Though the awards season calendar has been in flux due to the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles, things seem to be back on schedule thanks to this morning’s Oscar nominations. In the midst of disaster and uncertainty, the show must go on—and Hollywood must stand strong. While the 97th Academy Awards are over a month away, current events are sure to shape the ceremony just as much as the nominees.
Speaking of, presenters Rachel Sennott and Bowen Yang gave us plenty of nomination news to chew on. Spanish-language film Emilia Pérez leads the way with 13 nominations, while The Brutalist and Wicked had strong showings with 10 each. There are surprises and snubs galore, and between a shaken up Best Actress field to competitive tech categories, this year’s Oscars are sure to be exciting.
Surprise: The Substance goes the distance!
Only a few months ago, awards pundits thought a nomination for Demi Moore and her bonkers work in The Substance would be a long shot. Now, not only is Moore a favorite to win, but the movie has secured myriad other major nominations. Coralie Fargeat earned noms for her writing and directing, and the film scored a coveted Best Picture nomination. Looks like the voters respected the balance!
Snub: Challengers, Queer and Luca Guadagnino’s big year
It’s rare for a director to have two films in contention in any given awards season, but it’s even rarer for those two films to be showered with nominations and wins everywhere but the Oscars. Such is the fate of Luca Guadagnino’s excellent movies Challengers and Queer. The former seemed a lock for Best Original Score if nothing else, thanks to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ banging synths, while Best Original Screenplay for Justin Kuritzkes or Best Actress for Zendaya seemed more than plausible. Similarly, Daniel Craig has been earning plaudits for his performance in Queer and looked headed toward his first Oscar nomination. But it wasn’t to be.
Surprise: The Apprentice gets attention
After a rocky start to awards season, the complex film about the current commander-in-chief clearly made an impact with Academy voters. The Apprentice tracks the seedy rise of Donald Trump (played by Sebastian Stan) in New York during the ‘70s and ‘80s, as he’s aided by notorious lawyer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong). Both actors received nominations for their dark performances, bringing light to a movie that more ought to watch.
Snub: A-List lead actresses lose out
The Lead Actress field is a strange one this year, and it’s all the better for it. Big names and previous winners like Nicole Kidman and Angelina Jolie were expected to nab nominations, but it wasn’t Babygirl or Maria’s time to shine. Only one nominee (Wicked’s Cynthia Erivo) has been nominated before by the Academy, and the rest of the actresses recognized run the gamut in terms of notoriety. Newcomer Mikey Madison could still take it for her revelatory work in the Palme d’Or winning Anora, though Demi Moore is rising as the favorite; Karla Sofía Gascón could ride the obvious popularity of the otherwise divisive Emilia Pérez to a historic win, and the same goes for Golden Globe winner Fernanda Torres for the Brazilian flick I’m Still Here.
Surprise: Nosferatu sneaks in
With no festival premiere and Christmas release date, the immaculately designed Nosferatu wasn’t expected to be a heavy hitter at the Oscars. But, lo and behold, Robert Eggers’ sweeping artistic vision resonated with voters, earning four nominations. Horror doesn’t often make its way into the Academy Awards, but between this and The Substance, it’s a benchmark year for the genre.
Snub: some mixed-and-matched nominees
While films like Conclave, Sing Sing, and Dune: Part Two all received plenty of nominations, it’s the ones they didn’t get that stick out. For instance, despite eight nominations including Best Picture, Conclave missed out on a nod for director Edward Berger; interestingly enough, the same thing happened for his previous film, All Quiet on the Western Front. Meanwhile, Sing Sing’s Clarence Maclin missed out on a Supporting Actor spot, but he is included in the film’s nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Dune: Part Two is a bit of a head scratcher, earning five nominations—Dune won six Oscars a few years ago, some in categories that the sequel isn’t even nominated in this time around. These movies were hardly snubbed on the whole, yes, but the nitty gritty of these nominations should raise an eyebrow.
Surprise: No Other Land gets a nod despite no distribution
A collaboration between Israeli and Palestinian activists, No Other Land is an indisputably important film about the Palestinian struggle against displacement and oppression. The film was shot almost entirely before the horrific October 7th attack and the subsequent war, but its critical eye on Israel has made distributors wary of controversy. As a result, there is only a meager, independently booked release for the documentary. Hopefully, the nomination it received this morning for Best Documentary will change that.
Snub: “Nominees to be determined”
So what the hell was up with the “nominees to be determined” thing throughout the nominations? It occurred in several categories, but most egregiously so in the Best Picture field. It can be difficult to parse through which producers get the nomination, sure, but five out of ten of the nominees had a big question mark where producers’ names should have been. It was a bizarre exclusion that even left presenters Bowen Yang and Rachel Sennott confused, and it will likely draw the ire of the teams behind the nominated films.
