January 27, 2023 issue | Issue 3129
On January 24, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominees for the 95th Academy Awards at the Samuel Goldwin Theatre in Beverly Hills.
The kung fu fantasy film "Instantaneous Universe" swept 11 nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Editing, Best Original Soundtrack, Best Original Song and Best Costume Design. It was followed by the war action drama "No War on the Western Front" and the comedy drama "Inisherin's Banshee", both with 9 nominations.
Although "Instantaneous Universe" received 11 nominations, the Academy's unusual first-vote system in the Best Picture voting made it difficult for the most nominated films in recent years to win in this category.
Based on this voting system and the overall nomination situation, the possibility of winning "Top Gun 2", "Elvis", "Dream House", "Inisherin's Banshee" and even "No War on the Western Front" cannot be ruled out.
It is worth mentioning that although "No War on the Western Front" is a German-language film invested and produced by Netflix, it and "Inischelin's Banshee" both won 9 nominations, making it the 13th non-English film ever nominated for Best Picture. "No War on the Western Front" 92 years ago also won the Oscar for Best Picture that year, which undoubtedly increased the film's winning rate in the Best Picture award.
It is expected that there will be fierce competition for Best Actor and Best Actress, especially Cate Blanchett of "Thal" and Michelle Yeoh of "Instantaneous Universe" will have a close fight.
Another winner for Best Director included "Dream House" director Steven Spielberg, "Instantaneous Universe" directors Kwan Jiayong and Daniel Schnat, "Inischelin's Banshee" director Martin MacDonald, "Todd Field" director and "Triangle of Pathos" director Ruben Osterlund.
On March 12, the 95th Academy Awards will be announced at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood. This issue will bring you the analysis of the authoritative entertainment media "Hollywood Reporter" for this year's Oscar nominees, and the article reveals some of the characteristics that this year's Oscars may present from four elements.
Awards ceremonies may have high ratings
25 years ago, the Academy of Motion Picture Science and Arts and its live streaming cooperation platform ABC took advantage of James Cameron's "Titanic" to set the record for the highest-rated Oscars ceremony at that time and even today, and the highest-rated program of any kind of awards ceremony.
This fact reminds us that Oscar ratings are tied to the popularity of the nominee – if people have seen and liked the movie they were nominated for, they have reason to care about the outcome; If they hadn't seen the nominated film, they wouldn't have cared about the winning result.
Last year's Oscars, Will Smith slapped Rock to bring short high ratings to the awards live
In the age of the internet, new media, and multiscreens, no Oscars can ever reach 57 million viewers — last year, when Listening Girl beat Canine Power, only 16.6 million viewers tuned, the second-lowest number ever and only slightly higher than the record low of the previous year's pandemic-curtailed ceremony, when Nowhere beat the Chicago Trials of the Seven.
But this year, the 10 Best Picture nominees include several true blockbusters.
"Top Gun 2: The Lone Ranger" (US domestic box office $718.7 million, global box office $1.5 billion), produced by Paramount, may become the first film in 19 years since "The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" to both top the US box office and the Academy Award for Best Picture.
"Avatar 2" and "Top Gun 2" are the two highest-grossing films in the world in 2022
Disney's "Avatar: The Way of Water" (US domestic box office $598.4 million, global box office $2 billion) is also a money-printing press blockbuster, along with Warner's "Elvis" (US domestic box office $151 million, global box office 287.3 million US dollars), and A24's "Instantaneous Universe" (US domestic box office $70 million, global box office 104.1 million US dollars), which is the highest-grossing film in its art film distribution history.
In other words, many people who don't watch the Oscars every year have plenty of reasons to do so this year — and that's not the result of ramped up publicity from the Academy and ABC, as Lady Gaga (performed by the Top Gun 2: The Lone Ranger's theme song "Hold My Hand") and Rihanna (performed by the "Lift Me Up" theme song for Black Panther: Forever Wakanda) were both nominated for Best Original Song, and they will almost certainly perform on television. There is also a flamboyant cabaret performance of "RRR" (whose theme song "Naatu Naatu" was also nominated for Best Original Song), which is also one of the most expensive blockbusters ever produced in India (grossing $160 million worldwide).
In terms of movie star nominations, the situation of this year's Oscars is also very good. The nominees include household names Steven Spielberg, Angela Besett, Colin Farrell and Jamie Lee Curtis, as well as rising stars Austin Butler and Ana de Armas. Also, while Tom Cruise wasn't nominated for an acting award and Cameron wasn't nominated for a director award, given that they're producer nominees, the two will almost certainly show up at the awards ceremony.
Inclusion strategies work
Some people are unhappy that none of the five nominees for Best Director are women (Sarah Polly, director of "Women's Talk," Gina Prince-Byswood, director of "Sailor Beauty of Daho," Chinaye Chuku, director of "Thiel," and Maria Schrader, director of "She Said," were widely considered to have a chance to make the list), and only "Women's Talk" was written by a female director of the Best Picture nominations.
However, the Oscars official can also say that after #Oscars So White#, the Academy's joint efforts to increase the diversity of its members have had an effect, especially since a more diverse group of nominees has been produced.
None of this year's Best Director nominees were women
First of all, the most nominated film this year is "Instantaneous Universe", which revolves around an Asian family (one Asian theme has been nominated for best picture every year for the past three years, including "Parasite", "Minari" and "Drive My Car"). Of the 11 nominations for this year's "Instantaneous Universe", 4 were acting, of which 3 were for women and 3 for Asians.
Second, none of this year's 20 acting award nominees were white. Among them, Michelle Yeoh became the first Asian woman to be nominated for Best Actress, along with her co-actors Kwan Jiwei and Hui Weilun; Plus Ana de Armas of "Blonde Monroe", she is the first Cuban to be nominated for an Oscar actress; In addition, they include Brian Tyry Henry in "The Other Side of the Bridge", Angela Beset in "Black Panther 2" and Zhou Hong in "Whale", none of whom are white actors.
"Instantaneous Universe" won 11 nominations at this year's Oscars
Again, non-English-language film productions are also popular this year, arguably a byproduct of the Oscars' increased number of overseas judges in recent years, as they are particularly unaffected by subtitled films. The German film "No War on the Western Front" once again received nine nominations, including the Best Picture award. Also shortlisted for Best Director were two films far from Hollywood, "Inisherin's Banshee" and "The Triangle of Sorrow".
Of course, as is customary, the old white male nominee will still not be replaced - John Williams, the legendary composer of "The Dream House", is 90 years old this year, and he just became the oldest Oscar nominee in history with the original soundtrack "NOM", the 53rd nomination in his illustrious career, while also continuing the record for the most nominations when he was alive.
John Williams (right) becomes the oldest Oscar nominee in history
In addition, the 87-year-old Judd Hirsch in "The Dream House" received his second nomination for Best Supporting Actor, which is the second time he has been shortlisted for the same nomination 42 years after being nominated for Best Supporting Actor in 1981 for "Ordinary People".
"To Leslie" word-of-mouth marketing is very instructive
Then there's Andrea Riceboro, whose nomination for Best Actress for her independent film To Leslie drew an exclamation from a live audience at the Samuel Goldwin Theatre, not because the prolific 41-year-old British actress had no acting talent or because her acting wasn't worth it, but because it was one of the rare culminations in all the nomination lists.
It is reported that the filming of "To Leslie" took only 19 days and the cost was extremely low, and the film was well received after its premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival. The film was acquired by fledgling distribution company Momentum Pictures, but the company didn't have the resources to support its massive theatrical release ($27,322 at the box office) or the award publicity.
Therefore, the starring Andrea Riceborough began to use her own funds to independently organize some publicity activities with the strong support of her agent and publicists.
"To Leslie"
In addition, Andrea Riceboro's team also persuaded a large number of Hollywood A-list actors to promote the film in a tap manner, some of whom worked with Riceborough such as Edward Norton, and some of whom she has always admired, such as Susan Sarandon.
Norton tweeted that Riceboro's performance "shocked me", Melanie Linsky tweeted that "I've always adored her, and this performance is a new level for her", Winslet also said at a live event: "I think this is the best female screen performance I've ever seen in my life", and Cate Blanchett also praised Riceboro in her TV acceptance speech at the Critics' Choice Awards.
Kate Winslet praised Riceborough's performance during an online live event
In fact, few people outside the academy's acting system have heard of or had the opportunity to see "To Leslie", and previous Gotham Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and critics' choice awards were all decided by film journalists and film critics, but the nomination for the Academy Award for acting was entirely determined by the members of the academy's actor department, and this top-down activity and only for members of the actor's guild led to Riceborough's performance being seen and defeated Danielle Deidwyler of "Thiel", Olivia Coleman of "Empire of Light", Viola Davis of Dahomer Sailor et al.
The word-of-mouth communication and award public relations strategy of "To Leslie" has provided reference space for some current literary and artistic small films, and the starring Andrea Riceborough also took on the responsibility of promoting the film after contributing a stunning performance, and finally received due recognition, which is quite remarkable.
No award can fit all
In recent years, in order to encourage cultural tolerance and expand the scope of awards, the Academy has invited more young filmmakers to become jury members every year, and in order to take care of the geographical and time restrictions of everyone's viewing, it has also provided a dedicated streaming service for each member, increasing the convenience of online viewing.
As a result of these initiatives, the Academy members' ability to identify is growing, and this year's list of nominees shows that they finally recognize that Ana de Armas's portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in "The Blonde" is worthwhile, as well as the director of photography for "The Poet" and "The Empire of Light", the costume design of "Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris" should be recognized, and this year's judges also made room for nominations for two critically acclaimed literary mini-films, "After the Sun" and "The Other Side of the Bridge".
However, while the Academy Awards nominees have tried their best to be inclusive and diverse, it has failed to cater for all the professional filmmakers who deserve recognition.
This year's documentary department, for example, overlooked a lot of good works. They didn't even shortlist the popular Good Night Opportunity and Robert Downey: On Its Own Shortlist. The short film "38 Minutes at Madison Square Garden" also did not receive the attention it deserved. In addition, they overlooked two important works on the family theme, "Bad Axe" and "The Last Plane Home".
Other awards snubbed nearly all of the awards season contenders who were deemed worthwhile, including "Thiel" actress Danielle Deidwyler, "The Triangle of Sorrow" supporting actress Dolly DeLeon, "Top Gun 2" director of photography Claudio Miranda, "Top Gun 2" costume designer Sandy Powell, "Avatar 2: The Way of Water" editing director Ian Silverstein, "Black Panther 2: Forever Wakanda" production design, and "Top Gun 2" sound design.
However, except for Best Picture, which has 10 places, there are only 5 places in each of the other award categories, so it is impossible for all powerful filmmakers to be on the nomination list, and perhaps the result is now the best choice for the Academy to take into account various interests and opinions.
Attached: The complete list of nominees for the 95th Academy Awards
Best Picture
"No War on the Western Front"
Avatar: The Way of Water
"The Banshee of Inisherin"
"Instantaneous Universe"
"Dream House"
《TAR》
Elvis Presley
Top Gun 2: The Lone Ranger
"Triangle of Pathos"
"Women's Conversation"
Best Director
Martin MacDonald, The Banshee of Inischelin
Steven Spielberg, The House of Dreamers
Kwan Jiayong, Daniel Schinette, "Instantaneous Universe"
TODD FIELD, TÁR
Ruben Osterlund, The Triangle of Pathos
Best Actress
CATE BLANCHETT, TÁR
Ana de Armas, "Blonde Monroe"
Andrea Riceboro, To Leslie
Michelle Yeoh, "Instantaneous Universe"
Michelle Williams, The House of Dreams
Best Actor
Austin Butler, Elvis Presley
Colin Farrell, The Banshee of Inischelin
Brandon Fisher, The Whale
Paul Mesca, "After-Sun Holiday"
Bill Nye, Lust for Life
Best Supporting Actress
Angela Besett, Black Panther 2
Zhou Hong, "Whale"
Kerry Condon, The Banshee of Inischelin
Jamie Lee Curtis, Instantaneous Universe
Xu Weilun, "Instantaneous Universe"
Best Supporting Actor
Brendan Gleason, The Banshee of Inischelin
Judd Hirsch, "The House of Dreamers"
Guan Jiwei, "Instantaneous Universe"
Barry Keon, The Banshee of Inischelin
Brian Terry Henry, The Causeway
Best International Film
No War on the Western Front, Germany
Argentina, 1985, Argentina
Intimate, Belgium
The Quiet Girl, Ireland
"Donkey Call", Poland
Best soundtrack
"The Banshee of Inisherin"
"No War on the Western Front"
"Instantaneous Universe"
"Babylon"
"Dream House"
Best Art Direction
"No War on the Western Front"
Avatar: The Way of Water
"Babylon"
Elvis Presley
"Dream House"
Best Feature Documentary
"Life and Life"
"Beauty and Bloodshed"
"Volcano Love"
House of Shards
"Navalny"
Best Live Action Short Film
"Irish Farewell"
"Ibaru"
《Elementary school students》
"Night Ride"
"Red Suitcase"
Best Animated Short Film
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
"Flying Sailor"
"Ice Merchant"
"The Year of My Loss of Chastity"
"An ostrich tells me the world is fake, I think I believe it"
Best Short Documentary
"Guardian of the Elephant"
"Ashore"
How do you chronicle? 》
The Martha Mitchell Effect
"Stranger on the Doorstep"
Best Original Song
Top Gun 2: The Lone Ranger, "Hold My Hand"
《黑豹2》，“Lift Me Up”
《RRR》，“Naatu Naatu”
"A Woman's Story", "Applause"
"This Is A Life"
Best Animated Feature Film
"Pinocchio"
"Shell Marcel in Shoes"
"Puss in Boots 2"
"Metamorphosis of Youth"
Sea Beast Hunter
Best Adapted Screenplay
"No War on the Western Front"
"Blade Out of the Sheath 2"
"Lust for Life"
Top Gun 2: The Lone Ranger
Women's Negotiations
Best Original Screenplay
"Instantaneous Universe"
"The Banshee of Inisherin"
"Dream House"
《TAR》
"Triangle of Pathos"
Best Photography
"No War on the Western Front"
The Poet
Elvis Presley
Empire of Light
《TAR》
Best Clip
"The Banshee of Inisherin"
Elvis Presley
"Tar"
Top Gun 2: The Lone Ranger
"Instantaneous Universe"
Best Costume Design
Black Panther 2
"Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris"
"Instantaneous Universe"
Elvis Presley
"Babylon"
Best visuals
"No War on the Western Front"
Avatar: The Way of Water
The New Batman
Black Panther 2
Top Gun 2: The Lone Ranger
Best sound
"No War on the Western Front"
Avatar: The Way of Water
The New Batman
Elvis Presley
Top Gun 2: The Lone Ranger
Best makeup and hair design
"No War on the Western Front"
The New Batman
Black Panther 2
Elvis Presley
"Whale"