Regardless of the results at Sunday’s ceremony, the 2023 Oscars made history for Asian representation, largely on the strength of “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
With four actors of Asian descent nominated, this year’s 95th Academy Awards have the most Asian representation ever, and “Everything Everywhere All at Once” — starring Michelle Yeoh as a Chinese immigrant — is a favorite for best picture.
The nominations mark long-overdue progress for Hollywood’s recognition of Asian-led films, says Zhen Zhang, the director of NYU’s Asian Film & Media Initiative.
“There have been many Asian and Asian-American actors, … cinematographers, writers and so on trying to break into the industry and go to the top, but it has been a long trek, a very hard struggle,” Zhang told the Daily News.
“In many ways, it’s a defining moment of what I consider the new American-Asian wave. Every time such an Asian film comes into public view and gets a lot of buzz and accolades, crossing over into the mainstream, there’s progress.”
“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” an indie drama-comedy depicting a high-stakes adventure across alternate dimensions — leads all films at Sunday’s Oscars with 11 nominations.
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Yeoh is up for best actress, making her the first Asian-identifying woman of Asian descent to be nominated in the category. The late Merle Oberon, who had Sri Lankan heritage, was nominated in 1936 but never revealed her ancestry publicly. Yeoh would be the first Malaysian actor to win an Oscar, according to ActionNetwork.com.
Co-star Ke Huy Quan, who plays the husband of Yeoh’s character, would become the second Asian performer to be named best supporting actor. Cambodian-born Haing S. Ngor was the first, winning for “The Killing Fields” in 1985.
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” actress Stephanie Hsu and “The Whale” star Hong Chau are both nominated for best supporting actress. The honor previously went to the Japanese American actress Miyoshi Umeki in 1958 for “Sayonara” and South Korean actress Youn Yuh-jung in 2021 for “Minari.”
The success of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” comes three years after the South Korean dark satire “Parasite” won four Oscars, including best picture and best director for Bong Joon-ho.
Bong is one of three filmmakers of Asian ancestry to win best director. Chinese-born Chloe Zhao was the most recent winner, taking home the trophy in 2021 for “Nomadland.”
Ang Lee, who is from Taiwan, won best director in 2006 for “Brokeback Mountain” and in 2013 for “Life of Pi.” Lee was also nominated in the category in 2001 for the Chinese-language martial arts movie “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (which starred Yeoh) but didn’t win. That movie did take home four Oscars, however, including in the category now titled best international feature film.
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” filmmaker Daniel Kwan, who is Asian American, could become the fourth person of Asian descent to win best director. He is nominated with co-director Daniel Scheinert.
The nominations for the diverse cast and filmmakers behind “Everything Everywhere All at Once” make an important statement, Zhang says.
“It’s about really portraying everyday Asian-American people, working the laundromat and restaurants, all kinds of offices,” she told The News. “It’s not just high-flying martial-arts heroes. ‘Parasite’ is somewhat different because it is set in Korea. It is a big celebration for the Asian American community.”
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