‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ tops Oscar noms with 11

AFP
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Los Angeles (AFP) โ€“ Surreal sci-fi โ€œEverything Everywhere All At Onceโ€ topped the Oscar nominations Tuesday with 11, as Hollywood formally kicked off the race to the all-important Academy Awards.

It was followed by German anti-war movie โ€œAll Quiet on the Western Frontโ€ and Irish black comedy โ€œThe Banshees of Inisherin,โ€ which each received nine nominations from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

As expected, Academy voters also rewarded blockbusters such as Tom Cruiseโ€™s โ€œTop Gun: Maverickโ€ and โ€œAvatar: The Way of Waterโ€ for helping to bring audiences back to movie theaters after the pandemic.

Both were nominated for best picture, Tinseltownโ€™s most coveted prize, although another crowd-pleaser โ€” โ€œBlack Panther: Wakanda Foreverโ€ โ€” missed out.

The remaining best picture slots went to rock-and-roll biopic โ€œElvis,โ€ย Steven Spielbergโ€™s quasi-memoir โ€œThe Fabelmans,โ€ Cate Blanchettโ€™s latest tour-de-force โ€œTar,โ€ Cannes festival winner โ€œTriangle of Sadnessโ€ and literary adaptation โ€œWomen Talking.โ€

Absurdist indie film โ€œEverything Everywhere All At Onceโ€ portrays a Chinese-American immigrant family undergoing a tax audit, who are quickly drawn into an inter-dimensional battle to save the multiverse from a powerful villain.ย 

It became a huge word of mouth hit and has grossed over $100 million worldwide.

The film earned four acting nominations for its cast, including best supporting actor for Ke Huy Quan โ€” who appeared as a child in โ€œIndiana Jones and The Temple of Doomโ€ almost four decades ago โ€” and best lead actress for Michelle Yeoh.

Yeoh becomes just the second Asian woman ever nominated for lead actress in 95 years of Oscars history, and will compete with double Oscar-winner Blanchett for the prize.

But there was controversy elsewhere in the lead actress category, as no Black women were nominated, despite Viola Davis (โ€œThe Woman Kingโ€) and Danielle Deadwyler (โ€œTillโ€) having been seen as frontrunners.

Instead the remaining slots went to Ana de Armas (โ€œBlondeโ€), Michelle Williams (โ€œThe Fabelmansโ€) and Andrea Riseborough for tiny indie film โ€œTo Leslie,โ€ which mounted an unusual, late celebrity-backed campaign for its star.

โ€“ย International voters โ€“

In the other individual categories, Brendan Fraser (โ€œThe Whaleโ€), Colin Farrell (โ€œThe Banshees of Inisherinโ€) and Austin Butler (โ€œElvisโ€) are clear favorites for best actor.

The remaining nominations went to Paul Mescal in โ€œAftersunโ€ and Bill Nighy in โ€œLiving.โ€

In the best supporting actress category, Angela Bassett became the first star in a Marvel superhero movie to ever earn an Oscar acting nomination with โ€œBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever.โ€

Spielberg made the best director shortlist, but no women were nominated in the category, sparking quick social media backlash.

Speaking before the nominations, Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis told AFP this was one of the more unpredictable Oscars races, in part due to the recent massive growth in the number of international Academy voters.

Those members have been credited with surprises such as South Koreaโ€™s โ€œParasiteโ€ winning best picture in 2020.

This year they got behind โ€œAll Quiet on the Western Front,โ€ which is distributed by Netflix.ย 

The World War I drama โ€œAll Quiet on the Western Frontโ€ has built major momentum, scooping a massive 14 nods last week for Britainโ€™s BAFTAs.

โ€˜Saved moviesโ€™

Actors Riz Ahmed (โ€œSound of Metalโ€) and Allison Williams (โ€œGirlsโ€) unveiled the Oscar nominations early on Tuesday morning from Los Angeles.

Television ratings for award shows including the Oscars have trended downwards, as Academy voters in recent years have veered toward honoring lesser-known indie hits like โ€œNomadlandโ€ and โ€œCODA.โ€

Many in the industry were hoping for a healthy spread of nominations among 2022โ€™s crowd-pleasing sequels, which were sorely needed as giants such as Cineworld, the worldโ€™s second biggest cinema chain, filed for bankruptcy protection.

James Cameronโ€™s sci-fi epic โ€œAvatar: The Way of Water,โ€ which sailed past the $2 billion mark globally last weekend, earned four nominations including best picture, production design, sound and visual effects.

โ€œTop Gun: Maverick,โ€ Cruiseโ€™s long-awaited sequel to his huge 1986 hit which came out in May during highly uncertain times for movie theaters and earned around $1.5 billion, received six โ€” best picture, editing, song, sound, visual effects and adapted screenplay.

โ€œThatโ€™s the one that feels like it could actually win best picture,โ€ said Davis, before the announcement.

โ€œWhat better story the day after the Oscars air, than that the movie that saved movies was named the best movie? Thatโ€™s a good story to tell.โ€

The Full List of 2023 Academy Award Nominees

BEST PICTURE
All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water
The Banshees of Inisherin
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans
Tรกr
Top Gun: Maverick
Triangle of Sadness
Women Talking

BEST ACTOR
Austin Butler,ย Elvis
Colin Farrell,ย The Banshees of Inisherin
Brendan Fraser,ย The Whale
Paul Mescal,ย Aftersun
Bill Nighy,ย Living

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett,ย Tรกr
Ana de Armas,ย Blonde
Andrea Riseborough,ย To Leslie
Michelle Williams,ย The Fabelmans
Michelle Yeoh,ย Everything Everywhere All at Once

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Brendan Gleeson,ย The Banshees of Inisherin
Brian Tyree Henry,ย Causeway
Judd Hirsch, Theย Fabelmans
Barry Keoghan,ย The Banshees of Inisherin
Ke Huy Quan,ย Everything Everywhere All at Once

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Angela Bassett,ย Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Hong Chau,ย The Whale
Kerry Condon,ย The Banshees of Inisherin
Jamie Lee Curtis,ย Everything Everywhere All at Once
Stephanie Hsu,ย Everything Everywhere All at Once

BEST DIRECTING
Martin McDonagh,ย The Banshees of Inisherin
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert,ย Everything Everywhere All at Once
Steven Spielberg,ย The Fabelmans
Todd Field,ย Tรกr
Ruben ร–stlund,ย Triangle of Sadness

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
All Quiet on the Western Front
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Living
Top Gun: Maverick
Women Talking

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Banshees of Inisherin
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans
Tรกr
Triangle of Sadness

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Guillermo del Toroโ€™s Pinocchio
Marcel the Shell With Shoes On
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
The Sea Beast
Turning Red

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
All Quiet on the Western Front
Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths
Elvis
Empire of Light
Tรกr

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Babylon
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
All That Breathes
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
Fire of Love
A House Made of Splinters
Navalny

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
The Elephant Whisperers
Haulout
How Do You Measure a Year?
The Martha Mitchell Effect
Stranger at the Gate

BEST FILM EDITING
The Banshees of Inisherin
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Tรกr
Top Gun: Maverick

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
All Quiet on the Western Front
Argentina, 1985
Close
EO
The Quiet Girl

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Batman
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Elvis
The Whale

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
All Quiet on the Western Front
Babylon
The Banshees of Inisherin
Everything Everywhere All at Once
The Fabelmans

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
โ€œApplause,โ€ย Tell It Like a Woman
โ€œHold My Hand,โ€ย Top Gun: Maverick
โ€œLift Me Up,โ€ย Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
โ€œNaatu Naatu,โ€ย RRR
โ€œThis Is a Life,โ€ย Everything Everywhere All at Once

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water
Babylon
Elvis
The Fabelmans

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse
The Flying Sailor
Ice Merchants
My Year of Dicks
An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It

BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT FILM
An Irish Goodbye
Ivalu
Le Pupille
Night Ride
The Red Suitcase

BEST SOUND
All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water
The Batman
Elvis
Top Gun: Maverick

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
All Quiet on the Western Front
Avatar: The Way of Water
The Batman
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Top Gun: Maverick