By Adam Waxman, Film Coordinator ∼
The 95th Academy Awards saw many monumental events this time around, including an array of diverse winners and a champagne-colored carpet.
With some shocking results in mind, Penn State students gave some predictions and had strong favorites as to who would take home the precious gold statuette.
As KLIO’s film editor and a movie-lover myself, I spoke to several Penn State students in the week leading up to the event, focusing on three different categories in this year’s Oscars; Actor in a Leading Role, Actor in a Supporting Role, and Best Picture.
Mitchell Winegar, a freshman majoring in nuclear engineering and avid movie buff, had a lot of great things to say about Oscar-nominee Brendan Fraser and his Oscar-nominated film, “The Whale.”
Fraser, playing his role as Charlie, a reclusive obese English professor, in his Oscar-nominated film, “The Whale.” Credit: A24
“I really think Brendan Fraser played a very emotional and character-driven role,” Winegar said.
“He hasn’t played this type of role in his career and it really showcases the talent he [Fraser] has had for many years,” Winegar said. “Fraser pulled at many heartstrings during the movie and that is why he will take home actor for a leading role.”
Joining Fraser as nominees for Actor in a Leading Role were Austin Butler in “Elvis,” Colin Farrell in “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Paul Mescal in “Aftersun,” and Bill Nighy in “Living.”
Brendan Fraser ended up taking home Actor in a Leading Role unanimously.
“So this is what the multiverse looks like. My goodness. I thank the Academy for this honor, and our studio A-24 for making such a bold film,” said Fraser after accepting his award. “Gentlemen, you laid your whale-sized hearts bare, so we could see into your souls like no one else could do, and it is my honor to be named alongside you in this category.”
Another surprising Oscar nominee was Vietnamese-American, and former child actor, Ke Huy Quan.
Quan has had quite the acting career as he is pictured (L) accepting an award as an adult and (R) portraying Short Round in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.” Credit: Rich Polk/NBC via Getty Images; LucasFilm LTD/Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock
Quan is most notable for his roles as Short Round in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (1984) and Data in “The Goonies” (1985). Quan quit acting in 1992 due to a lack of opportunities. After seeing “Crazy Rich Asians” (2018), Quan knew he had to get back to Hollywood and get back into acting.
This time around, Quan was nominated for Actor in a Supporting Role for his role as Waymond Wang in “Everything Everywhere All At Once” (2022).
“The Goonies is one of my favorite movies of all time,” said Sean Gowen, a freshman studying biology. “When I found out that he [Ke Huy Quan] returned to acting, I knew I had to see his new movie.”
Of the multi-Oscar nominated film, Gowen said, “Yeah, I absolutely loved it. Tons of people, including myself, are raving about his performance. Hollywood loves comeback stories and this is a major comeback role.”
Ke Huy Quan won his very first Academy Award for his role in “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” Quan became just the second Asian to win in the supporting actor category.
“Dreams are something you have to believe in,” Quan said in his acceptance speech. “I almost gave up on mine. To all of you out there, please keep your dreams alive.”
“Everything Everywhere All At Once” had the most Oscar nominations for this year’s Academy Awards with 11. Joining the film for Best Picture, and Quan for Actor in a Supporting Role, is Michelle Yeoh for Actress in a Leading Role, Jamie Lee Curtis and Stephanie Hsu for Actress in a Supporting Role, Costume Design, Directing, Film Editing, Music (original score AND song), and Writing.
“Everything Everywhere All At Once” led the 95th Oscars with the most nominations (11). Credit: A24
Oscar-nominated actress Jamie Lee Curtis took home the award for Supporting Actress, beating projected winner Angela Bassett for her role in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”
Reagan March is a freshman studying Advertisement & Public Relations. She is also the Public Relations Coordinator for KLIO, Penn State’s Online Creative Arts Journal.
“I love Jamie Lee Curtis, but there is no way she should have won best supporting actress over Angela Bassett.” said March.
“Everything Everywhere All At Once” won the most Academy Awards this year with seven: Original Screenplay, Best Picture, Directing, Actress in a Leading Role, Actress in a Supporting Role, Actor in a Supporting Role, and Film Editing.
It’s safe to say Penn State students had a favorite movie among all of the nominees for the Academy Awards and unanimously won the most this year.
“To all of the people who have supported the genre movies that I have made for all of these years, the thousands and hundreds of thousands of people, we just won an Oscar together,” said Jamie Lee Curtis in her acceptance speech.
Film Coordinator Adam Waxman is a second-year student studying Digital and Print Journalism. Outside of KLIO, he is a baseball beat reporter for the Daily Collegian and the Vice President of the Student Hockey League, an intramural ice hockey league for students at Penn State.