s everything we know about the Wicked movies thus far, and why we think they will be worth the wait.
When Is Wicked Coming Out?
In perhaps a bullish move, director Jon M. Chu made the decision to split Wicked into two films, with the first coming out on December 25, 2024, and the second on the same date the following year, December 25, 2025. “It became increasingly clear that it would be impossible to wrestle the story of Wicked into a single film without doing some real damage to it,” Chu wrote on social media on April 26 when he announced the news. “As we tried to cut songs or trim characters, those decisions began to feel like fatal compromises to the source material that has entertained us all for so many years.” So don’t worry, Ozians. It sounds like no classic Wicked songs like “Dear Old Shiz,” “A Sentimental Man,” and the absolute banger “Something Bad” will be harmed in the making of the Wicked films.
Who’s in It?
After searching all of Oz, Chu found his witches in Grammy, Emmy, and Tony winner Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and pop sensation (and Broadway baby) Ariana Grande as Glinda. Given the sheer power and magnificence of their voices, and the fact that it’s been split into two films, some people think that the two beltresses should switch parts for the second film. But given the fact that Grande has gone blonde for the shooting of the film, it’s unlikely that will happen.
Erivo and Grande will pine over Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey, who will play Winkie prince Fiyero, and Jeff Goldblum who is in final “talks” to play the wonderful wizard of Oz. In the last 24 hours, it was announced that Broadway’s SpongeBob SquarePants, Ethan Slater, will play munchkin Boq, and Everything Everywhere All at Once’s Michelle Yeoh will control the weather as headmistress of Shiz University, Madame Morrible. The cast is, in a word, stacked.
Who Might Be in It?
Other major roles like Nessarose and Dr. Dillamond remain unfilled, but the internet, however, has a few ideas as to who else might be citizens of Oz. Rumors have swirled that comedians like SNL’s Bowen Yang and Hacks scene-stealer Meg Stalter might appear in the film, although their involvement has not been confirmed.
Is This Casting Good?
Not only is it good, it’s practically perfect in every way (sorry, wrong musical). Seriously though, the casting is inspired, drawing fans from multiple corners of the cultural landscape from theater and pop music to television and beyond. Not only does Cynthia Erivo—Oscar-nominated for her work as Harriet Tubman in 2019’s Harriet—have the dramatic chops necessary to pull off Elphaba, she also has a sterling voice that can blow the roof off a joint, something she demonstrated eight times a week singing the 11 o’clock number “I’m Here” in The Color Purple on Broadway, winning her a Tony Award and turning her into an international sensation overnight. There’s no way Erivo’s “Defying Gravity” won’t defy even the highest of expectations.
As for Glinda, casting Ariana Grande, one of the biggest pop stars in the world, known for her gorgeous lyric soprano and her abiding love for Broadway—remember, she got her start in the industry starring in Jason Robert Brown’s 13—was definitely a shrewd move. It doesn’t hurt that Grande has seemingly been quietly campaigning for the role for years, going so far as to invite the original Glinda, Kristin Chenoweth, to be her special guest on The Voice when she was a coach. Given her immense talent, Broadway roots, and legions of fans, it’s no wonder Chu said “yuh” to Grande.
DanielKwan and DanielScheinert, collectively known as the Daniels, first met cinematographer Larkin Seiple when they worked on a music video for Foster the People’s 2012 song “Houdini.” The most ambitious project they had worked on to date (they had a list of 70 setups), the music video sees the band killed in an on-set accident and their corpses controlled by puppeteers to become a pop boy band. “Not only did he understand the assignment of it’s about the narrative and it’s about the absurdity, but he just elevated every image in a way where we were like, ‘Oh, my God, I didn’t know our work could feel this good,’” Kwan tells Vanity Fair.
Seiple, who also teamed with the Daniels on their 2016 feature debut, the farting-corpse black comedy, Swiss Army Man, says he’s had one job on every project he’s worked with the directing duo: try to ground it in reality. “They go really big with the ideas—almost to a disruptive point. They’re challenging the audience to be like, ‘Can you still follow this? Is this bit too funny? Does it break the character?’” says Seiple. “I’m the janitor, if you will. I’m just constantly trying to clean things up that are crazy, and make them feel ordinary.”
That challenge reached peak levels with Everything Everywhere All at Once, the genre-jumping epic that follows Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh), a laundromat owner who is recruited to travel through the multiverse and fight off an evil force set on imploding the world. “How do you keep the audience believing in and rooting for characters in a universe that has hotdog hands or there’s a talking raccoon or there’s someone beat to death with a dildo, there’s a butt-plug fight?” says Larkin. “The lighting and the execution of the camera work makes it feel real and visceral. So you get to enjoy the humor of it, but you also get to enjoy the emotional journey. You don’t get swept away in the absurdity.”
The end result of this collaboration is a visually stunning film that has intense martial arts fights, wild futuristic settings, and, yes, butt plugs—but all true to the film’s deep emotional core. For Vanity Fair, Seiple and the Daniels broke down the “happy accidents” and unconventional methods that resulted in six of their favorite scenes.
Stephanie Hsu knows it sound crazy, but when she first got the pitch for her dual role in Everything Everywhere All At Once, “It really made a lot of sense to me.” As the 31-year-old actor says now, “I really could see the thread of it and really understood the philosophical concept of it.”
Hsu already knew the writing-directing duo The Daniels—Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert — from a 2019 episode of Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens, so she had a firm grasp on their affinity for unusual storytelling. So it turns out a story in which she’d play both Joy, the frustrated daughter of Michelle Yeoh’s character and Jobu, a couture-wearing, all-powerful villain determined on imploding the world with an everything bagel didn’t phase her much.
Hsu, a Broadway actress most recently seen onscreen in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, has always gravitated to these sort of slice of life stories that “get exploded,” as she describes it — Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of her favorite films. She dove right in to the process of figuring out how she’d play this pair of very different characters, by focusing on what united them.
“We always say that Joy and Jobu are actually two very different expressions of the same philosophy,” says Hsu. “To me, they share the same exact heartbeat, they just respond to it very differently.”
“Sometimes it would feel heavy, but I never felt that anything was unmanageable,” says Hsu of playing Jobu’s darkness.
Allyson Riggs
We meet Hsu’s Joy Wang in Everything Everywhere All At Once early on, when she goes to talk to her mother Evelyn (Yeoh) at the laundromat run by her parents. She’s dressed down in a flannel shirt, her long hair in a simple mid-part, and she’s begging for her mother to acknowledge her relationship with her girlfriend. But Evelyn isn’t hearing her, making Joy feel invisible.
“Because I knew how crazy Jobu was going to be, I knew I wanted to take Joy all the way in the other direction — subtle and unassuming so that the surprise of Jobu could be really satisfying,” says Hsu.
Hsu as Joy at the beginning of Everything Everwhere All At Once.
Allyson Riggs
We don’t meet Jobu Tupaki until after Evelyn has been introduced to the multiverse and told that there’s an evil force out there bent on annihilation. Soon, we learn that Jobu— an alternative universe version of Joy—became all powerful because she was pushed by her own mother to verse-jump so many times that she fractured and now experiences everything, everywhere, at the same exact time.
Because of Jobu’s belief that nothing matters, Hsu and the Daniels spent a lot of time talking about nihilism. “We wanted to make sure that we created a villain that wasn’t just scary or weird for no reason, that they had a very core philosophy,” says Hsu, who also dug deep into the experience of hyper-empathy as a part of her research. “In a world where we’re saturated by news and noise and media that can pull someone into the deep end of being so overwhelmed by the chaos that they can’t even find a way out. And then there’s another person who might be so over sensitized to all that chaos that they just create more.”
