The Oscar nominations ceremony took place at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The race for the world’s most prestigious awards, presented annually by the American Film Academy (AMPAS), has reached the finish line.
The list of nominees was announced by Oscar-winning actor Riz Ahmed (The Sound of Metal and The Long Goodbye) and actress and producer Allison Williams (M3GAN). The ceremony could be seen live on ABC and on streaming platforms including YouTube.
The main sensation of this stage of the fight for the Oscars can be considered the success of the eccentric black comedy “Everything Everywhere All at Once”. The tape about the misadventures of Asian American laundry owners received 11 nominations. Two paintings breathe at the same time in his neck – “All Quiet on the Western Front”, the latest adaptation of the novel by E.-M. Note on the tragic and bloody essence of World War I, and the tragicomedy “Banshee of Inisherin” ( The Banshees of Inisherin is about a disastrous argument between two old friends on an Irish island. Both received nine appointments.
The same three films appear in the most prestigious “Best Picture” Oscar nomination. They are accompanied by two of the highest-grossing projects of the year – the fantasy epic Avatar: The Way of Water and the action-adventure Top Gun: Maverick, as well as the musical biopic Elvis) about the king of rock and roll Elvis Presley.
In addition to them, this nomination also included Steven Spielberg’s partly autobiographical memoir The Fabelmans, the story of the headstrong conductor Tár, the historical drama Women Talking about women’s rebellion in the Mennonite community and the political satire Triangle of Sadness, sort of a sequel. at the Place des Vainqueurs in Cannes.
“Triangle of Sorrow” received mixed reactions from critics and viewers. But Academy members made clear their sympathy for Swede Ruben Östlund’s acrimonious pamphlet, reminiscent of Luis Buñuel’s anti-bourgeois statement films. Triangle of Sorrow also received nominations for Best Screenplay and Best Director.
In the category of directors, as almost always, the competition is very strong. Here we see acclaimed Hollywood classic Spielberg (“Fabelmans”), Todd Field (“Tar”), who rarely, but deservedly, shoots brutal mocker Martin McDonough (“Banshee of Inisherin”) and the perky duo of two strangers with the same name Daniel – Kwan and Scheinert (“Everything, everywhere and at once”). In this category, male directors compete with their female counterparts Sarah Polley (Women Speak), Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Woman King) and Charlotte Wells (Aftersun).
In the acting categories, there are recognized favorites who are already set to win at this point. Among the cast in the lead roles is Brendan Fraser, who in the drama The Whale played a reclusive, obese college professor who is going through a crisis in relationships with family and friends. In The Whale, directed by Darren Aronofsky, Fraser is almost unrecognizable, which increases his chances. After all, academics are very fond of when actors with the help of make-up and other tricks radically change their appearance.
Competing with Fraser are Austin Butler (Elvis), Colin Farrell (Banshees of Inisherin), Bill Nighy (Living) and Paul Mescal (My Sunshine). All five received Oscar nominations for the first time. The absence of Hugh Jackman, who convincingly played the role of a father in the drama “Son”, is noticeable.
In the “Best Supporting Actor” category, the victory should come from Vietnam, Ke Huy Kwan, who starred in the favorite film “Everything, everywhere and at the same time”. At the recent Golden Globes where Kwan was honored, he revealed that when he was 12, Spielberg starred in the action-adventure Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. A few years ago, he decided to quit acting. But the current success (Golden Globe and Oscar nomination) has of course changed his plans. Hollywood loves stories of triumphant return from oblivion.
In the Best Actress category, Cate Blanchett (“Tar”) and Michelle Yeoh (“Everything, Everywhere, All At Once”) are considered the favorites. In addition to them, Ana de Armas (“Blonde”/Blonde), Michelle Williams (“Fabelmany”) and Andrea Riseborough (“For the Sake of Leslie”/To Leslie) have made their way to this nomination. Riseborough’s inclusion in this society came as a surprise. In this modest, low-budget melodrama, she plays an unhappy, alcoholic woman who tries to raise her son alone.
Speaking of contenders for the award in the “Best Supporting Actress” category, Jamie Lee Curtis, who played a demonic tax inspector, is most often cited.
In the “Best Documentary” category, there is a film directed by Daniel Roer “Navalny”, which tells the story of the poisoning of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny and his rehabilitation in a German clinic. This gripping political thriller had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival a year ago, where it won two prestigious awards: the Audience Award in the American Documentary category and the Festival Favorite Award.
In the same category, we find the “heavyweight” of the film season of the film “All the Beauty and Bloodshed” (All the beauty and bloodshed) directed by Laura Poitras. At the Venice Film Festival, she was awarded the main prize – the Golden Lion.
Another competitor to Navalny is the Danish A House Made of Splinters directed by Simon Wilmont about the children of a boarding school in the Donetsk region. Vilmont has already turned to the Ukrainian theme, making the film “Distant Barking of Dogs” about the life of a boy and his grandmother in the armed conflict zone.
The academicians also singled out the short documentary Haulout by Evgenia and Maxim Arbugaev, an honest and fascinating film about climate change shot in Chukotka.
The clear favorite in the foreign category is German war drama All Quiet on the Western Front.
The 95th Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, March 12 at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood and will air on ABC and select streaming services. He was asked to host by TV presenter and comedian Jimmy Kimmel, who previously hosted the ceremonies in 2017 and 2018. Last year, the Oscars returned to hosted shows after two years without hosts.
