WASHINGTON — As the Oscars inch closer to the century mark, the prestigious Academy Awards are still making history.
The 2023 ceremony is likely bound to break at least one record and could be poised to make history in a number of ways.
Marvel's first acting Oscar
With her best supporting actress nomination for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," Angela Bassett made history as the first actor nominated for their performance in a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie. Based on Academy Award predictions, she seems to be on track to win.
Bassett would also be the first woman to win for a superhero movie and the third overall following Heath Ledger for "The Dark Knight" and Joaquin Phoenix in "Joker."
First Asian woman to win best actress
It seems the competition for best actress comes down to Cate Blanchett for “Tár” and Michelle Yeoh for “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” Most predictions expect Yeoh will be the one taking home the Oscar when all is said and done.
If Yeoh were to win, she would become the first Asian woman to win in the category. As Vogue pointed out, she would also be just the second non-white woman to win best actress in the Academy Award's nearly 100-year history.
Best supporting actor history
Ke Huy Quan has been deemed a lock for the best supporting actor win for his role in "Everything Everywhere All at Once." He would be the first Vietnam-born actor to win an Oscar, according to Biography.com.
If Quan and Yeoh both win, it would be the first time in Academy Awards' history that two Asian actors won in the same year, according to the Rappler.
Now if there's a huge upset and Quan loses, history could still be made in the best supporting actor category. A win by Judd Hirsch, 87, would make "The Fabelmans" actor the oldest Oscar winner in an acting category.
Hirsch’s nomination comes 42 years after his first nomination for his supporting role in Ordinary People (1980), surpassing the long-held record of 41 years between acting nominations set by Henry Fonda.
First woman to win best cinematography
Beyond the gendered acting categories, best cinematography remains the only category that a woman has never won in the show's history.
Mandy Walker, nominated for "Elvis," is just the third woman to be nominated for the best cinematography Oscar. She recently became the first woman to win the prestigious Feature prize at the 37th annual American Society of Cinematographers Awards.
Walker could make history Sunday, though some predictions are pointing to best cinematography going to James Friend for "All Quiet on the Western Front."
Oldest Oscar winner
John Williams, up for best score for "The Fabelmans," is the oldest nominee ever, at 90 years old. If he wins his sixth Academy Award, he'd become the oldest winner of a competitive Oscar, taking over the top spot from James Ivory - who was 89 years old when he won best adapted screenplay for "Call Me by Your Name" in 2018.
Diane Warren Oscars winless streak
Songwriter Diane Warren has been nominated in the best original song category 14 times and has yet to win, including nominations during the past six consecutive years. The prolific songwriter was recognized with an honorary Oscar at the Governors Awards last year.
No woman in Academy Awards history has ever received more nominations in any category without winning.
First studio to sweep top categories
A24, the studio behind “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and "The Whale" has a chance to make history as the first studio to sweep best picture, best director and all four acting categories, according to Gold Derby.
In order for that to happen though, there would need to be at least one major upset on Sunday night.
Most predict "Everything Everywhere All at Once" could be in for a big haul at the Academy Awards and Brendan Fraser has a good shot at winning best actor for "The Whale."
Associated Press Film Writers Jake Coyle and Lindsey Bahr noted that Angela Bassett was once a certainty for best supporting actress, though Jamie Lee Curtis could be making a late-breaking run. If Curtis pulls off the upset, it would keep A24's sweep hopes alive.
Spielberg becomes oldest winning director
If Steven Spielberg wins just his third Oscar for best director, the 76-year-old would overtake Clint Eastwood as the oldest person to win in the category. Eastwood was 74 when he won for "Million Dollar Baby."
However, most predictions point to Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert winning best director(s) for “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” They would be just the third directing duo to win, following Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise for “West Side Story” and Joel and Ethan Coen for “No Country for Old Men.”
Youngest best actor Oscar winner
Adrien Brody currently holds the title of youngest winner of best actor for his performance in "The Pianist," winning the Oscar in 2002 at age 29. If Paul Mescal, nominated for "Aftersun," wins this year he would set a new record at age 27.
No new EGOTS for 2023 Oscars
Unfortunately, there won't be any new members of the EGOT club (meaning those who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award during their career). That's because none of the people who just need an Oscar to earn EGOT status were nominated this year. Viola Davis became the 18th person to achieve EGOT status with her win at the Grammys last month.
Who has an EGOT?
- Richard Rodgers (1962)
- Helen Hayes (1977)
- Rita Moreno (1977)
- John Gielgud (1991)
- Audrey Hepburn (1993)
- Marvin Hamlisch (1995)
- Jonathan Tunick (1997)
- Mel Brooks (2001)
- Mike Nichols (2001)
- Whoopi Goldberg (2002)
- Scott Rudin (2012)
- Robert Lopez (2014)
- John Legend (2018)
- Andrew Lloyd Webber (2018)
- Tim Rice (2018)
- Alan Menken (2020)
- Jennifer Hudson (2022)
- Viola Davis (2023)
ABC10 contributed to this report.