Boring? Never! 11 moments that you missed at the 2023 Oscars

Ed Cumming

Mon, 13 March 2023 at 2:26 pm GMT

This year, the Oscars organisers will have been desperate for a more civilised, tasteful affair after last year’s slap that was heard around the world. By and large, they got it. Everything Everywhere All At Once proved that an offbeat but popular film could win big. Host Jimmy Kimmel charted a – mostly – safe course through possible flashpoints. But even absent a punch-up, there were still enough moments to make it a night to remember. Here’s what you might have missed.

Public displays of affection

Hugs and kisses were back, as though the stars were making a point about laying the coronavirus to rest. The world’s most glamorous superspreader event was back. Rebel Wilson and her new fiancee Ramona Agruma led the way, with a demonstrative snog outside the Vanity Fair party.

Bill and his bunny

Bill Nighy, nominated for Best Actor for the first time for his film Living, lost to Brendan Fraser, but not without a memorable piece of sprezzatura. At 73, Nighy has been around the block not to be fazed by an awards do. His date for the red carpet was a small Sylvanian Families rabbit, with blood on its ear. Nighy’s signature whimsy, or a tribute to the Sylvanian Families shop in north London, set to close after 30 years? We may never know.

David Byrne’s sausage fingers

On stage to perform ‘This is a Life,’ his song from Everything Everywhere All At Once, Byrne wore a pair of enormous sausage fingers that appeared in the film. As ever, the Talking Heads’ frontman’s motives were obscure. Was this simply a reference to the film, a statement about the nature of live performance, or a tribute to our new King Charles (google his hands)? Your guess is as good as mine.

Malala land

Malala Yousafzai proved that once you are inside the Oscars ceremony, anyone is fair game, even when it is not a good idea. Yes, she survived being shot in the head by the Taliban and won a Nobel Peace Prize for her inspirational campaigning on women’s education. But that didn’t spare her some toe-curling sub-stag-do banter from Jimmy Kimmel. You can imagine the prep meeting. “Wouldn’t it be funny to ask Malala if Harry Styles spat on Chris Pine?” “Wouldn’t it be funny if Malala got mauled by Cocaine Bear?” No, it wouldn’t. “I only talk about peace,” she replied, proving that defence can be the most effective form of attack.

Charlie Mackesy’s disappearing act

The artist Charlie Mackesy won the best short animation Oscar for the adaptation of his book, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse. On Instagram, he posted two notes written on biro on a napkin. One said ‘Hello I’m hiding in the loo again at the Oscars’; the other said ‘We just won an Oscar’. Why so much toilet time? Simple stage fright? Whatever the cause, ‘hiding in the loo at the Oscars’ feels apt for a man who has built a multi-million pound empire of mental health advice masquerading as children’s stories.

Pedro the plus one

Between The Last of Us and the Mandalorian, not to mention Narcos and Game of Thrones, Pedro Pascal is an increasingly ubiquitous figure on TV. But last night he was only a plus one. His sister, Javiera Balmaceda, was a producer on Argentina, 1985, which was nominated for best international feature. A small but vociferous cult has sprung up around the idea of Pascal as a ‘daddy’ figure. To that we can add ‘brother’. Is he every bloke, everywhere, all at once?

Strappy strop

Time does not appear to be healing the rift between Florence Pugh and Olivia Wilde, who are said to have fallen out during the filming of Don’t Worry Darling. On Friday, they attended the same pre-Oscars event but studiously avoided each other. At the Vanity Fair afterparty, they wore suspiciously similar bra-style tops. It’s as if they were sending a message. In Hollywood, as at a wedding: you don’t want to be on the wrong side of the Pugh.

Hugh Grant sees red (carpet)

“What’s your favourite thing about coming to the Oscars,” Ashley Graham asked Hugh Grant on the (non) red carpet.

“Well, it’s fascinating,” Grant said, picking his words. “The whole of humanity is here. It’s Vanity Fair.”

“Oh, it’s all about Vanity Fair, that’s where we let loose and have a bit of fun,” replied his interviewer, evidently assuming that Grant meant the magazine-sponsored afterparty, rather than Thackeray’s satire about the shallowness of high society.

“What are you wearing, then”, the increasingly desperate interviewer went on.

“Just my suit,” snipped Grant, as though he was the actual Prime Minister, rather than an actor who played the Prime Minister in Love Actually and was now willingly on the Oscars red carpet.

Angela Bassett’s not having it

A graceful winner is fine, but not nearly as entertaining as a graceless loser. As Jamie Lee Curtis, the first baroness to win an Oscar, leapt out of her chair in delight, her rival Angela Bassett remained stony-faced. As ever during this jamboree of over the top emotional gestures, it’s the moments of honesty that stay with you.

Animal magic

The Banshees of Inisherin was the night’s big loser, failing to come away with a single prize from its nine nominations. Is that what they mean by the luck of the Irish? The closest it came was when Jimmy Kimmel introduced Jenny, a donkey who appeared in the film but who was also, we were told, a qualified “emotional support donkey.” For once, it was not an insult to refer to an asinine co-star.

Gaga: minimalist icon

One advantage of Lady Gaga’s lifelong commitment to extraordinary public appearances – remember the meat dress? – is that these days all she has to do to shock is take her makeup off. The singer transformed from the red carpet for her live performance, swapping her Versace dress, shiny lip, smokey eye and blushy cheek for a black t-shirt, ripped jeans and a make-up free face. Is this just another poker face, or was she simply born this way?