Oscars 2023: James Cameron’s Avatar The Way of Water wins Best Visual Effects

James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water or Avatar 2 has just won its first Oscar for the night.

Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett have won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects for 'Avatar: The Way of Water', while the film’s director is missing from the ceremony because of ‘personal reasons’, as reported by the international media.

The sequel to the highest-grossing film of all time, Avatar, is set 10 years after the events of the first film. Titled, Avatar: The Way of Water, will focus on Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), his partner Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), and their children as new dangers emerge on the exotic planet of Pandora. In order to keep his family safe, Jake decides to leave with his family their home as they venture into the unknown and ancient parts of the planet. The film is directed by James Cameron, who returns to helm the sequel. The film continues to explore themes of deep ecology and imperialism just like its predecessor. Returning cast members Stephen Lang, Dileep Rao, Giovanni Ribisi, CCH Pounder, and Sigourney Weaver are joined by Michelle Yeoh, Oona Chaplin, Vin Diesel, Edie Falco, and Kate Winslet, complete the star-studded ensemble. The film is produced by 20th Century Studios.

For those of you who are not watching the event live, Oscars 2023 kickstarted with Jimmy Kimmel included the infamous Chris Rock-slapping controversy in his opening monologue. Kimmel joked, “We want you to have fun, feel safe and, most importantly, we want me feel safe... So, we have strict policies in pace. If anyone in this theater commits an act of violence at any point during the show, you will be awarded the Oscar for best actor and permitted to give a 19-minute long speech. But seriously, the academy has a crisis team in place. If anything unpredictable or violent happens during the show, sit there and do absolutely nothing. Maybe even give the assailant a hug... And if any of you get mad at a joke and decide you want to get jiggy with it — it’s not going to be easy.”

Needless to say, the audience cracked up at these subtle jibes that the celebrated host took at Will Smith slapping Chris Rock during Oscars 2022.

Interestingly, this year, India has a lot to look forward to in terms of representation at the coveted award show. For one, SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus RRR’s popular song Naatu Naatu has also won under the Best Original Song category, and our girl Deepika Padukone is one of the presenters at this year’s award ceremony alongside Dwayne Johnson.

The 95th Academy Awards is taking place at the legendary Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California.