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!