TALKIN’ WITH WALKER HAYES

for you?

Walker: [T]hey’ve been pretty surreal. It’s wild. You know those names you listed off. That’s insane. That is some good company. b ut yeah, I mean my family and I, we’ve been through a lot. [T]his moment we’re having. We didn’t predict it. We could have never imagined this would happen to us. We still kind of have whiplash, you know. I mean, that is a long way to go from stocking would equate that to my song “Fancy Like.” I was in this industry 17 years with nothing to show for it. And then, all of a sudden, I got to step on the field. And like r udy — and I’m not ashamed to admit this — r udy wasn’t the most talented guy on the field. h e wasn’t the most naturally gifted person on the field. h e was just all heart and I think that’s me, you know. I think n ashville has no shortage of talent. I mean there’s so many

America, you hear that word, and you immediately go somewhere … there’s nostalgia involved. I think the dance. You know that my daughter and I just quickly made up and did without really trying hard. I’ll often watch that TikTok, and I can’t describe it. It’s just magic.

The rest of this article can be read online.

Contact Lilian Jochmann at ljochman@nd.edu

By ANNA FALK scene e ditor

In the first few months of the year, the o scars are always a subject of intense and highly opinionated discussion. From the films and people who failed to receive nominations (or were “snubbed”) to debate about which nominee should be crowned victorious, the event is regularly quite contentious. This year was no different.

While watching everything from this year was a bit of a feat (as it usually is), I managed to see a decent number of the nominated films.

I have to begin by discussing the most awardwinning film of the o scars (and now of all time) — “ e verything e verywhere All at o nce” (“ ee AA o ”). m ichelle Yeoh plays e velyn Wang, a middleaged c hinese-American immigrant who owns a laundry business with her husband Waymond (Ke h uy Quan). We find e velyn in the midst of being audited by the I rs , being served divorce papers from Waymond, dealing with her father during his visit for c hinese n ew Year and wrestling with her 20-something daughter Joy ( s tephanie h su).

Through various events, she finds herself becoming aware of the multiverse in an attempt to stop Jobu Tupaki (an alternate version of Joy) as she schemes to destroy everything. Though this is one of many multiverse movies created over the past decade or so, it is innovative, clever and incisive. It’s funny, heartwarming and emotionally devastating. m y love for the movie aside, people around the world seem to agree that it’s one of the best movies made in the recent past. “ ee AA o ” won a total of seven o scars — b est Film e diting, b est o riginal s creenplay, b est d irector ( d aniel Kwan, d aniel s cheinert), b est s upporting Actor (Quan), b est s upporting Actress (Jamie Lee c urtis as auditor d eirdre b eaubeirdre), b est Actress (Yeoh) and b est Picture — and the various speeches made were enough to win the hearts of the world.

Among the other big awards, b rendan Fraser was crowned b est Actor for his role as c harlie in “The Whale.” c harlie is a morbidly obese and reclusive e nglish teacher who is only regularly in contact with a few people. h e reaches out to his daughter e llie ( s adie s ink) in an attempt to reconnect with her after abandoning her and his exwife m ary ( s amantha m orton). While this is one of the movies that I haven’t seen yet, I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews.

As an avid lover of A24, I think their recent mainstream productions have been nothing but spectacular (save for “ b odies b odies b odies”). b rendan Fraser’s return to h ollywood has been inspiring and emotional, and this made his speech at the o scars ceremony even more tear-worthy. “The Whale” also received b est m akeup and h airstyling, particularly for the innovative technology used to create c harlie’s appearance. m any other controversies have come to light since the ceremony, including c urtis’ b est s upporting Actress Win. m any fans of “ ee AA o ” were astonished at the win considering that h su was also in the running. While she has not acted in as many films as some of the other nominees, her impeccable performance as Joy will undoubtedly be career-defining.

Another movie that garnered a lot of awards was “All Quiet on the Western Front,” which received b est International Film, b est o riginal s core, b est c inematography (James Friend) and b est Production d esign. “ n aatu n aatu” from the movie “ rrr ” won b est o riginal s ong — the first from an Indian film to do so. h owever, the Academy has been receiving a lot of backlash from the performance of the song during the ceremony due to the lack of s outh Asian dancers. The song itself is within a context of colonial oppression and embraces Indian culture and dance.

The rest of this review can be read online.

Contact Anna Falk at afalk@nd.edu