Shoo-Ins, Snubs, and Surprises: The 97th Academy Award Nominations Are Out!
Welcome back! It’s our favorite time of the year again, Oscar season! We’d be remiss if we didn’t address the fact that this season will have a heavy cloud over it from the fires that are still burning around Los Angeles and Altadena. That Oscar season continues on unabated showcases both the resiliency and seeming lack of priorities for Hollywood.
It does seem like Hollywood is trying to support the city in the efforts to first get the fires under control, and then to rebuild. And really, it’s not the responsibility of Hollywood to clean up (anyone heard of the Federal Government?), but ensuring they appropriately honor the city in a way that isn’t tone-deaf is paramount.
But the show must go on, and with it come the countless takes and opinions being thrown around. And with our FOMO, we’ve gotta get our thoughts out there too. This season certainly seemed like it was shaping up to be pretty boring, but the nominations held some interesting surprises that might have brought some excitement back to what seemed like a stale year. Let’s get into it!
The Shoo-Ins
WICKED
For months, the dialogue around WICKED was essentially that as long as it came close to expectations it should skate to a Best Picture nomination. Well, it surpassed expectations, and has held onto the cultural zeitgeist in a way most studios would kill for. For that, it not only received the expected Best Picture nomination, but it got a whopping 10 nominations in total, including nods for both Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. That last nomination could be considered a surprise, as Erivo was sitting on the bubble as recently as a couple of weeks ago, but really anyone who saw WICKED no doubt responded to the nomination with a hearty “you’re damn right!” This movie was destined to shine on film’s biggest stage, the only question remains how much hardware they take home.
ANORA and THE BRUTALIST
Similarly, both ANORA and THE BRUTALIST were essentially anointed as Best Picture nominees months ago—ANORA after winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes and THE BRUTALIST after the film wowed audiences at Venice and writer/director Brady Corbet was awarded the Silver Lion for Best Direction. Neither of these films quite broke through culturally, though ANORA proved more successful at the box office with (as of printing) $33M worldwide off a $6M budget, versus THE BRUTALIST’s $5M haul off a $10M budget. But the end game for both movies is different, ANORA has essentially fulfilled every goal they could have imagined for it, a Best Picture win would be the cherry on top. THE BRUTALIST, on the other hand—as a 3.5 hour epic about an architect—will be considered a failure without a win in one of Actor, Director, or Best Picture at the very least.
Karla Sofía Gascón
As the first openly transgender person to be nominated in the Acting categories at the Oscar, this is already a win for Gascón. But in reality, that honor was preordained with a win at Cannes in the Spring. Nobody is better at getting Oscar nominations than Netflix, so with that combination it would have been criminal for Gascón to be left out. But she absolutely deserves the honor, shining in a film that is not only overhyped, but potentially troublesome. Her performance clearly elevates mediocre material into something worthwhile, and we’re happy to give her her flowers.
Jacques Audiard, unfortunately
On the other hand, the director of the film Gascón shines in (EMILIA PÉREZ) was also a shoo-in, to the chagrin of many.
Audiard, an acclaimed director who’s films have never made a dent stateside, carries the Cannes-approved arrogance Hollywood loves in an Oscar nominee—the less laymen have heard of the man, the better. But in reality, that’s why the Oscars struggle so much with gaining audiences in this day and age, they would rather insult the opinions and intelligence of millions of their customers than admit that maybe their tastes are not the bastion of artistic talent as much as they think. Audiard might be talented as a director, but the film he’s nominated for helming is a mess, both in story and in song. His nomination was expected, but that doesn’t mean it was deserved.
Colman Domingo
But the nomination that is always deserved is one for Colman Domingo, one of the premiere talents of our generation. He’s successfully taken the mantle from Denzel of getting a nomination for just about every role he’s in, and deservedly so. As a person, Domingo projects an aura of artistic accomplishment, but with the humble attitude of someone who’s worke their life to gain this type of recogntion. As an actor, Domingo is an absolute force, able to move in and out of characters seemingly at will, inhabiting his roles in a way that should be the envy of anyone attempting to do the same. Go see SING SING, if you can. And then watch THE COLOR PURPLE, RUSTIN, and ZOLA. Tell us this man doesn’t have range.
Diane Warren
If there’s one thing you can definitely set your clocks to, it’s Diane Warren getting an Oscar nomination. This marks the 16th time Warren has been nominated for Best Song—the previous 15 times she’s lost. She holds the record for most nominations without ever winning, and with two nominated songs from the most nominated film (EMILIA PÉREZ) going against her, this year will probably extend that record once more. But in reality, the songs in EMILIA PEREZ are terrible, and if there’s ever a year for Warren to break the curse it should be this one. Diane, we’re manifesting this with you!!
The Snubs
WICKED
No Best Song nominations?! This is mostly tongue-in-cheek, because the songs don’t qualify on a technicality (they weren’t written for the film WICKED, they were written for the broadway show Wicked, making them ineligible), but if there was ever a time to change the rules, that time is now. The songs are as original as it gets, even though the film is an adaptation of a musical. But the Academy is very tight about these rules, and so unfortunately that means WICKED gets a very obvious snub.
Hans Zimmer and Denis Villeneuve
Speaking of snubs because of technicality, Hans Zimmer was told he would not be considered for nominations for his work on DUNE 2 because of a rule allowing for only 20% of the original musical work to be used in the sequel. That’s reasonable, but DUNE 2 isn’t so much as a sequel as a continuation. It would have be disingenusous to the story and to the score for Zimmer to have not incorporated as much of the original as he did, and yet it felt unique and different all its own.
Zimmer was robbed of a nomination, just like the film’s director, Denis Villeneuve, who led a masterful effort to make an epic out of a film that was said to be unmakeable. On top of the critical acclaim and making almost a quarter of a billion dollars at the box office, DUNE 2 received a Best Picture nomination, along with much earned Cinematography, Visual Effects, Production Design and Sound. Did the Academy think this movie just made itself?
Jomo Fray
Similarly, NICKEL BOYS was surprisingly and rightfully given a Best Picture nomination for its portrayal of an abusive reform school in the 1960’s, as told through the first-person perspective of two young black boys. After it wowed audiences at Telluride, NICKEL BOYS faded a bit in theaters, mostly because of its feeble marketing budget and the fact that it looks completely different than almost any movie that’s come before it. But it’s that difference that makes the film so special, and that difference was spearheaded by Cinematographer Jomo Fray, who was left out in favor of the boring, unintersting cinematography of EMILIA PÉREZ (perhaps you’re sensing a theme?). Director RaMell Ross at least received a writing nomination for his work on the script, but Fray was left out entirely despite being behind the camera on the best shot film of the year.
THE REMARKABLE LIFE OF IBELIN
Every year a fantastic documentary misses the cut in favor of a more boring one that’s super Oscar-baity. Having not seen any of the nominated films, we can only assume that’s the case this year, otherwise THE REMARKABLE LIFE OF IBELIN should have been amongst the field. A beautiful story of a young man suffering from muscular dystrophy who effectively withdraws from society to the detriment of his family and loved ones who want him to lead as full and happy a life as he can. After he passes, they’re given the password to his blog, which opens up a world to them where they find that their son not only lived the life they always wanted for him, but made a huge impact on so many through his strength and his love. Get out the tissues, because you’re gonna cry twice: once after watching the film, and the second time when you realize it won’t get the Oscar nomination it deserves.
THE WILD ROBOT
No Best Picture nomination for one of the absolute best films of last year? It’s a travesty, and a sham and a mockery. It’s a travishamockery! Yes, the stunning score by Kris Bowers was nominated (rightfully so!), and of course it got the Best Animated Film nomination, but this film deserved so much more. A Best Picture nod should have absolutely been in the question, and while it never would have happened, Lupita Nyong’o would have definitely been deserving of a Best Actress nod. It may end up awardless, which would be a great shame, but those who’ve seen it know what it deserves. If that’s not you, add your name to the list and watch it right now! This article will be here when you get back.
Sebastian Stan in A DIFFERENT MAN
Sebastian Stan is an Oscar nominee, which is a sentence that belongs in the Shoo-In category. But he’s here in the snubs category because he was expected to get his nomination for his work in A DIFFERENT MAN, a film about a man with neurofibromatosis who get facial reconstruction surgery to become Sebastian Stan, only to watch the woman he loves fall for a man who looks just like he used to. Stan gives a great performance in a great film, but in our opinion the Academy got this one right.
The Surprises
Sebastian Stan in THE APPRENTICE
The reason the Academy got it right is because Stan’s turn in THE APPRENTICE—as the current President when he was slightly less orange—was one of the best performances of the year, full stop. He nailed the voice, the mannerisms, and really inhabited the character in an incredible way. But even more, he brought pathos and sympathy to maybe the most unsympathetic character in the world. It’s easy to watch the film and hate Trump, that’s what you’re expected to do. But Stan makes that job harder, by giving him a human quality the real version sorely lacks. It really felt like we were watching home video footage and not a film, and while plenty of that credit should go to director Ali Abbasi, the bulk of it should go to Stan.
Demi Moore/Margaret Qualley
After the Globes, this is less of a surprise, but a few weeks ago it was widely expected that Qualley would be the one attending the ceremony as a nominee while Moore would be shut out. So it was a pleasant surprise to see Moore get her due, even if Qualley ended up on the cutting room floor. For our money, Moore carried that film, while Qualley performed admirably in a role that was tailor-made for her. But the work Moore did in what we considered to be an uneven and way-too-long film stuck with us, and it shows that it stuck with the Academy as well. Her Globes speech most likely came too late to have an impact on the vote, but it’s certainly nice to think that after that night everyone went home and wrote her name down, because she deserves it.
EMILIA PÉREZ
EMILIA PÉREZ getting a Best Picture nod was expected, and as we covered earlier so was Best Director, and Best Actress. What was a bit unexpected was 13 nominations, good for the second most ever, along with classic films like GONE WITH THE WIND, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, and FORREST GUMP. Say what you will about these films, but they’re head and shoulders better than EMILIA PÉREZ.
There’s a lot of time for Oscar voters to get this right, but there’s a very anti-EMILIA coalition gathering online, as should be clear from the chart above and the posts below.
When your movie is a musical about a Trans Mexican woman and both the Trans and Mexican communities say it’s not representative of them, we should listen. When the theater geeks chime in to talk about how it’s also not a very good musical, it really makes it a surprise that a group made up of essentially their own people covers their ears. Hopefully they’ll hear uncover them long enough to hear how terrible the songs are.
FLOW
FLOW, a dialogue-less film out of Latvia about a cat surviving a viscious flood, was fully expected to garner the Best Animated Film nod it received. What was surprising was the additional nomination for Best Foreign Film, something only two other animated films have ever received (and those films were incredibly heavy in premise and dialogue). For FLOW to receive this honor means that it’s almost guaranteed to win Best Animated Film (though it has some stiff competition with THE WILD ROBOT), but I’m sure that in this case, no matter what the outcome, it really is an honor just to be nominated.
The Whole A COMPLETE UNKNOWN Package
Actor! Supporting Actress! Supporting Actor! Director! Best Picture! None of these people were expected to sniff a nomination at the start of the season, Monica Barbaro wasn’t even on the list! Even Chalamet and Norton, who recently worked their way into the conversation, weren’t guarantees to make it. But if you asked us, these nominations were completely deserved. We’ve been fans of Barbaro since 2018’s The Good Cop (a mediocre show with a future star performance), so we’re not surprised in the least to see her get there. But the fact that she did it this year, with this film that seemed somewhat ignored is wonderful. To us, this was one of the best films of the year, and it seems many in the Academy agree. All these people are extremely deserving of the honor they surprisingly received.
NICKEL BOYS and I’M STILL HERE
Both these films were on the Best Picture bubble, and the expectation was that they would be left off in favor of more prominent and recognizable films like A24’s SING SING and Searchlight’s A REAL PAIN. But at the end, neither company had the resources to push two nominees into the field (A24 has THE BRUTALIST to Searchlight’s A COMPLETE UNKNOWN), much to the pleasure of NICKEL BOYS AND I’M STILL HERE. The latter is a contender in a tough International Feature field, and the former in a similarly competitive Adapted Screenplay category (that EMILIA PÉREZ could legitimately beat both of them is both a shame and speaks perfectly to the backlash against the film). Both of these films are longshots to win any awards, but scoring 5 nominations between the two of them certainly represents a pleasant surprise from the Academy.
Angelina Jolie and Fernanda Torres
If there is a category I’M STILL HERE could potentially take, it’s Best Actress. Fernanda Torres gives a quiet powerhouse performance in a film that is slowly gaining recognition here in the U.S. after becoming a sensation in Brazil. That she took Angelina Jolie’s purported spot only adds to the mythos, 25 years after her mother lost an Oscar to Gwyneth Paltrow. Jolie’s performance was very good in a somewhat forgettable film, while Torres’ was outstanding in one of the best films of last year. The Academy got this one right, but that’s the surprise.
The Oscars making some interesting (and good!) choices
Every year the snubs and the surprises are the talk of the town after the Oscar nominations are announced. But this year felt different, in that the Oscars got a lot right in a very hard year to discern what would get nominated. Of course they missed some things (they always will), but they got a great mix of popular films, arthouse cinema, and foreign films. They’ve got musicals and horror films. Small indies and big studio tentpoles. It looked like this was gonna be a boring ceremony with boring outcomes, and it still could be. But at the moment we’re focusing on the optimism of what might happen, and celebrating what, so far, the Academy did right. Now all they have to do is make it up to THE WILD ROBOT by giving Kris Bowers the Oscar he deserves.
You can watch The 97th Academy Awards on Sunday, March 2nd, at 7p live on ABC.
