Michelle Yeoh reveals why she thinks the Oscars snubbed Wicked: For Good

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Michelle Yeoh was deeply disappointed when the Academy Awards failed to nominate any aspects of her film, Wicked: For Good, especially after the first movie received ten nominations.

The 63-year-old Oscar winner, known for playing Madame Morrible, expressed her shock in an interview with Variety on Thursday, saying, ‘I really am [in shock].’

Last year, the movie Wicked won only two awards at the Academy Awards, both for technical achievements: Paul Tazewell won for costume design, and Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales won for production design.

Yeoh expressed frustration with the idea that, after achieving success, people suggest she step aside to make room for others. She felt this was unfair, saying, ‘It feels like, ‘No, I deserve to keep going!”

This movie is gorgeous and incredibly well-crafted. Paul deserves recognition for the stunning costumes, hair, and makeup. Looking at other films this year, it absolutely stands out as a contender. And the work of director Jon Chu, cinematographer Alice Brooks, and the set designers is also exceptional.

The producer and star of the upcoming Star Trek: Section 31 shared that the new ‘Wicked: For Good’ isn’t a simple remake. They explained it’s much more detailed and features a lot more new locations, leaving them feeling genuinely disappointed.

Critics gave the recent ‘Wicked’ movie a 66% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 350 reviews. This is lower than the 88% ‘certified fresh’ rating the original 2024 film received.

The Universal Pictures film didn’t win any awards at either the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards on January 4th (where it was nominated for seven awards) or the Golden Globe Awards on January 11th (where it received four nominations).

Although the film isn’t expected to win any Oscars, several of its cast and crew members have been nominated for awards at the British Academy Film Awards, the Actor Awards, the iHeartRadio Music Awards, and the NAACP Image Awards.

Jon M. Chu’s movie version of the Broadway hit Wicked, which cost $150 million to make, brought in $527.8 million worldwide. However, it earned $231 million less than the original Wicked production.

Michelle Yeoh received criticism for her singing during the performances of ‘Every Day More Wicked’ and ‘Thank Goodness/I Couldn’t Be Happier’ in ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ where she played the press secretary to Jeff Goldblum’s character. She had previously voiced concerns to the director about her vocal abilities.

She remembered discussing the film with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, which included musical numbers. She immediately thought, “If Madame Morrible in that movie sings, I definitely won’t be able to!” She explained that’s the challenge with trying new things. Jon, being reassuring as always, told her it would be easy.

Ultimately, it’s important to be open to learning new things. They connected me with a fantastic vocal coach, and I learned a lot. I usually avoid singing, though, because I’ve always been self-conscious about my deep, raspy voice.

It’s funny, when I order room service in the mornings, the staff always say, “Yes, Mr. Yeoh,” and I have to explain, “Hey, my father isn’t here, it’s me!” They keep thinking I’m someone else.

Next Wednesday at 11:30am Pacific Time, director Ang Lee, known for films like ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,’ will join Michelle Yeoh as she receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Yeoh has described the honor as ‘a dream come true.’

The actress, talking about her colleagues, said they feel like family, particularly Ang, whom she’s known for around 30 years. She spoke about them with a lot of affection.

It’s incredibly kind of him to travel all the way from New York for this. Actually, he’s always been incredibly supportive – he’s never refused to help me with anything!

I’ll always remember working with Jon Chu on Crazy Rich Asians. I told him he reminded me of my son, Ang – I consider him like an adopted son.

Later this year, Michelle Yeoh will appear in the new sci-fi series Blade Runner 2099 on Amazon Prime Video, playing Olwen, a replicant facing her mortality. The series has six episodes and is created by Silka Luisa.

The award-winning actress said she doesn’t want the entertainment industry to limit her roles based on her gender or age, like being told she should only play grandmotherly characters now that she’s older.

‘I’m like, “Hell no! I will kick a** because I want to, and I still can.”‘

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2026-02-13 01:07