While it was hard to top the slap heard around the world at Oscars 2022, the Oscars 2023 had its own surprising moments, some heartwarming and poignant, others shocking and quirky. From the offset, the 2023 Oscars proved promising because of much of the exciting talent found within. Some prime examples of this are the "Great Green Wave" of Irish performers and filmmakers making their presence known in myriad categories, and the teams behind international films like All Quiet On The Western Front and RRR moving around Hollywood royalty like old pros.
Host Jimmy Kimmel was in fine comedic form, even making references to the altercation between Will Smith and Chris Rock from Oscars 2022, in case anyone had any doubt that the late-night talk show host would let good material go to waste. As everyone waited to see how Everything Everywhere All At Once, which was up for 11 Academy Awards, would do against All Quiet On The Western Front and The Banshees of Inisherin, each nominated for 9, there were Best Original Song performances, and Brendan Fraser and Ke Huy Quan experiencing the fruit of their comebacks. Overall, the Oscars in 2023 did what the Oscars do best - entertain.
10 Jamie Lee Curtis's Reaction To Winning Best ing Actress For EEAAO
Despite acting for over forty years, Jamie Lee Curtis had never been nominated for an Academy Award until Everything Everywhere All At Once. Her performance as Deirdre Beaubeirdre, a disgruntled and wryly amusing tax agent opposite Michelle Yeoh's Evelyn, was a breath of fresh air for Curtis who, after Halloween, had made horror films first and foremost. When her name was announced as the winner over Angela Bassett and costar Stephanie Hsu, Curtis looked amazed and shouted, "Oh shut up!" During Curtis' acceptance speech, she made it clear that she wanted all her horror fans to know that she won the Oscar on their behalf and all the genre storytellers.
9 Ke Huy Quan's Acceptance Speech
Just as surprised as Jamie Lee Curtis was Ke Huy Quan, who won the Academy Award for Best ing Actor. Quan very nearly bounded up to the microphone when his name was called, and he gave a palpably excited acceptance speech. Making the leap from beloved child actor in The Goonies to respected leading man after a gap of several decades was enough to make Quan cry, and inspired a few more tears from the audience.
The actor, when asked on the red carpet whether he had words prepared in case he won, maintained he was trying to "stay in the moment" with the Oscars 2023. However, when it came time to address the world holding his statuette, his response looked to the future and the hope he had for those within it. In his speech, Quan looked right into the camera and told anyone with a dream to hold onto it, to "never give up," and to use him as an example of staying the course.
8 "Naatu Naatu" RRR Performance And Best Original Song Win
By far, the most electrifying of the dazzling Best Original Song nominees performances was "Naatu Naatu" from RRR. Bursting with synchronized dancers, vivid colors, and many stars from the movie, it felt like a fresh take on the sort of Rogers and Hammerstein movies that dominated Hollywood when musicals were at their apex. "Naatu Naatu" made history by making the RRR movie the first Indian feature film to win an Oscar, sending a message alongside the song's anti-colonialist anthem. Besides the song's bombastic display, when he accepted the award alongside lyricist Chandrabose, composer M.M. Keeravani delivered his acceptance speech as a re-written song from his favorite American group, The Carpenters.
7 An Irish Goodbye's James Getting Every A-Lister In Hollywood To Sing Happy Birthday
An Irish Goodbye follows two quarreling brothers trying to reform their shattered bond, and won the Academy Award for Best Short Film (Live Action). As the cast and crew assembled onstage, they used their acceptance speech to announce that the 95th Academy Awards happened to fall on the birthday of James Martin, the actor who portrays Lorcan in the film. After receiving their golden Oscar awards, they then led the entire auditorium in a rousing rendition of happy birthday to Martin, who appeared simultaneously delighted and overwhelmed that so many famous faces were wishing him happy returns.
6 David Byrne Performing “This Is A Life” With Hot Dog Fingers
No one was quite ready to see David Byrne, a founding member of the iconic '80s band Talking Heads perform "This Is a Life" from Everything Everywhere All At Once with hot dog fingers. The real Everything Everywhere All At Once hot dog fingers have been auctioned off by A24, but Byrne wore his own set to sing the nomination for Best Original Song alongside Son Lux and Stephanie Hsu. The whole spectacle looked like something out of a fever dream, which given the multiverse theme of the movie's plot, was very appropriate no matter how bizarre it appeared at the time.
5 Jenny The Certified Emotional Donkey
Jimmy Kimmel made a particularly flashy entrance himself, but even he couldn't compete with Jenny the certified emotional donkey. Several films of 2022 had donkeys or mules in them, but none of them were as iconic as Jenny, the finger-munching mule The Banshees of Inisherin. Jenny wore the adorable traditional vest of a animal and seemed perfectly equipped to console actors and filmmakers who might lose at Oscars 2023. The best part, besides Jenny's bedazzled vest and little bow tie, was witnessing the pure joy on Colin Farrell's face upon seeing her, particularly given the bond his character shared with her in the film.
4 Lady Gaga’s Top Gun: Maverick Performance
After much debate about whether Lady Gaga was actually going to show up to perform "Hold My Hand" at the Oscars 2023, the legendary diva did her Best Original Song contenders on the stage, albeit in a much more relaxed performance than expected. Lady Gaga changed into a t-shirt and jeans and little to no visible makeup for the performance, and seemed deeply emotional before, during, and after the song as she emphasized its "anyone can be a hero" message. Of all the songs from Top Gun: Maverick, this seemed like the power ballad anthem to rival Top Gun's "Take My Breath Away," but audiences have been divided about the singer-turned-actress' performance.
3 Elizabeth Banks Presents Best Visual Effects With Cocaine Bear
The presenters for the Oscars 2023 ranged from mildly amusing - like the banter between Michael B. Jordan and his Creed III costar Jonathan Majors - to downright hilarious, like the combination of a hoarse Elizabeth Banks walking out with someone in a giant bear costume. The Cocaine Bear director presented the award for Best Visual Effects while the huge brown bear pantomimed beside her. Listening to Banks croak at the bear as it taunted the crowd and tried to make flirty eyes with Sigourney Weaver was almost as ridiculous as Cocaine Bear itself.
2 Best Visual Effects Winners' Acceptance Speech Played Off As Soon As It Starts
The playoff music was heartless at the Oscars 2023. No sooner had Banks announced the winners for Best Visual Effects and the team responsible for the beautiful environments in Avatar: The Way of Water arrived at the microphone to accept their award than the music began to swell, and they were forced to vacate the stage. The Academy cut off possibly the greatest moments of their lives, forcing winners Richard Baneham, Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, and Daniel Barrett to present their acceptance speeches to the "Thank You Cam" backstage. As if technical categories weren't snubbed enough, this added insult to injury to movies that revolutionized Hollywood's visual effects.
1 Brendan Fraser Winning Best Actor
By far, one of the best moments of the Oscars 2023 was actor Brendan Fraser winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for his touching performance in The Whale. After years of being sidelined by injury and personal trauma, Fraser was finally recognized not only for his performance in The Whale, but for persevering in an industry that abandoned him when he stated that he had been sexually assaulted. Watching him, overcome with emotion, tell the audience to keep striving for what they believe in and to never give up was not just inspirational, but liberating, and more than a little cathartic for both Fraser and anyone who's followed his career.
