Oscar Volleys: Best Picture is all about Narratives

Here’s Cláudio Alves and Ben Miller on the Best Picture race...

THE BRUTALIST, Brady Corbet | © A24

CLÁUDIO: Hello Ben, it's time to discuss the biggest category of them all - Best Picture.

This year, I'm sad to say I'm not especially passionate about the top contenders. Indeed, taking a glance at my rankings, it's likely that not a single nominee even cracks my top 25. Then again, miracles do happen once in a while, even when all seems said and done. Even so, imagining an AMPAS lineup without Anora, The Brutalist, Conclave, Emilia Pérez, or Wicked seems increasingly difficult. In those times before the category's re-expansion to ten nominees, these would be the five I figure most folks would be predicting. Do you concur? 

BEN: I am really enjoying the variance in this year's race…

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Oscar Volleys: Best Adapted Screenplay is a confusing mess!

Lynn Lee and Christopher James discuss the race for the Adapted Screenplay Oscar...

EMILIA PÉREZ, Jacques Audiard | © Netflix

LYNN: Another year, another head-scratcher over what counts as “adapted” for Oscar purposes.  To be sure, this season there doesn’t seem to be any classification controversy on the level of last year’s Barbie kerfuffle. But, as ever, there’s some pretty transparent strategic positioning – such as the decision to campaign Emilia Pérez in adapted instead of original, which was likely driven by an assessment that adapted is the less competitive of the two this year.

Does that calculation seem right to you, and will it pay off? And does this mean we might have two musicals nominated for adapted screenplay this year, if Wicked also gets in (as I think it will)? Has that ever happened before?

CHRISTOPHER: I love the ever changing definition of “adapted,” which just seems to be “can you point to any written source that kinda relates to your film.” This year is such a strange year, as all of the frontrunners would be considered odd picks in past years...

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Oscar Volleys: The Eye Candy Trifecta

Taking a break from the so-called “above the line” races, Nathaniel R and Cláudio Alves discuss the eye candy Oscar categories – Best Costume Design, Best Cinematography, and Best Production Design...

DUNE: PART TWO | © Warner Bros.

NATHANIEL: Hi, Cláudio. So this year, for time reasons, the pre-nomination Oscar Volleys are not covering every category and I'm feeling guilty about it. In the 21st century all 20+ Oscar categories have arguably more devout fanbases than ever thanks to the ease of catering to niche interests that the internet, streaming, and social media have all brought.  Yet the 'Below the Line' categories are somehow incongruously more disrespected than ever. Consider that the Oscars are now the ONLY major awards show (that's not an exaggeration) that doesn't pretend that craftsmen and artisans are less crucial to making art than actors and directors. Consider that time and again we get these horrid articles from the media about how to fix the Oscars that invariably suggest that they should be more like their less popular counterparts (Tonys, Grammys, Emmys, Globes, etcetera) and ditch the "crafts" or have them on another night altogether without the fanfare. This suggestion has made me redhot with anger from the very first time I heard it and the anger has never dissipated…

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Oscar Volley: Venice and Cannes loom over Best Director

Here's Nathaniel R and Elisa Giudici on the Best Director race...

ANORA, Sean Baker | © NEON

NATHANIEL: Elisa, my far away friend, I miss attending festivals with you. One of the greatest joys of film festivals, as opposed to normal moviegoing / movie coverage, is that it's a departure. It's both more intimate (you're choosing a bunch of films to watch alone even if you're discussing them later with strangers and friends) and more expansive: generally speaking you see films from all over the world (if you're doing it right) and it's more auteur-focused. The latter brings us to today's volley topic: BEST DIRECTOR...

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Oscar Volley: Best Supporting Actor suffers from "Succession" nostalgia

...after a brief holiday break, the Oscar Volleys continue with Elisa Giudici and Abe Friedtanzer on Best Supporting Actor...

Denzel Washington in GLADIATOR II | © Paramount Pictures

ELISA: This year’s Oscar race seems wide open for surprises, which, after years of things being more or less decided in advance, is pretty exciting, right? Unfortunately, due to local release schedules, I haven’t seen a few of the candidates, but I wouldn’t bet on anyone being "locked" exactly.

Take Denzel Washington, for example. He’s been widely praised for his performance in Gladiator II—arguably the only part of the film that everyone agrees is of high quality. It’s the classic, showy, theatrical role that could easily land an actor like Washington yet another nomination, especially given the respect and fame he commands...

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