It’s been quite some time since I did any Oscar blogging, but since I launched this website a few day ago and the Oscars are Sunday, it seems like the right time to jump back into it, yeah?
Like in my Oscar blogs of old, I only pick in categories I have fully finished. I’m generally not a big documentary, animation, or shorts guy. As my wardrobe consists almost entirely of black shirts and jeans, I generally don’t have much to say about wardrobe either.
Without further ado…
Best Picture
Nominees
Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
I’m Still Here
Nickel Boys
The Substance
Wicked
There are a lot of great films this year, but not any that are truly standouts. Anora seems to be making a late run at things with wins at the Critics Choice, PGA, and DGA, though The Brutalist has more nominations. Emilia Perez was probably in the conversation before its controversy. I’ll say I fail to understand why Sing Sing and A Real Pain didn’t make it into this category.
I think Conclave will ultimately get it, by virtue of its cast, its subject matter and the fact that it’s not three and a half hours long. If I were voting, I’d probably go for Nickel Boys. Its first-person perspective may be somewhat offputting for some, and it did take me a minute to adjust, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a film offer such an empathetic look into its subjects.
Leading Actor
Nominees
Adrien Brody, The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes, Conclave
Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice
Adrien Brody was almost wire-to-wire here since winning at the Golden Globes. However, Timothée Chalamet surprised at the SAG awards, and actors are the biggest voting block of the Academy. Like with Best Picture, I’m picking the film without a huge run time, plus Chalamet’s portrayal of Dylan is amazing, and that was a hard needle to thread. He’d get my vote, though Stan is a very close second for me.
Leading Actress
Nominees
Cynthia Erivo, Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison, Anora
Demi Moore, The Substance
Fernanda Torres, I’m Still Here
Strike Gascón from the list – the controversy there is one the Academy voters would like to have back for sure. Demi Moore has been seen as a shoe-in, but Mikey Madison’s star is rising after Anora’s late-season run. I think Moore will ultimately take home the statue. If I were voting, it’d be Fernanda Torres, whose understated performance in I’m Still Here made the film.
Supporting Actress
Nominees
Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande, Wicked
Felicity Jones, The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini, Conclave
Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez
Zoe Saldaña, lock, stock and barrel. Quite frankly, other than the film being named for another character, Saldaña is really the lead of Emilia Perez. I have my issues with the film for sure, but Saldaña was asked to do a ton here, and she over-delivered. She’s won everywhere and will here as well.
Supporting Actor
Nominees
Yura Borisov, Anora
Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce, The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice
Like with Saldaña, this category is Kieran Culkin’s. It’s rare where I’d say the film not being nominated for Best Picture helps the actor, but that’s the case with A Real Pain. Culkin deserves it, and the film deserved more nominations.
Director
Nominees
Jacques Audiard, Emilia Pérez
Sean Baker, Anora
Brady Corbet, The Brutalist
Coralie Fargeat, The Substance
James Mangold, A Complete Unknown
Usually, Best Picture gives insight into who will win the director category (or really, vice versa, since Director is usually called first). However, in a year as tight as this one, I think the opposite is true, and they will split. Conclave – my pic for Pic – isn’t represented here. I think it’s close between Baker and Corbet, but as before, bet against the longer run time, and with Anora’s late run. I’d have a hell of a time picking here, but have no idea why RaMell Ross was left off the list for Nickel Boys, as that has the most unique direction I’ve seen in quite some time. My pick would likely be Corbet, but barely over Baker and Mangold. I might have changed my mind while writing that too, ha.
Adapted Screenplay
Nominees
A Complete Unknown (Screenplay by James Mangold and Jay Cocks)
Conclave (Screenplay by Peter Straughan)
Emilia Pérez (Screenplay by Jacques Audiard; In collaboration with Thomas Bidegain, Léa Mysius and Nicolas Livecchi)
Nickel Boys (Screenplay by RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes)
Sing Sing (Screenplay by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar; Story by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, John “Divine G” Whitfield)
It’s unusual, but amazing, that the stronger category is the Original one this year. From my perspective, I’d give it to Sing Sing. It’s an amazing story, and the lack of a Best Picture nomination is a significant oversight. Conclave seems to have the upper hand here, and it’s hard to argue with that.
Original Screenplay
Nominees
Anora (Written by Sean Baker)
The Brutalist (Written by Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold)
A Real Pain (Written by Jesse Eisenberg)
September 5 (Written by Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum; Co-Written by Alex David)
The Substance (Written by Coralie Fargeat)
By now, you’ve figured out that I think A Real Pain and Sing Sing were not only snubbed for nominations, but should be in the Best Picture mix. So Jesse Eisenberg would get my vote in this category. The BAFTAs seemed to agree with me. But given Anora’s late run, it seems likely that Baker gets a statue here.
Cinematography
Nominees
The Brutalist (Lol Crawley)
Dune: Part Two (Greig Fraser)
Emilia Pérez (Paul Guilhaume)
Maria (Ed Lachman)
Nosferatu (Jarin Blaschke)
Crawley’s The Brutalist seems to have the inside track here, and that’s who I’d give it to as well. Fraser won for Dune 1, and Lachman won the Cinematographer’s guild award for Maria, but there’s no denying the beautifully shot The Brutalist. Especially if, as I think it will, falter in other categories.
Editing
Nominees
Anora (Sean Baker)
The Brutalist (David Jancso)
Conclave (Nick Emerson)
Emilia Pérez (Juliette Welfling)
Wicked (Myron Kerstein)
Editing is usually the harbinger for Best Picture. It comes up early in the show, and usually the Academy voters will pick the same movie for both. So I’ll stick with Conclave here as my pick. My dark horse, and personal pick, would be Emilia Pérez. Given the fever dream quality of the film, that one had a much more difficult editing job, and it more than pulled it off.
Makeup and Hairstyling
Nominees
A Different Man (Mike Marino, David Presto and Crystal Jurado)
Emilia Pérez (Julia Floch Carbonel, Emmanuel Janvier and Jean-Christophe Spadaccini)
Nosferatu (David White, Traci Loader and Suzanne Stokes-Munton)
The Substance (Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon and Marilyne Scarselli)
Wicked (Frances Hannon, Laura Blount and Sarah Nuth)
Everyone’s talking about The Substance here, and with good reason. Being the contrarian that I am, though, probably leads me to think I’d give it to A Different Man.
Costume Design
Nominees
A Complete Unknown (Arianne Phillips)
Conclave (Lisy Christl)
Gladiator II (Janty Yates and Dave Crossman)
Nosferatu (Linda Muir)
Wicked (Paul Tazewell)
Like I said, I don’t know much about wardrobe. But, is there any possibility that Wicked loses here? Don’t see it.
Production Design
Nominees
The Brutalist (Production Design: Judy Becker; Set Decoration: Patricia Cuccia)
Conclave (Production Design: Suzie Davies; Set Decoration: Cynthia Sleiter)
Dune: Part Two (Production Design: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau)
Nosferatu (Production Design: Craig Lathrop; Set Decoration: Beatrice Brentnerová)
Wicked (Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales)
See last category. Take Wicked to the bank.
Though I’d usually complete these categories, I came up short on Sound (missing The Wild Robot) and Visual Effects (Alien: Romulus and Better Man). I feel like I’d still have given Sound to A Complete Unknown and visual effects to Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes from the clips I’ve seen. The modern Apes movies are personal favorites, and I feel like they’ve been overlooked.