“Everything Everywhere All At Once” can be a big craft winner

Fun Fact: The last Best Picture Oscar winner for Craft was Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water,” which won in 2018 for Paul Austerberry’s production and Alexandre Desplat’s score. Which means Best Picture winners Coda” (no craft nominations), “Nomadland” (cinematography, editing), “Parasite” (production design, editing) and “Green Book” (editing) all walked away empty-handed, as far as craftsmanship wins.

But let’s see a five-year craft drought come to an end if front-runner “Everything Everywhere All at Once” wins best picture. As part of its 11 Oscar nominations, it earned craft nods for costume design, editing, score and song. He certainly has momentum as a populist favorite. In addition to best film, there are serious contenders for best director (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheiner, also known as Daniels), best original screenplay (Daniels), best actress (Michelle Yeoh), and best supporting actress (Jamie). Lee Curtis and Stephanie Hsu), and Best Supporting Actor (Ke Huy Quan).

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The maximalist sci-fi/action-adventure became A24’s first $100 million blockbuster and was enthusiastically received by audiences and Academy members alike (despite some voters finding it too disturbing). It was an “instant classic,” as IndieWire’s David Ehrlich stated in his review. Thanks to its epic “verse leap,” it captured the feeling of life being overwhelmed better than any other film last year — armed with nihilism to help restore kindness to this generationally traumatized Chinese family.

Allyson Riggs/A24

Wildly imaginative crafts, however, were integral to the visual and aural success of multiverse action and slapstick. Who can ever forget hot dog hands, butt plugs, and “Raccoonouille”? If anything, the Academy shortchanged the film by ignoring cinematography, production design, makeup and hair, sound, and VFX. But then that would have been quite a stretch, considering that the work of these first indie nominees (costume designer Shirley Kurata, editor Paul Rogers and composer Son Lux) featured here is rather unusual compared to the more polished and expensive work. which usually get Oscars. It’s a testament to the Daniels’ handmade, do-it-yourself approach, rooted in their early shorts and music videos before making a splash with their breakout indie hit ‘Swiss Army Man’.

Editing

The film’s best chance for a craft Oscar is editing, which would break another drought because it’s been 10 years since a film (“Argo”) last won best picture and best editing. Among the Daniels’ ideas, Rogers found cohesion in the chaos by focusing on the big picture. This meant constantly tracking the emotional connection between mother and daughter fighters Yeoh and Hsu. Rogers and the Daniels carefully layered bombastic editing on Yeoh’s arc of overcoming failure, and martial arts styles and rhythms punctuated the protracted fights. However, Rogers borrowed a collaborative process from the Parallax Post editorial team called “swarm editing” to tackle tricky scenes on his own and then review the results with the directors.

Race: It’s a very competitive category with Eddie Hamilton for the high-octane ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, ‘Sound of Metal’ Oscar winner Mikkel EG Nielsen for the black comedy ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’, Matt Villa and Jonathan Redmond for the hilarious musical. the biopic “Elvis” and Monika Willi for the psychological drama “TÁR”.

Forecast: While “Top Gun” is favored for Hamilton’s virtuosity — composing and editing more than 813 hours of stunning aerial footage that put audiences in the cockpits of the Navy with Tom Cruise’s Maverick — Rogers may win with his combination of complexity and emotional resonance.

Costume design

Costume designer Shirley Kurata provided plenty of colorful, exotic and thrifty wardrobes, especially for Yeoh and Hsu. It was all about escaping fate and reconciling their differences, and Kurata’s costumes contributed to their character arcs. Highlights include Yeoh’s Chinatown-inspired ‘tax universe’ look with vests and googly eyes and champagne ball gown, and Hsu’s white jumpsuit, Elvis costume and K-Pop Star look with neon floral teddy bear cardigan.

Race: Kurata is up against two-time Oscar winner Catherine Martin (“The Great Gatsby,” “Moulin Rouge!”) for “Elvis,” and “Black Panther” Oscar winner Ruth Carter for four-time nominee “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” Mary Zophres for “Babylon” and last year’s “Cruella” winner Jenny Beavan for “Mrs. Harris is going to Paris.”

Forecast: Martin is an ‘Elvis’ favourite, creatively deconstructing the flamboyant wardrobes of ’50s teenage rebellion, ’60s Hollywood icon and ’70s Vegas comebacks, while Kurata offers a wider range of original wardrobes that subvert Chinese stereotypes. .

Allyson Riggs

Original score

Son Lux, the LA rock band (Ryan Lott, Rafiq Bhatia and Ian Chang) could win the category with their experimental, wall-to-wall music. They would join an elite group of trio writers (from ‘Soul’, ‘The Last Emperor’ and ‘Limelight’). Their music ranged from synthetic beats to Chinese opera. The gimmick wasn’t absorbed by the multiverse, so certain tunes were chosen for specific relationships, creating the effect of flipping through TV channels. They also alternated styles, rhythms, and beats for the fights (which included playing Chinese drums, tuned gongs, and smashed bass).

Race: Son Lux will have to fight the legendary John Williams (“The Fabelmans”) – who set another record with his 53rd nomination and is aiming for his sixth win – Volker Bertelmann (“Quiet on the Western Front”), the “La La Land” multiple Oscar- with his fee. winner Justin Hurwitz (“Babylon”) and three-time nominee Carter Burwell (“The Banshees of Inisherin”).

Forecast: Bertelmann has a big push for the World War I action-adventure, which earned six craft nominations (tied with “Elvis”). Williams, 90, is the sentimental favorite despite abandoning plans to retire. While Son Lux seems like a long shot on paper, the fact that they were even nominated by a very conservative branch of music is a testament to how important their contribution was to ‘EEAAO’. Given the film’s huge draw for the Academy, this could translate into a surprise win.

Original song

Lott also took the lead on “This Is a Life,” nominated for Best Original Song, collaborating with guest vocalists Mitski and David Byrne, who contributed music and lyrics, respectively. For Lott, the song summed up the discovery that life is bigger than you think. He envisioned it in two parts, with two separate voices. He composed the first draft of the song on the piano, along with the lyrics and melody, for Mitski to sing. Byrne followed with “opposite,” weaving a distinct melody and lyrics through Mitski’s lines to create a symbiotic duo. Eventually, Bhatia and Chang, along with longtime collaborator Rob Moose, joined to work together on the final arrangement of the piece.

Race: It’s an even bigger prospect for Son Lux, who is in sharp competition with Bollywood phenomenon ‘RRR’ with ‘Naatu Naatu’ (Kaala Bhairava, MM Keeravani and Rahul Sipligunj), Rihanna’s first nomination, ‘Lift Me Up’ The ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Lady Gaga’s “Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick,” and 14-time nominee and Governor’s Academy Award winner Diane Warren for “Taps” from “Tell It Like a Woman.”

Forecast: ‘Naatu Naatu’ seems unbeatable, especially as it is the only Oscar nomination for the hugely popular ‘RRR’. Aside from that, Rihanna’s comeback story is appealing with her poignant tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman. However, Son Lux is riding a wave of momentum again – although winning the song would be a shock.

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