With this year’s Oscars finally coming to a close, we are reminded how everyone from the production crew to the actors displays their best efforts and their talent to show their film on the big screen. Compared with some of the controversy surrounding last year’s Oscars, not to point any fingers of course, this year’s ceremony has been shown as a year of triumphant victory. Here are some of the highlights from the Oscars 2023.
From Child Actor to Academy Award Director
Starring in a few iconic movies, such as Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and The Goonies (1985), Ke Huy Quan has faced much adversity over his career. After being rejected after his rising stardom, he took a twenty-year hiatus from acting until his recent film project Everything and Everywhere at Once (2022). Quan’s sci-fi film received many awards, including the Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Award.
The Greatest Comeback
If you grew up in the late 90s or early 2000s, you’d probably remember some classic movies such as The Mummy (1999) and its sequels and George of the Jungle (1997), starring Brendan Fraser. Fraser had been suddenly blacklisted by Hollywood after accusing the former president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association of sexual abuse. About twenty years later, Fraser returned to a leading role in The Whale (2022), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Leading Actor. This was a triumphant return for a talented actor who faced unfair adversity, and the people who recognize his role supported him and congratulated him.
From Side Character to Best Actress
Michelle Yeoh began her rise to stardom as a supporting character in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), in which she insisted on doing her own stunts despite the possible dangers. Over the next few years, she had been known to play multiple supporting roles in other movies, until she stars in a leading role in Everything and Everywhere at Once (2022) with Ke Huy Quan. With a stellar performance, she wins the Academy Award for Best Leading Actress.
The Year For Stop-Motion Animation
This year, there were a lot of interesting animation nominations. Regardless of the category, animation has been shown to appeal not only to just children but to adults alike. Guillermo del Toro’s Pinnochio (2022) won this year’s Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. This feature film follows the classic fairytale of the wooden puppet but in a realistic yet fantastical retelling. Over the past few decades, we have forgotten about traditional stop-motion animation due to computer and CGI animation advancements. This film makes us appreciate this form of animation again but definitely requires us to bring some tissues.
In conclusion, this year’s ceremony became quite memorable without the unnecessary drama, and truly gives viewers a chance to deeply value the efforts and the passion in these films along with the story of adversities and triumph.