Eye Candy Predix Pt 1: Who will be nominated for Best Cinematography?
Wednesday, June 25, 2025 at 7:00PM by Nathaniel R
F1 The Movie - shot by Claudio Miranda
Eye-candy. It's a good chunk of the reason we obsess over cinema, a gloriously visual artform. Films which don't maximize the capabilities of cinematography, costumes, and production design often risk looking dull or under-thought by comparison to those that use everything the cinematic toolbox has to offer. It should go without saying that Oscar predictions do not necessarily mean that these are the titles which will excel in any given craft area -- we all know that Best Picture heat gets you further than it ought to in every category... yes, even the ones you deserve to be competitive in! All categories should be judged on their own exquisite merit. Neverthless here is some guesswork about what Oscar voters might respond to this year in terms of these visual arts...
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Last night I caught an IMAX screening of Joseph Kosinski's latest all quadrant hopeful, F1: The Movie. It's received a bit of breathless Variety hype for Chilean DP Claudio Miranda's work...
While I can't necessarily jump on board to say it should be nominated (the year is very young), it's certainly slick and capable filmmaking. That said, I'm not predicting it. Miranda was nominated for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and then won for Life of Pi but it was something of a surprise that he missed for Top Gun Maverick despite plentiful precursor awards. He could well be in the running but I'm not currently predicting him.
First look from the set of "Ballad of a Small Player"
Instead I'm thinking Oscar voters will spring for other previously nominated (male) DPs like the exceptionally gifted Polish cinematographer Lukasz Zal (of Ida and Cold War fame) for the Shakespeare's wife drama Hamnet, the under-nominated iranian-French DP Darius Khondji for Marty Supreme (who was nominated twice for Bardo and Evita but also did impressive work in The Immigrant, Se7en, Delicatessen, Amour, and many more), Danish cinematographer Dan Laustsen for his fifth collaboration with Guillermo Del Toro (he was previously nominated for Nightmare Alley and The Shape of Water), and recent British winner James Friend (All Quiet on the Western Front) for Ballad of a Small Player which will surely benefit from its photogenic Macau setting.
For the fifth slot I'm doing a bit of wishful thinking and choosing Danish DP Kasper Tuxen (Beginners, The Apprentice, The Worst Person in the World) whose work I've admired in the past and it could be his year to break through with awards if Cannes reception of Sentimental Value is contagious.
Caught Stealing shot by Matthew Libatique
Still the race could prove interesting. I'm personally curious about Matthew Libatique's work on Caught Stealing, and whether At the Sea will give the undervalued Yorick Le Saux opportunities to shine. Also could Russell Carpenter (who won for Titanic) finally win attention again for Avatar Fire and Ash? I'm also curious to see William Rexer's work on the musical Ann Lee in which he reunites with the star of Long Bright River (he shot three of the eight episodes).
THE SECRET AGENT
There have only been three women nominated in this category in its entire 97 year history (Rachel Morrison, Ari Wegner, and Mandy Walker) but all of them have been nominated in the past eight years so we should probably point out four female contender: The likeliest contender feels like Autumn Durald Arkapaw, who previously shot Black Panther Wakanda Forever and The Last Showgirl, for her work on the very high profile vampire almost-musical Sinners; Alice Brooks probably came close for Wicked last year (despite vocal critics) so she will surely be considered for the second half Wicked For Good; I'm very curious to see the Russian DP Evgenia Alexandrova's work on the Brazilian Cannes hit Secret Agent; and finally there's an interesting long-shot candidate (if Song Sung Blue proves a surprise hit at Christmas time) in Amy Vincent, who was previously best known for her work on Hustle & Flow, Black Snake Moan, and Eve's Bayou.
Which DPs are you most excited about for 2025 and the forthcoming 98th Oscar season?
Reader Comments (1)
I wonder if Miranda can get some support from his branch as a reaction to his supposed snub for TOP GUN, which, imho, looked much better than F1 anyway.
Friend seems like a safe bet at this point, but I fear I'm almost rooting against Laustsen. At least, I'm rooting for del Toro to start working with another DP. I feel you might be underestimating SINNERS a tad, even if, personally, I wouldn't nominate it for any cinematography honor.
Because of that earlier Film Fest Triple Crown post, I wonder if THE WAY OF THE WIND could be a contender if Malick gets it ready for Venice in time. And if A24 can turn HIGHEST 2 LOWEST into a critical or commercial hit, maybe Libatique can get into the race for that rather than CAUGHT STEALING.
And there's Barry Ackroyd, who was previously nominated for THE HURT LOCKER. If Bigelow gets good notices for HOUSE OF DYNAMITE, he could get back in the race, no?