Awards
The Writers Guild Awards And The Union’s Strike
On the 15th of February, members of the Writers Guild of America met once again to discuss their demands. Back in 2007-2008, the writers went on a hundred-day strike to get better pay from streaming services. While back then, they won, new challenges have presented themselves, which make it even more difficult for writers to make ends meet.
Now, various winners and nominees at the Writer’s Guild Awards discuss a future strike once the contract between studios and the writers expires on May 1st. Currently, studios, streamers, and the guild are all negotiating their options which will hopefully result in a resolution by 20th March.
The Award Ceremony
The Writer’s Guild Awards took place on Sunday evening on, the 5th of March. Some of the winners include Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert for the Original Screenplay of Everything Everywhere All At Once, Sarah Polley for the Adapted Screenplay of Women Talking, and Mike White for the Limited Series, The White Lotus. Many of the winners talked about how sticking together as a guild can bring forth great changes. But what is the strike all about?
Basically, one of the few demands is to increase the payment writers make from residuals. Residuals are what writers get paid when a television show is being re-run on TV. With streaming services taking over, shows are streamed on loops endlessly, and while writers still receive a payment, it’s agreed upon that the money is too less than what it should be. Negotiations are going on, but many fear another major writer’s strike, which has the potential to shut down Hollywood for good.
Daniel Kwan motivated attending members saying that the night was all about the call to action for all writers and served as “an example of what’s possible when people stick together.” Sarah Polley, who won for Women Talking, also lauded the writers and talked about how the story of her film was all about “envisioning and taking responsibility for the possibilities of a better future,” she further said, “That is the job of a union, and I wish everyone in this room courage and hope and solidarity for the months ahead as a potential strike comes into view.”
David Goodman, the former WGA West president, also came to the stage to accept his award for TV & New Media Motion Pictures. Goodman is also co-chair and a major part of the ongoing negotiations between the union and Hollywood. He spoke of the former WGA chief negotiator, David Young, and quoted him saying:
“We may be small, but we’re alone,” which made the halls echo with laughter. The fight of the writers is hard and filled with the struggle for endurance. It can often feel very isolating and exploitative when major studios like Disney and Apple are all in the mix.
The union has drafted a list of their demands, and some attendees, including Andor’s Tony Gilroy, feel a little confused about them. Gilroy was nominated for New as well as Drama series categories. Here’s what he had to say:
There’s probably a couple of things I wish were in there that aren’t; there’s probably some things in there that I don’t understand that are very valuable.” He said, “There are a lot of different disciplines and a lot of different things that build the guild now, so there are separate constituencies and different groups that need to be taken care of at different times.”
Since the guild is so massive, it’s obvious that a lot of writers from different backgrounds working in different fields need help. It can cause a major disconnect between them, but it’s all for the best.
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The 2023 Oscars are already being called perhaps the best evening celebrating Hollywood in the past decade, with multiple stars making comebacks and finally getting the recognition and rewards they deserve. Two actors from the 1992 film Encino Man were not only nominated but also won the Oscars in their respective categories.
These were none other than Brendan Fraser and Ke Huy Quan, who won Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, respectively. Among other winners were Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis, who won Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress for their roles in Everything Everywhere All at Once. The Oscars were executive produced by award show masters Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner, who talked about the show and other details in an interview.
Producers And Oscars
The two got candid about how they expected to deliver the show and if it came to fruition or not. Overall, they felt convinced that they had done a great job even though their expectations may have been too high. The two were also pleased with Jimmy Kimmel’s un-slappable performance as the host of the evening.
“I haven’t read anything yet, so I hope I feel good in a half-hour! But we always say the metric is, “Do we feel that we produced the show that we set out to produce?” Because we set a high bar for ourselves,” said Kirshner. “I really feel that we delivered on what we said we would do — honoring the crafts and showing off the movies that were out there this year — and Jimmy scored, I thought.”
Weiss also mentioned that the vibe of the room was “really cool.” He felt that the buzz around the Oscars and the excitement in the room were pretty amazing. The two mentioned how they hadn’t seen any ratings so far, but they hoped that the ratings would be +7, which is a high number without a doubt. This would mean people watched the show live but will also watch it after recording or saving it on their devices later this week.
They mentioned how creating an interactive and immersive set was one of their biggest priorities:
“… for months we’ve been designing the set to be an immersive experience for the audience,” said Weiss. “So a winner’s name is announced, and as they’re walking up to the stage, pictures from their movie were surrounding the audience.”
It was earlier announced by the Academy that they were looking to sign a multi-year deal with producers as well as the host of the evening. This could mean that Weiss and Kirshner would return next year along with this year’s host, Jimmy Kimmel. However, when posed with the question, the executive producers laughed it off since they didn’t really have an answer. So it remains ambiguous if they will actually return for next year’s Oscars.
The 2023 Oscars were a beauty to behold. Great films were celebrated like never before, and representation was rather at the forefront. Films like Everything Everywhere All at Once took home multiple awards, while foreign films like RRR won awards that they rightfully deserved. This time around, Jimmy Kimmel hosted the Oscars. In his opening monologue, he joked about the infamous slap last year as well as the winner card fumble from the year before that. Thankfully, this time around, no controversy was found, and the award ceremony was not dragged down by inglorious moments. Here’s a list of the major winners of the evening.
Winners
Everything Everywhere All at Once was the big winner at the 2023 Oscars. Michelle Yeoh took home the award as Best Actress for the film. She was overjoyed and inspirational in her conduct and speech.
“For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities,” she said as she accepted the award. “This is proof that dreams come true. And ladies…never let anybody tell you that you are past your prime.”
A truly inspirational figure, Yeoh has done everything to deserve that award. Other actors from the film, including Jamie Lee Curtis and Ke Huy Quan, also won awards in their respective categories of best supporting actress and actor.
“My journey started on a boat. I spent a year in a refugee camp. And somehow, I ended up here on Hollywood’s biggest stage. They say stories like these only happen in the movies. I cannot believe it’s happening to me,” said Huy Quan as he tearfully accepted his Oscar.
The film also won best picture as well as the award for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. Other than that, All Quiet On The Western Front won Best International Foreign Film. Brendan Fraser was the winner of Best Actor for his monumental role in The Whale.
Best Sound went to Top Gun: Maverick and Best Original Song went to the Indian film RRR’s song Naatu Naatu which was also performed live at the Oscars. Overall, it has been a brilliant day of well-deserving candidates winning their awards and becoming etched in history for a long time to come. Here is the complete list of winners at the 2023 Oscars:
Best Picture:
Everything Everywhere All at Once—Winner
The Banshees of Inisherin
Tár
The Fabelmans
Top Gun: Maverick
All Quiet on the Western Front
Elvis
Triangle of Sadness
Women Talking
Best Director
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert — Everything Everywhere All at Once—Winner
Ruben Östlund — Triangle of Sadness
Martin McDonagh — The Banshees of Inisherin
Todd Field — Tár
Steven Spielberg — The Fabelmans
Best Actor
Brendan Fraser — The Whale—Winner
Paul Mescal — Aftersun
Bill Nighy — Living
Colin Farrell — The Banshees of Inisherin
Austin Butler — Elvis
Best Actress
Michelle Yeoh — Everything Everywhere All at Once—Winner
Andrea Riseborough — To Leslie
Michelle Williams — The Fabelmans
Cate Blanchett — Tár
Ana de Armas — Blonde
Best Supporting Actor
Ke Huy Quan — Everything Everywhere All at Once—Winner
Brian Tyree Henry — Causeway
Judd Hirsch — The Fabelmans
Brendan Gleeson — The Banshees of Inisherin
Barry Keoghan — The Banshees of Inisherin
Best Supporting Actress
Jamie Lee Curtis—Everything Everywhere All at Once—Winner
Hong Chau — The Whale
Stephanie Hsu — Everything Everywhere All at Once
Angela Bassett — Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Kerry Condon — The Banshees of Inisherin
Best Animated Feature Film
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio—Winner
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
The Sea Beast
Turning Red
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Best Documentary Feature
Navalny—Winner
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
All That Breathes
Fire of Love
A House Made of Splinters
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
An Irish Goodbye—Winner
Le Pupille
The Red Suitcase
Ivalu
Night Ride
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
All Quiet on the Western Front—Winner
Empire of Light
Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths
Elvis
Tár
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
The Whale—Winner
All Quiet on the Western Front
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
The Batman
Elvis
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever—Winner
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris
Elvis
Babylon
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
All Quiet on the Western Front—Winner
Close
The Quiet Girl
Argentina, 1985
EO
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
The Elephant Whisperers—Winner
Haulout
The Martha Mitchell Effect
Stranger At the Gate
How Do You Measure a Year?
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse—Winner
My Year of Dicks
Ice Merchants
An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe I
The Flying Sailor
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
All Quiet on the Western Front—Winner
Babylon
Avatar: The Way of Water
Elvis
The Fabelmans
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
All Quiet on the Western Front—Winner
The Banshees of Inisherin
Babylon
The Fabelmans
Everything Everywhere All at Once
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Avatar: The Way of Water—Winner
The Batman
All Quiet on the Western Front
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Top Gun: Maverick
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Everything Everywhere All at Once—Winner
The Fabelmans
Tár
Triangle of Sadness
The Banshees of Inisherin
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Women Talking—Winner
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Top Gun: Maverick
All Quiet on the Western Front
Living
BEST SOUND
Top Gun: Maverick—Winner
Elvis
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Batman
Avatar: The Way of Water
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Naatu Naatu—RRR—Winner
“Hold My Hand” — Top Gun: Maverick
“Applause” — Tell It Like a Woman
“Lift Me Up” — Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
“This Is a Life” — Everything Everywhere All At Once
BEST FILM EDITING
Everything Everywhere All at Once—Winner
The Banshees of Inisherin
Tár
Elvis
Top Gun: Maverick
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Ruth E. Carter is a 62-year-old veteran American costume designer. She’s had a vast career and a playing field that spans far above and below her recent projects. She has previously worked in over 30 films where she put her best foot forward and showcased her talent.
Straight out of Hampton University, Carter showed brilliance in her field of work. She has previously worked on Malcolm X, Spike Lee’s passion project, as well as Amistad, perhaps a lesser-known Steven Spielberg film. While the legendary costume designer has been nominated for an Oscar a total of four times, she made history at the 2023 Oscars as she became the very first black woman to have two Oscars to her name.
Carter and Black Panther
Ruth Carter has also worked on the original Black Panther film that starred the late Chadwick Boseman. At the time, Carter won the academy award in the same category as Black Panther and became the first African-American to win an award for costume design. And now, for the sequel of the same film, the designer made history by holding the golden lady not just once but twice.
“Nice to see you again,” Carter said as she took the stage. “Thank you to the Academy for recognizing the superhero that is a Black woman. She endures, she loves, she overcomes, she is every woman in this film.”
Said Carter, the designer, was also honoring the memory of her late mother, who recently passed away at the age of 101. In her acceptance speech, she also looked up and asked the late Chadwick Boseman to take care of her mother.
She later thanked the academy as well as Kevin Feige and the producers behind Marvel and Black Panther for having great trust in her. She is a true icon and a celebrity to never forget.
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