And a happy Oscars Nomination Day to you! It used to be I’d have to wake up at the crack of dawn to cover the Oscar nominations for whichever outlet I was working for, but these days, I can take my sweet time to post. It’s always a fun day, though, to see who and what got nominated.
This year had a few surprises (and snubs) but the list is mostly what I was expecting. The one film that was nowhere near my radar is Best Picture nominee Triangle of Sadness, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes last year. I saw it on the list and my immediate response was, “What the hell is that?” I know, I know, how can I be a movie critic and not know about a film? It’s not usual for me, trust me, but upon further investigation, I remembered it when I saw Woody Harrelson was in it. Clearly, I haven’t seen it and clearly, I have to see it, so I will.
The exclusion of any female directors on the nominees’ list is another *Sigh* moment, especially since there was some stellar work done in 2022: Sarah Polley (Women Talking), Charlotte Wells (Aftersun) and Chinonye Chukwu (Till). Ah well, I guess progression is still at arm’s length.
Another snub that hurts a little was the RRR, the highly imaginative and colorful Indian film from director S.S. Rajamouli. Only one nod for Best Song. Shame.
Still, if you were to ask me what should win, I’d give a bunch of Oscars to The Banshees of Insherin, a wonderfully dark comedy from one of my favorite writer/directors, Martin McDonaugh. He is an incredible storyteller and Banshees is steeped with rich characters and quirky, sad sensibilities.
Here is the complete list of nominees and look for more commentary before the big show on March 12!
BEST PICTURE
“All Quiet on the Western Front”
“Avatar: The Way of Water”
“The Banshees of Inisherin”
“Elvis”
“Everything Everywhere All at Once”
“The Fabelmans”
“Tár”
“Top Gun: Maverick”
“Triangle of Sadness”
“Women Talking”
BEST DIRECTOR
Martin McDonagh, “The Banshees of Inisherin”
Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Steven Spielberg, “The Fabelmans”
Todd Field, “Tár”
Ruben Östlund, “Triangle of Sadness”
BEST LEAD ACTOR
Austin Butler, “Elvis”
Colin Farrell, “The Banshees of Inisherin”
Brendan Fraser, “The Whale”
Paul Mescal, “Aftersun”
Bill Nighy, “Living”
BEST LEAD ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, “Tár”
Ana de Armas, “Blonde”
Andrea Riseborough, “To Leslie”
Michelle Williams, “The Fabelmans”
Michelle Yeoh, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Brendan Gleeson, “The Banshees of Inisherin”
Brian Tyree Henry, “Causeway”
Judd Hirsch, “The Fabelmans”
Barry Keoghan, “The Banshees of Inisherin”
Ke Huy Quan, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Angela Bassett, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”)
Hong Chau (“The Whale”)
Kerry Condon (“The Banshees of Inisherin”)
Jamie Lee Curtis (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)
Stephanie Hsu (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”)
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“All Quiet on the Western Front,” Screenplay by Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson & Ian Stokell
“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” Written by Rian Johnson
“Living,” Written by Kazuo Ishiguro
“Top Gun: Maverick,” Screenplay by Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie; Story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks
“Women Talking,” Screenplay by Sarah Polley
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“The Banshees of Inisherin,” Written by Martin McDonagh
“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” Written by Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert
“The Fabelmans,” Written by Steven Spielberg & Tony Kushner
“Tár,” Written by Todd Field
“Triangle of Sadness,” Written by Ruben Östlund
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“All Quiet on the Western Front”
“Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths”
“Elvis”
“Empire of Light”
“Tár”
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM
“All That Breathes”
“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”
“Fire of Love”
“A House Made of Splinters”
“Navalny”
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM
“The Elephant Whisperers”
“Haulout”
“How Do You Measure a Year?”
“The Martha Mitchell Effect”
“Stranger at the Gate”
BEST FILM EDITING
“The Banshees of Inisherin”
“Elvis”
“Everything Everywhere All at Once”
“Tár”
“Top Gun: Maverick”
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
“All Quiet on the Western Front” (Germany)
“Argentina, 1985” (Argentina)
“Close” (Belgium)
“EO” (Poland)
“The Quiet Girl” (Ireland)
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Applause” from Tell It Like a Woman
“Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick
“Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
“Naatu Naatu” from RRR
“This Is a Life” from Everything Everywhere All at Once
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
“All Quiet on the Western Front”
“Avatar: The Way of Water”
“Babylon”
“Elvis”
“The Fabelmans”
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
“All Quiet on the Western Front”
“Avatar: The Way of Water”
“The Batman”
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
“Top Gun: Maverick”
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”
“Marcel the Shell With Shoes On”
“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”
“The Sea Beast”
“Turning Red”
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
“The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse”
“The Flying Sailor”
“Ice Merchants”
“My Year of Dicks”
“An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It”
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
“Babylon”
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
“Elvis”
“Everything Everywhere All at Once”
“Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris”
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT
“An Irish Goodbye”
“Ivalu”
“Le Pupille”
“Night Ride”
“The Red Suitcase”
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
“All Quiet on the Western Front”
“The Batman”
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
“Elvis”
“The Whale”
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
“All Quiet on the Western Front”
“Babylon”
“The Banshees of Inisherin”
“Everything Everywhere All at Once”
“The Fabelmans”
BEST SOUND
“All Quiet on the Western Front”
“Avatar: The Way of Water”
“The Batman”
“Elvis”
“Top Gun: Maverick”
