Saturday, January 21, 2023

95th Oscar Dix

Announced Tuesday morning by Riz Ahmed and Allison Williams. They are going back to the press conference-style announcement for the first time in 7 years! So excited for that. 

The burning questions: Can All Quiet on the Western Front ride a late surge to be (or tie as) the nomination leader? Can both Banshees and Everything get four acting noms like they did at SAG? Is this Andrea Riseborough thing real or just a social media thing? Will the Academy reject Taylor Swift yet again? Can someone tell me why Marcel the Shell With Shoes On IS animated but Avatar: The Way of Water ISN'T?

VISUAL EFFECTS
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER
THE BATMAN
DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS
TOP GUN: MAVERICK
alt: Nope
Those 6, plus Wakanda Forever, Thirteen Lives, Jurassic World: Dominion, and the latest Fantastic Beasts were the bakeoff selections. 

MUSIC - ORIGINAL SONG
"LIFT ME UP" - BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER
"CIAO PAPA" - GUILLERMO DEL TORO'S PINOCCHIO
"NAATU NAATU" - RRR
"APPLAUSE" - TELL IT LIKE A WOMAN
"HOLD MY HAND" - TOP GUN: MAVERICK
alt: "Carolina" - Where the Crawdads Sing
Because even though she now has an honorary Oscar, why bet against Diane Warren? Plus, I'm not sure when the last time was these matched the Globes. 

MUSIC - ORIGINAL SCORE
BABYLON
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
THE FABELMANS
GUILLERMO DEL TORO'S PINOCCHIO
WOMEN TALKING
alt: The Woman King

SOUND
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER
ELVIS
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
TOP GUN: MAVERICK
alt: The Batman
Babylon, Wakanda Forever, Moonage Daydream, and GDT's Pinocchio were the bakeoff. Can't believe Nope didn't make it as it should probably win this category. 

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
AMSTERDAM
THE BATMAN
BLONDE
ELVIS
THE WHALE
alt: All Quiet on the Western Front
Wakanda, Emancipation, Crimes of the Future, and Babylon were in the bakeoff. Crimes would be a cool nom. Can't believe The Whale is probably easily in here, while something like X didn't even make the shortlist. 

PRODUCTION DESIGN
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER
BABYLON
BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER
ELVIS
THE FABELMANS
alt: All Quiet on the Western Front
Everything Everywhere would be a worthy nomination, and it could flex its strength by getting a nom.

COSTUME DESIGN
BABYLON
BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER
ELVIS
MRS HARRIS GOES TO PARIS
THE WOMAN KING
alt: Amsterdam
Or Corsage or Living.

FILM EDITING
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
ELVIS
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
TOP GUN: MAVERICK
alt: The Fabelmans
If you want to win Best Picture (minus CODA and Birdman), you gottta get nominated here. 

CINEMATOGRAPHY
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
ELVIS
EMPIRE OF LIGHT
THE FABELMANS
TOP GUN: MAVERICK
alt: BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths
Or The Batman

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
ARGENTINA 1985
CLOSE
DECISION TO LEAVE
THE QUIET GIRL
alt: E.O.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
ALL THAT BREATHES
ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED
DESCENDANT
FIRE OF LOVE
NAVALNY
alt: The Territory

ANIMATED FEATURE
GUILLERMO DEL TORO'S PINOCCHIO
MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON
MY FATHER'S DRAGON
PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH
TURNING RED
alt: Wendell and Wild

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
GLASS ONION
LIVING
THE WHALE
WOMEN TALKING
alt: She Said
This category is so weak Top Gun has a shot at a nom. 

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
THE FABELMANS
TÁR
TRIANGLE OF SADNESS
alt: Aftersun
Probably as close to a locked category as any in the top 8. 

SUPPORTING ACTOR
PAUL DANO - THE FABELMANS
BRENDAN GLEESON - THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
BARRY KEOGHAN - THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
KE HUY QUAN - EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
EDDIE REDMAYNE - THE GOOD NURSE
alt: Brad Pitt - Babylon
I thought Pitt was just a Globes thing, but man was there a lot of love for him in that room. Redmayne makes sense as the weak one given his film won't show up anywhere else. (Yes, I finally gave up on Hanks.)

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
DOLLY DE LEON - TRIANGLE OF SADNESS
alt: Stephanie Hsu - Everything Everywhere All At Once
Gonna pretend Hong is getting in for The Menu. Kinda crazy that after the year long debate over which Women Talking cast member would get it, they both ended up nonfactors. 

LEADING ACTOR
AUSTIN BUTLER - ELVIS
COLIN FARRELL - THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
BRENDAN FRASER - THE WHALE
PAUL MESCAL - AFTERSUN
BILL NIGHY - LIVING
alt: Tom Hanks - A Man Called Otto
That last slot has been up for grabs all season. Sony really fucked up holding A Man Called Otto for wide release until last week. Had it gone wide over Christmas, Hanks might have had a good shot. Cruise has missed all season, Jackman has a Globe nom, but his film is a huge flop. Pope has the Globe nom, the Ryan Murphy shoutout, and some smaller mentions. Sandler has the SAG nom, but that might have had more to do with Netflix and how much that guild favors them. (Especially now!) Mescal just makes the most sense. 

LEADING ACTRESS
CATE BLANCHETT - TÁR
VIOLA DAVIS - THE WOMAN KING
ANA DE ARMAS - BLONDE
DANIELLE DEADWYLER - TILL
MICHELLE YEOH - EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
alt: Michelle Williams - The Fabelmans
The SAG lineup. Williams will probably be hurt by her film's overall lack of support, and the category confusion. Though I will say BRAVA to her for actually going for it and getting snubbed, instead of taking an easy win in Supporting. If there is a genuine surprise here, it could be Emma Thompson. As for this Andrea Riseborough old fashioned campaign, I hope it gives her more opportunities. She has been one of the most underrated actresses and I think she's due for a season sweeping role. Glad her friends clearly love her!

DIRECTING
EDWARD BERGER - ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
MARTIN MCDONAGH - THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
DANIEL KWAN & DANIEL SCHEINERT - EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
STEVEN SPIELBERG - THE FABELMANS 
TODD FIELD - TÁR
alt: Jospeph Kosinki - Top Gun: Maverick
Back to no women. Berger seems to be breaking at just the right time, and he and his film clearly have British support. 

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
THE WHALE
alt: umm..uh...Could it really be Babylon? Or Women Talking? Or Wakanda? AftersunGlass Onion? Living? Maybe by some miracle one of the animated films get in? They deserve it more than about half of the nominees do. RRR had a lot of initial support, but it seemingly dropped off. 

I'll go with The Woman King. Why not?

Nomination tally:
The Banshees of Inisherin - 9
All Quiet on the Western Front - 8
Elvis - 8
Everything Everywhere All at Once - 8
The Fabelmans - 7
Top Gun: Maverick - 6
The Whale - 5
Avatar: The Way of Water - 4
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - 4
TÁR - 4
Babylon - 3
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio - 3
Triangle of Sadness - 3

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