The nominations for this year’s Academy Awards were announced early Tuesday morning. Overall, the nominations went as expected in most categories. However, as is the case almost every year, there were a few notable absences and shocking surprises. None more so than in the Best Actress category. Keep reading for my breakdown of some of the major categories.
BEST ACTRESS
Unquestionably the category that drew the biggest gasps and surprise on Tuesday morning. Here are the five women the Academy voted for:
- Cate Blanchet – Tár
- Michelle Williams – The Fableman
- Michelle Yeoh – Everything Everywhere All At Once
- Andrea Riseborough – To Leslie
- Ana de Armas – Blonde
And here are the five women many expected to receive the nomination:
- Cate Blanchett – Tár
- Michelle Yeoh – Everything Everywhere All At Once
- Viola Davis – The Woman King
- Danielle Deadwyler – Till
- Michelle Williams or Ana de Armas – The Fabelmans/Blonde
In other words, many accepted that the fifth spot was a toss-up but not at the expense of both Viola Davis and Danielle Deadwyler. Many considered Michelle Williams and Ana de Armas as tentative. However, I disagreed about Ana de Armas.
Many allowed their hatred and in some cases, those who didn’t even see the film, the negative public reaction to Blonde, to cloud their judgments. And in doing so, ignored all the glaringly obvious signs that Ana de Armas was more than a tentative possibility to be nominated.
Because in reality, Ana has consistently shown up across various major Guilds and voting bodies – a strong indicator that an actor will likely be nominated. She received a nomination for the Globes, SAG, and BAFTA. Similarly, Viola was also a consistent presence across the various voting bodies. Her not being nominated is shocking.
However, opposite Viola and Ana’s strong showing throughout the season was Michelle Williams, who missed out on SAG and BAFTA. She was the question mark heading into Tuesday’s announcement and in that vein, was a surprise, though not necessarily shocking, nominee. Because despite missing out on some key awards, Williams was a four-time Oscar nominee (now five-time) in a film that was guaranteed a Best Picture nomination, along with other key categories. Her inclusion was always a strong possibility.
The real surprise and “upset” in this category was Andrea Riseborough’s nomination. A nomination that’s garnering some controversy, not only because many view it as the “black actresses were booted in favor of another white actress,” but also for how Riseborough appeared to get on voters’ radar. Within the last month or two, a growing groundswell of support from some big names in Hollywood built around the actress’ performance.
With many of these big names – such as Charlize Theron, Kate Winslet, fellow nominee Cate Blanchett, Edward Norton, and more – promoting support for Riseborough’s performance on social media, organizing Q&A with film media and voters, etc. While some are applauding the move, considering it a potential positive game-changer where a film will no longer need to have a big campaign budget behind it to get an Oscar nomination, others are calling foul.
The argument is this was a clear case of an elitist group of Hollywood big names essentially trying to manipulate the Academy voting process. And before you scoff, the Academy recently put out a statement declaring their intent to investigate award campaigning guidelines, to confirm whether or not any were broken. They don’t directly mention Riseborough’s nomination, however, we can all read between the lines. It will be very interesting to see, if anything, comes from this.
BEST ACTOR
The nominees are:
- Austin Butler – Elvis
- Colin Farrell – The Banshees of Inisherin
- Brendan Fraser – The Whale
- Bill Nighy – Living
- Paul Mescal – Aftersun
The complete opposite of the Best Actress category, the Best Actor nominees shaped up as many predicted. The fifth spot, as is often the case, was a toss-up, with some still hoping Tom Cruise would get in for Top Gun: Maverick, others predicting a complete outlier like Hugh Jackman for The Son or Jeremy Pope for The Inspector.
However, in the final weeks before the announcement, most pundits acknowledged that the tide was shifting heavily in Paul Mescal’s favor. So really not a surprise he took the final spot. Fun fact, every actor in the category is a first-time nominee.
BEST DIRECTOR
The nominees are:
- Steven Spielberg – The Fabelmans
- Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert – Everything Everywhere All At Once
- Todd Field – Tár
- Martin McDonaugh – The Banshees of Inisherin
- Ruben Östlund – Triangle of Sadness
Once again, nothing too shocking here as the four solid locks expected to get in did. The fifth spot was anyone’s guess. While many predicted Edward Berger for All Quiet on the Western Front or big names like James Cameron and Baz Lurhuman, the fact that Triangle of Sadness got a Best Picture nomination makes Östlund’s nomination less surprising.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
The nominees are:
- Angela Bassett – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
- Hong Chau – The Whale
- Kerry Condon – The Banshees of Inisherin
- Jamie Lee Curtis – Everything Everywhere All At Once
- Stephanie Hsu – Everything Everywhere All At Once
No surprise in this category. The only question mark going into Tuesday’s nomination announcement was whether or not both actresses from Everything Everywhere All At Once would be nominated. Specifically, would Stephanie Hsu be left off the list, in favor of Dolly DeLeon for her amazing performance in Triangle of Sadness? But as we saw with their leading 11 nominations, Academy voters were feeling the Everything Everywhere love. And that extended to celebrating both Jamie Lee Curtis and Stephanie Hsu’s performances.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
The nominees are:
- Brendan Gleeson – The Banshees of Inisherin
- Brian Tyree Henry – Causeway
- Judd Hirsh – The Fabelmans
- Barry Keoghan – The Banshees of Inisherin
- Ke Huy Quan – Everything Everywhere All At Once
This category was a bit more wide open than the other acting categories. Perhaps the only solid locks for a nomination were Ke Huy Quan (who is likely going to win) and Brendan Gleeson. As such, there was no real shocking surprise in the list of nominees.
Perhaps the most surprising nomination was Brian Tyree Henry’s, as he’d missed out on many of the precursors – no Globe, SAG, or BAFTA nomination. However, his performance in Causeway is critically lauded and was one of the most talked about performances in the early days of Award season.
It was also a toss-up whether Judd Hirsh or Paul Dano would get in, both for The Fablemans. Dano had the more visible role in the film, while Hirsh, whose presence was minimal, had a “big moment” scene. Not to mention he’s a well-respected, legendary actor. So not a total surprise the voters went in his favor.
BEST PICTURE
The nominees are:
- 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
- Women Talking
No big surprises, other than Women Talking getting nominated. Based on the few nominations it received overall throughout the Awards Season, some speculated that the film was unlikely to get a Best Picture nomination. Triangle of Sadness is also somewhat of a surprise. However, with its showing up in some big categories, like Best Director, it’s clear that the voters loved the film.
As to who and what will ultimately win, hard to say. Other than a few categories, I would say let’s wait and see what happens at SAG and BAFTA. The two are likely to tell the tale.
PoPnOgR@PhY 