And they’re here! As I said at Drinks With Broads this week, I feel VERY out of the loop this awards season. Whether that’s because I’ve just had a lot of other things going on, or because it’s a Weird Slate of Awards Movies or what, I cannot tell you. Possibly both. (I do think this feels like a weak year for movies compared to some others; Heather has been covering them a lot at DWB and I’d be interested in her take on that vibe because she’s definitely more on top of this than I am.) But I’m interested in hearing your takes on these nominations. I also think the winners could be…all over the place. Everyone in Los Angeles is a MESS right now, a lot of Academy members are going to be less asiduous in their screening efforts than in years past, and I think people might be voting based on really random shit this year just because no one will be able to get it together, and there are way fewer events where people can campaign due to us all being on fire. It might be interesting!
The good news: Conan O’Brien is hosting this year. The Oscars are March 2!
Best Picture
Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
I’m Still Here
Nickel Boys
The Substance
Wicked
Best Director
Sean Baker — Anora
Brady Corbet — The Brutalist
James Mangold — A Complete Unknown
Jacques Audiard — Emilia Pérez
Coralie Fargeat — The Substance
Best Actress
Cynthia Erivo — Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón — Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison — Anora
Demi Moore — The Substance
Fernanda Torres — I’m Still Here
This is a very interesting group of women — I’m thrilled for Demi, and excited that Karla Sofía Gascón is the first out trans actor to score a nomination. I suspect Nicole Kidman is a LITTLE surprised she didn’t sneak in here. Also, no Angelina Jolie for Maria, which DOES seem like it’s lost a ton of a steam.
Best Actor
Adrien Brody — The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet — A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo — Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes — Conclave
Sebastian Stan — The Apprentice
Good on Stan for sneaking in there. I will say that, from my own area of expertise, I AM delighted to see both Timmy C and Colman Domingo here, for red carpet purposes.
Best Supporting Actress
Monica Barbaro — A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande-Butera — Wicked
Felicity Jones — The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini — Conclave
Zoe Saldaña — Emilia Pérez
All of these people will wear something I’m interested in talking about, if nothing else. Also props to Isabella Rossellini for seemingly getting nominated for a role that, if I understand it correctly, is mostly like ten minutes of AMAZING side-eye.
Best Supporting Actor
Yura Borisov — Anora
Kieran Culkin — A Real Pain
Edward Norton — A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce — The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong — The Apprentice
Kendall and Roman Roy are at it again!!!!!!! (I know everyone dunks on Jeremy Strong — including me! — but I actually think he is a better actor than Kieran.)
Best Original Screenplay
Anora
The Brutalist
A Real Pain
September 5
The Substance
Best Adapted Screenplay
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Nickel Boys
Sing Sing
Best International Feature Film
I’m Still Here
The Girl With the Needle
Emilia Pérez
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Flow
Best Animated Feature Film
Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot
Best Documentary Feature Film
Black Box Diaries
No Other Land
Porcelain War
Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat
Sugarcane
Best Original Score
The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
The Wild Robot
Best Original Song
“El Mal” — Emilia Pérez
“The Journey” — Six Triple Eight
“Like a Bird” — Sing Sing
“Mi Camino” — Emilia Pérez
“Never Too Late” — Elton John: Never Too Late
I could not hum a single bar of any of these tunes and my hot take is that Best Original Song has SUCKED since they changed the rules.
Best Cinematography
The Brutalist
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Maria
Nosferatu
Best Production Design
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
Wicked
Best Costume Design
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Gladiator II
Nosferatu
Wicked
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
A Different Man
Emilia Pérez
Nosferatu
The Substance
Wicked
Best Visual Effects
Alien: Romulus
Better Man
Dune: Part Two
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Wicked
Best Sound
A Complete Unknown
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
The Wild Robot
Best Film Editing
Anora
The Brutalist
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
Best Live Action Short Film
A Lien
Anuja
I’m Not a Robot
The Last Ranger
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
Best Animated Short Film
Beautiful Men
In the Shadow of the Cypress
Magic Candies
Wander to Wonder
Yuck!
I haven’t seen any of these and know nothing about them, but Yuck! is a terrific title and I feel like half the time people vote by thinking, “hah, Yuck! Sure, that seems great.”
Best Documentary Short Film
Death by Numbers
I Am Ready Warden
Incident
Instruments of a Beating Heart
The Only Girl in the Orchestra
(Photo by Richard Harbaugh/The Academy via Getty Images)
