'Everything' Wins Best Picture, Acting Oscars

Everything Everywhere All at Once won the best picture Oscar at the Academy Awards ceremony Sunday night in Los Angeles, California.

The unusual movie about a Chinese-American immigrant family won seven Oscars, including three acting¹ awards for Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis.

The Malaysian-born Yeoh became the first Asian woman to win a best actress Oscar. In the film, she plays the laundromat owner with superpowers in a different universe.

"For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon² of hope and possibilities," the 60-year-old actress said. "And ladies, don't let anybody ever tell you you're past your prime," Yeoh added.

As a boy, Quan starred in the 1984 Indiana Jones movie and The Goonies in 1985. The 51-year-old said he quit acting for many years because he saw too few opportunities for Asian actors. On Sunday night, Quan won the best supporting actor Oscar. In the film, he plays Yeoh's husband.

Quan, who was born in Vietnam, cried as he gave his speech Sunday. He said, "My journey started on a boat. I spent a year in a refugee³ camp. Somehow I ended up here on Hollywood's biggest stage."

"They say stories like this only happen in the movies," he added. "I cannot believe it's happening to me. This is the American dream."

The 64-year-old Curtis won best supporting actress for her role as the tax agent in Everything Everywhere All at Once. In her speech, Curtis looked upward and addressed her parents, Academy award nominees⁴ Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. Both of her parents have passed away. "I just won an Oscar," Curtis told them.

Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert together won best director and best original screenplay. Everything Everywhere All at Once was made with a small $14.3million budget and has brought in more than $100 million so far.

Other notable⁵ winners

The fourth acting award went to Brendan Fraser who won best actor for his work in The Whale. In the film, he plays an extremely overweight man trying to reconnect with his daughter.

A German remake of the World War I story All Quiet on the Western Front was named best international feature film. The movie, which streamed on Netflix, shows the horrors of war through the eyes of a young man. The movie also won Oscars for music, production design and cinematography.

Director Edward Berger thanked the film's young star, Felix Kammerer, who joined him on stage. "This was your first movie, and you carried us on your shoulders as if it was nothing," Berger said.

Navalny won the Oscar for best feature documentary⁶. The movie is about Russian opposition⁷ leader Alexei Navalny who was nearly killed by poison and has been jailed since his 2021 return to Moscow.

"Alexei, I am dreaming of the day when you will be free and our country will be free," his wife, Yulia Navalnaya, said at the award presentation. "Stay strong my love."

Naatu Naatu, the song from the Indian movie RRR that created a viral dance, earned an Oscar for best original song.

Words in This Story

laundromat - n. place that has machine for washing and drying clothes

beacon of hope - phrase. something that holds the promise of hope

past your prime - idiom. no longer as good as something as one once was

opportunity - n. time or situation in which something can be done, chance

journey - n. the act of traveling from one place to another

stage - n. a raised platform in a theater where the performers stand

role - n. character played by an actor

original - adj. made or produced first

horror - n. strong feeling of fear, shock and dread

1 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

2 beacon   

n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔

参考例句：

• The blink of beacon could be seen for miles.灯塔的光亮在数英里之外都能看见。
• The only light over the deep black sea was the blink shone from the beacon.黑黢黢的海面上唯一的光明就只有灯塔上闪现的亮光了。

3 refugee   

n.难民，流亡者

参考例句：

• The refugee was condemned to a life of wandering.这个难民注定要过流浪的生活。
• The refugee is suffering for want of food and medical supplies.难民苦于缺少食物和医药用品。

4 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

5 notable   

adj.值得注意的，著名的；n.名人，要人

参考例句：

• His achievement is very notable.他的成就是非常显著的。
• He wrote and published the essay under notable's name.他假托名人写文章发表。

6 documentary   

adj.文献的；n.纪录片

参考例句：

• This case lacked documentary proof.本案缺少书面证据。
• I watched a documentary on the Civil War.我看了一部关于内战的纪录片。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。