Filmmaking / Directing : EEAAO - Oscar predictions by Amanda Toney

Amanda Toney Hmm, the most telling sentence from the article is perhaps this:

"Yet even as “Everything Everywhere All at Once” has brought the excitement of true disruption to awards season — picking up the baton from the history-making dominance of “Parasite” in 2020 — it faces a lot of worthy competition."

I think that is the key word, disruption. We all know Cate Blanchett's a great actress, but I think EEAAO may disrupt the expectations of a notable talent winning the Best Actress.

Michelle Yeoh has been in many amazing films, but never seems to get the big 'western culture' awards. My gut feeling is that this should be the year she breaks through that barrier, because of that disruptive force of the film; from the time I watched it in the cinema and thought "what is happening to my mind?", and when the lights went up, everyone in the theatre was so elated - and on to seeing the joy of the BTS docs of everyone who took part. Amazing.

Cate Blanchett is wonderful, I agree, but she can be much like a singular instrument - the best, mind you, of her type, but can be limited, much like a Stradivarius is to string. Michelle Yeoh's limitations have unfortunately been that she is Asian. And, yet, I believe, that she can be piano, percussion, brass, woodwind, whatever, in major and minor key; and, she can do it in one film. Like she did in EEAAO!

Love both of your opinions Elvis and Geoff. It’s helpful to see your perspectives. Would love to hear more people’s thoughts here, too.

Amanda Toney thank you Amanda. I never thought I’d see the names Elvis and Geoff in the same sentence!!

I agree with most of IndieWire's thoughts when it comes to the Oscar nominations. I would say no to best song and score, best directors, best supporting with Stephanie and Jamie Lee. I actually fell in love with Jamie Lee in A Fish Called Wanda. Though early on in her career, her performance was better there. Overall, I enjoyed the movie and not because her name is Evelyn, :-). I enjoyed the idea that we are all multilayered and it represents (to me), what it might look like to be conscious within your subconscious. I can also appreciate being in your 40s with an Eastern world upbringing while raising a child in the Western world. It creates a unique perspective from the lens of the protagonist. Each experience she had were relatable and at times you do feel as though you are all of those experiences all at once. While, I don't think all eleven Oscar nominations were on point, I do think they created something relatable for a unique audience. What so unique about their audience, the relatability to many types of people all at once. As an aside, my name is Evelyn and my only daughter's name is Joyce who also goes by Joy. Can't get much more relatable than that for me, lol.

I've become an instant fan of yours from this post alone. I predict the convoluted mess that was EEAAO will inspire too many ill-fated screenplay concepts going forward. Every kid coming out of film school has a multi-verse concept in their back pocket. Fans of the film need to look at the bigger picture and the politics behind EEAAO's many awards. It worked this time, for a dozen reasons other than the script itself. It's not likely to work again.

I can see EEAAO winning best original screenplay because it's just that - original, novel and breaks new ground. Personally, I believe Banshees was a better constructed screenplay in the traditional and thematic sense. But the Oscars are very much about the Zeitgeist and also follow a formula for awards given. The last 5 or 6 years the winners have been more independent films that examine the political/cultural zeitgeist, especially with underrepresented communities in both the ethnic, social and economic sense.

Michael David Twas always thus, Michael. Something is successful and then those coming along afterwards try to ape it. Look what happened after The Matrix. Or with something like the music from The Bourne Identity - where you got a lot of sound-alike music on action US TV Shows.

Unfortunately though, the show moves on and by the time they've aped that success of the multi-verse, it's no longer relevant. Do something original, like The Daniels have done. The biggest interest for me about this story of their success, is what will they do next. The pressure will be immense. I hope they cope with it.

Geoff Hall Well said!

Michael David thank you, Michael? How are you doing?

Geoff Hall Very well, thanks for asking. Keeping at it. Hopefully learning all the time. You?

Michael David Busy, busy, busy. Scripts, articles and real family dramas. What are you working on at the moment?

Geoff Hall Sounds good, good luck with those! I hope you mean your are writing real family dramas as opposed to experiencing family drama in real life! Just put the finishing touches on a thriller yesterday. Thinking of a dramatic short next about a teacher who's an excellent educator but who is fired for not being "woke" enough. An examination of the misapprehensions of the high school educational system circa 2023. We'll see! Good luck to you and everything you do! I'm sure it will be great.

Michael David sadly not writing them, but experiencing them. Just trying to get in to writing a Pitch Deck for a film about Big Pharma. It’s proving stubborn at the moment!

I view EEAAO with mixed emotions. I totally get both positive and negative reviews each with equal importance (but obviously in a different way.)

My first impression of the media write ups of the plot OR lack of it made me think, are they taking the piss? Cos this is impossible to categorize AND represents the human condition in a very unrelatable & non specific way. Here's the big "but", I started watching the film and bonded with the lead character who was just tossed in at the deep in the lift scene and thought, "Do I care enough to learn along with her as she picks through this twilight zone?" Answer was yes. Without the characters, all the gadgetry meta mayhem would have made me just switch off. Love the film or hate it, it got away with it on a major scale cos it managed to touch on dedication to family & love whilst also exploiting fear of the unknown in a new way. Despite ever increasing AL or other technology we were asked in subtext the never ending universal question. Is the grass really greener on the other side?

and I thought I was the odd one.. I agree with the editing and picture! fantastic, but the rest.. not so sure... I do like how unconventional everything is about it is...

Great to hear your new perspectives Debbie & Christian. Debbie - your analysis of the family & love dynamic within the crazy world is why we love movies, right? Common themes in big worlds. I totally get that. I was vocal on Stage 32 about not being a fan of EEAAO, but that's all art - some people it resonates with, some it doesn't. To me it felt, looked and story-paced like a student experimental film and to others it is a brilliant masterpiece. I respect everyone's opinions on it. I just don't know if we're going to really look back at EEAAO 20 years from now and say "wow, THAT was the movie that was the poster child to win best picture, director, original screenplay, lead actress, supporting actress, supporting actor and editing for the first time EVER in the history of the Oscars."

@Amanda Hi yeah, totally get why you thought it "student experimental" and don't disagree. It often visualized "speed dial" and I was no fan of some action scenes being a tad 80's/90's kung fu comic strip trope. Also, world set up was intense and fragmented yet to me characters were the glue, hooked on lift scene where he puts up umbrella & gives her a puzzle to solve with "no time to explain." (Audience then may decide to follow the riddle.) At that stage if I did not care about the multi-generational family or their launderette I'd have switched off. With regards to how will film be defined in years down the line? Film came at right time for success in emerging metaverse age but was surprised to learn script was actually written in 2016, it's as though writers had foresight.

@Amanda@ALL I feel the film on different levels. It's part absurd, like living inside a kaleidoscope while it spins around yet there is some serious deep shit going on. I took away some "Psychology" from the film and without realizing applied it to my own life. Was in pub and someone asked me why I wasn't juggling as many things as I usually do. I replied, "Cos I'm no longer a bagel." There were unspoken lessons too. EG Protagonist feels whole world is their antagonist as in the tax conflict, yet protagonist never filled in the forms correctly in the first place.