The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Thursday nominated a slew of lesser-known films rooted in progressive politics for the 97th Academy Awards.
“Emilia Pérez,” a musical exploration of transgender identity, and “The Fauves,” a three-and-a-half-hour study of immigrant trauma and anti-Semitism, were the films nominated in most major categories. Including Best Picture and Best Director. “Emilia Perez,” a Netflix production, received a total of 13 nominations, the most of any film.
A24’s low-budget film “The Beast,” which opened in theaters nationwide on Friday, received 10 nominations. “Wicked,” a blockbuster with a message about the dangers of authoritarianism and the power of resistance, was also well received by voters. It received 10 nominations but failed to break through in the important directing and screenplay categories.
While the acting race has become clearer over the past month, the best picture race remains unusually open. Unlike last year, when “Oppenheimer” almost immediately cemented its status as the frontrunner and never looked back, this year multiple films are still in the running for Hollywood’s top prize.
Best picture nominees include “Conclave,” a Vatican thriller that explores identity politics; “Material,” a feminist statement in the form of a body horror film; and “Nickel Boys,” a drama set in a racial school in 1960s Florida. A historical drama set in a communist reform school; Anora is a Cinderella story about a sex worker who impulsively marries the party-loving son of a Russian oligarch; I’m Still Here is a Brazilian drama about family life and political oppression; and the Bob Dylan biopic “Total Unknown.”
Big-budget studio films “Wicked” and “Dune: Part 2” fill out this category. In 2022, the Academy will expand the Best Picture field to 10; previously, it had a sliding number of slots, with only five slots. The college positioned the changes as part of an expanded focus on diversity, equity and inclusion.
Brody (“The Fauves”), Timothée Chalamet (“Unknown”), Colman Domingo (“Song”) and Ralph Fiennes (“Conclave”) are also included Unexpectedly, he was nominated for Best Actor. Sebastian Stan gets a wild-card spot for playing the obnoxious early-career Donald Trump on The Apprentice.
Demi Moore (“Material”), who gave a poignant acceptance speech about Hollywood’s classification at the Golden Globes this month, has been a favorite to win best actress. Oscar voters waved her through to the nominations, along with best actress nods for Cynthia Erivo (“Wicked”), Mackie Madison (“Anola”), Fernanda Torres (“I’m Still Here”) and Carla Sofia Gascon (“Emilia Perez”). Gascón became the first openly transgender actress to be nominated for an Oscar.
Kieran Culkin just won a Golden Globe for his performance in the drama film True Pain and was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Filling out the category are Yura Borisov (“Anora”), Guy Pearce (“The Fauves”), Edward Norton (“Unknown”) and Jeremy Strong ( “apprentice”).
For supporting actress, Oscar voters gave the nominations to favorites Zoe Saldana (“Emilia Perez”) and Ariana Grande (“Wicked”) , both had starring roles but decided to run as second candidates. Joining them are Isabella Rossellini (“Conclave”), Monica Barbaro (“Unknown”) and Felicity Jones (“The Fauves”).
Most of the acting nominees (13 of 20) are first-time Oscar winners, perhaps underscoring the organization’s efforts over the past decade to reduce the dominance of older white men in the voting ranks . The academy currently has about 10,000 voting members, up from about 6,700 in 2017.
In the directing category, the Academy nominated favorites Sean Baker (“Anora”), Brady Corbet (“The Fauves”) and Jacques Audiard (“Emilia P. Reis”). James Mangold (“Unknown”) and French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat (“Material”) round out the category. Notable omissions include Edward Berger (“Conclave”) and Jon Chu (“Wicked”).
Fajit became the 10th woman in the academy’s 97-year history to be nominated for the best director award. Only three people have won: Jane Campion (“Power of Dogs”) in 2022, Chloe Zhao (“Nomadland”) in 2021, and Kathryn Bigelow (“The Hurt Locker” ) won the award in 2009.
Original screenplay nominees include favorites “Anora,” “The Fauves” and “True Pain.” The remaining two locations are “The Substance” and “September 5”.
Nominations for adapted screenplay include “Confidential,” “Emilia Pérez,” “Total Unknown,” “Nickelboy” and “Sing.”
Netflix is having a stellar week, announcing on Tuesday that it topped 300 million subscribers and leading the publisher with 16 nominations on Thursday morning. “Emilia Perez” alone received thirteen nominations, making the irreverent musical the most-nominated film in the streaming service’s history. (The Spanish musical “Emilia Pérez” also became the most nominated non-English language film in Oscar history. The previous record holders were “Roma” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” with 10 nominations each.
“Emilia Perez” is a film acquired by Netflix at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and has been winning numerous awards ever since. Prior to this, Netflix’s most nominated film was 2018’s “Roma” with 10 nominations. The company’s most award-winning film is Berger’s 2022 drama All Quiet on the Western Front, which won four Oscars, including Best International Feature and Best Cinematography.
The streaming giant has won 23 trophies since winning its first trophy in 2016 for the documentary short “The White Helmets.” It also won two Best Director awards: Campion’s “The Power of Dogs” and Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma.” It has yet to win the coveted Best Picture award.
The nominations were announced during an early morning ceremony at the Academy’s headquarters in Beverly Hills, California, hosted by Bowen Young and Rachel Sennott. The ceremony will be held on March 2.
Looking for a host who can create a buzz without blowing up in front of a crowd, Academy Awards organizers traded the current late-night comedian (Jimmy Kimmel) for former comedian Conan O’Brien. Since O’Brien has never hosted an Oscars before, he’s bound to bring a freshness to the show, which could appear dated at best and disjointed at worst. At the same time, he’s a safe choice — a seasoned professional whose comedic style has been honed over decades and who has successfully hosted other awards shows, including the Emmys.
Recent wildfires in Los Angeles County have destroyed at least 10,000 homes, prompting the academy to delay the announcement of nominations. Amid the devastation, questions about the awards show are circulating in Hollywood. Should it turn into a fundraising telethon? Or completely scrapped?
Academy officials rejected both ideas, saying in a letter to members Wednesday that “respect for the unified spirit and creative synergy of filmmaking” remains the main focus of the ceremony. Still, the show will “express gratitude to those bravely fighting wildfires.” Perhaps to add a sense of solemnity, the show will also nominate songs that will no longer be performed live.
A low-key Oscars ceremony would mark a reversal from recent years, when the Academy Awards have tried to ramp up the raucousness in an effort to attract larger audiences. ABC’s telecast of the most recent awards ceremony attracted about 20 million viewers, a four-year high. However, just in 2014, this number doubled.
In an effort to make the Oscars more relevant to young people, the Academy agreed in December to broadcast the ceremony online for the first time on Hulu. Like Hulu, ABC, which is still owned by Disney, remains the academy’s broadcast partner.
