The nominations are out and we will have a lot to talk about over the coming month, but first let’s just get our first reactions and compare to how I prediction yesterday. Spoiler I am furious at the snubs that have happened here… Shall we?
Best Picture
Ford v Ferrari, The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, Joker, Little Women, Marriage Story, 1917, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Parasite
I had said that only 8 films would be up for Best Picture and I got that wrong, I guess I assumed the push for Jojo Rabbit would have died down more than it has! I got the other 8 right though! To be fair, it wasn’t hard to get them right…
Best Director
Martin Scorsese – The Irishman, Todd Phillips – Joker, Sam Mendes – 1917, Quentin Tarantino – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Bong Joon Ho – Parasite
Honestly surprised that the Academy went this way and didn’t select Gerwig here. I had assumed that her direction in the film had trumped others. Apparently not. Again, very surprised and really, disappointed in this decision.
Best Actor
Antonio Banderas – Pain and Glory, Leonardo DiCaprio – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Adam Driver – Marriage Story, Joaquin Phoenix – Joker, Jonathan Pryce – The Two Popes
Taron Egerton loses out to Jonathan Pryce in the rather underwhelming The Two Popes. Another disappointing result as all the momentum was with Egerton to get a nomination. The other four as with most categories are of no surprise.
Best Actress
Cynthia Erivo – Harriet, Scarlett Johansson – Marriage Story, Saorise Ronan – Little Women, Charlize Theron – Bombshell, Renee Zellweger – Judy
Cynthia Erivo edges Awkwafina for that final slot, this is not a big surprise, as Erivo has been in or thereabout with other awards this year, a shame for Awkwafina however. Again the other four are no surprise with the category being a real toss-up on who could win.
Supporting Actor
Tom Hanks – A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Anthony Hopkins – The Two Popes, Al Pacino – The Irishman, Joe Pesci – The Irishman, Brad Pitt – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
I went with the long shot in Willem Dafoe and sadly I was wrong on that one. I just really did not rate The Two Popes enough to give it multiple nominations. A shame as Dafoe’s performance is stronger than almost all of the others in that category. A snubbing?
Supporting Actress
Kathy Bates – Richard Jewell, Laura Dern – Marriage Story, Scarlett Johansson – Jojo Rabbit, Florence Pugh – Little Women, Margot Robbie – Bombshell
Kathy Bates gets in instead of Jennifer Lopez and that snubbing I mentioned earlier in Best Supporting Actor is raised to a storm here. I cannot think of many people who did not have Lopez down for Best Supporting Actress. A true shock.
Adapted Screenplay
Jojo Rabbit, The Irishman, The Two Popes, Little Women, Joker
Nothing was really going to come up against these five, thus making it fairly easy to predict.
Best Original Screenplay
Knives Out, Marriage Story, 1917, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Parasite
The Farewell and Pain and Glory miss out here with Knives Out and 1917 getting in. Sad for both of those films as they deserved to get in. Still cannot see anyone getting past Tarantino though.
Animated Feature
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, I Lost My Body, Klaus, Missing Link, Toy Story 4
Frozen 2 doesn’t make the cut and in its place is How to Train Your Dragon. I didn’t honestly think that Frozen 2 was the most unsafe of my five predictions, but there we have it. Only one Disney film. That has to hurt the Mouse House.
International Feature Film
Corpus Christi, Honeyland, Les Miserables, Pain and Glory, Parasite
Corpus Christi was not on my wavelength in the slightest, so I didn’t see this one coming. As usual a strong field, it is just one like last year that has one film so far in front that it is almost not a discussion. Stranger things have happened though…
Best Documentary
American Factory, The Cave, Edge of Democracy, For Sama, Honeyland
Apollo 11 not getting in is another very big surprise. I am sure everyone had this in their predictions, it was almost too easy not to put in your list it seemed that sure. One Child Nation misses out as well with The Cave coming in as I had thought, Edge of Democracy surprised me though by getting nominated.
Best Cinematography
The Irishman, Joker, The Lighthouse, 1917, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Quite the easy category to predict, nothing was as visually stunning as these films and they are well deserved in their places. 1917 is winning though right? The only one who can truly challenge it is The Lighthouse. But that discussion is for another time.
Best Costume Design
The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, Joker, Little Women, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Hurrah! No nominations for Downton Abbey! I am not going to apologise for being happy that a costume drama of a tv show getting a pointless film deserves a nomination. It simply doesn’t. Jojo Rabbit takes it’s place and maybe not rightfully so, but thank goodness it isn’t Downton.
Best Film Editing
Ford vs. Ferrari, The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, Joker, Parasite
Another victory for common sense! Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is just too long, as all modern Tarantino films and happily, it has been snubbed here. Joker, no matter what people think about the context was a well-crafted film and deserves the nominations it is getting, though I would have loved for The Lighthouse to get in. Happily, I called that Joker would sneak in if Once Upon a Time didn’t.
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Bombshell, Joker, Judy, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, 1917
I only got a couple of these right with some of the decisions a tad confusing. Maleficent should not get nominated here at all, especially as it seems to have taken the place of Rocketman, which has sadly taken a pounding during these nominations. I still stand to the point I made a long time ago in saying that having Rocketman released in May would hurt it as it could have been a serious awards contender.
Best Original Score
Joker, Little Women, Marriage Story, 1917, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
I didn’t have Star Wars in here as I had not seen it and had no inkling to do so. I did say that it would probably get in and it did over Pain and Glory. I sense Joker will still prevail on awards night, however.
Best Production Design
The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, 1917, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Parasite
Such a disappointing result for Little Women, I get the sense that no one has watched it as I really not get all of the love that Jojo Rabbit is currently receiving. Odd choices. The other four contenders were almost locks.
Best Sound Editing
Ford v Ferrari, Joker, 1917, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
No Rocketman in Sound Editing or Mixing is starting to show how much of a snub this film has received. Far superior to Bohemian Rhapsody and yet not getting any love. I tell you it was the release date… Nothing here for Avengers either which is a little surprising.
Best Sound Mixing
Ad Astra, Ford vs. Ferrari, Joker, 1917, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Ad Astra should be in for both awards but The Academy sometimes like to share the spoils in these categories with no blockbusters getting in here at all, which is a tad surprising.
Best Visual Effects
Avengers: Endgame, The Irishman, The Lion King, 1917, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
I said I would throw a fit about Alita: Battle Angel and I was not kidding. A disaster of a decision. The Lion King is an animated film. I do not give a damn what anyone says it is just computer animation. Star Wars and Avengers are pretty close to being the same and if anything their effects are not as effective. 1917 looks for the most part practical so it needed the effects to help boost it no issue there. The Irishman is having a Guinness and a laugh as they only altered the faces, they didn’t think of altering the bodies of these 70+ actors, so all we see is slow-moving men in their 40’s/50’s. Nope. Furious.
Well, that’s all from me as I go find a pillow to scream into. A very disappointing result if I am honest. Lots of unbelievable snubs and there will be a lot of talk about this in the future. Until then, have a good one…
