Asians making history in Hollywood with 'Everything Everywhere All at Once'
NEW YORK -- The 95th Oscar's is being hailed as historic for Asians in Hollywood because "Everything Everywhere All at Once" leads the field with 11 nominations.
The movie is the favorite after winning numerous previous awards and entertainment reporter Sandy Kenyon has been tracking the movie since the New York Film Critics Circle Awards in early January.
It was the start of a long roll for everyone involved with the film.
"I think in a lot of ways this film kind of blew up what people imagined an AAPI film could be," said co-director and co-writer Daniel Kwan.
One scholar says the movie is a breakthrough and points to Michelle Yeoh as one reason why.
"She played all different kind of roles, and it's a time right now where she was able to synthesize all her understanding into this one particular character: about family, about fantasy, about the tradition, about conflict: great," said professor Christine Choy with NYU Tisch School.
We caught up to her when she took home an earlier trophy.
"It means the world to me, but I think it means so much more to everyone that looks like me because I believe this is a watershed moment and we are here to stay," Yeoh said.
She never left, but for her co-star, this Oscar season represents an astonishing comeback decades after he starred opposite Harrison Ford in "Indiana Jones."
"When I decided to get back into acting, all I wanted was just job, you know? A steady job and not worried about what I am doing tomorrow," said actor Ke Huy Quan.
Quan has gotten so much more and he has plenty of company.
Oscar favorites going for the gold have put Asians front and center, but their influence extends to other movies as well.
"Living" is a movie about a British man facing death, but it is based on a movie by Japan's great filmmaker and written by Kazuo Ishiguro.
"You know I must have been very, very good in a previous life to get a Nobel Laureate writing a screenplay just for you," actor Bill Nighy said.
No wonder there's talk of an Asian Renaissance in Hollywood.
ALSO READ | Generation gap opens up on Oscar nominated 'Everything Everywhere All at Once'
