Oscars 2023: The eight wildest, sweetest moments

The 2023 awards season reached its glitzy culmination in surprisingly heartwarming fashion last night. The 95th annual Academy Awards was one of the most joyful and inclusive Oscars we’ve had in years.

From the start, this year’s Oscars felt different.

First, the red carpet was … not red, for the first time since 1961. Instead, it was a tasteful champagne, part of an esthetic rebrand ushered in by creative consultants.

If the ceremony had a 2023 motto, it would have been, “We don’t want any trouble.”

As expected, the evening’s host, an affable Jimmy Kimmel, addressed The Slap in his opening monologue.

“If anything unpredictable or violent happens during the ceremony, just do what you did last year — nothing,” Kimmel said to the audience, referring to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock onstage during the 2022 Oscars.

Kimmel also joked that any would-be assailant would have to get through an audience full of superheroes and badasses — or the actors who play them. (An actual crisis management crew was reportedly stationed in the wings to ensure there was no funny business.)

Once the ceremony got underway, it was infused with emotion. That feeling came from some familiar places — including the success of “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” an awards season juggernaut that won seven of the 11 awards it was nominated for — as well as a few unexpected sources.

Let’s whirl through the highs, lows and most heartfelt moments of the 2023 Oscars.

Michelle Yeoh led a night of firsts

With her win for “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” Michelle Yeoh became the first Asian woman to win the Best Actress award. Inside the Dolby Theatre, the audience reaction to her win was deafening. “For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibility,” Yeoh said, adding, “Ladies, don’t let anybody ever tell you are past your prime.”

Even before the winners took to the podium, this year’s Academy Awards was one for the record books: It marked the most nominations in a single year for Asian actors.

“Elvis” cinematographer Mandy Walker became just the third woman ever to be nominated in that category, while Ana de Armas of “Blonde“ is the first Cuban woman to be nominated for Best Actress.

It was also a banner year for first-time nominees. 2023 was the first year since 1935 that all of the Best Actor nominees hadn’t been nominated before. And Angela Bassett’s nomination for her turn in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” was the first Academy nod for the Marvel universe.

Sarah Polley won for Best Adapted Screenplay

Canadian writer and director Sarah Polley accepted the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for “Women Talking,” her film based on the novel by Canadian author Miriam Toews. In her speech, Polley quoted the last line in the film, “Your life will be better,” calling it a “promise and a commitment” to the next generation, including her three kids watching at home in Toronto.

Jamie Lee Curtis won her first Oscar at 64

When Jamie Lee Curtis won Best Supporting Actress for “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” she credited everyone from her husband (Christopher Guest) to her collaborators to all the people who have watched her movies over the many years she’s been in the business. “I just won an Oscar!” she said onstage, her voice breaking as she talked about how her parents, Hollywood icons Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis, had also been Oscar nominees.

As expected, Curtis’ “EEAAO” co-star Ke Huy Quan won Best Supporting Actor. Although he was the favourite in his category, emotion in the room still ran high. Presenter Ariana De Bose began to cry when she announced his name, and he received a standing ovation from the crowd. “Mom, I just won an Oscar,” Quan said, tears running down his face. “My journey started on a boat. I spent a year in a refugee camp, and somehow I ended up on Hollywood’s biggest stage. I cannot believe this is happening to me … this is the American dream.”

Lady Gaga got emotional

For her performance of “Hold My Hand” — the theme song of “Top Gun: Maverick,” nominated for Best Original Song — a dressed-down Lady Gaga exchanged her high drama red carpet makeup and Versace dress for a bare face and a black T-shirt and ripped jeans. “We need a lot of love to walk through this life,” Gaga said tearfully while introducing the song. “And we all need heroes sometimes. You might find you can be your own hero, even if you feel broken inside.” Gaga dedicated the song to the late director Tony Scott. The audience gave the performance a standing ovation.

Brendan Fraser completed his comeback

Brendan Fraser won Best Actor for his performance in “The Whale.” In his speech, a visibly emotional Fraser said, “I’m grateful to [director] Darren Aronofsky for throwing me a creative lifeline and hauling me aboard the good ship ‘The Whale.’” It’s a major comeback for the Canadian-American actor, who had largely left Hollywood after his early 2000s movie star heyday.

Rihanna glowed while performing “Lift Me Up”

Fresh from her triumph at the Super Bowl halftime show in February — her first public performance in over five years — Rihanna was back at the mic, dripping in diamonds and Maison Margiela. She sang the Oscar-nominated tune “Lift Me Up,” which was written in memory of the Black Panther himself, Chadwick Boseman. Rihanna hit every note and receiving another standing ovation from the crowd.

A low: Hugh Grant compared himself to a scrotum

Presenting the set and production design category alongside his “Four Weddings and a Funeral” co-star Andie McDowell, Hugh Grant joked that they were there to “raise important awareness” for moisturizer. “Andie has worn one every day for the past 29 years and still looks stunning,” he joked. “I on the other hand have never used one, and I practically look like a scrotum.” Charming, as always.

The entire Oscars audience sang “Happy Birthday”

The wholesomeness of Oscars 2023 reached its apex when the filmmakers behind “An Irish Goodbye” — which won Best Short Film — dedicated most of their speech time to getting the crowd to sing “Happy Birthday” to star James Martin. It was a genuinely sweet moment in a night that often lacks true emotion.

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