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Source: The Hollywood Reporter
For the ninety-sixth time in its decades-long history, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has unveiled its list of nominees for its upcoming Academy Awards ceremony, and to say that reactions following the announcement on Tuesday, January 23rd have been explosive would be something of an understatement. This, of course, is nothing new for the Oscars; every year that the Academy reveals which films and individuals have been nominated within a given category, there will always be those whose inclusion will been seen as a surprise by many and those whose omission will cause an uproar from anyone hoping to see their favorites have a chance at winning a major award. That’s more or less how the Academy Award nominations have played out for nearly a century, and this most recent announcement seems to be hardly any different. Whether one agrees with the Academy’s decisions or considers them blasphemy though, this year’s nomination line-up does paint a fairly impressive picture of what are considered to be the best films released in the year 2023, with a few features in particular proving their worth by appearing in more categories than any other film. Some of these films are major blockbusters that have proven popular with critics and audiences alike, while others are smaller films that have overcome their lack of box office sales and gained decent-sized followings through strong word of mouth. Either way, they all now have a chance of showing everyone that they are the best that the art cinema has to offer, though it won’t be until Sunday, March 10th that they’ll have the opportunity to prove it.
Fitting for a film revolving around the invention of the atomic bomb, Christopher Nolan’s epic biographical drama “Oppenheimer” seems to have made quite an impact on Academy voters, as it has managed to secure thirteen nominations in total, more than any other film acknowledged by the institution so far. On top of a Best Picture nomination and Nolan being nominated for both Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, the film will also compete for Best Actor (Cillian Murphy), Best Supporting Actor (Robert Downey, Jr.), Best Supporting Actress (Emily Blunt), Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Sound, and Best Original Score. With a presence in so many different categories, “Oppenheimer” appears to have the greatest advantage of any nominated film, and even if it’s unable to win all (or even the majority) of the awards it’s competing for, it’d be quite shocking for it to not walk away with at least a major accolade or two.
Trailing right behind “Oppenheimer” in terms of nomination count is Yorgos Lanthimos’ science fantasy black comedy “Poor Things”, a film that could not be more different from Nolan’s creation yet has nonetheless managed to be almost as appealing to Academy voters, as evidenced by the eleven nominations it’s earned. The film will compete with “Oppenheimer” for Best Picture, and Lanthimos, like Nolan, is up for Best Director; in addition, “Poor Things” also has a chance of winning Best Actress (Emma Stone), Best Supporting Actor (Mark Ruffalo), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and Best Original Score. As one can see, many of these categories are for the exact same awards that “Oppenheimer” is vying for, meaning that if there’s any film that might give Nolan’s film a run for its (nearly a billion dollars worth of) money, it’s Lanthimos’.
Then again, one shouldn’t overlook the potential of another Best Picture nominee that has managed to score a double-digits worth of nominations: Martin Scorsese’s epic biographical western crime drama “Killers of the Flower Moon”. Like Nolan, Scorsese is also up for Best Director, and the film will also contend for Best Actress (Lily Gladstone), Best Supporting Actor (Robert De Niro), Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, Best Original Score, and Best Original Song for “Wazhazhe (A Song for My People)”. The lack of a Best Adapted Screenplay is a bit shocking and may be a sign that the Academy does not favor it quite as much as either “Oppenheimer” or “Poor Things”; still, anything is possible, so one shouldn’t overlook Scorsese’s film maybe pulling an upset or two.
Speaking of upset, despite doing fairly well with a total of eight nominations (albeit in seven categories), the other half of the Barbenheimer craze does not seem to be quite as impressive to Academy voters. Greta Gerwig’s fantasy comedy “Barbie” does still have much to look forward to on Oscar night; it too is a Best Picture nominee, wit its additional nominations for Best Supporting Actor (Ryan Gosling), Best Supporting Actress (America Ferrera), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, and Best Original Song for both “What Was I Made For?” and “I’m Just Ken” providing additional opportunities for “Barbie” to earn an Oscar. However, many have noticed the absence of Gerwig and Margot Robbie in the Best Director and Best Actress categories respectively and, as a result, have expressed their frustration with the “snubbing” of those who they feel deserved to compete for these awards.
Apart from those four films, six other features also stand a chance (as slim as it may be) of winning Best Picture. The most nominated of these six is Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro”, which will also vie for Best Actor (Bradley Cooper), Best Actress (Carey Mulligan), Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and Best Sound. The least nominated of these six is Celine Song’s “Poor Things”, which only has a single other nomination for Best Original Screenplay. The rest each have five nominations in total: Cord Jefferson’s “American Fiction” is also nominated for Best Actor (Jeffrey Wright), Best Supporting Actor (Sterling K. Brown), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Score; Justine Triet is a Best Director nominee for her Best Picture nominated “Anatomy of a Fall”, which is also competing for Best Actress (Sandra Huller), Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing; Jonathan Glazer has been chosen as the final Best Director nominee for “The Zone of Interest”, another Best Picture nominee that also stands a chance of winning Best Adapted Screenplay, Best International Feature Film, and Best Sound; finally, “The Holdovers” completes the Best Picture category while also hoping to win for Best Actor (Paul Giamatti), Best Supporting Actress (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing. Needless to say, it’ll be quite fascinating to see where all these awards go (as well as all others that are expected to be given out) come the 10th of March, but either way, many have already expressed their joy and outrage (perhaps even both) with what has and/or has not been nominated by the Academy, showing just how much the Academy Awards is, has been, and will likely continue to be the source of great controversy, whether it’s deserved or not.
