The 2023 Oscars came up like a slap in the face, but in a good way this time. This year’s 95th Academy Awards, aka the Oscars, were held on Sunday, March 12 at 8 p.m EST (5 p.m PST). There were many surprising nominations and just as many surprising nomination rejections, but in the end, it was a successful night and a night to celebrate. The host for this year’s Oscars was talk show host Jimmy Kimmel. This was his third time hosting the Academy Awards. He hosted in 2017, 2018, and then in 2023. In 2017, he famously screwed up while announcing the Best Picture award, giving the award to the movie ‘La La Land’ instead of ‘Moonlight.’ 

But, before we go on, let’s get into a little history lesson to understand how the Oscars came about (sorry in advance, but it’s for your own good). The very first Academy Awards were handed out on May 16, 1929 at an Academy banquet in the Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, movies had just begun to include sound. The attendance was 270 and guest tickets were $5 (if only it was the same price today). A myth of how the name Oscars came about is when one of the most widely circulated stories in the film industry is that when Margaret Herrick, executive secretary of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, saw the award, it reminded her of her uncle named Oscar, and the comment spread through to columnist Sidney Skolsky, who was present at the time and used that reference for his society articles. Although the Academy did not officially adopt the moniker until 1939, Skolsky used it in a piece referring to Katherine Hepburn’s first Best Actress win in 1934.

In the 2023 Oscars, there are winners chosen from the following 23 categories: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Original Song, Best International Feature Film, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Animated Feature, Best Original Score, Best Documentary Feature, Live Action Short Film, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Documentary (Short Subject), Best Original Screenplay, Best Visual Effects, Best Animated Short Film, Best Cinematography, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Production Design, and finally Best Sound (holy cow, that’s a lot of categories). Although there are many categories, there are five major Oscar categories and those are Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay (either Original or Adapted). There was one movie that won all the categories it was nominated for, and that was… drum roll please… Everything Everywhere All at Once. It was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress (Michelle Yeoh), Best Supporting Actor (Ke Huy Quan), Best Supporting Actress (Jamie Lee Curtis), Best Director (Daniel Kwan), Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing (Paul Rogers). Michelle Yeoh, who won best actress, made history being the first Asian woman to win an Oscar for best actress.

“I think a lot of really good movies got nominated,” said senior and vice-president of the film club, Ben Naftali. “And I’m very happy with the nomination for Everything Everywhere All at Once.”

While the Oscars are about nominating different movies and actors and actresses of the past year, there are also some events full of controversy that happen there. Last year, there was an incident where actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock in the face after he made a joke about Will’s wife and this year, ‘Cocaine Bear’ joining Elizabeth Banks on stage while presenting the Oscar for Best Visual Effects.

“I thought that the bear that showed up on stage was fun and I loved that,” said senior Jaran Depew. “That was definitely a highlight. It was interesting.” 

Overall, this year’s Oscars was a successful night with no mix-ups and no slaps in the face.