#OscarSzn is officially upon us! Leslie Jordan and Tracee Ellis Ross announced the Oscars nominations this morning.
The list of nominees is below, along with some quick thoughts. We’ll also be discussing them on the first episode of the Cinema Stubs podcast, out this Wednesday. So please subscribe, rate, review, all the normal nonsense.
Let’s get to it!
Best Picture
- Belfast
- CODA
- Don’t Look Up
- Drive My Car
- Dune
- King Richard
- Licorice Pizza
- Nightmare Alley
- The Power of the Dog
- West Side Story
Drive My Car and Nightmare Alley are the big surprises here. With Belfast missing an Editing nomination, this most likely currently stands as The Power of the Dog’s award to lose.
Best Director
- Kenneth Branagh – Belfast
- Ryusuke Hamaguchi – Drive My Car
- Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza
- Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog
- Steve Spielberg – West Side Story
No Villeneuve is a joke, but everyone was probably playing for second place anyway, as Campion should win this handily.
Lead Actor
- Javier Bardem – Being the Ricardos
- Benedict Cumberbatch – The Power of the Dog
- Andrew Garfield – tick, tick…BOOM!
- Will Smith – King Richard
- Denzel Washington – The Tragedy of Macbeth
Bardem is a choice. It might have made more sense had Being the Ricardos landed a Best Picture nod as well. Probably between Smith and Cumberbatch. I’ll be pulling for Smith or Garfield.
Lead Actress
- Jessica Chastain – The Eyes of Tammy Faye
- Olivia Colman – The Lost Daughter
- Penelope Cruz – Parallel Mothers
- Nicole Kidman – Being the Ricardos
- Kristen Stewart – Spencer
Maybe my favorite category. I placed an early bet on Kidman to win, and with Lady Gaga missing, I feel like I’m in a good spot right now. Penelope Cruz was one of my “fingers crossed praying for a nomination” picks, so I’m thrilled to see her. And Kristen Stewart!!! It felt like she might miss here, so even though a win feels like a long shot, I’m glad the best performance of the year at least got nominated.
Supporting Actor
- Ciaran Hinds – Belfast
- Troy Kotsur – CODA
- Jesse Plemons – The Power of the Dog
- J.K. Simmons – Being the Ricardos
- Kodi Smit-McPhee – The Power of the Dog
Simmons was another surprise from Being the Ricardos. Smit-McPhee is the favorite right now, but I’ll be pulling hard for Kotsur.
Supporting Actress
- Jessie Buckley – The Lost Daughter
- Ariana DeBose – West Side Story
- Judi Dench – Belfast
- Kirsten Dunst – The Power of the Dog
- Aunjanue Ellis – King Richard
Jessie Buckley was the first nominee announced, giving us the first surprise of the morning. No Catriona Balfe is heart-breaking for me. DeBose has been, and remains, in the driver’s seat.
Original Screenplay
- Belfast
- Don’t Look Up
- King Richard
- Licorice Pizza
- The Worst Person in the World
Love this category, outside of Don’t Look Up. With Best Picture likely gone, I’d love to see a Belfast win here. Or The Worst Person in the World.
Adapted Screenplay
- CODA
- Drive My Car
- Dune
- The Lost Daughter
- The Power of the Dog
Probably CODA’s best shot at a win, though it’s far from a sure thing.
Animated Feature
- Encanto
- Flee
- Luca
- The Mitchells vs. the Machines
- Raya and the Last Dragon
Raya was in my top 10 for the year, so that’s who I’m hoping for, but this is a really strong category.
International Film
- Drive My Car
- Flee
- The Hand of God
- Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
- The Worst Person in the World
Honestly not sure what to think here, in terms of winner. Hoping for Worst Person, but Drive My Car and Flee will pose stiff competition.
Cinematography
- Dune
- Nightmare Alley
- The Power of the Dog
- The Tragedy of Macbeth
- West Side Story
Costume Design
- Cruella
- Cyrano
- Dune
- Nightmare Alley
- West Side Story
Documentary Feature
- Ascension
- Attica
- Flee
- Summer of Soul
- Writing with Fire
Film Editing
- Don’t Look Up
- Dune
- King Richard
- The Power of the Dog
- tick, tick…BOOM!
No Belfast here pretty much destroys any hopes for Best Picture. 29 of the last 30 BP winners also had a nomination here.
Makeup and Hairstyling
- Coming 2 America
- Cruella
- Dune
- The Eyes of Tammy Faye
- House of Gucci
Production Design
- Dune
- Nightmare Alley
- The Power of the Dog
- The Tragedy of Macbeth
- West Side Story
Score
- Don’t Look Up
- Dune
- Encanto
- Parallel Mothers
- The Power of the Dog
Song
- “Be Alive” – King Richard
- “Dos Oruguitas” – Encanto
- “Down to Joy” – Belfast
- “No Time to Die” – No Time to Die
- “Somehow You Do” – Four Good Days
Sound
- Belfast
- Dune
- No Time to Die
- The Power of the Dog
- West Side Story
Visual Effects
- Dune
- Free Guy
- No Time to Die
- Shan-Chi and the Legend of the Ten. Rings
- Spider-Man: No Way Home
Animated Short
- Affairs of the Art
- Bestia
- Boballet
- Robin Robin
- The Windshield Wiper
Documentary Short Subject
- Audible
- Lead Me Home
- The Queen of Basketball
- Three Songs for Benazir
- When We Were Bullies
Live-Action Short
- Alla-Kachuu – Take and Run
- The Dress
- The Long Goodbye
- On My Mind
- Please Hold
The Power of the Dog leads the way with 12 nominations across 11 categories, followed by Dune with 10, and West Side Story and Belfast with 7 each.
The Oscars air on March 27th on ABC. I’ll be back before then with at least one more preview, some predictions, and a few gambling notes.
