The much-touted multi-verse fantasy Everything Everywhere All At Once has dominated the Academy Awards. Going into Hollywood’s big night with eleven nominations, it won seven Oscars , including Best Picture, Best Directing and three of the four acting awards.
Its main challenger, the German-language war film, All Quiet On The Western Front, won in four categories, including for its British cinematographer, James Friend.
An early sign that the night would pan out as it did was when Jamie Lee Curtis upset the early awards-season favourite, Angela Bassett, to take the Best Supporting Actress category. Her co-star, Ke Huy Quan – a child star in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom – was named the Best Supporting Actor for his comeback role. And Michelle Yeoh beat off competition from her fellow Golden Globe winner Cate Blanchett to take the Best Actress award. As the first Asian actress to win the top prize at the Oscars, Yeoh described her victory as “history in the making,” and said it was a “beacon of hope and possibilities” for all the boys and girls who looked like her. The 60 year old also had a message to women in the industry, telling them, “Don’t let anybody tell you you are past your prime. Never give up.”
The only acting category not to include a member of the Everything Everywhere All At One cast, Best Actor, was a tight fight between The Whale‘s Brendan Fraser and Austin Butler, for his portrayal of Elvis. The Oscar went to Fraser, for what was widely seen as his comeback film, after years away from the big screen.
Earlier in the ceremony – hosted by the talk-show presenter Jimmy Kimmel – Guillermo Del Toro won the Best Animated Feature prize, for his version of Pinocchio, Navalny – about the Russian opposition leader – was named the Best Feature Documentary, and a short film from Northern Ireland, An Irish Goodbye, won in its category; the directors sang “happy birthday” to their star on the stage.
Another British winner was the illustrator Charlie Mackesy, who took the Best Animated Short Oscar for the adaptation of his book The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse.
In the technical categories, the creators of Brendan Fraser’s fat-suit won the make-up award for The Whale, Avatar: The Way of Water won the Visual Effects award and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever took the Best Costume prize.
After last year’s controversy over Will Smith slapping the host Chris Rock, minutes before being awarded the Best Actor prize, this year’s event passed off without incident and most of the awards went along with the predictions, but there were a couple of surprises; the Scottish triathlete-turned-screenwriter Lesley Paterson – who wrote All Quiet on the Western Front – lost out in the Best Adapted Screenplay prize to Women Talking‘s Sarah Polley and Top Gun: Maverick beat the German film in the Best Sound category.
The full list of winners:
Best Picture: Everything Everywhere All At Once
Best Director: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert – Everything Everywhere All At Once
Best Leading Actor: Brendan Fraser – The Whale
Best Leading Actress: Michelle Yeoh – Everything Everywhere All At Once
Best Supporting Actor: Ke Huy Quan – Everything Everywhere All At Once
Best Supporting Actress: Jamie Lee Curtis – Everything Everywhere All At Once
Best Original Screenplay: Everything Everywhere All At Once
Best Adapted Screenplay: Women Talking
Cinematography: James Friend – All Quiet on the Western Front
Production Design: All Quiet on the Western Front
Costume: Black Panther Wakanda Forever
Makeup and Hairstyling: The Whale
Editing: Everything Everywhere All At Once
Visual Effects: Avatar: The Way of Water
Sound: Top Gun: Maverick
Best Original Score: All Quiet on the Western Front
Best Original Song: Naatu Naatu from RRR
Best Animated Feature: Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio
Best International Feature Film: All Quiet on the Western Front
Best Documentary Feature: Navalny
Best Documentary Short: The Elephant Whispers
Best Live Action Short: An Irish Goodbye
Best Animated Short: The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse