The 95th Academy Awards: A Celebration of the Stars of Film, Both Old and New

Jimmy Kimmel hosts the 89th Oscars. This year was his third time as the ceremony’s host. Photo Credit: Flickr

The Oscars commemorated the films of 2022 tonight at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, California.

The late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel hosted the event, which marked the 95th annual Academy Awards ceremony. This year, the Oscars presented all 23 of its awards again live, rather than utilizing a pre-recorded video for the eight less focal awards like Best Makeup and Hairstyling as it did last year.

Kimmel opened the Oscars with a statement of gratitude for all of the actors, directors, and crew members involved in the nominated films. He teased long-time Hollywood legends like Steven Spielberg and newer nominees like Austin Butler alike. Kimmel likened Spielberg and his costar Seth Rogen to “the Joe and Hunter Biden of Hollywood” and said that Butler is still a convincing Elvis, furthering the Internet joke that Butler has yet to lose the accent he donned to play the King of Rock and Roll.

Kimmel also referenced the tumultuous altercation between Will Smith and Chris Rock that occurred at last year’s Oscars. He quipped that the movie stars would defend him, but his message of the inappropriateness and divisiveness of the fight was clear. 

“We have no time for shenanigans. This is a celebration of everyone here,” he said. 

Smith was banned from the Academy Awards for the next 10 years and therefore was unable to fulfill his duty as the 94th Academy Awards’ Best Actor winner to present this year’s Best Actor and Best Actress awards. Halle Berry, a previous Best Actress winner, replaced him, announcing the two honors with last year’s Best Actress winner, Jessica Chastain.

The crowd of 3,400 people in the theater, which was primarily comprised of fashionably dressed-up celebrities ranging from Lady Gaga to Malala, remained attentive throughout the show. They laughed at Kimmel’s witty barbs and enthusiastically cheered for each category’s nominees and winners. They even participated in singing a lively rendition of “Happy Birthday” to James Martin, an actor in Irish Goodbye, which won Best Live Action Short Film.

The New York Times predicted Everything Everywhere All At Once, which was nominated for 11 Oscars, to be the favorite. This prediction was correct – the action-adventure movie won seven of these awards, including Achievement in Directing, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress, Best Actress, and Best Picture.

Performances of the nominations for Best Original Song interspersed the award presentations. Fresh off her Superbowl Halftime Show, Rihanna sang a touching rendition of “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever to honor the franchise’s late Chadwick Bozeman. 

Many of the nominees were familiar. Spielberg was nominated for an Oscar for the sixth consecutive decade, this time for Achievement in Directing for his semi-autobiographical film, The Fabelmans. John Williams has won five Oscars, and this year, he became the oldest Academy Award nominee at 91 years old for his Original Score for The Fabelmans.

Yet the winners included several new faces. According to Kimmel, there were 16 first-time nominees contending for the Best Actor and Best Actress categories.

Brendan Fraser, one of these first-timers, won Best Actor for his role as a 600-pound hermit in The Whale. In his acceptance speech, Fraser praised the talents of the other nominees and thanked his support system.

“This acknowledgement couldn’t have been done without my cast,” he said, teary-eyed. “It was like I was on a diving expedition, and the light from above was my family.”

Michelle Yeoh made history this year as the first Asian woman to be nominated for Best Actress for her role as a Chinese immigrant-turned-martial-arts-heroine in Everything Everywhere All At Once. Berry and Chastain announced her win to passionate applause from the audience. The 60-year-old Yeoh was moved and encouraged women and Asians not to give up hope in her acceptance speech.

“For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibility,” she said.