The daily gossip 2023 Oscars edition: Everything Everywhere wins everything, Jimmy Kimmel lied to the world about Jenny the donkey, and more
Today's top entertainment and celebrity news
- 1. 'Everything Everywhere' Oscar sweep includes a historic Michelle Yeoh win
- 2. Jimmy Kimmel lied to the world about Jenny the donkey
- 3. Angela Bassett seemed pretty bummed about losing the Oscar
- 4. Oscar viewers obviously couldn't escape jokes about The Slap
- 5. Andrew Garfield and Hugh Grant both became Oscar memes
1. 'Everything Everywhere' Oscar sweep includes a historic Michelle Yeoh win
When they said "everything," they weren't kidding. Everything Everywhere All at Once had a stunningly dominant night at Sunday's Oscars, not only taking Best Picture, but winning the most above-the-line awards of any movie in history. Michelle Yeoh became the first Asian woman to win Best Actress, and her co-stars Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis won in the supporting categories. Meanwhile, the Brenaissance carried Brendan Fraser to a win for The Whale, and A24 became the first studio to win all four acting Oscars in one night. But Everything Everywhere producer Jonathan Wang is surely kicking himself for misspeaking during his Best Picture speech by saying that "no person is more important than profits." Still, Everything Everywhere is now the first Best Picture winner to score three acting Oscars, as well as the first Best Picture winner to feature butt plugs in a fight scene — although if Martin Scorsese has anything to say about it, it won't be the last.
2. Jimmy Kimmel lied to the world about Jenny the donkey
Is nothing sacred? Jimmy Kimmel had the entire Dolby Theatre star-struck after bringing Jenny the donkey from The Banshees of Inisherin on stage at the Oscars, or at least that's who he claimed it was. Banshees star Colin Farrell was clearly delighted, even blowing a kiss to Jenny. "Not only is Jenny an actor, she's a certified emotional support donkey, or at least that's what we told the airline to get her on the plane from Ireland," Kimmel joked, pointing the donkey to "your friend Colin" and to Brendan Gleeson, "whose finger you ate." But director Martin McDonagh later revealed this wasn't Jenny at all, but an imposter donkey. "It wasn't Jenny," McDonagh said, the Los Angeles Times reports. "We never would have allowed that to happen." Donkey identity theft is not a joke, Jimmy! Next thing you're going to tell us Kimmel didn't even really parachute out of a plane into the theater, either.
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3. Angela Bassett seemed pretty bummed about losing the Oscar
Angela Bassett, sadly, did not do the thing. In one of this year's most competitive Oscar races, Jamie Lee Curtis won Best Supporting Actress for Everything Everywhere All at Once, defeating Angela Bassett for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Bassett was once thought to be the frontrunner after winning the Golden Globe, and it would have been her first Oscar win. When Curtis' name was read, Bassett looked visibly disappointed while the other nominees applauded, and she also appeared to remain seated as those around her gave a standing ovation. "You can tell how much that Oscar would have meant to her," BuzzFeed's Spencer Althouse tweeted, while HuffPost's Philip Lewis said her "reaction hurts me." But the good news is that Bassett will soon have another chance to win after playing herself in the movie adaptation of Ariana DeBose's BAFTAs rap.
4. Oscar viewers obviously couldn't escape jokes about The Slap
Congratulations to everyone who correctly guessed the number of slap references at the Oscars would be "one million." Will Smith's slap of Chris Rock, naturally, came up a bunch of times during Sunday's ceremony, with host Jimmy Kimmel first addressing it in his monologue. "If anyone in this theater commits an act of violence at any point during the show, you will be awarded the Oscar for Best Actor and permitted to give a 19-minute long speech," he joked, adding that "if anything unpredictable or violent happens," the audience should "do what you did last year: nothing." He also joked that the number of Irish nominees means the "odds of another fight on stage just went way up," and later, he quipped that he hopes things go "off without a hitch, or at least without Hitch." The ceremony did, in fact, end without a single slap, presumably because the Oscars' "crisis team" was constantly tackling people off camera. Better luck next time, John Williams.
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5. Andrew Garfield and Hugh Grant both became Oscar memes
And the Oscar for living meme goes to … it's a tie! Andrew Garfield went viral early in the evening with a reaction that will surely have a long shelf life in GIF form. In his monologue, Jimmy Kimmel warned any would-be slappers that they'll have to go through a bunch of people first, including Spider-Man, e.g. Garfield. But the audience had almost no reaction to Kimmel mentioning Spider-Man, and when the camera cut to Garfield, he flashed an awkward grimace. But the night's other breakout meme was Hugh Grant's insanely awkward red carpet interview, in which he provided a series of weirdly curt answers and clearly had no interest in talking at all. When Ashley Graham asked if there's anyone he's excited to see win, Grant simply said, "No one in particular." And when asked what he's wearing, he said, "Just my suit." It's the most disinterested anyone has been since members of the Academy watched Babylon.
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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