Nom Reactions Pt 2: Lovely Craft, Headscratching Honors, Default Diane, and Sexiest Shortlist
Thursday, January 26, 2023 at 1:00PM We polled the team plus some friends of the site about their Oscar nomination reactions and wanted to share those little blurbs with you! (Here's the first four of eight questions if you missed those). Today's questions are...
1. What was your favourite non-acting nomination?
2. Which nomination was the biggest headscratcher?
3. Can anything be done about Diane Warren?
4. The sexiest category is ______
Our answers are after the jump and yours go in the comments...
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE NON-ACTING NOD?
I used all my witchy powers for Sarah Polley in Screenplay and my BELOVED Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris. I never doubted you, Ada Harris! -Chels Eichholz
Mrs. Harris DID go to Paris and get that Costume Design nomination. God bless Jenny Beavan. Such great work in a fun movie. - Chris James
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris in Costume Design. Granted, I don’t know that I’d vote for it over Elvis but it’s a fantastic citation, and further reflection has led me to appreciate this as one of the only lone nominees in any of the craft categories (hell, anywhere on this entire ballot). Great work, decided in a spirit I wish Oscar was willing to indulge in more often. - Nick Taylor
I was just so happy that in the Year of the Donkey all three films (Banshees, Triangle of Sadness, EO) were justly honored. But if pressed... Ice Merchants in Best Animated Short which really affected me. Also "Naatu Naatu" in Best Original Song. Yes, it was expected but it's so rare that this category really embraces songs that are integral parts of their movies. If they did that more often the category would actually hvae a reason to exist! - Nathaniel R
Ice Merchants, both because it's the best shortlisted Animated Short I've seen and because it's the first Portuguese film ever nominated for an Oscar. We haven't cracked Best International Film yet, but, at least, we have this. - Claudio Alves
If you've seen (and cried) at The Ice Merchants, you'll understand why I fist-pumped at the film's inclusion. - Ben Miller
Mandy Walker for Elvis. She becomes only the third woman ever nominated for Cinematography, but I have been following her career ever since Samantha Lang's The Well in 1996, which is an incredible feat of the camera from Walker so early in her career. A nomination here was never a sure thing so I hope this opens more doors for her. Go watch The Well, people! - Glenn Dunks
I get very nervous about Tony Kushner given how badly he's been ignored by the Academy in the past, so seeing him and Spielberg get in for The Fabelmans was a relief. - Katey Rich
I genuinely applauded to my laptop screen when The Quiet Girl was nominated for Best International Feature! I've rarely seen a film that captured me so thoroughly with its very first image and it only continued to hold me in its delicate, humane spell throughout. Also, it made me look up taking Irish language lessons so look out for me using lots of extra letters soon. - Tom Mizer
TÁR in Film Editing. For a category that can go cut-cut-cut with their picks, a film this deliberately and methodically paced is a delicious pick. - Juan Carlos Ojano
TÁR is such a gripping film given its running time, and its editing is its secret weapon. -- Eurocheese
Monika Willi whose bold, adventurous cutting is a huge reason TÁR works as well as it does (which is really, really well). - Ray Lewis
How to Measure a Year in Doc Short. It’s a very fun film in a category that often needs some light and entertainment. - Abe Friedtanzer
Deakins for Empire of Light. Wasn’t expecting a snub or anything, but I’m just glad to see a little bit of respect put on Empire of Light’s name. I thought it was a gem, sorry haters! - Patrick Ball
Sarah Polley for Best Adapted Screenplay with Women Talking. As men dominated the writing and directing categories, it was bittersweet to see her as the lone woman in this category. Her script is also quietly devastating and really shows she’s a master of her craft. - Cortland Jacoby
EO for Best International Film. So happy to see a nearly wordless film with an animal as the lead come this far. It is also a way to honor a greater master of the medium - Jerzy Skolimowski - Ankit Jhunhunwala
Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio, because I loved this gentle, heartfelt version of a tale I never loved as a child. - Farran Smith Nehme
I know the screenplay nomination for Martin McDonagh was like, as much of a lock as it could be, but as someone who both loves and has performed in one of his plays, it always delights me seeing McDonagh up there. -Kim Rogers
Darius Khondji's nomination in Cinematography made me squeal with joy. He worked with Inarritu to create so many stunning images in Bardo, and used no lowest-common-denominator tricks to separate the worlds of fantasy and reality, trusting the audience to feel their way through the film. Incredible work from a master. - Eric Blume
Top Gun Maverick for screenplay. It's obviously a filler nom in a week year for the category, but still, the script is impeccably structured, and I like to see any evidence that we might be moving even slightly beyond "good writing = witty dialogue" as a default assumption. - Tim Brayton
WHICH NOMINATION DID YOU FIND MOST HEADSCRATCHING? .... WHY?
You can't tell me Top Gun: Maverick had a script. You can't fool me! -Chels Eichholz
Listen, just because Top Gun: Maverick was far better than it had any right to be doesn't mean it deserved an adapted screenplay nomination. I'm on board with the other nominations it got, but honestly, did anyone leave the movie talking about the writing? - -Kim Rogers
Top Gun Maverick for Best Adapted Screenplay is a dumbfounding choice, though not entirely unpredictable. Even when they love action blockbusters, the Academy tends to ignore their screenplay (see Titanic and Mad Max Fury Road) so to see this nothing script break the trend feels wrong. - Claudio Alves
There’s a couple nominations I don’t love that you can at least understand, but lord, I just don’t get what’s special about the script for Top Gun: Maverick. I can get recognizing the filmmaking (though I’m not wild about that either), but man, I think giving Maverick and Rooster some fake careerist macho dick-flexing to argue about instead of addressing Goose’s death directly, the wildly underdeveloped supporting players, the wild hubris, then inability to achieve real introspection, the full-throttle jingoism towards an utterly abstract enemy in a preposterous scenario - it all smacks of bullshit to me. On the bright side, maybe the Adapted Screenplay lineup’s now the right combination of actively weak players and impressive non-starters (sorry, Kazuo) to ensure Women Talking runs away with it? - Nick Taylor
Ruben Östlund getting in for director isn't a huge surprise, but it's puzzling over All Quiet director Edward Berger. I am still figuring out the taste of this super international directors branch. - Katey Rich
Paul Mescal. I am in the miniscule nope-to-Aftersun minority, but to me he just kind of drifted around, handsomely. - Farran Smith Nehme
Nothing against Judd Hirsch, but Paul Dano was RIGHT THERE! The Oscars have done this in back-to-back years with the Balfe/Dench switch last year. Hirsch has the BIG scene for 5 minutes while Dano has to put in quiet, subtle work for 2+ hours. Baffling. - Ben Miller
Living for adapted screenplay. It's basically a shot for shot remake of Ikiru but in a different setting. Seems weird to nominate that for screenplay - Rachel Wagner
Banshees is an utter delight, but a showcase for Editing it sure isn’t. -- Patrick Ball
Ana de Armas for Blonde. As happy as I am that she's the Oscar nominee she deserved to be for Knives Out, did it have to be for this? - Matt St Clair
Ana De Armas. Never a huge fan of mimicry performances, but this one especially lacked an inner life for Marilyn. -- Eurocheese
Ana de Armas, who, Star Of The Moment or not, led a film that was broadly hated from a distributor that underperfomed this year, on her way to a nomination in a competitive category. They really just cannot pass up "famous person playing a famous person", can they? - Tim Brayton
THE NOMINATION LEADERS WERE EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE, BANSHEES OF INISHERIN, AND ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT. WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THIS?
I think these results make it pretty clear that Best Picture is a two-horse race while Germany is coming for that Best International Film Oscar and nobody can stop it. - Claudio Alves
They'll want to award all three movies with something signifcant (probably EEAAO with Picture and Supporting Actor; Banshees with Actor; All Quiet with International). -- Eric Blume
EEAAO is our frontrunner and I feel like Banshees could be our Irishman (no pun intended). Shocked All Quiet got everything BUT Director. -Chels Eichholz
Clearly we all slept on ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT. Clearly Netflix slept on it too because with such a tech titan, they missed out on a gimme Best Director nomination in retrospect. - Ankit Jhunhunwala
Everything Everywhere All At Once is the clear front runner for Best Picture. That’s an impressive haul for an atypical movie and getting in surprising nods for Score and Song only shows cross guild strength. Banshees is the most likely challenger, but I don’t see it doing as well on the preferential ballot. Still, that Editing nod makes it competitive. If All Quiet were to be a threat to win, it would’ve shown up in director. - Chris James
Fantastic news for ALL QUIET, which has locked up International Film and probably a couple of tech awards. Terrible news for THE FABELMANS, which is now clearly in third place and will have to watch EEAAO and BANSHEES fight for Picture. - - Tim Brayton
CAN ANYTHING BE DONE ABOUT DIANE WARREN'S DEFAULT NOMINATIONS EVERY YEAR IN BEST ORIGINAL SONG?
A win. Everyone has to make a sacrifice (a little or a lot) in order to move on. Elisa Giudici
Nope! And when there aren't even that many great song contenders why fight it? - Katey Rich
If the Swifties can't stop it, no one can. -Kim Rogers
I mean, at this stage the annual Diane Warren nomination isn't even a headscratcher—the music branch need to investigate. I refuse to believe this isn't a Alone Yet No Alone situation, they're maybe just better at covering it up. - Glenn Dunks
Her retirement. - Matt St Clair
Would probably require some kind of massive computer hack with North Korean assistance. - Farran Smith Nehme
At this point, only the end of times - Claudio Alves
No. In a way, she's been doing what Andrea Riseborough did this year for decades now. Built so much good will and cred with colleagues that they will definitely return the favor of her friendship and pencil her in. - Ankit Jhunhunwala
Find a time machine and give her the Oscar that went to Sam Smith - Eurocheese
The only way we can stop Diane Warren being nominated every year is to turn her into a Black woman. - Baby Clyde
THE SEXIEST CATEGORY IS _________ ?
This is a boring answer but come on, it's best actress! Cate Blanchett and Ana de Armas alone tip the scales. - Katey Rich
Best Actress. Cate manipulating the Academy in order to gain a nod for Andrea is like the most sexy spin off of TÁR I can imagine. - - Elisa Giudici
They all might be at different phases of their careers and beauty, but all five of the ladies in the Supporting Actress category can straight up get it. - Ben Miller
Supporting Actress! So many fierce, confident performers. (Honorary Mention to my husband, Brian Tyree Henry, in Best Supporting Actor.) -Chels Eichholz
It's Supporting Actress which is unusual since the lead categories usually take this with their glamour. You've got the fierce regality, fashion, and timeless beauty of Bassett, the empathy of Chau, the comic swagger of Curtis & Hsu, and the alluring intelligence of Condon (surrounded by unworthy men who aren't at her level!) - Nathaniel R
Original Screenplay. Those gentlemen all wrote some heady, thoughtful, complex scripts that truly generate mindboners. - Eric Blume
Any category Austin Butler is in PERIODDDDD - - Patrick Ball
BEST ACTOR ENDED EVERYTHING. - Juan Carlos Ojano
Best Actor. Sure, all those men can absolutely get it, but the quality of performance, the different demands asked of each actor, and the unique trajectories across their careers and for these specific films that brought them to this lineup are the kind of variegated but important qualities that make an Oscar lineup for me. And they’re all first-time nominees! We fucking love to see it. - Nick Taylor
Best Actor! Hello Paul Mescal! You can take me on a seaside vacation and conceal some potentially dark truths any day! Talk Elvis to me Austin Butler (since you can’t turn it off). I’ll have you for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Mr. Farrell. Be the George of my Jungle, Brendan Fraser. Bill Nighy, make me want to live wild for another day -- Chris James
Best Supporting Actor. You have the smooth charm of Brian Tyree Henry, Barry Keoghan in knitwear, and Ke Huy Quan as total husband material. Yes. Please!! - Matt St Clair
Best Actor is especially hot this year, with the Irish boys leading the way. Supporting Actor is also pretty sexy, featuring daddy of the year Ke Huy Quan and my imaginary husband Brian Tyree Henry (I share him with Nick Taylor, it's complicated). - Claudio Alves
AND THAT'S A WRAP. YOUR TURN IN THE COMMENTS DEAR READERS
Reader Comments (24)
Happy to see Tim going to bat for Top Gun's script. I second everything he says. I'm curious about Nick's take on the film as jingoistic, as I found the script was very deliberate about de-emphasizing any sense of nationalism. (Does anyone even mention America in this film? Do we see a single American flag?) The abstraction of the enemy was one of several thoughtful writing choices that kept the focus squarely on Maverick's character. Excellent old-school blockbuster scripting with a refreshingly contemporary sensitivity, I thought.
I don't know if this was intentional, but I found it hilarious that right after Tim's praise for the Adapted Screenplay nomination for Top Gun: Maverick, the next four entries are from people scratching their heads over that nomination, and reading them, I feel they prove his point that we're stuck in "good writing=witty dialogue" mode. I mean, we love witty dialogue, but a screenplay is way more than dialogue, and what the Maverick script excels at is structure and momentum, giving the stakes real weight, and providing a blueprint for the bravura filmmaking we saw on display.
Favorite non-acting nom: MY YEAR OF DICKS. An inventive and unorthodox short I wouldn't expect the Academy to go for!
Head-scratchers: TOP GUN: MAVERICK in screenplay, lol, even in this relatively weak year you had several better options than that pap. TAR in cinematography... really, over EO, NOPE, BABYLON? Perplexing. FABELMANS in production design. Yawn much? You go for that over the ingenious design of GLASS ONION, NOPE, WHITE NOISE, PINOCCHIO, and so many others?
Sorry haters, I don't know what to tell you, Tim (and the first two commenters above) are right. Top Gun Maverick's script is excellent! It's obviously a weak year for the field but it is a deserving nominee.
Yeah, I don't think Tom Gun Maverick would have succeeded as a film to the degree that it did without a quality script. I usually have no time for action movies because their screenplays are often brain-dead, but I really liked Maverick.
My favorite non-acting nomination was for Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, my favorite movie of the year. I'm really glad that the animated branch did not engage in excessive gatekeeping and was willing to nominate a great animated film, even if it's not filmed or made in the style some people automatically think of when they think of an "animated movie."
I'm still scratching my head over All Quiet's nomination haul. There are nominated movies I like a lot less, but that film is so meh. I guess it indicates that the Academy has made some progress, meh movies in languages other than English can be nominated for a whole bunch of Oscars now.
Sexiest category is Best Song.
On Oscar night, Rhianna will definitely raise the temperature in the Dolby Auditorium.
I plan to mute the sound to the latest Diane Warren ditty and just enjoy that Colombian cutie Sofia Carson emoting for the camera
Lady Gaga always brings glamour to the Oscar stage. Her breathy invitation to hold her hand is most welcome.
And of course, everyone is ready to see the athleticism during that blood pounding performance of Naatu, Naatu.
Someone said that if Diane Warren can fart on a microphone, she will still score an Oscar nod but.... isn't much of today's music nothing but farts? She needs to retire and I think the only person that can really stop her is.... Weird Al Yankovic. The day he wins the Oscar is the day she will retire while David Foster's head gets blown up in anger. I do like Sofia Carson but she needs to be in better films and sing better songs.
Fave non-acting: Darius Khondji for Bardo. He is a master and at this point he should have more than just 2 noms under his belt.
Headscratcher: every nod for All Quiet on Western Front. Sorry, I just can’t stand the mediocrity as “best achievement”.
Sexiest: with Ana, Cate, Andy and The Michelles I have to say it is Best Actress. Sexy in so many levels!
About Diane: detach the og song category from the music branch, rewrite the rules and invite more young and daring people to vote for it. I mean, it is clearly an opportunity to put hot musicians on the stage every year and increase audiences but they insist on the same boring songs forever. Why in the hell they could pass Taylor Swift? And I’m not even a fan of her.
1. I praised costume design of Everything and Fabelmans production design before, so I'll go with Alice Rorhwacher in best short movie and David Byrne in best original song.
2. Mescal. I really can't understand if the enthusiasm is because is the the hottest male on the earth cause I really think that Corio did the hardest job in Aftersun. Mescal did only three things: sleepwalking depressed face, a cry and showing ass.
3. Time
4. Best actor. We all have seen Farrell abilities, Butler voice gave me babies, Mescal instead I wanna eat his babies, Fraser was our dream in the nineties and Nighy serves English charme
Gonna take a brave stand for "witty dialogue." I personally enjoy the work of Woody Allen, Whit Stillman, Diablo Cody, Quentin Tarantino etc. and never once thought "this needs more fighter jets."
The biggest head scratcher for me was Paul Mescal... so many better performances than his.
DK: Yes, witty dialogue is great, but it doesn't automatically make good writing, and the absence of it doesn't automatically make your writing bad. ve wA good screenplay has a sold structure, clear and concise character archs and a sense that it's telling the story it needs to tell, while witty dialogue is the icing on the cake (at least for those writers who know how to be witty).
Also, as witty as they are, all four of those writers you mention have written their fair share of bad screenplays (all the wit in the world doesn't make The Hateful Eight any more tolerable).
1. What was your favourite non-acting nomination?
Diane Warren. No, just kidding. Maybe "Night Ride" in live action short.
2. Which nomination was the biggest headscratcher?
Top Gun, screenplay.
3. Can anything be done about Diane Warren?
Hopefully. Get her busy writing hits for Heart and Belinda Carlisle again.
4. The sexiest category is ______
Best Actor (Farrell and Fraser and Mescal)
1. Favorite non-acting nomination--Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio, a beautiful and imaginative film that totally surpassed my expectations
2. Biggest headscratcher--There's several, but I'm going to say Hirsch in Supporting Actor over Dano
3. Change the voting rules for Best Song--I'm not sure how, but there's something rotten in that category. There have been some wonderful nominees over the years (Aimee Mann! Elliott Smith!) but mostly it's crap
4. Best Actor
1. What was your favourite non-acting nomination? Todd Field, TÁR They could have left him off, but they didn’t. He may be the most exciting American director working today.
2. Which nomination was the biggest headscratcher? Production Design THE FABLEMANS I mean… It was fine…
3. Can anything be done about Diane Warren? Well, like all mortals, she’ll eventually pass away, hopefully in bed, happy at 98 years old.
4. The sexiest category is ______Director. I’d hop in to bed with any one of them. Or as a group.
1.- Close in Foreign Film (feared a last minute snub - I would have died), Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris in costumes and This Is a Life in song.
2.- Top Gun for writing is more an insult than a headscratcher. The whole Best Supporting Actress is bananas.
3.- Murder
4.- Paul Mescal's armpits.
1. Todd Field. But if we're talking crafts categories I'd say TÁR in Film Editing - such brilliant work and an atypical choice for what this branch tends to honor. (it's like Mescal making it into Best Actor)
2. Top Gun in Screenplay is the obvious answer but I also scratch my head at the Score nomination for All Quiet. I mean it was good. But better than Abels or Desplat's work? No way.
3. They'll NEVER stop.
4. Best Actor. Actress is sexy as hell but there's no denying those two Irish lads.
Fave non-acting nom--Sarah Polley. "Go" is a yearly watch.
3 movies--Banshees was sexy Farrell eye brow acting and a cute donkey, Front is a war film (snore), and "Everything" is everything.
Head scratcher--I get Mescal's multiple mentions as his performance is absolute beautiful subtlety, which is why I thought he'd get overlooked. My pick is Williams. She is not good, and I've loved a lot of her performances.
Warren problem--Baby Clyde: Mic drop for the turn her black comment.
Sexiest category--Farrell, Fraser, Butler, and Mescal--no contest. And for those of a certain age, which I'm closer to than I'd like to admit, Nighy has a definite appeal.
DK ---
Love you. This made me laugh out loud!!!Nathaniel: <3
I get the caution about awarding "most costumes," "most visual effects," "most editing," "most writing," "most set decoration" instead of "best." Sometimes minimalism doesn’t get the credit it deserves. And I don't love it when a badly structured (but heavily WRITTEN) film like The Big Short gets screenplay attention.
But come on, Top Gun Maverick's screenplay makes The Big Short look like Tennessee Williams.
O/T, but I'm so disappointed to learn the Academy is investigating Andrea Riseborough's campaign and nomination (according to Matt Belloni, who I guess is credible?). Nathaniel, we need your level-headed take on this silliness.
jules -- i dont know the situation and i'm not an "insider" enough to get details BUT I do know that the powers that be don't like things they cant control and actors promoting one of their own is something they can't control so naturally people are going to be angry. People's reaction to this online are so extreme like nobody is really thinking it through. Riseborough didn't "steal" anyone's spot. She just got more votes than they did because other actors rallied for her. Given that the award has always been voted on by your peers (and is meant to be) i fail to see the problem.
And people would not be at all upset if they loved Riseborough but the fact that it's a tiny film that few have seen has people riled up which is so frustrating. SEEK FILMS OUT IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD OF THEM AND HEAR THEY'RE GOOD.
i'm not sure why this concept is so hard for people online. they get so angry if something isn't "consensus"
1. What was your favourite non-acting nomination?
Each nom for "All Quiet On The Western Front".
This movie is brilliant. A Masterpiece!
2. Which nomination was the biggest headscratcher?
Austin Butler.
I like Luhrmann and his movies, especially the great "Moulin Rouge!"
Unfortunately, "Elvis" and everything about it is pure garbage.
The movie is a total disaster. Butler's impersonation is in the same team.
It's a real shame to Presley's legacy.
3. Can anything be done about Diane Warren?
Sure. Give what she deserves: her competitive Oscar!
4. The sexiest category is Best Original Screenplay.
It would be Best Actress, but it's impossible with de Armas.
So, it's Best Original Screenplay. Flawless. Ever better if "Aftersun" was there.
Hello everyone, from Tapachula, a small town in Chiapas, Mexico, a film lover, and an Oscar-obsessed film fan. I want to add to the Trivia this year that Andy Nelson, in the Best Sound category, expanded his record of the most nominations from 21 to 23, as he is a double nominee this year for The Batman and Elvis.