The Oscars 95 Recap: The Year of The Big Picture
Let’s recap the night in this blog post. The night began with the Oscars 95 host Jimmy Kimmel parachuting from the ceiling. And the crowd gave their first applause inside the Dolby Theatre.
Who do you think came up with that idea? It was an enjoyable moment for the live crowd and the at home audience. After taking off his parachute, Kimmel started doing what he does best…telling jokes. The comedian was full of them.
Avatar: The Way of Water director James Cameron and Top Gun: Maverick lead actor Tom Cruise were absent at The 95th Oscars and Kimmel joked about it. Does the comedian have a point? He said Cameron did not attend because he wasn’t nominated for Directing. Also the comedian mentioned the director’s marriages and box office receipts.
Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt gave Guillermo Del Toro the first Oscar for his Pinocchio. His acceptance speech was full of passion as he thanked his wife and lastly his parents. At the last Oscars, Ariana DeBose won for her role in West Side Story and Troy Kostur won for his role in Coda. Next, DeBose and Kostur would hand Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis awards for their supporting roles. When was the last time the same movie (Everything Everywhere All At Once) won both best supporting roles?
Everything Everywhere All At Once took home a total of seven Oscars. It’s safe to say the film owned the night. I’ve watched a lot of Academy Awards in my day and haven’t seen a night quite like this one in a long time. You could feel the energy at Dolby Theatre.
Did you enjoy the presentation? The slate of presenters were some of the biggest celebrities. There were tons of stars. If you love entertainment, you were impressed last night. Leading up to the event, the celebs arrived on the red carpet which was painted a champagne color this year.
Tom Cruise may not have made an appearance at the Academy Awards this time, but he did attend the Oscars nominees luncheon. He shared a great moment with Austin Butler at that event. I posed the question: do you want Austin Butler to win Best Actor for his performance in Elvis? Fans overwhelmingly answered yes, they wanted him to win. Later, I’ll discuss who won.
Have you heard about the Vanity Fair Oscars After Party? From the beginning of awards season to the end of the afterparty Everything Everywhere All At Once made their presence known. Michele Yeoh made history by becoming the first Asian actress to win a Best Actress Academy Award.
It’s been 21 years since a woman of color won an award in this category. She took the moment and gave a terrific speech about how one never truly peaks as long as one keeps going. Everything Everywhere All At Once went on to win Best Original Screenplay and Best Directing as well. Check out complete winners list here.
Once again, you could feel the energy. In addition, music filled the air and everybody was in harmony. Lady Gaga touched the crowd with her Hold My Hand from the Top Gun: Maverick soundtrack. Then, Rihanna uplifted everybody with Lift Me Up from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Lastly, Lenny Kravitz sang Calling All Angels from his 2004 Baptism album to honor the lost stars.
There wasn’t too much commotion or many surprises except Brendan Fraser winning Best Actor for The Whale.
The final applause of the night inside Dolby Theatre went to Best Picture winner Everything Everywhere All At Once. It was not only a night to remember but an award season to remember. The Golden Globes, the Grammys, the SAG Awards all told similar stories. In the end, it’s all about the big picture. Follow me on Twitter @IamGuruJay. Thank you!