The nominees are…

This morning the Oscar nominations were announced.  As per usual, there were quite a few surprises, so let’s dive in and discuss, shall we?

The Power of the Dog picked up 12 nominations, more than any other film this year.  While it was not surprising that Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, and Kodi Smit-McPhee received nominations, it was quite a surprise that Jesse Plemons also received a supporting actor nomination.  Fun fact: Plemons and Dunst are not only costars but are a couple in real life.  This makes them one of two couples to each receive nominations this year.  The other couple was Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz.  Bardem received a Best Actor nomination for his work in Being the Ricardos while Cruz received a Best Actress nomination for her work in Parallel Mothers.  

Being the Ricardos also received a Best Actress nomination for Nicole Kidman and, in a surprise turn, J.K. Simons received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for playing William Frawley, the actor best known for playing Fred Mertz on I Love Lucy.  The surprise nominations of Plemons and Simons in the Best Supporting Actor category managed to edge out Jamie Dornan for his role in Belfast and Ben Affleck for The Tender Bar.  

Belfast received both another acting surprise and snub in the supporting actress category.  Catriona Balfe has received a lot of praise for her role at Ma in Belfast, however, she was passed over in favor of her costar Judi Dench.  Dench is a perennial favorite with Oscar voters, so, while it is surprising that Balfe was snubbed, being replaced with Dench isn’t that much of a stretch.  Rounding out our supporting category surprises was the inclusion of Jessie Buckley for her portrayal of a young Leda in The Lost Daughter.  

Most of the other major categories did not really have any surprises with a couple of exceptions: the omission of Lady Gaga from the Best Actress category for her role in House of Gucci and the inclusion of Drive My Car in the Best Picture race.  Drive My Car, a Japanese film adaptation of a short story by Haruki Murakami, also received a nomination in the Best International Film category.  While the film has received amazing reviews, it was somewhat of a surprise to see it be included in the top ten.  Depending on how much momentum it receives due to this nomination, it may pull a Parasite and win both Best Picture and Best International Film.  Maybe?  

What did you think of the nominations?  Anything particularly surprising to you? 

The Academy Awards will be announced on Sunday, March 27. 

-Ariadne Ansbro

BEST PICTURE

• “Belfast”
• “CODA”
• “Don’t Look Up”
• “Drive My Car”
• “Dune”
• “King Richard”
• “Licorice Pizza”
• “Nightmare Alley”
• “The Power of the Dog”
• “West Side Story”

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

• Jessie Buckley, “The Lost Daughter”
• Ariana DeBose, “West Side Story”
• Judi Dench, “Belfast”
• Kirsten Dunst, “The Power of the Dog”
• Aunjanue Ellis, “King Richard”

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

• Ciaran Hinds, “Belfast”
• Troy Kotsur, “CODA”
• Jesse Plemons, “The Power of the Dog”
• J.K. Simmons, “Being the Ricardos”
• Kodi Smit-McPhee, “The Power of the Dog”

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM

• “Drive My Car”
• “Flee”
• “The Hand of God”
• “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom”
• “The Worst Person in the World”

DOCUMENTARY (SHORT)

• “Audible”
• “Lead Me Home”
• “The Queen of Basketball”
• “Three Songs for Benazir”
• “When We Were Bullies”

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

• “Ascension”
• “Attica”
• “Flee”
• “Summer of Soul”
• Writing with Fire”

ORIGINAL SONG

• “King Richard”
• “Encanto”
• “Belfast”
• “No Time to Die”
• “Four Good Days”

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

• “Encanto”
• “Flee”
• “Luca”
• “The Mitchells vs. The Machine”
• “Raya and the Last Dragon”

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• “CODA”
• “Drive My Car”
• “Dune”
• “The Lost Daughter”
• “The Power of the Dog”

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• “Belfast”
• “Don’t Look Up”
• “King Richard”
• “Licorice Pizza”
• “The Worst Person in the World”

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

• Javier Bardem, “Being the Ricardos”
• Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Power of the Dog”
• Andrew Garfield, “Tick, Tick… Boom!”
• Will Smith, “King Richard”
• Denzel Washington, “The Tragedy of Macbeth”

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

• Jessica Chastain, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”
• Olivia Colman, “The Lost Daughter”
• Penelope Cruz, “Parallel Mothers”
• Nicole Kidman, “Being the Ricardos”
• Kristen Stewart, “Spencer”

DIRECTOR

• Kenneth Branagh, “Belfast”
• Ryusuke Hamaguchi, “Drive My Car”
• Paul Thomas Anderson, “Licorice Pizza”
• Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog”
• Steven Spielberg, “West Side Story”

PRODUCTION DESIGN

• “Dune”
• “Nightmare Alley”
• “The Power of the Dog”
• “The Tragedy of Macbeth”
• “West Side Story”

CINEMATOGRAPHY

• “Dune”
• “Nightmare Alley”
• “The Power of the Dog”
• “The Tragedy of Macbeth”
• “West Side Story”

COSTUME DESIGN

• “Cruella”
• “Cyrano”
• “Dune”
• “Nightmare Alley”
• “Westside Story”

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND

• “Belfast”
• “Dune”
• “No Time to Die”
• “The Power of the Dog”
• “West Side Story”

ANIMATED SHORT FILE

• “Affairs of the Art”
• “Bestia”
• “Boxballet”
• “Robin Robin”
• “The Windshield Wiper”

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

• “Ala Kachuu — Take and Run”
• “The Dress”
• “The Long Goodbye”
• “On My Mind”
• “Please Hold”

ORIGINAL SCORE

• “Don’t Look Up”
• “Dune”
• “Encanto”
• “Parallel Mothers”
• “The Power of the Dog”

VISUAL EFFECTS

• “Dune”
• “Free Guy”
• “No Time to Die”
• “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”
• “Spider-Man: No Way Home”

FILM EDITING

• “Don’t Look Up”
• “Dune”
• “King Richard”
• “The Power of the Dog”
• “Tick, Tick… Boom!”

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

• “Coming 2 America”
• “Cruella”
• “Dune”
• “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”
• “House of Gucci”