Well, they’re here.
Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” absolutely dominated this morning’s announcement of the 96th Oscar nominations. It garnered a whopping 13 nods including Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress, Adapted Screenplay and Cinematography. Does anyone seriously believe it won’t win Best Picture? I think it’s practically a lock.
“Poor Things” earned 11 noms, while “Killers of the Flower Moon” took 10 nods, and “Barbie” landed eight.
Now, for the snubs. Notice, no “Origin.” The grassroots campaign failed. I’m waiting for Ava DuVernay to release a statement this morning scourging the Academy as a bunch of no good, two-timing RACISTS!
Greta Gerwig did not get nominated for Director, instead the Academy decided to give Justine Triet and Jonathan Glazer nominations — well deserved. This also means Alexander Payne (“The Holdovers”) didn’t make the final five.
Martin Scorsese was recognized for a record-breaking 10th Oscar nomination, he thus surpasses Steven Spielberg, who has 9. Scorsese has only won once, for 2006’s “The Departed.” He won’t win again this year as the Directing Oscar is Christopher Nolan’s for the taking.
Margot Robbie (“Barbie”) was also snubbed in the Best Actress category. Instead, Annette Bening snuck in for her wonderful performance in “Nyad.” Sandra Huller also got into the final five for “Anatomy of A Fall.” Well deserved.
It was actually a terrible day for the French selection committee as their submission, “The Taste of Things,” wasn’t nominated in the International Film category. Hilarious. Meanwhile, “Anatomy of a Fall,” which they chose not to select, was a major player, in numerous categories.
As expected, Leonardo DiCaprio was another notable snub in the Best Actor category. Colman Domingo (“Rustin”) took his place for his fine performance, but, c’mon, who are we kidding here, he shouldn’t have been part of the five nominees. There were far better performances eligible.
The Academy also opted to go for Mark Ruffalo instead of Willem Dafoe in the Supporting Actor race. I’m kind of disappointed by that, since Dafoe’s was the better performance. Surprisingly, Sterling K. Brown (“American Fiction”) was nominated, and you won’t be hearing any complaints on my part about his inclusion.
America Ferrera was bewilderingly nominated in the Supporting Actress category. What?! For that performance? She was overacting in practically every “Barbie” scene. Penelope Cruz (Ferrari) was right there, she gave one of the best performances of 2023. Ditto Julianne Moore in “May/December.”
Our condolences to WoR supporter Eric Roth, who was snubbed for his “Killers of the Flower Moon” screenplay.
Best Picture
American Fiction
Anatomy of a Fall
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things
The Zone of InterestBest Actress
Annette Bening, Nyad
Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon
Sandra Huller, Anatomy of a Fall
Carey Mulligan, Maestro
Emma Stone, Poor ThingsBest Actor
Bradley Cooper, Maestro
Colman Domingo, Rustin
Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers
Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer
Jeffrey Wright, American FictionBest Supporting Actress
Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer
Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple
America Ferrera, Barbie
Jodie Foster, Nyad
Da'Vine Joy Randolph, The HoldoversBest Supporting Actor
Sterling K. Brown, American Fiction
Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon
Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer
Ryan Gosling, Barbie
Mark Ruffalo, Poor ThingsBest Director
Justine Triet, Anatomy of a Fall
Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon
Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer
Yorgos Lanthimos, Poor Things
Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of InterestBest Original Screenplay
Anatomy of a Fall
The Holdovers
Maestro
May December
Past LivesBest Adapted Screenplay
American Fiction
Barbie
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
The Zone of InterestBest Cinematography
El Conde
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Poor ThingsBest Original Score
American Fiction
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor ThingsBest Original Song
"The Fire Inside," Flamin' Hot
"I'm Just Ken," Barbie
"It Never Went Away," American Symphony
"Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)," Killers of the Flower Moon
"What Was I Made For?" BarbieBest Editing
Anatomy of a Fall
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor ThingsBest Production Design
Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor ThingsBest Costume Design
Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor ThingsBest Makeup and Hairstyling
Golda
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Society of the SnowBest Sound
The Creator
Maestro
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
Oppenheimer
The Zone of InterestBest Visual Effects
The Creator
Godzilla Minus One
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
NapoleonBest International Feature
Io Capitano
Perfect Days
Society of the Snow
The Teachers' Lounge
The Zone of InterestBest Animated Feature
The Boy and the Heron
Elemental
Nimona
Robot Dreams
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-VerseBest Documentary Feature
Bobi Wine: The People's President
The Eternal Memory
Four Daughters
To Kill a Tiger
20 Days in Mariupol
While James L. Brooks teased last year that "we'll soon be seeing" Jack Nicholson, 89, act again, and that he was "reading scripts," that idea has now been shut down by his close friend Michael Douglas, 82.