Recap of the 2023 Oscars & Pace Students’ Thoughts

On March 12, 2023, the Oscars were held at the Dolby Theater, where many films were recognized and awarded for their impressive work. Many awards went to people expected to win; others went home empty-handed. Although there was no slapping of celebrities at the awards show this year, Jimmy Kimmel made sure we didn’t forget what happened last year. There were many other memorable moments that took place this year, from Michelle Yeoh’s Best Actress win to Ke Huy Quan and Harrison Ford’s emotional reunion. 

A week before the Oscars, I asked some friends and Pace students to predict who they thought would win some of the bigger awards. Angela Bassett was favored by 50% of people to win Best Supporting Actress, as opposed to Jamie Lee Curtis with only 8.3%. 61.5% of people predicted Ke Huy Quan would win Best Supporting Actor. Mandy Walker was favored at 58.3% for Best Cinematography for Elvis, while James Friend was suspected by 25% for All Quiet on the Western Front. 33.3% of people predicted Catherine Martin would win Best Costume Design for Elvis, while 25% predicted Ruth Carter would win for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. While 52.8% predicted Austin Butler would win, 23.1% of people predicted Brendan Fraser would win Best Actor. 83.3% of people predicted Michelle Yeoh would win Best Actress, and 30.8% of people predicted Everything Everywhere All at Once would win Best Picture. When asked how they felt about the award show this year, a freshman at Pace, who would prefer to remain anonymous, said, “I was very glad to see Everything Everywhere All at Once win so many awards. I was disappointed to see Original Score go to All Quiet on the Western Front over Babylon.”

I’m sure you have seen reactions on Twitter or Instagram about winners and discussions about who was snubbed, so I would love to tell you how I felt about the night. I was very surprised to see Jamie Lee Curtis win Supporting Actress, with only 17 minutes of screen time in Everything Everywhere All at Once, over Angela Bassett and Stephanie Hsu. I was over the moon, as everyone else was, when I heard Ke Huy Quan’s name announced for Supporting Actor. I was rooting for Everything Everywhere All at Once the entire night, and they deserve every award they won. I have yet to see All Quiet on the Western Front, so I can’t really comment on it, but I was a little surprised when I saw how many awards it won. I also was rooting for Elvis, which obviously didn’t work in my favor. I was hoping for Mandy Walker to win Cinematography for Elvis as the first woman to win in that category. I was shocked to see Makeup and Hair go to The Whale over Elvis, The Batman, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The one category that left me the most heartbroken was Brendan Fraser winning Best Actor over Austin Butler. Brendan Fraser was amazing in The Whale, but I personally think Austin Butler’s performance in Elvis is more Oscar-worthy. I might be biased because I have been absolutely obsessed with Austin Butler and Elvis after seeing it back in June and meeting Austin at an Elvis screening in February, but with the amount of work and time that was put into the movie and the amount of praise it received throughout the year, it shouldn’t have left the night with no awards. Many other people have expressed on social media that they felt that this year’s show was very forgettable, the jokes that were told throughout the night were unfunny, and that the Oscars should look for a new host next year. I completely agree and think that if the Will Smith and Chris Rock slap didn’t happen last year, Jimmy Kimmel would have had a harder time hosting this year, considering the number of times he mentioned it.

Overall, I would have loved to see others go home with awards like Angela Bassett and Austin Butler, but everyone who won this year was deserving and worked so hard for this accomplishment. Being nominated for an Oscar is a huge accomplishment and I know everyone who was nominated, win or lose, is very proud of themselves and the projects they were involved in. I have been rooting for Ke Huy Quan since the Golden Globes and I am eager to see what his next project will be. This year might have been one of the more forgettable years, but I am excited to see what happens next year, especially with the new Barbie movie and Dune: Part Two coming out soon. Hopefully next year we won’t focus on Will Smith as much and possibly get a new host who can make the evening more enjoyable. 

Full List of Oscar Winners for 2023: 

Best Supporting Actress – Jamie Lee Curtis for Everything Everywhere All at Once 

Best Supporting Actor – Ke Huy Quan for Everything Everywhere All at Once 

Documentary Feature Film – Navalny 

Best Live Action Short Film – “An Irish Goodbye”

Best Cinematography – James Friend for All Quiet on the Western Front

Best Makeup & Hair – The Whale

Best Costume Design – Ruth Carter for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Best International Feature Film – All Quiet on the Western Front

Best Documentary Short Film – “The Elephant Whisperer” 

Best Animated Short Film – “The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse”

Best Production Design – All Quiet on the Western Front

Original Score – All Quiet on the Western Front

Best Visual Effects – Avatar: The Way of Water

Best Original Screenplay – Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Adapted Screenplay – Women Talking

Best Sound – Top Gun: Maverick 

Best Original Song – “Naatu Naatu” from RRR

Film Editing – Paul Rogers for Everything Everywhere All at Once

Directing – Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert for Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Actor In A Leading Role – Brendan Fraser for The Whale 

Best Actress In A Leading Role – Michelle Yeoh for Everything Everywhere All at Once 

Best Picture – Everything Everywhere All at Once 

Best Animated Feature Film – Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio

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