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Source: The New York Times
It’s been nearly a century since the Academy Awards were first held and established as perhaps the biggest event of the year for the American film industry. Since its inception in 1927, the Academy Awards (or Oscars as they have become more frequently known), held by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, have maintained a reputation for honoring what they consider to be the best that cinema has to offer within a given year, and while not all films that are given an Oscar are able to stand the test of time, those that do are still widely hailed as some of the greatest cinematic works ever created. This year marks the 95th Academy Awards, and while nobody can say for sure how must lasting power any of the nominated films will have in the long run, there’s still plenty of buzz surrounding a select number of works and their potential to achieve at least one major accolade during the upcoming ceremony on Sunday, March 12th. It was only just recently though – Tuesday, January 24th to be precise – that the nominations for the upcoming event were revealed, most of which appear to paint a fairly solid picture as to what could end up taking home the biggest prizes of the evening.
Continuing the success streak that began all the way back in April 2022 with an unexpectedly strong long-term performance at the box office (and so far shows no signs of slowing down) is A24’s absurdist comedy-drama “Everything Everywhere All at Once”, which became the most nominated film of the year with a total of eleven Academy Award nominations. These include Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for writers/directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Best Actress for Michelle Yeoh, Best Supporting Actor for Ke Huy Quan, two Best Supporting Actress nods for Jamie Lee Curtis and Stephanie Hsu, Best Original Score for Son Lux, Best Original Song for the song “This is a Life” and its writers Ryan Lott, David Byrne, and Mitski, Best Costume Design, and Best Film Editing. While having the most nominations does not necessarily guarantee that it will win in all these categories or even be a lock for Best Picture (in fact, the Best Picture award has often not gone to the most nominated film), many experts believe that it is almost impossible for the film to go home with at the very least one award, especially given how prominent the film is throughout many of the most noteworthy categories.
If “Everything Everywhere All at Once” is going to win Best Picture though, it will only do so after experiencing some tough competition from the other nominees, many of which have also scored their fair share of nominations. Two films, for example, are tied for second place in terms of overall nominations; the first of these is Searchlight Pictures’ “The Banshees of Inisherin”, which previously beat “Everything Everywhere All at Once” at the most recent Golden Globes by taking home the prize for Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical. Despite securing two less nominations, the film nonetheless maintains a solid position as a major frontrunner; not only is it also a Best Picture nominee, but Martin McDonagh has also earned spots in both the Best Director and Best Original Screenplay categories, as have Colin Farrell for Best Actor, Brendan Gleeson and Barry Keoghan for Best Supporting Actor, Kerry Condon for Best Supporting Actress, Carter Burwell for Best Original Score, and Mikkel E.G. Nielsen for Best Film Editing.
Also garnering nine Academy Award nominations was Germany’s “All Quiet on the Western Front”, which received global distribution from Netflix. Recent years have seen the Oscars dedicate much attention and nominations to at least one film made outside the United States (the most successful being 2019’s “Parasite”, which actually ended up winning Best Picture the following year), and the large number of categories “All Quiet on the Western Front” can be found in is further evidence of this trend. It is yet another Best Picture nominee, and has also received nods for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Sound, Best Production Design, Best Cinematography, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Visual Effects, and of course, Best International Feature Film. Judging by these specific categories, a win for Best International Feature is all but guaranteed for the German anti-war epic, as are at least one or two wins in the technical categories.
Technical awards are an area where another Best Picture nominee, Warner Brothers’ music biopic “Elvis”, could very easily acquire at least one Oscar before the night’s end, as it will be competing in a total of eight categories, which include Best Sound, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, and most notably, Best Actor for Austin Butler. Right behind “Elvis” is yet another Best Picture nominee, Universal’s “The Fabelmans”, with a total of seven nominations. Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiography have unsurprisingly proven popular among Academy voters, as the director has also earned nods for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay (the latter he shares with Tony Kushner), while actors Michelle Williams and Judd Hirsch were recognized in the categories of Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor respectively for their performances in the film, and nods for Best Original Score and Best Production Design were also earned.
Apart from the five films previously mentioned, five other films were nominated for Best Picture and several other different categories. These are Focus Features’ drama “Tar” and Paramount’s blockbuster sequel “Top Gun: Maverick” (both of which earned six Oscar nominations each), 20th Century Studio’s sci-fi sequel “Avatar: The Way of Water” (which earned four nominations in total), the Swedish/German/French/British co-production “Triangle of Sadness” (nominated for three awards overall), and United Artists’ “Women Talking” (also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay). Could any of these films pull off a surprise Best Picture win, or will the Academy opt to give the prize to a more heavily nominated feature? Only on March 12th when the Oscars take place will anybody know for sure, but for the time being, one can only appreciate what has already been achieved by the films nominated.
