The Oscar nominations are out!
As I previously posted on the Facebook site, I went head-to-head with my Flickering Dreams colleague Scott Forbes (of the Forbes Film and TV Review on Facebook) in predicting what these nominations would be. This is, of course, an utterly foolish thing to do, since Scott is like The Terminator when it comes to predicting these things! And so it turned out to be…. From my reckoning, Scott got 77% right and I only got 70% right. But well done to him. I’ve marked the nominations I got wrong with a little “(x)” in the list.
The Oscars will be awarded overnight on Sunday March 10th. I shall of course by seeking to predict the winners (with suitable bets being placed to make it interesting) before the event.
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Best picture
- American Fiction
- Anatomy of a Fall
- Barbie
- The Holdovers
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- Maestro
- Oppenheimer
- Past Lives
- Poor Things
- The Zone of Interest
Happy that I managed to correctly predict all 10 of the Best Film nominees (as indeed did Scott)!
Best actor
- Bradley Cooper – Maestro
- Colman Domingo – Rustin
- Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers
- Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer
- Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction (x)
A good list of nominees and, after seeing “American Fiction” last night, I would have changed my 5th place (Leonardo diCaprio) for Jeffrey Wright …. but, rules are rules!
Best actress
- Annette Bening – Nyad
- Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon
- Sandra Hüller – Anatomy of a Fall (x)
- Carey Mulligan – Maestro
- Emma Stone – Poor Things
Disappointed that my choice, Cailee Spaeny, didn’t get a nomination for “Priscilla”…. but equally delighted that Sandra Hüller was nominated: it was a teriffic performance in “Anatomy of a Fall” and well-deserved.
Best supporting actress
- Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer
- Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple (*)
- America Ferrera – Barbie (*)
- Jodie Foster – Nyad
- Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers
I was two nominees short in this category. One of the surprises for me was that America Ferrera was nominated for “Barbie”. I genuinely did not see that one coming. The two that I wanted and didn’t get were Penélope Cruz for “Ferrari” and Rosamund Pike for “Saltburn”: with both films being completely overlooked by the Academy.
Best supporting actor
- Sterling K Brown – American Fiction (x)
- Robert De Niro – Killers of the Flower Moon
- Robert Downey Jr – Oppenheimer
- Ryan Gosling – Barbie
- Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things (x)
Two nominees short again. Having seen “American Fiction” last night, the performance by Sterling K Brown as the gay brother Clifford is excellent and I might have given it more heed. But the nomination I am really not happy about is Mark Ruffalo for “Poor Things”. He seems to have garnered a lot of awards attention, but I thought his accent in “Poor Things” was all over the place. I mean, it’s not a BAD performance, and good to see him in a comedic role, but better than Willem Dafoe? I don’t think so. (As well as Willem Dafoe, I wanted to see Joaquim Phoenix on the list for “Beau is Afraid”.)
Best director
- Anatomy of a Fall – Justine Triet (x)
- Killers of the Flower Moon – Martin Scorsese
- Oppenheimer – Christopher Nolan
- Poor Things – Yorgos Lanthimos
- The Zone of Interest – Jonathan Glazer (x)
In a year when female directors came to the fore, a very male dominated list again! Yes, Justine Triet is there for “Anatomy of a Fall” (good!). But no Greta Gerwig for “Barbie”! No Celine Song for “Past Lives”! (Both of who were on my list).
Best adapted screenplay
- American Fiction
- Barbie (x)
- Oppenheimer
- Poor Things
- The Zone of Interest (x)
I was surprised that “Barbie” got into this category. My two omissions were “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “All of Us Strangers”.
Best original screenplay
- Anatomy of a Fall
- The Holdovers
- Maestro (x)
- May December (x)
- Past Lives
My two missing screenplays were the completely overlooked “Saltburn” by Emerald Fennell and “Fallen Leaves” by Aki Kaurismaki.
Best original song
- The Fire Inside – Flamin’ Hot (Diane Warren) (*)
- I’m Just Ken – Barbie (Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt)
- It Never Went Away – American Symphony (Jon Batiste, Dan Wilson) (*)
- Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People) – Killers of the Flower Moon (Scott George) (*)
- What Was I Made For? – Barbie (Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell)
Oh dear! I made a bit of a tactical error in picking three songs from “Barbie” (the Academy will only ever nominate a maximum of two). I was surprised “Road to Freedom” from “Rustin” didn’t make this list and I also picked “Keep it Movin'” from “The Color Purple”.
Best original score
- American Fiction (*)
- Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (*)
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- Oppenheimer
- Poor Things
It was great that Jerskin Fendrix got nominated for his quirky score for “Poor Things”. Perhaps is the surprise that John Williams got a nomination (his 55th I believe) for “Indiana Jones”. (I’d picked Daniel Pemberton’s soundtrack for “Ferrari” and Michael Giacchino’s splendid music for “Society of the Snow”).
Best international feature
- Io Capitano
- Perfect Days (*)
- Society of the Snow
- The Teachers’ Lounge (*)
- The Zone of Interest
My missing choices were “Fallen Leaves” and “20 Days in Mariopol” (which makes me think that will win the “Best Documentary” category now).
Best animated feature
- The Boy and the Heron
- Elemental
- Nimona (*)
- Robot Dreams (*)
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
I’d suggested “Chicken Run 2” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” instead.
Best documentary feature
- Bobi Wine: The People’s President (*)
- The Eternal Memory (*)
- Four Daughters (*)
- To Kill a Tiger (*)
- 20 Days in Mariupol
Deary, dear! This category did my percentage some damage! But I was basing my view off extreme ignorance, and it shows.
Best costume design
- Barbie
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- Napoleon
- Oppenheimer
- Poor Things
Pleased to get a clean sweep in this category! If you saw my dress sense, you’d be amazed!
Best make-up and hairstyling
- Golda (*)
- Maestro
- Oppenheimer
- Poor Things
- Society of the Snow (*)
I’d suggested “Napoleon” and “Killers of the Flower Moon” in this category.
Best production design
- Barbie
- Killers of the Flower Moon (*)
- Napoleon (*)
- Oppenheimer
- Poor Things
I’d suggested “Maestro” and “Asteroid City” in this category.
Best sound
- The Creator
- Maestro
- Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (*)
- Oppenheimer
- The Zone of Interest (*)
“An Oscar nomination perhaps?” for Sound I said in my review of “The Creator”, so pleased to see that one! I’d suggested “Barbie” and “Ferrari” which were not selected.
Best film editing
- Anatomy of a Fall
- The Holdovers
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- Oppenheimer
- Poor Things
A clean sweep for me in my predictions here!
Best cinematography
- El Conde (*)
- Killers of the Flower Moon
- Maestro
- Oppenheimer
- Poor Things
“El Conde” was the real wild-card here. I’d selected Linus Sandgren for “Saltburn”.
Best visual effects
- The Creator
- Godzilla Minus One
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
- Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
- Napoleon
Another clean sweep for my predictions for this one too!
Best live action short
- The After
- Invincible
- Knight of Fortune
- Red, White and Blue
- The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
I didn’t predict this category. It hardly seems fair that Wes Anderson’s “Henry Sugar” is up against the other smaller films in this category.
Best animated short
- Letter to a Pig
- Ninety-Five Senses
- Our Uniform
- Pachyderme
- War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko
Again, I didn’t predict this category.
Best documentary short
- The ABCs of Book Banning
- The Barber of Little Rock
- Island In Between
- The Last Repair Shop
- Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó
Or this one.
