The Oscar nominations seem to come earlier each year, and this is the furthest behind the Maven has been in writing the annual predix blog. Blame juggling faulty pipes, a research grant, and being academically homeless for the next two years and losing my personal office; the English building is being repurposed into offices for us professors, while a new classroom building is being built--at the same time.
Still playing catchup with some films (like Academy members have seen them all at this point), but so far this year feels a bit bland. Save for a couple of films, I've just not been bowled over. Not a single film has screamed to me that it's the gold standard that will be remembered 20 years from now; certain performances and elements, yes, but not the films. I hope my opinion changes as I continue to plow through.
So this one is going to be short. I'll elaborate when I write my final predictions in about six weeks. But a few observations for now:
1--Loved Barbie. It's eye-popping fun that turns in on itself. I never thought it was didactic nor preachy. It's diverse without calling attention to itself. And the performances are fun as hell. And this begs the question: Will Greta Gerwig win a goddamned Oscar finally? Unfortunately no, especially since the Academy moved Screenplay from Original to Adapted. And you know what this means...
2--Oppenheimer will win a lot of trophies, including probably in Adapted. Many of you well know that I am not the biggest Christopher Nolan fan, save for Insomnia, and the first two Batman films. Inception I hate with the passion of Trump supporter in heat. Nolan cannot find character development with two hands usually, and I think he succeeds here lately because he had to work from source material.
3--The momentum seems to have left Killers of the Flower Moon, save for Lily Gladstone. She's not a lock for Actress but close.
4--Actor could be interesting, coming down to Cillian Murphy, who is brilliant in everything versus Paul Giamatti, who is also brilliant in everything.
5--One film I watched because of the two leads with absolutely no expectations because I thought it would be a typical biopic, and I was wrong, is Nyad. I think Bening sneaks into that fifth spot for Actress, since nobody can decide on a category for Sandra Huller. And this is one of Foster's best performances and hasn't a chance in hell of winning.
6--Amercian Fiction should do well w/ noms, as will Maestro and The Holdovers. The latter film is the most pedestrian, but there's nothing wrong w/ that.
7--And will Bradley Cooper finally win a goddamned Oscar? Again, not this year.
Enough already. As usual, I don't do nom predix for docs, short films, foreign film, or music.
Best Picture
Oppenheimer
Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
The Holdovers
American Fiction
Poor Things
Anatomy of a Fall
Past Lives
The Color Purple
The Zone of Interest
Best Director
Christopher Nolan
Martin Scorsese
Greta Gerwig
Yorgos Lanthimos
Bradley Cooper
---
Alexander Payne
Jonathan Glazer
Justine Triet
Best Actor
Cillian Murphy
Paul Giamatti
Jeffrey Wright
Bradley Cooper
Colman Domingo
---
Leonardo DiCaprio
Joaquin Phoenix
Adam Driver
Best Actress
Lily Gladstone
Margot Robbie
Emma Stone
Carey Mulligan
Annette Bening
---
Sandra Huller
Fantasia Barrino
Greta Lee
Best Supporting Actor
Robert Downey, Jr.
Ryan Gosling
Robert DeNiro
Mark Ruffalo
Charles Melton
---
Sterling K. Brown
Willem Dafoe
Dominic Sessa
Best Supporting Actress
Da'Vine Joy Randolph
Jodie Foster
Danielle Brooks
Emily Blunt
America Ferrera
---
Viola Davis
Julianne Moore
Rosamund Pike
Best Original Screenplay
The Holdovers
Maestro
Past Lives
Anatomy of a Fall
Air
---
May December
Saltburn
Astroid City
Best Adapted Screenplay
Oppenheimer
Barbie
Poor Things
American Fiction
Killers of the Flower Moon
---
The Zone of Interest
Nyad
The Color Purple
Best Cinematography
Oppenheimer
Killers of the Flower Moon
Barbie
Maestro
The Zone of Interest
---
The Color Purple
El Conde
Napoleon
Best Editing
Oppenheimer
Killers of the Flower Moon
Barbie
Poor Things
Maestro
---
Anatomy of a Fall
The Holdovers
Ferrari
Best Production Design
Barbie
Poor Things
Oppenheimer
Killers of the Flower Moon
Astroid City
---
The Color Purple
Napoleon
Saltburn
Best Costume Design
Barbie
Poor Things
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Napoleon
---
Oppenheimer
The Color Purple
Wonka
Best Sound
Oppenheimer
Maestro
Killers of the Flower Moon
Barbie
Ferrari
---
The Zone of Interest
Napoleon
Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part I
Best Makeup
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Golda
Killers of the Flower Moon
---
Society of the Snow
Napoleon
Beau is Afraid
Best Visual Effects
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Poor Things
Spider-man: Across the Spider-verse
The Creator
Godzilla Minus One
---
Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part I
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Society of the Snow
Nominations
Oppenheimer 12
Killers of the Flower Moon 11
Barbie 10
Poor Things 8
The Holdovers 6
Maestro 6
Napoleon 5
American Fiction 4
Anatomy of a Fall 3
I did not italicize film titles because Maven ain't got time for that.
Them's my predix, and I'm sticking by them. The long haul begins at 8:30 in the morn. And my students will watch with me as usual.
My work is done here until March 10th. Follow me or mute me on the socials to follow along.
Happy Oscar Nominations Day, y'all! Seasons Screenings and, of course, Shalom!
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