The Oscars, given out every year by the Academy of Motion Pictures, will be presented this year on Sunday, March 12.
Despite the presence of big-ticket movies like The Fabelmans, directed by Steven Spielberg, it’s expected that Everything Everywhere All At Once, distributed by the independent studio, A24, will win for best picture.
Everything… is directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (together known as the Daniels) and produced by the Russo brothers, who are famous for directing Marvel movies such as Captain America: Winter Solider and Avengers: Endgame.
That the absurdist comedy-drama is almost a sure shot to win the most coveted Oscar is heart-warming for critics. The film has been nominated in a whopping 11 categories.
The movie tells the story of Evelyn Quan Wang, played by Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), who is struggling to make ends meet as the owner of a laundromat. The movie combines elements of surrealism, fantasy and science fiction as Evelyn is drawn to several other universes where she meets her own character and has to save the world.
The concept of the multiverse may be familiar to movie audiences right now, but when the Daniels started writing on the project way back in 2010, it was a shiny new theory. The release and massive success of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse changed all that. The Daniels, already upset by the release of the animated Spider-Man movie, also were distraught when the second season of Ricky and Morty was released on streaming. The directors decided not to watch the show and go ahead with their own script. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was another movie that featured the multiverse in a big way.
Everything… has already won two Golden Globes, five Critics Choice Awards (including Best Picture), one BAFTA award, a record four Screen Actors Guild Awards, and seven Independent Spirit Awards (including Best Feature). So, starting as an outsider, this movie is at the centre of all attention this awards season.
The movie has come in for widespread acclaim. The acting, the direction and the premises of the story have all been praised by critics.
Accepting the Golden Globe for Best Actress, Michelle Yeoh, who turned 60 last year, gave a shout-out to the Daniels and her fellow star Jamie Lee Curtis (True Lies). “(The directors) had the courage to write about a very ordinary Asian woman…I was given the gift of playing this woman who resonated with me and with so many people because at the end of the day, whatever universe she was at, she was fighting, fighting for love and her family,” Michelle Yeoh said.
Jamie Lee Curtis and Stephanie Hsu have both been nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars.
Films from India are contesting in three different categories at the Oscars. ‘Naatu Naatu’ from SS Rajamouli’s pan-Indian hit movie RRR is competing for the Best Original Song award. Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes and Kartiki Gonsalves’s The Elephant Whisperers, have been nominated for the Best Documentary and Best Documentary Short awards respectively. Upon streaming, The Elephant Whisperers was a huge hit on Netflix.
The Oscars were nominated on January 14. Popular talk show host Jimmy Kimmel will host the show.
The 95th edition will be presented at Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. The event will be broadcast in India at around 7 am on streaming. The show will also be live broadcast on TV.
The Phoenix Rises 