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The 94th Academy Award Nominations Announced
Well, here we are. It is the 94th Annual Academy Awards. The nominations have been announced. It is the time for me to be humbled about how many of these […]
Well, here we are. It is the 94th Annual Academy Awards. The nominations have been announced. It is the time for me to be humbled about how many of these I have not seen yet.
Nearer to the actual award ceremony on March 27th, I will be publishing a blog of what my predictions for the winners will be. For now, lets just take a look at the candidates who will be vying most prestigious award in the cinema industry.
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
My Nominations
- 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”
The academy got a bunch of stars who are good at doing press or are actual superstars. Getting Will Smith and Denzel in here is huge.
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
My Nominations
- Ciarán 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”
I have only seen “The Power Of The Dog” from these nominees, but the fact that “The Power Of The Dog” has four acting nominations means the Academy loves it. I would put Jesse Plemons a distant second to Kodi Smit-McPhee.
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
My Nominations
- Jessica Chastain – “The Eyes Of Tammy Faye”
- Olivia Coleman – “The Lost Daughter”
- Penélope Cruz – “Parallel Mothers”
- Nicole Kidman – “Being The Ricardos”
- Kristen Stewart – “Spencer”
I just look at the two book covers of this category on this list; both Jessica Chastain and Kristen Stewart are playing characters that are losing control of themselves and their surroundings, but boy-oh-boy do those characters go about it differently.
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
My Nominations
- Jessie Buckley – “The Lost Daughter”
- Ariana DeBose – “West Side Story”
- Judi Dench – “Belfast”
- Kirsten Dunst – “The Power Of The Dog”
- Aunjanue Ellis – “King Richard”
Podcasts I listened too said that Aunjanue Ellis would get the nomination, and they were correct. I was not blown away by Kirsten Dunst in “The Power Of The Dog.” Jessie Buckley was amazing in “The Lost Daughter” creating a character that was filled with mistakes but still somehow empathetic.
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
My Nominations
- “Encanto”
- “Flee”
- “Luca”
- “The Mitchells Vs. The Machines”
- “Raya And The Last Dragon”
If it is not “Encanto” then I will be shocked.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
My Nominations
- “Dune” – Greig Fraser
- “Nightmare Alley” – Dan Lausten
- “The Power Of The Dog” – Ari Wegner
- “The Tragedy Of Macbeth” – Bruno Delbonnel
- “West Side Story” – Janusz Kaminski
Seeing “Nightmare Alley” in this category makes me more excited to check it out. Still think this category is between “Dune” and “The Power Of The Dog” from what I have seen.
COSTUME DESIGN
My Nominations
- “Cruella” – Jenny Beavan
- “Cyrano” – Massimo Cantini Parrini, Jacqueline Durran
- “Dune” – Jacqueline West
- “Nightmare Alley” – Luis Sequeira
- “West Side Story” – Paul Tazewell
No “Spencer” in here is kind of shocking. Can’t it was just because they were borrowing from an era because such is the same with “West Side Story”
BEST DIRECTOR
My Nominations
- Kenneth Branagh – “Belfast”
- Ryûsuke Hamaguchi – “Drive My Car”
- Paul Thomas Anderson – “Licorice Pizza”
- Jane Campion – “The Power Of The Dog”
- Steven Spielberg – “West Side Story”
Jane Campion makes history being two-time nominee for Best Director. And guess what, I think she deserves it if she gets it.
BEST DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)
My Nominations
- “Ascension”
- “Attica”
- “Flee”
- “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)”
- “Writing With Fire”
Everything I know is that “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)” is going to win this award.
BEST DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)
My Nominations
- “Audible”
- “Lead Me Home”
- “The Queen Of Basketball”
- “Three Songs For Benazir”
- “When We Were Bullies”
I need to look these up. Only have seen one move of this variety this year so need to at least see a couple of these.
FILM EDITING
My Nominations
- “Don’t Look Up” – Hank Corwin
- “Dune” – Joe Walker
- “King Richard” – Pamela Martin
- “The Power Of The Dog” – Peter Sciberras
- “tick, tick…BOOM!” – Myron Kerstein, Andrew Weisblum
This category is usually a great indication of what films to consider seriously for best picture, and the only one I am really surprised to see is “tick, tick…BOOM!”
INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
My Nominations
- “Drive My Car”
- “Flee”
- “The Hand Of God”
- “Lunana: A Yak In The Classroom”
- “The Worst Person In The World”
I have not seen any of these yet and that needs to change immediately
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
My Nominations
- “Coming 2 America” – Mike Marino, Stacey Morris, Carla Farmer
- “Cruella” – Nadia Stacey, Carolyn Cousins
- “Dune” – Donald Mowat, Love Larson, Eva von Bahr
- “The Eyes Of Tammy Faye” – Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram, Justin Raleigh
- “House Of Gucci” – Göran Lundström, Anna Carin Lock and Frederic Aspiras
This is the only nomination for “House Of Gucci”, and that is a surprise. Ridley Scott essentially shut out.
ORIGINAL SCORE
My Nominations
- “Don’t Look Up” – Nicholas Britell
- “Dune” – Hans Zimmer
- “Encanto” – Germaine Franco
- “Parallel Mothers” – Alberto Iglesias
- “The Power Of The Dog” – Jonny Greenwood
Hans Zimmer created new instruments for “Dune”, I feel like that has to country extra?
ORIGINAL SONG
My Nominations
- “Be Alive” – Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Dixson (King Richard)
- “Dos Oruguitas” – Lin-Manuel Miranda (Encanto)
- “Down To Joy” – Van Morrison (Belfast)
- “No Time To Die” – Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell (No Time To Die)
- “Somehow You Do” – Diana Warren (Four Good Days)
The Academy gets to have both Beyoncé and Lin-Manuel Miranda in this category…and they aren’t even the favorites with Billie Eilish?
BEST PICTURE
My Nominations
- “Belfast”
- “CODA”
- “Don’t Look Up”
- “Drive My Car”
- “Dune”
- “King Richard”
- “Licorice Pizza”
- “Nightmare Alley”
- “The Power Of The Dog”
- “West Side Story”
Of these I need to see “Belfast” (can’t rent for at least two weeks), “CODA” (on AppleTV+ which I never watch), “Don’t Look Up” (waiting to watch with girlfriend), “Drive My Car” (only in theaters), “Licorice Pizza” (can’t find in theaters anywhere”, “Nightmare Alley” (prolly next on the docket), “West Side Story” (hopefully able to rent soon?).
PRODUCTION DESIGN
My Nominations
- “Dune”
- “Nightmare Alley”
- “The Power Of The Dog”
- “The Tragedy Of Macbeth”
- “West Side Story”
Again, “Nightmare Alley” in a category that I often associate with good movies. I need to get on that gravy train soon. Personally I think this should be “Dune”, again from the movies here that I have seen.
SHORT FILM ANIMATED
My Nominations
- “Affairs Of The Art”
- “Bestia”
- “Boxballet”
- “Robin Robin”
- “The Windshield Wiper”
I have really grown to like this category a lot just because they are perfect small size stories that often make you feel something. Will be searching these five out.
SHORT FILM LIVE ACTION
My Nominations
- “Ala Kachuu – Take and Run”
- “The Dress”
- “The Long Goodbye”
- “On My Mind”
- “Please Hold”
I have not seen any yet. I know I hide my face in shame.
SOUND
My Nominations
- “Belfast” – Denise Yarde, Simon Chase, James Mather and Niv Adiri
- “Dune” – Gary Rydstrom, Brian Chumney, Andy Nelson, Tod Maitland, Shawn Murphy
- “No Time To Die” – Simon Hayes, Oliver Tarney, Paul Massey
- “The Power Of The Dog” – Richard Flynn, Robert Mackenzie, Tara Webb
- “West Side Story” – Tod A. Maitland, Gary Rydstrom, Brian Chumney, Andy Nelson, Shawn Murphy
On my personal excel sheet, I have seen more award winners in this category more than any other. Honestly don’t know where this one will go to.
VISUAL EFFECTS
My Nominations
- “Dune” – Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor, Gerd Nefzer
- “Free Guy” – Swen Gillberg, Bryan Grill, Nikos Kalaitzidis, Dan Sudick
- “No Time To Die” – Charlie Noble, Chris Corbould
- ““Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” – Christopher Townsend, Joe Farrell, Sean Noel Walker, Dan Oliver
- “Spider-Man: No Way Home” – Kelly Port, Chris Waegner, Scott Edelstein, Dan Sudick
Honestly I am just happy that “Black Widow” is on here, because those were objectively bad.
WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
My Nominations
- “CODA” – Siân Heder
- “Drive My Car” – Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Takamasa Oe
- “Dune” – Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, Eric Roth
- “The Lost Daughter” – Maggie Gyllenhaal
- “The Power Of The Dog” – Jane Campion
The bottom three of these movies in the nominations here are all awesome and I would be so happy to see any of them take home the prize.
WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
My Nominations
- “Belfast” – Kenneth Branagh
- “Don’t Look up” – Adam McKay, David Sirota
- “King Richard” – Zach Baylin
- “Licorice Pizza” – Paul Thomas Anderson
- “The Worst Person In The World” – Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier
This is the category that i need to hop on the train and start taking the express. I am so excited to see what “The Worst Person In The World” is all about. Why do I feel like three of these movies will be crying movies?
Top Nominated Films
- The Power of the Dog – 12
- Dune – 10
- Belfast – 7
- West Side Story – 7
- King Richard – 6
- Don’t Look Up – 4
- Drive My Car – 4
- Nightmare Alley – 4
- Being the Ricardos – 3
- CODA – 3
- Encanto – 3
- Flee – 3
- Licorice Pizza – 3
- The Lost Daughter – 3
- No Time to Die – 3
- The Tragedy of Macbeth – 3
As we approach March 27th, I will also be updating my personal Oscar nominations for the year, and the Academy and I may have very different viewpoints on some matters.
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