Music

You can’t have an Oscar telecast without Snubs & Surprises. It’s an unwritten law. This year, mercifully, the surprises had nothing to do with bad behavior or mishandled envelopes, but simply with awards outcomes that not everyone saw coming.

Jimmy Kimmel hosted the 95th Oscars, which were held Sunday (March 12) at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. Everything Everywhere All at Once was the top winner, with seven Oscars.

EEAAO became only the third film – and the first in nearly 50 years – to win three acting Oscars. The first two, both classics, were A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) and Network (1976). The film’s star, Michelle Yeoh, won best actress, while Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis took the supporting awards.

“The Daniels” – Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert – won three Oscars on Sunday (March 12) for co-producing, co-writing and co-directing the buzzy film. This marks just the second time in Oscar history that two people have shared three awards on Oscar night. Joel and Ethan Coen won Oscars for serving in the same capacities 15 years ago for No Country for Old Men.

For the second year in a row, all four of the acting winners – Brendan Fraser, Yeoh, Quan and Curtis – had previously won at the SAG Awards. This is the eighth time in the past 14 years that all four Oscar winners had won at the SAG Awards, a surprisingly high rate of agreement.

Here are some of the more notable snubs and surprises from Oscar night 2023.

Everything, Everywhere All at Once lived up to is name at the 2023 Oscars, which were presented at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood on Sunday (March 12). EEAAO became only the third film – and the first in nearly 50 years – to win three acting Oscars. The first two, both classics, were A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) and Network (1976). The film’s star, Michelle Yeoh, won best actress, while Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis took the supporting awards.

“The Daniels” – Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert – won three Oscars for co-producing, co-writing and co-directing the buzzy film. This marks just the second time in Oscar history that two people have shared three awards on Oscar night. Joel and Ethan Coen won Oscars for serving in the same three capacities 15 years ago for No Country for Old Men.

The Daniels are the just third pair to win an Oscar for directing. They follow Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise for West Side Story (1961) and the Coen Brothers for the aforementioned No Country for Old Men (2007).

Kwan is the first writer of a Chinese descent to win best original screenplay.

Many others set records at the 95th Oscars, Take a look:

“Naatu Naatu” from RRR won best original song. It’s the first song performed in a language other than English to win in this category since “Jai Ho” from Slumdog Millionaire 14 years ago. “Naatu Naatu” is an Indian Telugu-language song. “Jai Ho” was performed in Hindi.

Three other such songs have won over the years – “Mona Lisa” from Captain, Carey, U.S.A. (which is performed in Spanish by a troubadour in the 1950 film, though it is best known for Nat King Cole’s smash cover version in English); “Never on Sunday” from the film of the same name (which is performed in Greek in the 1960 film); and “Al otro lado del río” from The Motorcycle Diaries (which is performed in Spanish in the 2004 film).

In a charming speech, M.M. Keeravaani said he grew up listening to the Carpenters and now here he is at the Oscars. The Carpenters performed the nominated “Bless the Beasts and Children” on the Oscar stage in 1972.

Ruth E. Carter won best costume design for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Carter is the first African American woman to win multiple Oscars. She previously won for the first installment of Black Panther. Only four other African Americans – all men – have won two competitive Oscars – actors Denzel Washington and Mahershala Ali; and sound experts Willie D. Burton and Russell Williams II.

In accepting her second Oscar, Carter said “Thank you for recognizing the superhero that is the Black woman.” She dedicated the award to her mother who, in Carter’s phrase, “became an ancestor” last week at age 101.

For the second year in a row, all four of the acting winners – Brendan Fraser, Yeoh, Quan and Curtis – had previously won at the SAG Awards. This is the eighth time in the past 14 years that all four Oscar winners had previously won at the SAG Awards, a surprisingly high rate of agreement.

Fraser won best actor for The Whale, becoming the first Canadian to win in that category. The actor holds dual Canadian-American citizenship.

Yeoh is the first Southeast Asian actress to win best actress. Quan is the first actor born in Vietnam to win an Oscar.

Curtis’ parents, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, were both nominated for acting Oscars, but didn’t win. Curtis was nominated for best actor for The Defiant Ones (1958); Leigh for best supporting actress for Psycho (1960).

All Quiet on the Western Front won best international feature film. It’s the third German film to win in that category since 2000. Nowhere in America won the 2002 award. The Lives of Others took the 2006 award. Before that, the West German entry The Tin Drum won the 1979 award.

Volker Bertelmann won best original score for All Quiet on the Western Front. This is the second year in a row that the award has gone to a German composer. Hans Zimmer won last year for Dune. Bertelmann triumphed in a strong field which included John Williams, a five-time winner for his scores, and Justin Hurwitz, who won for his La La Land score. Bertelmann’s score also won a BAFTA Award last month.

James Friend won achievement in cinematography for All Quiet on the Western Front. Just as noteworthy, Mandy Walker lost for her work on Elvis. She was vying to become the first woman to win in the category. Only two other women have ever been nominated in the category – Rachel Morrison for Mudbound (2018) and Ari Wegner for The Power of the Dog (2021).

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio won best animated feature film of the year. It’s del Toro’s third Oscar win. He won five years ago for producing and directing The Shape of Water.

Avatar: The Way of Water won for achievement in visual effects The first Avatar film also won in this category. Avatar is the sixth franchise to win multiple Oscars in this category. It follows Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings, Aliens, King Kong and Star Wars.

The 95th Academy Awards, which aired live on ABC, took over the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday (March 12).

Everything Everywhere All at Once was the evening’s biggest winner, nabbing seven trophies out of its 11 nominations, including best picture, best directing, best actress, best supporting actress and best supporting actor.

Pop royalty was present and accounted for, with Rihanna performing “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Lady Gaga belting “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick. Both were nominated in the best original song category, but lost out to M.M. Keeravaani and Chandrabose for “Naatu Naatu” from RRR. In the best original score category, Volker Bertelmann won for All Quiet on the Western Front.

John Travolta introduced Lenny Kravitz’s performance of “Calling All Angels” during the In Memoriam segment. Travolta paid homage to “dear friends who we will always remain hopelessly devoted to,” choking up while referencing his late Grease co-star Olivia Newton-John, who died last August at age 73. Travolta teared up while saluting his friend and musical collaborator.

It was host Jimmy Kimmel’s third time steering the Academy Awards. In his opening monologue, Kimmel naturally had a joke about Will Smith’s infamous slap of 2022 Oscars host Chris Rock. “We want me to feel safe. We have strict policies in place. If anyone in this theater commits an act of violence at any point during this show, you will be awarded the Oscar for best actor and permitted to give a 19-minute-long speech,” Kimmel said.