Oscar Volley: When did Best Supporting Actor stop being a contest?

Team Experience is discussing the various Oscar categories. Here's Ben Miller, Elisa Guidici, and Nick Taylor discussing Best Supporting Actor.

NICK TAYLOR: Hi there, Elisa and Ben! Boy do I feel like we have the easiest acting category to evaluate for this year’s ceremony. Eric Blume and Chris James went over this category over two months ago and though their predictions didn't exactly match they both foresaw 4/5ths of Oscar’s lineup. My predictions were rubber-stamping the SAG list, so seeing Judd Hirsch and especially Brian Tyree Henry get in at the last minute felt like a real surprise to me. Ke Huy Quan, Brendan Gleeson, and Barry Keoghan made it as they were expected to, and even with Keoghan scoring a win with BAFTA, I think Quan’s looking like the most secure acting winner going into Oscar night.

With that being said, and before we get too far into the race, would y’all like to quickly share your favorite supporting actors who didn’t get nominated?

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Film Bitch Awards: Best Supporting Actor Ballot

by Nathaniel R

Brian Tyree Henry in "Causeway"

Historically among the main acting categories, Best Supporting Actor is where the Film Bitch Awards diverge most strongly from Oscar's path. Oscar tends to use the category for co-leads (anathema to us!) or for career achievements (that's fine when the performance is excellent but otherwise, no thanks!) or for star turns that are fine but don't do much for your host here. So imagine my surprise when Oscar exhibited mostly good taste in this category this year robbing us of a superiority complex in our exceptional taste in this category (haha). During awards season it was a pleasant surprise to see Barry Keoghan pick up steam (despite internal competition from a co-lead, which often ruins the chances for honors for supporting actors) for Banshees of Inisherin. And he even won the BAFTA this weekend!

On nomination morning my biggest inclusion thrill was the long shot triumph of Brian Tyree Henry in Causeway...

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BAFTA goes its own way and shakes up the race

by Cláudio Alves

After it earned 14 out of 15 possible nominations, we should have known that All Quiet on the Western Front was a major threat as far as the BAFTAs were concerned. And yet, this seemed like The Banshees of Inisherin's time to shine. Well, the British Academy has announced their victors, and though they loved Martin McDonagh's latest, it couldn't defeat Edward Berger's Netflix juggernaut. The German Oscar submission won seven awards, including Best Film and Director. Banshees had to settle for four prizes, the same number of wins Elvis amassed. Beyond those three, no other title managed to take home more than one statuette, not even the the Oscar frontrunner Everything Everywhere All At Once.

But what does it all mean? Let's assess after the jump…

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Nom Reactions Pt 1: Brilliant Acting, Good Surprises, Underperformers & "Snubs"

As is our habit we polled the team here plus some friends of the site about their Oscar nomination reactions and wanted to share those little blurbs with you! Would LOVE to hear you answer the same questions in the comments. Here's the first set of questions. 

Andrea Riseborough in "To Leslie"

1. Fav Acting Nomination?
2. What Shocked You the Most on Oscar Nom Morning (in a Gleeful Way?
3. Share your 'Ode to a Snub' 
4. Any Theories as to why ______ underperformed?

Would LOVE to hear you answer the same questions in the comments. But first here are our answers...

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Split Decision: "The Banshees of Inisherin"

Team Experience is pairing up to debate the merits of each of the big awards season movies this year. Here’s Abe Friedtanzer & Eric Blume on one of the Oscar frontrunners...

ERIC:  Abe, here we are again with another split decision.  But unlike our discussion about The Whale, which you loved and I didn't, we're swapping sides for The Banshees of Inisherin.  I absolutely loved this film.  I'd go as far as to say it's close to a masterpiece.  It's a piercing and painful meditation on loneliness, a heartbreaking and lyrical stare in the face at death.  Martin McDonagh is tackling The Big Themes with ferocity and honesty, and I was deeply moved.  But let's start with why you didn't care for the film...

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