“Everything Everywhere All at Once” won the prestigious best picture trophy at the Academy Awards on Sunday as Hollywood embraced an offbeat story about a Chinese-American family working out their problems across multiple dimensions.
The movie claimed three of the four acting Oscars for star Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis. Yeoh played the lead role of a stressed-out laundromat owner who finds she has superpowers in alternate universes.
“For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities,” the 60-year-old Malaysian actress said on stage. “And ladies, don’t let anybody ever tell you you are ever past your prime.”
Quan, a onetime child star who gave up acting for two decades, and Hollywood veteran Curtis won supporting actor and actress for their roles.
A weeping Quan, who was born in Vietnam, kissed his gold Oscar statuette as he held it on stage in front of the biggest names in show business.
“My journey started on a boat,” Quan said. “I spent a year in a refugee camp. Somehow I ended up here on Hollywood’s biggest stage.”
As a boy, Quan starred in a 1984 “Indiana Jones” movie and “The Goonies” in 1985. The 51-year-old said he had quit acting for years because he saw little opportunity for Asian actors on the big screen.
“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.”
Quan’s co-star Jamie Lee Curtis, who built a career in horror films such as “Halloween,” won best supporting actress for playing a frumpy tax auditor named Deirdre Beaubeirdre.
Curtis, 64, looked upward and addressed her late parents, Academy award nominees Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. “I just won an Oscar,” she said through tears.
“The Whale” star Brendan Fraser won best actor for playing a severely obese man trying to reconnect with his daughter.
A German remake of World War One epic “All Quiet” won best international feature.
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