One Week Later - Nomination Joys
Friday, February 2, 2024 at 8:00AM by Nathaniel R
Mark Ruffalo in "Poor Things"
You've had time to thoroughly process the Oscar nominations and time to finish the quick grief cycle around "snubs". It's time to look on the bright side. We polled our team on which nominations, above and below the line, gave them the most joy. Here are their answers. We hope to hear yours, too, in the comments...
BIGGEST JOY (Above the Line)
Comedic performances rarely get any sort of recognition, and we had THREE in the same category! It feels revolutionary. Considering I didn't think anyone outside of Gosling would actually end up as the nominee, it feels even better. Mark Ruffalo in particular is in rare form in Poor Things and gave my favorite supporting performance. It's nice to have him back in the fold. - Ben Miller
Lily Gladstone in Actress. Of course, it was gonna happen. But after that shocking BAFTA snub, I felt like people's doubts on her Oscar contention (both as a lead performer and just as a contender in general) are starting to get validated. Luckily, she made it and is now ready to make history. She's the one I am rooting for the most for the win. - Juan Carlos
Maestro
At the risk of making the internet and some of my own teammates furious I was thrilled to see Bradley Cooper and Maestro in the mix in Best Actor and Best Picture. Did the movie need an Original Screenplay nomination? No. But that's the only one of its nominations that I'd quibble with. I don't know why the internet hive mind decided Bradley Cooper was the enemy but he is emphatically not. Better to be ambition than to coast. As movie stars go he has great taste in material, his movies are cinematic (not vanity showcases), he's a phenomenal actor with incredible range (seriously look at the filmography) and he is very clearly an actressexual given the doting on his female co-stars as a director and scene partner. - Nathaniel R
Anatomy of a Fall deserved all of its nominations, but Triet in Director was especially satisfying. (If only voters believed they could nominate more than one woman...) - Eurocheese
Honestly, there were no true surprises whatsover in terms of inclusion. But I am happy - and relieved - that Danielle Brooks is now an Oscar nominee despite her initially well-received film being shut out of every other category. - Abe Friedtanzer
Past Lives
Since the expansion of the Best Picture category in 2009, I think this is the absolute best slate of nominees we've EVER had. Possibly the very best of any years of 96 years? Usually there's at least one mediocre-to-bad movie in there, but this year, there's not a dog in the bunch. All ten films are smart, well-made films with at least a few high highs. Plus three films of ten not entirely in English! Plus three films by female directors (all earned, not for political reasons). There's a fuckton of artistry on display to celebrate. - Eric Blume
While Past Lives wouldn't make my Best Picture top ten, I must stand up and applaud the magnificent producer Christine Vachon. After decades as one of the foremost forces of artistically-minded English-language cinema, she finally got her well-deserved nomination. I wish it had been for a Todd Haynes flick, but you can't have everything. - Cláudio Alves
Jonathan Glazer. Jonathan Glazer. Jonathan Glazer. Roughly once a decade he makes a feature film (so far only four total), and—from Birth to Under the Skin to The Zone of Interest—he never misses. Finally, the Academy catches up to what we already knew: This is a stone-cold, master-class auteur. -Mark Brinkerhoff
BIGGEST JOY (Below the Line)
Perfect Days was one of my favorite films of the year, and I wasn't sure it would show. So happy to see it here representing Japan alongside Godzilla Minus One. - Eurocheese
I thought El Conde was a bit of an interesting disaster, but the cinematography by Edward Lachman was an undeniable win. More than anything, I'm just glad that group deviated from the expectations. No one thought that film had any chance at a nomination, and it looks pretty great after the fact. Good for them taking a chance. - Ben Miller
To Kill a Tiger in Best Documentary Feature. This is a superb film that deals with a very difficult subject in an extraordinary way, and it's nice to know that its profile has just gotten a major boost that allow more people to see it. -Abe Friedtanzer
After all these years, Ellen Mirojnick is an Oscar nominee. Costume enthusiasts everywhere, rejoice! - Cláudio Alves
Society of the Snow getting into Best Makeup and Hairstyling. The carefully-calibrated frostbite across the actors' faces gives the film dimension and texture, and the artists were totally in sync with the director and the storytelling. There's nothing gimmicky about it, and their contribution is as important as anyone's for the film's overall success. -Eric Blume
Robot Dreams’ Best Animated Feature nomination is hella inspired and hella cool. Is the creatively weak Disney stranglehold over? - Mark Brinkerhoff
I have to second Mark's vote for Robot Dreams which I fell hard for. I know it has no shot at the win but I can dream. This also vindicates my deep (and lonely) love for director Pablo Berger's other shoulda-been-a-big-deal marvel, his silent riff on Blancanieves (2012). But since Mark took Robot Dreams already I'd like to voice my love for the entire Adapted Screenplay category. That's not usually a category I am excited by (far preferring original material, year-to-year), but each one of the nominees is a marvel this time and the one I feared would be a default player didn't even make it in! Now, Oscar's lineup won't be exactly mine -- I'd want to shove either All of Us Strangers or Are You There God? It's Me Margaret in there somewhere (but at the expense of what?). Also I just started reading The Zone of Interest by Martin Amis and like everything Jonathan Glazer does, his adaptation is thought-provoking. The novel is brilliant so far but quite different. -Nathaniel R
"Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)" in Original Song. Such an uber-inspired nomination. Not really something you can slot into one of this category's usual suspects (Diane Warren, social justice, power ballad). Just something that came out of love for the film and is actually brilliantly used in the film. Now perform this at the Oscars! - Juan Carlos
WHICH NOMINATIONS GAVE YOU JOY THAT'S LASTED THE WHOLE WEEK?
Reader Comments (18)
Biggest joys I had were 2 people
Cooper I don't have social media but became aware of the discourse on this website,the film I saw was well made,a great story,2 great leads,wonderful cinematography and score but internet people complained,Cooper is not the only person to chase Oscar and he won;t be the last.
I do remember people cooling on Winslet in 2008 when she appeared to want it too much.
Jodie Foster is one of my Top 10 favourite actresses and I thought being the sole represntation for your film is never a good thing in these Oscar times but she started to show up at all the needed precusors and then both Jodie and Annette made it and I was very pleased.
Mark Ruffalo is so funny in Poor Things - my favorite on-the-fence nomination of the morning. It's a shame Willem couldn't join him, but I'm thrilled he's there.
I also think, beyond best picture, it's also an incredible best director lineup - Triet and Glazer are such great choices.
Below the line, I'm really glad Zone of Interest made it in for sound. It's remarkable that film got 5 nominations, and essential that sound be among them.
I also low-key love the inclusion of American Fiction's very pretty score. I hated the film, but the score is its best feature.
We all agree that the Globes and the Baftas made it better. Anyway there are a lot things that made me happy.
Even after Cannes would you ever imagined a Jonathan Glazer movie nominated for directing and picture?
I'm happy for Scorsese's movie (even if provably even this time it will not win anything), happy for everything Poor Things got and for Anatomy of a fall.
Even if we know that the Oscars hate Todd Haynes at least May December got an important nod.
Happy for Miyazaki and hope it will win.
I won't talk about the acting categories where is all wrong but I'm happy to see Jodie Foster in the game. About Nyad: everyone else think that the story is so cool that with the right director the movie could have been a masterpiece?
I think Jodie Foster gives the best performance of any actor this year in Nyad. As she fulfilled her contractual obligations to promote the bio pic, the two time Oscar winner would self-deprecatingly refer to herself as Best Supporting Abs when praised for her efforts. Much to my delight, the gifted actress was recognized by the actors’ branch for the first time since the 1990s.
Considering this is the most boring and predictable Oscar year in ages, with all the same buzzy titles everywhere (even among the snubs) my biggest joy is El Conde in cinematography because it’s the only true “out of nowhere” nomination and it is also a well deserved one.
Antonio - i haven't seen EL CONDE yet but out of nowhere nominations are always exciting (for that general 'all awards bodies have a hive mind' problem)... with cinematography i would love to get a shocker that wasn't black and white though. Like, I'm willing to bet the ratio of getting nominated in that category if you are in black and white is stratospheric these days. they just LOVE black and white movies in that branch and not that many are made these days.
Gallavich -- i do agree that the story deserved a more exciting film!
Among the expected, I LOVED that The Wonderful Story of Henry sugar made it in. It's a richly deserved nomination, and one of Anderson's best. I think it's easy to Scoff at a major director getting nominated in what has become the "up and coming director" category, but I also think it speaks to the potential good that moneyed streamers can do - allow great directors to work on fun projects, that aren't really profitable, and put them in front of people.
I also think the Barbie production design is really well deserved. It's easy to overlook how poorly and awful looking everything could have gone. There are a lot of subtle things done that made it look incredible.
Among the on the fence nominees, I really loved Celine Song and Samy Burch's writing nominations. Those two films were incredibly well written, which propelled the directing and acting forward. In particular, I thought Song's script was well structured, and though it may have felt a bit "independent film," she genuinely surprised me with how much depth there was. I'm excited to see what she does next.
Surpises that I loved: The Mission Impossible sound nomination. Maybe others saw this coming, but I mostly ignored the below the line races. However, sound is incredibly important in Dead Reckoning, and in particular, really lends to the drama and the thrill of some of the biggest action sequences (much like Oppenheimer). The soundscape in MI films makes us feel like we're with the team, and I think this film excelled at that.
Biggest joys: Jeffrey Wright and Emily Blunt. Yes, Emily Blunt.
@ Cláudio: If Past Lives wouldn't make the cut for you, I'm genuinely curious about what your realistic Oscar ten would have been.
Past Lives for Picture and Screenplay and Anatomy of a Fall for Editing and Screenplay.
Nathaniel -- fellow Blancanieves stan here!
How is EL CONDE "out of nowhere" when it was nominated by the ASC? That seemed to anticipate the Oscar nomination.
My greatest joy was MAY DECEMBER for its screenplay! MAY it win!
None.
Let's talk the big stuff now. Does Sandra have a shot? I didn't see it at first, but now I (kind of) do. Emma does too much and Lily too little and she has like twelve monumental monologues. I know she's German and not the princess type but who knows?!
Biggest Joy (above the line)
Colman Domingo in “Rustin”.
To my mind, this is the highest artistic achievement of any of the actors nominated for Lead Actor. I don’t understand the resistance and dismissiveness towards this gay black political piece of history.
Biggest Joy (below the line)
Laura Karpman, Best Musical Score for “American Fiction”.
What? Who? I’d never heard of this artist, and never even considered that “American Fiction” might get a nomination for Score. Reading about Karpman, I see she is amazingly well connected and respected. She also did the score this year for the unfairly maligned girls adventure story “The Marvels”. That score was perfect, but she could hardly get a nomination for THAT.
I was a little sad that Mica Levi didn’t get a nomination for the score of “Zone of Interest” but maybe this is another category where only one woman is allowed.
Honestly, Annette Bening’s nomination gives me joy. She’s never been one of my favorite actresses but I thought the physicality of performance was so impressive, and especially how convincing she was with her portrayal of total physical exhaustion near the end. She’s so much better in this film than Margot Robbie. The Academy did the rare course correction. Good job Academy!
Paul Giamatti’s nomination also brings me joy because back in November when I saw the film, I walked out thinking it was his best work ever, and I still do. I’m overjoyed that he is in the top 2 for Best Actor but I didn’t see that coming.
May December’s screenplay nomination brings me joy because it’s the total representation of a great film that should have so many more nominations but at least it got this one.
The three nominations for Napoleon bring me joy because it was refreshing for a film that isn’t a Best Picture nominee, and also didn’t get super great reviews, to grab three nominations!
And finally El Conde. That nomination for Cinematography brings me joy solely for the reason that I had never even heard of the film. That’s extremely rare for me. So glad that slot didn’t just go to another Best Picture nominee.
BIGGEST JOYS
Bening and Foster for "Nyad".
Period.
Thank you, Eric B, for capturing my sentiments exactly! I didn't submit a "joy" only because joy implies shock or at least surprise, which no one nomination really brought. But collectively, many if not most of them gave me great satisfaction.
I just went through the director nominations for the past couple of decades and this is the first year where all of the films nominated in director are in my top 20 if the year. Actually, top 15.
Favorite above the line is Sandra Hüller. I never doubted her for a moment since I saw the film at Cannes, but what a deserving nomination. In a just world, she'd win too, but I've accepted that there isn't much of a precedent or path for her.
For below the line, I love that Godzilla and Mission: Impossible both finally broke through with the Oscars with their respective franchises. Godzilla in particular deserved even more, but at least it's nominated somewhere. I truly believe if the film had been released a few months earlier it could have broken through in other categories like sound, production design, and score.