It’s that time of year again! The nominations were delayed by almost a week—very understandably so—due to the wildfires, but they’re here now. Let’s see what we’ve got to work with!
Because I’m me, I have to start with Wicked. Really happy to see it make such a strong showing. Along with Best Picture, both Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were nominated, as well as a host of design and technical awards. I really would’ve liked to see it get a Best Adapted Screenplay nod as well, maybe Best Director too. And I’d have been thrilled if Jonathan Bailey could’ve scored a Best Supporting Actor nomination, but I knew that was quite the long shot.
It’s one of three Best Picture nominees I’ve already seen, along with Conclave, which also got some good major nominations, and Dune: Part Two. Of the ones I haven’t seen yet, I’m most interested in A Complete Unknown (is that my duty as a Minnesotan?), Nickel Boys, and The Substance. I’m glad to see Nickel Boys make the cut—it appeared and disappeared a lot on the various prediction lists, but I’m definitely looking forward to seeing it. I’m also curious about I’m Still Here.
As for the rest of the Best Picture nominees, what I’ve heard about Emilia Pérez sounds kind of baffling, and while it’s very cool that Karla Sofía Gascón is the first trans actress to receive an Oscar nomination, the movie itself doesn’t appeal to me that much. Similarly, recent news about the use of AI for multiple aspects of The Brutalist has dampened my interest in seeing it, despite my love for Felicity Jones and my appreciation for Adrien Brody. And while I’m kind of on the fence about Anora, it does look interesting, and I’ve liked the previous films I’ve seen from Sean Baker.
Then there are a few films that aren’t up for Best Picture but still nabbed nominations in major categories. I’m a little surprised that we didn’t see more for A Real Pain and Sing Sing, but both garnered an acting nod and a screenplay nod. As a fan of Sebastian Stan, I was really happy to see him make the Best Leading Actor cut. Personally, though I haven’t seen either film yet, I was hoping for A Different Man over The Apprentice, but I’m still interested in seeing Stan in it. Jeremy Strong got a Supporting Actor nomination for The Apprentice as well—he’ll be duking it out with his Succession costar Kieran Culkin in that category! And September 5 rounds out the Best Original Screenplay category.
Looking at the Leading Actor/Actress categories, it’s a rare year where all the nominated actresses are in Best Picture nominees, while only three of the nominated actors are. And for the actresses, it’s not a “Best Picture, Best Leading Actress, and that’s it” situation, either. Every film in that category is up for other awards, with most of them garnering five or more nominations. That’s refreshing, to see that so many of the Best Picture nominees this year are women’s stories, and that they’re being celebrated in all sorts of categories.
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