There's been a lot of change in the air for the Academy Awards. There's a new Casting category, with Stunts coming next year! There are only three ABC telecasts left until the Oscars move to Youtube! I may need to write a separate post on that in the future, but for now, the nominees!
I got a bit sidetracked when it came to the actual races, and was surprised by the contenders for Best Picture. I didn't realize that "Bugonia" and "F1" were in this race at all. Where is "No Other Choice"? What happened to "The Testament of Ann Lee"? Nothing for "Wake Up Dead Man?" There is a list of other also-rans a mile long. However, kudos to "Sinnners" for breaking the nomination record, and "One Battle After Another" getting pretty close. These two films have dominated the season so far, and I expect this will continue.
I've been able to watch more of the nominees this year than usual, so I only have three of the big contenders left to track down at the time of writing - "Hamnet," "Sentimental Value," and "Marty Supreme." It's been a very good year, so all the nominees are decent. I'd maybe single out "F1" as the weakest out of the Best Picture field from an artistic standpoint, but it's pretty immaculate on a technical level, and noteworthy for its innovations. I didn't connect with "Train Dreams" or "The Secret Agent," but I absolutely understand why others did. There's no "Emilia Perez" level "Oscar villain" for people to rage at, which is a relief. I assumed that role was going to be filled by "Jay Kelly," but the Academy didn't bite. No big blockbuster like "Wicked: For Good" or "Avatar: Fire and Ash" in the mix either.
In the acting categories, I think the only surprise is Delroy Lindo in Supporting Actor, which feels like both a make-up nomination for missing out on "Da 5 Bloods" and a tailcoat nomination for "Sinners." I'd rather have Miles Caton in the race, but Lindo's been around long enough that he's overdue for the recognition. I'm absolutely tickled that Amy Madigan made it in for "Weapons," and a little disappointed that Chase Infiniti didn't for "One Battle After Another." Kate Hudson was great in "Song Sung Blue," but Chase Infiniti was better. Then again, if I had my way, we'd be talking about Kathleen Chalfant and Tessa Thompson.
The first ever Best Casting nominees didn't offer much new, pretty much mirroring the Best Picture nominees. However, notice that four of the five nominees are female, which is a big clue as to why Casting hasn't been recognized as a category before now. Of course, there are male casting professionals, but this has traditionally been a female-dominated role, and all of the casting directors that I know off the top of my head, like first-time nominee Nina Gold, are women.
On to some of the smaller races. There are two French films in Best Animated film, and none of the big 2025 box office winners from Asian countries like "Ne Zha 2" and the most recent "Chainsaw Man" and "Demon Slayer" movies. The last two weren't likely from the beginning due to narrative impenetrability, and it turns out that "Ne Zha 2" wasn't even submitted! Documentary has a few notable omissions, but I'm very thankful that "The Alabama Solution" and "The Perfect Neighbor" made it in.
The Academy did a decent job of recognizing a good variety of titles. So "Blue Moon," "It Was Just an Accident," "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You," "Weapons," and "Sirat" may not have been big contenders, but at least that all got something. I'm delighted that a few smaller films got single nominations in some of the below-the-line categories. "The Ugly Stepsister" and "Kokuho" are in Best Makeup and Hairstyling. "The Lost Bus" is in Visual Effects. Opera documentary "Viva Verdi!" swung a Best Song nomination.
Still, as usual, there are a lot of films that I wish would have been recognized, including "Hedda," "Left-Handed Girl," "28 Years Later," "Nouvelle Vague," and all of the previously mentioned titles.
Conan O'Brien will be back for the ceremony in March, and I can take it easy knowing that I don't have to cram much this year, and might just skip "Wicked: For Good" entirely.
Kidding. I could never resist a musical.
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