Michelle Yeoh accepts the award for best performance by an actress in a leading role for Everything Everywhere All at Once at the Oscars in Los Angeles. Photo / AP
Michelle Yeoh accepts the award for best performance by an actress in a leading role for Everything Everywhere All at Once at the Oscars in Los Angeles. Photo / AP
It was the film tipped to dominate the Oscars, as it has done at the Golden Globes, the Baftas, and the Screen Actors’ Guild awards.
And the mind-bending multiverse movie Everything Everywhere All at Once has done it again, winning in all the major categories including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress.
Along with the Oscars in the original screenplay film editing categories, that’s a total of seven Oscars for the film.
It’s the most “above the line” wins for any movie in the history of the Academy Awards.
While it wasn’t quite a clean sweep, with Best Actor going to Brendan Fraser, it’s still a history-making moment for the film backed by studio A24 – which is also behind Fraser’s The Whale. It’s the first time a movie studio has won all six top awards in a single night.
It’s the third Best Actress for Michelle Yeoh following her Golden Globes and SAG Awards win.
She thanked her co-stars, the film’s directors and crew in an emotional speech, saying, “This is the beacon of hope and possibilities, this is proof that dreams do come true. Ladies, don’t ever let anybody tell you you are past your prime.”
Brendan Fraser accepts the Best Actor award for The Whale onstage during the 95th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre. Photo / Getty Images
Yeoh dedicated her award to “all the moms … the real superheroes”.
This year’s Academy Awards also marked a full circle moment for Brendan Fraser, his return to Hollywood complete with his Best Actor win.
He was overcome with tears as he took to the stage for his acceptance speech, thanking the Academy and film studio A24 for making “such a bold film”.
He also thanked director Darren Aronofsky for “throwing me a creative lifeline”.
“I started in this business 30 years ago, things didn’t come easy to me but there was a facility that I didn’t appreciate at the time, until it stopped. I just want to say thank you for this acknowledgement,” he said.
And earlier on in the night, Avatar: The Way of Water finally got its moment, taking out the Oscar for Best Visual Effects.
While the film may have been snubbed for Best Picture yet again, it was the creative minds of New Zealand’s Wētā FX who got a moment in the spotlight.
Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, Daniel Barret of Wētā FX were clearly overjoyed as they accepted the award on the Oscars stage today. It was one of three nominated films that owed its stunning visuals to the Kiwi company, as well as The Batman and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
In a statement shared by Wētā, Letteri said he was “incredibly proud” of his team’s achievements.
“Eric, Dan, and I are honoured to represent the 1,700 Wētā FX crew that contributed to Avatar: The Way Of Water,” he said.
