There’s lots of talk about surprises and snubs as we process this year’s Academy Award nominations, announced this morning from Hollywood. Before we barrel toward what will undoubtedly be “Oscar-heimer” March 10 when the 13 times nominated Oppenheimer looks to cement its status as the epic opus of the big screen, here are some trends and films to watch:
1 A bumper crop of acting talent across the year edged out two of the most popular movie stars, Margot Robbie (titular star of Barbie) and Leonardo DiCaprio (antihero of Killers of the Flower Moon), from scoring their next nods, but their co-stars America Ferrera and Ryan Gosling and Lily Gladstone and Robert DeNiro, respectively, demonstrate their high-profile movies are still very popular in the running.
2 The director’s branch loves an auteur. You’d never mistake the film aesthetic or themes of Martin Scorsese or Christopher Nolan or Yorgos Lanthimos with those of anyone else. Two of these artists who often work in the comedy milieu – Barbie’s Greta Gerwig, known for chronicling strong women’s stories, and The Holdovers’ Alexander Payne, who has consistently made character-driven tales in distinct environments, didn’t make the cut. Instead two helmers of international films, Justine Triet (courtroom thriller Anatomy of a Fall) and Jonathan Glazer (the Holocaust adjacent The Zone of Interest), put distinguished imprints on their respective films. This notorious club still hasn’t invited Gerwig in despite all three of her films receiving nominations for Best Picture, but she wasn’t snubbed for others who weren’t also playing at the top of their game. Nolan has this in the bag anyway.
3 People returned to movie theatres this year, so it’s telling that movies from the big studios and even the indies dominated again in the top awards, with only Netflix’s Maestro in multiple categories and Nyad and Rustin getting into acting slots. Apple kept Killers of the Flower Moon in theatres so long that most folks forgot it was actually made for streaming, where many are finally watching it now with bathroom breaks.
4 Early releases and late releases didn’t pay off in the awards sweepstakes. The lovely Past Lives started strong at Sundance last year but only scored two noms, albeit in the prestigious Picture and Screenplay races. The wonderful ensemble film Air was buzzed about at 2023 South by Southwest and on Prime streaming but came up empty-handed. Two cerebral masterpieces, Origin and All of Us Strangers, were held too long from viewers to generate much word-of-mouth and didn’t get any nominations. The Color Purple musical adaptation eschewed festivals and instead showed up on Christmas Day and only scored one mention for Danielle Brooks.
5 The two-way race in the Animated Feature category between The Boy and the Heron and Spider-man: Across the Spider-Verse has remained without a consensus choice in the precursors. If one of these two acclaimed films had dominated the season, it could likely have scored one of the ten Picture slots. It’s one of the true horse races left with suspense for Oscar night.
6 The Leonard Bernstein biopic Maestro, which has been losing steam and generating the most backlash on social media, still scored seven nominations but isn’t poised to win many. Bradley Cooper is up for best actor and screenplay but probably would have given up either for a coveted director nod he didn’t land.
7 Colman Domingo (Rustin) and Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction) scoring Best Actor nomination nods is the first time we’ve had two Black actors in the category not named Denzel Washington or Will Smith. It’s re-assuring to see these talented thespians recognized. Rustin is a solid biopic, and American Fiction is a wonderful comic send-up of the literary and cinematic obsession with only certain kinds of racial stories.
8 The autumn 2023 actor and writer strikes may have quietly benefitted Nyad, a sleeper streamer about the cantankerous swimmer and her indomitable coach that scored both industry legends Annette Bening and Jodie Foster their latest nominations. It’s a fun watch, by the way, about achieving impossible dreams late in life. Bening may rival Glenn Close in her Quixotic hope for Oscar glory. And two time Best Actress winner Foster’s last nomination in the supporting category was when she was 14.
9 Supporting acting races seem to be decided with Da’Vine Joy Randolph of The Holdovers and Robert Downey, Jr. of Oppenheimer winning most awards of the season already. But there’s genuine drama in the Emma Stone (Poor Things) vs. Lily Gladstone and Cillian Murphy vs. Paul Giamatti match-ups. Anyone could win these, with several spoilers waiting in the wings.
10 The splendid import Anatomy of a Fall, which just debuted on streaming, has over-performed across the awards season after winning the Cannes Film Festival Palm d’Or and then not being picked by its home country of France as its official Oscar selection for International Feature. Now this beguiling courtroom thriller is nominated for five Oscars, as many as the popular American dramedy The Holdovers, also being seen en masse on Peacock. Both are highly recommended.
Note: The Academy Awards telecast will start an hour earlier than usual when it airs from the Dolby Theater on ABC March 10, 2024. So that’s one less hour to get caught up on watching all the nominees!
The nominations were announced this morning, and the winners will be revealed live during the March 12, 2023 telecast on ABC-TV. Some surprises included a nomination for Andrea Riseborough as best actress in the little-seen alcohol recovery drama To Leslie (now available for rent on Amazon Prime) and Brian Tyree Henry in supporting actor opposite Jennifer Lawrence in the Apple TV+ drama Causeway.
Here are the ten nominations for Best Picture, with links to my reviews:
“All Quiet on the Western Front” (Netflix)
“Avatar: The Way of Water” (20th Century Studios, now in theatres)
“The Banshees of Inisherin” (Searchlight Pictures, now on HBO Max and on demand)
“Elvis” (Warner Bros., now on HBO Max and on demand)
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24, now on Showtime and on demand)
“The Fabelmans” (Universal Pictures, now on demand)
“Tár” (Focus Features, now on demand)
“Top Gun: Maverick” (Paramount Pictures, now on Paramount Plus)
“Triangle of Sadness” (NEON, now on demand)
“Women Talking” (Orion, now on demand)
The nominees were announced this week including these ten for Best Picture from the year 2021. Here are links to my original reviews for each film:
Bryan Coley of REEL Experiences interviews Stephen Michael Brown about a lifelong love of the Academy Awards and this year’s eight Best Picture finalists.
Here’s an excerpt from the P3 podcast in talks with Byron James about this year’s Academy Awards nominees.
Get ready for the biggest party in Hollywood—The Academy Awards telecast is Sunday, February 24, 2019 at 8 p.m. EDT on ABC. For many of us, the best part of the evening is pre-gaming to red carpet arrivals (E! Entertainment is the place for stargazing). Be on the lookout for fashion plates like nominees Emma Stone, Michael B. Jordan and Regina King. But, the movies are the main event, so here’s a look at what to expect as you prepare to win your own preferential ballots.
Oscars So Woke
This year’s Oscars ceremony is infamously host-free (there are rumors of Whoopi Goldberg gearing up to be a stealth emcee) and promises to tickle and tick off just about everybody as both Hollywood hits and artier indie fare compete for top prizes in a year when representation on screen has been paramount. This juried juggernaut is the culmination of a prolonged awards season in which anything is possible, and surprises and snubs will undoubtedly own the night.
And the Winner Might Be…
Many films and featured artists are sure to blow up your Twitter feed to “Grammy Michelle Obama proportions,” so you’ll want to binge up on any movies you’ve missed. Expect to hear the swirling sounds of Gaga – the Radio Gaga variety, as Rami Malek is a frontrunner for his flamboyant frontman role as Freddie Mercury in the Queen music biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, and the Lady Gaga type as she sings her A Star Is Born hit single “Shallow” opposite co-star and snubbed first-time director Bradley Cooper. Both in this romantic duo are nominated for their searing performances in the hit remake. Black Panther was the $700 million juggernaut of 2018 and blew peoples’ minds with its Afrofuturist take on the epic action odyssey. The first comic book adaptation ever to compete for best picture, it’s a long shot for the top prize but wouldn’t surprise anyone as Wakanda has forged its forever place in cinematic history. Spike Lee is also making history with his latest joint, finally up for competitive prizes after a sterling career as a cinematic trailblazer. He’s vying in directing, writing and best picture categories for BlacKkKlansman, a winning real-life story with John David Robinson (Denzel’s son) and the nominated Adam Driver infiltrating a hate group in Colorado. The film is alternately funny, ferocious and fascinating. You’ll also hear lots about Roma, a black and white film set in 1970s Mexico City about a housekeeper (newcomer Yalitza Aparicio) who quietly watches over the family she lives with during a time of contemporary revolutions. Expect Alfonso Cuarón’s deeply personal Spanish-language film – which premiered on and is now streaming on Netflix – to get mucho praise come Oscar night. The sleeper film still charming multiplex audiences is Green Book, a real-life buddy comedy with Viggo Mortensen of Lord of the Rings as a Brooklyn bouncer who must transport a classical pianist played by True Detective’s Mahershala Ali through the late-‘60s Deep South with only their emerging friendship and a race relations guidebook to steer their destiny. Expect Ali, a recent Oscar winner for Moonlight, to score a second trophy for this classic Hollywood road picture with an acting pair reminiscent of Shawshank Redemption. Also worth viewing before the big show are Glenn Close as a spouse with a secret in The Wife, Sam Rockwell and Christian Bale as Dick Cheney in the political satire Vice, and Olivia Colman as a droll and debauched queen in the offbeat dark comedy The Favourite. My predictions: Black Panther upsets Roma for Best Picture with Cuarón winning director and best foreign film, Glenn Close and Rami Malek take first-time featured role wins and Mahershala Ali and The Favourite‘s Rachel Weisz land second-time supporting wins. There will be lots of awards to go around and the movie faithful will watch until the very end to see if their predictions hold true.
My video predictions:
Today’s clickable picks for the eight Academy Award nominees for Best Picture are the following:
Thanks again to Dolby Laboratories for sponsoring my time in Hollywood to cover the Oscars.
Here is the full list of winners of the 2016 Academy Awards, with hyperlinks to my reviews on this blog:
Best Picture
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight
My sentimental favorite and the prohibitive favorite through most of the awards season until the past few weeks, the true-life journalism crackler Spotlight, wins in an upset. First journalism film to ever claim the prize! And the producers proclaim they hope the Pope gets the message that abuse must end.
Best Director
Alejandro González Iñárritu, The Revenant
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
Adam McKay, The Big Short
George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
Lenny Abrahamson, Room
After winning last year for Birdman, Alejandro González Iñárritu scores for a second year in a row for The Revenant. An epic story well-told and a move well-made by a beloved auteur of Hispanic descent stands out among the smaller dramas. Plus, he makes moviemaking look incredibly exciting!
Best Actor
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl
Matt Damon, The Martian
Although he got to flex his acting muscles even more in The Wolf of Wall Street, Leonardo DiCaprio suffered for his art this year and wins his belated Oscar for The Revenant. The biggest roar of excitement and in the Dolby Theatre happened for this long-awaited victory.
Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
Brie Larson, absolutely the favorite for Room with no close second, wins! Brie is great in the role and beloved on the Hollywood scene. Did you know she also played Amy Schumer’s sister in this year’s summer comedy hit Trainwreck?
Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale, The Big Short
Tom Hardy, The Revenant
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Sylvester Stallone, Creed
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Mark Rylance pulls off one of the great upsets in Oscar history with a wonderful performance that is the elegant definition of a perfect supporting performance. Sly fans across the world gasped, and Mark Rylance became a much-Googled phrase.
Best Supporting Actress
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
It-Girl Alicia Vikander wins for The Danish Girl. Her role in the film was actually the female lead plus there are many fans of her work in the sci-fi film Ex Machina, also released this past year. She does a lovely, dare I say fierce job in both.
Best Adapted Screenplay
Drew Goddard, The Martian
Nick Hornby, Brooklyn
Adam McKay and Charles Randolph, The Big Short
Phyllis Nagy, Carol
Emma Donoghue, Room
Folks were impressed with the topical dark comedy The Big Short and the ability of a comedy writer/director – Adam McKay – to bring such panache to a story about the housing crash. This is the buzzy film’s only win.
Best Original Screenplay
Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer, Spotlight
Matt Charman, Joel & Ethan Coen, Bridge of Spies
Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley, Ronnie del Carmen, Inside Out
Alex Garland, Ex Machina
Jonathan Herman, S. Leigh Savidge, Alan Wenkus, Andrea Berloff, Straight Outta Compton
Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer developed the true story Spotlight without any source material, which is unusual for a film of this type. It is a great film and will at least be rewarded in this category. This is one of just two wins for the Best Picture.
Best Foreign Language Film
Son of Saul (Hungary)
Mustang (France)
A War (Denmark)
Embrace the Serpent (Colombia)
Theeb (Jordan)
Son of Saul is a searing masterpiece that could have easily snuck into the overall Best Picture race. Hopefully this win raises visibility for a great film.
Best Documentary Feature
Amy
Cartel Land
The Look of Silence
What Happened, Miss Simone?
Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom
Amy, the documentary about Amy Winehouse, captured the most acclaim and buzz this year and won.
Best Animated Feature
Inside Out
Anomalisa
Shaun of the Sheep
When Marnie Was There
Boy and the World
Inside Out, an expected candidate for Best Picture that didn’t make that cut, prevails. And its makers challenge everyone to channel emotions into writing and art!
Best Film Editing
Hank Corwin, The Big Short
Margaret Sixel, Mad Max: Fury Road
Stephen Mirrione, The Revenant
Tom McArdle, Spotlight
Maryann Brandon, Mary Jo Markey, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Mad Max: Fury Road is the adrenaline-soaked action spectacular of the year. Its editing was fast and, well, furious.
Best Original Song
“Earned It” from Fifty Shades of Grey
Music and lyrics by Abel Tesfaye, Ahmad Balshe, Jason Daheala Quenneville, and Stephan Moccio
“Manta Ray” from Racing Extinction
Music by J. Ralph and lyrics by Antony Hegarty
“Simple Song #3” from Youth
Music and lyrics by David Lang
“Til It Happens to You” from The Hunting Ground
Music and lyrics by Diane Warren and Lady Gaga
“Writing’s on the Wall” from Spectre
Music and lyrics by Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith
Sam Smith follows a recent Adele win for a song for James Bond. He invokes a little bit of revisionist history about what a pioneer he is that Dustin Lance Black and Elton John might dispute.
Best Original Score
Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight
Carter Burwell, Carol
Jóhann Jóhannsson, Sicario
John Williams, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Thomas Newman, Bridge of Spies
Score one for Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight with veteran composer Ennio Morricone taking home the prize for the writer/director’s peculiar revisionist western.
Best Cinematography
Emmanuel Lubezki, The Revenant
Edward Lachman, Carol
Robert Richardson, The Hateful Eight
Roger Deakins, Sicario
John Seale, Mad Max: Fury Road
For wide open expanses, bear attacks and generally amazing cinematography, Emmanuel Lubezki wins for The Revenant. Plus, he makes history as the first cinematographer to win three years in a row after Gravity and Birdman.
Best Costume Design
Sandy Powell, Carol
Sandy Powell, Cinderella
Paco Delgado, The Danish Girl
Jenny Beavan, Mad Max: Fury Road
Jacqueline West, The Revenant
Despite the beauty of many of the period costumes, it’s Jenny Beavan’s renegade post-apocalyptic couture of Mad Max: Fury Road that’s the stuff of pure imagination.
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared
The ruggedness and bear-inflicted wounds of The Revenant are one-upped by the gonzo desert ampitheatre of Mad Max denizens. Prediction here is Mad Max: Fury Road.
Best Production Design
Bridge of Spies, Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Rena DeAngelo and Bernhard Henrich
The Danish Girl, Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Michael Standish
Mad Max: Fury Road, Production Design: Colin Gibson; Set Decoration: Lisa Thompson
The Martian, Production Design: Arthur Max; Set Decoration: Celia Bobak
The Revenant, Production Design: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Hamish Purdy
Let’s give another to Mad Max, you know, “because.” The “below-the-line” technical awards nearly all go to Mad Max.
Sound Editing
Mark Mangini and David White, Mad Max: Fury Road
Oliver Tarney, The Martian
Martin Hernandez and Lon Bender, The Revenant
Alan Robert Murray, Sicario
Matthew Wood and David Acord, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Another for the motorcycles and mayhem of Mad Max!
Sound Mixing
Benjamin A. Burtt, Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Ben Osmo, Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff, Mad Max: Fury Road
Mac Ruth, Paul Massey, Mark Taylor, The Martian
Chris Duesterdiek, Frank A. Montaño, Jon Taylor, Randy Thom, The Revenant
Drew Kunin, Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom, Bridge of Spies
And how Mad Max blended breakneck noises into one of the most singular sonic soundscapes of the year!
Visual Effects
Andrew Whitehurst, Paul Norris, Mark Ardington and Sara Bennett, Ex Machina
Andrew Jackson, Tom Wood, Dan Oliver and Andy Williams, Mad Max: Fury Road
Richard Stammers, Anders Langlands, Chris Lawrence and Steven Warner, The Martian
Rich McBride, Matthew Shumway, Jason Smith and Cameron Waldbauer, The Revenant
Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan and Chris Corbould, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Ex Machina wins in an upset! Also a rare female winner in this category. Shows how much the Academy wanted to reward this visionary android romance thriller with Oscar Isaac and Alicia Vikander.
Best Short Film, Live Action
Basil Khalil and Eric Dupont, Ave Maria
Henry Hughes, Day One
Jamie Donoughue, Shok
Benjamin Cleary and Serena Armitage, Stutterer
Patrick Vollrath, Everything Will Be Okay (Alle Wird Gut)
Stutterer prevails.
Best Short Film, Animated
Bear Story
Prologue
Sanjay’s Super Team
We Can’t Live Without Cosmos
World of Tomorrow
Bear Story! Some voters will think this is about The Revenant too. Great speech by the winners.
Best Documentary, Short Subject
Body Team 12, David Darg and Bryn Mooser
Chau, Beyond the Lines, Courtney Marsh and Jerry Franck
Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah, Adam Benzine
A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
Last Day of Freedom, Dee Hibbert-Jones and Nomi Talisman
A Girl in the River prevails. Great spotlight on justice for women, and it caused a law to be changed in Pakistan.
Look forward to covering the movies of the year ahead! Thanks for reading, and I’m signing off from Hollywood! Thanks to Dolby for sponsoring my trip to the Oscars.
Oscar weekend has arrived, and starting tomorrow I’ll be reporting live from Hollywood thanks to Dolby Laboratories, who is sending me on my first official press junket and Academy Awards experience. I look forward to sharing technology, stars and events here on the blog and will Tweet from my handle @StephenATL.
This is the biggest weekend for the movies all year; and despite the lack of diversity in the nominations, people are expecting to see pomp and pageantry and host Chris Rock to skewer the establishment when televised proceedings begin on ABC Sunday night.
Some of you are likely cramming to see the Best Picture nominees, many of which are on video and on-demand (The Martian, Spotlight, Bridge of Spies, Mad Max: Fury Road) and some that are still in theatres (The Big Short, The Revenant, Brooklyn, Room). Incidentally, Room, The Danish Girl and Youth – one of my favorites – come out Monday, March 1 to view at home.
But the real question everyone’s asking (other than what will Lady Gaga wear?) is who will win the awards? There are many rules when filling out your mock-ballot; and there are always head-scratching surprises, but it’s Friday, so I better commit these to pixels.
Of the movies that are actually nominated, here’s what I believe will win and why — with hyperlinks to my reviews on this blog:
Best Picture
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight
Although my sentimental favorite is the true-life journalism crackler Spotlight, my prediction is The Revenant, because the Oscar voters have just discovered it in the past two months, because it is epic and sprawling and because it looks like it was hard to make. The story behind the story – about director Alejandro González Iñárritu and star Leonardo DiCaprio braving the wilderness to make this passion project on the brink of madness – is just what Hollywood loves. The topical message movies that don’t “appear” as “directed” as the outdoor epic will likely split the vote, and then only cult favorite Mad Max: Fury Road could sneak in as a dark horse. All the rest in this category should consider the nomination their reward.
Best Director
Alejandro González Iñárritu, The Revenant
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
Adam McKay, The Big Short
George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
Lenny Abrahamson, Room
After winning last year for Birdman, Alejandro González Iñárritu will score for a second year in a row for The Revenant. An epic story well-told and a move well-made by a beloved auteur of Hispanic descent stands out among the smaller dramas. Plus, he makes moviemaking look incredibly exciting! Again, veteran director George Miller is a close second!
Best Actor
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl
Matt Damon, The Martian
Although he got to flex his acting muscles even more in The Wolf of Wall Street, Leonardo DiCaprio suffered for his art this year and will get his belated Oscar for The Revenant. There’s not even a strong second, although it’s disappointing the superb Michael B. Jordan in the audience and critical favorite Creed or Will Smith as the real-life doctor in the underappreciated Concussion didn’t make the short list.
Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
Brie Larson is absolutely the favorite for Room, with no close second, because two of the year’s best actresses are in the supporting category. Brie is great in the role and beloved on the Hollywood scene. Did you know she also played Amy Schumer’s sister in this year’s summer comedy hit Trainwreck?
Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale, The Big Short
Tom Hardy, The Revenant
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Sylvester Stallone, Creed
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Sylvester Stallone in Creed will narrowly defeat Bale and Hardy for the nifty performances in films released in the past two months. Stallone has one of those classic Hollywood stories, and it’s nice to see him return to his roots and return to form after a multi-decade acting wasteland.
Best Supporting Actress
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
This is the biggest wild-card race of the night, but It-Girl Alicia Vikander is the likely winner for The Danish Girl. Her role in the film was actually the female lead plus there are many fans of her work in the sci-fi film Ex Machina, also released this past year. She does a lovely, dare I say fierce job in both. This could also be one of those colossally split votes that somehow lifts the ship of Kate Winslet in Steve Jobs to join her Titanic star in the night’s bounty. But Vikander has the edge.
Best Adapted Screenplay
Drew Goddard, The Martian
Nick Hornby, Brooklyn
Adam McKay and Charles Randolph, The Big Short
Phyllis Nagy, Carol
Emma Donoghue, Room
Folks were impressed with the topical dark comedy The Big Short and the ability of a comedy writer/director – Adam McKay – to bring such panache to a story about the housing crash. This could be its only win of the night.
Best Original Screenplay
Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer, Spotlight
Matt Charman, Joel & Ethan Coen, Bridge of Spies
Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley, Ronnie del Carmen, Inside Out
Alex Garland, Ex Machina
Jonathan Herman, S. Leigh Savidge, Alan Wenkus, Andrea Berloff, Straight Outta Compton
Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer developed the true story Spotlight without any source material, which is unusual for a film of this type. It is a great film and will at least be rewarded in this category. This will likely be the consolation prize for what was believed to be the Best Picture front-runner for most of the awards season.
Best Foreign Language Film
Son of Saul (Hungary)
Mustang (France)
A War (Denmark)
Embrace the Serpent (Colombia)
Theeb (Jordan)
Son of Saul is a searing masterpiece that could have easily snuck into the overall Best Picture race.
Best Documentary Feature
Amy
Cartel Land
The Look of Silence
What Happened, Miss Simone?
Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom
Amy, the documentary about Amy Winehouse captured the most acclaim and buzz this year.
Best Animated Feature
Inside Out
Anomalisa
Shaun of the Sheep
When Marnie Was There
Boy and the World
Inside Out, an expected candidate for Best Picture that didn’t make that cut, seems destined to take the animated glory.
Best Film Editing
Hank Corwin, The Big Short
Margaret Sixel, Mad Max: Fury Road
Stephen Mirrione, The Revenant
Tom McArdle, Spotlight
Maryann Brandon, Mary Jo Markey, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Mad Max: Fury Road could actually win the most Oscars as the adrenaline-soaked action spectacular of the year. Its editing was fast and, well, furious.
Best Original Song
“Earned It” from Fifty Shades of Grey
Music and lyrics by Abel Tesfaye, Ahmad Balshe, Jason Daheala Quenneville, and Stephan Moccio
“Manta Ray” from Racing Extinction
Music by J. Ralph and lyrics by Antony Hegarty
“Simple Song #3” from Youth
Music and lyrics by David Lang
“Til It Happens to You” from The Hunting Ground
Music and lyrics by Diane Warren and Lady Gaga
“Writing’s on the Wall” from Spectre
Music and lyrics by Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith
“Til It Happens to You” from a documentary about sexual assault called The Hunting Ground, is the likely winner. It’s chanteuse, Lady Gaga, has become the unlikely celebrant of the awards season.
Best Original Score
Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight
Carter Burwell, Carol
Jóhann Jóhannsson, Sicario
John Williams, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Thomas Newman, Bridge of Spies
Score one for Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight with veteran composer Ennio Morricone taking home the prize for the writer/director’s peculiar revisionist western. Star Wars: The Force Awakens will get locked out of all categories, with the billions it has made its consolation prize.
Best Cinematography
Emmanuel Lubezki, The Revenant
Edward Lachman, Carol
Robert Richardson, The Hateful Eight
Roger Deakins, Sicario
John Seale, Mad Max: Fury Road
For wide open expanses, bear attacks and generally amazing cinematography, Emmanuel Lubezki will win for The Revenant. Plus, he will make history as the first cinematographer to win three years in a row after Gravity and Birdman.
Best Costume Design
Sandy Powell, Carol
Sandy Powell, Cinderella
Paco Delgado, The Danish Girl
Jenny Beavan, Mad Max: Fury Road
Jacqueline West, The Revenant
Despite the beauty of many of the period costumes, it’s Jenny Beavan’s renegade post-apocalyptic couture of Mad Max: Fury Road that’s the stuff of pure imagination.
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared
The ruggedness and bear-inflicted wounds of The Revenant are one-upped by the gonzo desert ampitheatre of Mad Max denizens. Prediction here is Mad Max: Fury Road.
Best Production Design
Bridge of Spies, Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Rena DeAngelo and Bernhard Henrich
The Danish Girl, Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Michael Standish
Mad Max: Fury Road, Production Design: Colin Gibson; Set Decoration: Lisa Thompson
The Martian, Production Design: Arthur Max; Set Decoration: Celia Bobak
The Revenant, Production Design: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Hamish Purdy
Let’s give another to Mad Max, you know, “because.” I do think the “below-the-line” technical awards will nearly all go to Mad Max or The Revenant, with the slight edge on some to Mad Max since voters know they’re giving Revenant lots of the top prizes.
Sound Editing
Mark Mangini and David White, Mad Max: Fury Road
Oliver Tarney, The Martian
Martin Hernandez and Lon Bender, The Revenant
Alan Robert Murray, Sicario
Matthew Wood and David Acord, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Another for the motorcycles and mayhem of Mad Max!
Sound Mixing
Benjamin A. Burtt, Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Ben Osmo, Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff, Mad Max: Fury Road
Mac Ruth, Paul Massey, Mark Taylor, The Martian
Chris Duesterdiek, Frank A. Montaño, Jon Taylor, Randy Thom, The Revenant
Drew Kunin, Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom, Bridge of Spies
And how Mad Max blended breakneck noises into one of the most singular sonic soundscapes of the year!
Visual Effects
Andrew Whitehurst, Paul Norris, Mark Ardington and Sara Bennett, Ex Machina
Andrew Jackson, Tom Wood, Dan Oliver and Andy Williams, Mad Max: Fury Road
Richard Stammers, Anders Langlands, Chris Lawrence and Steven Warner, The Martian
Rich McBride, Matthew Shumway, Jason Smith and Cameron Waldbauer, The Revenant
Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan and Chris Corbould, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
We loved the practical sets and stunts of both the Star Wars and Mad Max sequels, but Mad Max gets the edge as the “artier” choice.
Best Short Film, Live Action
Basil Khalil and Eric Dupont, Ave Maria
Henry Hughes, Day One
Jamie Donoughue, Shok
Benjamin Cleary and Serena Armitage, Stutterer
Patrick Vollrath, Everything Will Be Okay (Alle Wird Gut)
Let’s go with Stutterer.
Best Short Film, Animated
Bear Story
Prologue
Sanjay’s Super Team
We Can’t Live Without Cosmos
World of Tomorrow
Let’s go with Bear Story. Some voters will think this is about The Revenant too.
Best Documentary, Short Subject
Body Team 12, David Darg and Bryn Mooser
Chau, Beyond the Lines, Courtney Marsh and Jerry Franck
Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah, Adam Benzine
A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
Last Day of Freedom, Dee Hibbert-Jones and Nomi Talisman
Let’s go with Body Team 12 since the subject of the Holocaust is already covered in Best Foreign Language films.
Expect pedigreed delights Carol, Brooklyn, The Martian and Bridge of Spies to go home empty-handed. The earthier epics and modern message pics appear to dominate!
Hope you have a great time catching up on Oscar movies and tune in Sunday night for the ABC telecast. Many of you will likely be watching online and all weekend, so thanks for making my blog part of your ritual!
One of the most acclaimed Hungarian films in recent years tells the tale of a father endeavoring to bury his son, but there’s so much more to the story. László Nemes’s chilling you-are-there style Holocaust drama Son of Saul (A-) takes viewers deep into horror and chaos where a heroic dad’s singleminded mission to provide a proper burial for his offspring is complicated by his role as a Jewish prisoner inside a WWII Auschwitz Concentration Camp where he serves as part of the “Sonderkommando” unit that disposes of the dead. Told within stifling quarters over the course of less than two days in 1944, the story is focused on Saul’s leviathan task while he fends off SS-guards and smugglers in his midst as the burial and even overall escape becomes either elusive or imminent. Much falls on the shoulder of lead actor Géza Röhrig, and he is magnificent in a muscular role requiring few words. Nemes’ direction often relies on tight close-ups and sound effects that prompt viewers to fill in an even more terrifying complete picture. Told with the propulsion of near-constant motion, it is an extraordinarily effective glimpse into history. Due to some of the labyrinthine plot details that undergird the narrative, the emotional core occasionally gets short shrift. It is essential viewing in this historical sub-genre and a harrowing, insightful experience.
As both a cinema and technology enthusiast, I am thrilled that Dolby Laboratories is sponsoring my trip to cover The Oscars in Hollywood the weekend of February 27-28, 2016 culminating in the February 28 ABC telecast. Here are some technology trivia facts — and links to my reviews – for some of the most celebrated films of the past year. These are the films nominated for Academy Awards,using Dolby technology:
