Here are the 2023 Oscar nominees - snubs and surprises
8 min readThe nominations for the 2023 Academy Awards were announced early Tuesday morning by actors Riz Ahmed and Allison Williams, accompanied by the usual gasps, cheers, snubs and surprises.
Did âThe Fabelmansâ regain its momentum? Did âEverything Everywhere All at Onceâ continue its roll? Did female directors get their due after being left out of the Directors Guild of America nominations? How many âpopular filmsâ - major grossers and franchise sequels - broke through with best picture nods?
The finalists in all 23 categories were revealed in two parts via livestream on Oscar.com and Oscars.org, along with the motion picture academyâs social media accounts (Twitter, YouTube and Facebook).
The 95th Academy Awards will be held March 12 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles and televised live on ABC.
The sounds you are hearing around town right now range from the chosen few buzzing the tower in celebration to the dull thud of disappointments being flung against a wooden door a la âThe Banshees of Inisherin,â though, hopefully, without the need for bandages or infantile acts of revenge.
Of course, in an Oscar multiverse, everyoneâs a nominee and nobody came away from the nominations announcement feeling like they were on the receiving end of a âBabylonâ elephantâs bowel distress.
In this reality though, the morning brought its fair share of surprises, pleasant and otherwise. There were also omissions, which, for the sake of alliteration and search engine optimization, weâll call âsnubs,â though voters probably didnât intend any ill will, unless you were the filmmaker who wrote and directed that elephant scene, in which case, it was entirely personal.
But thatâs the exception, not the rule. Meanwhile here are the âsnubsâ and surprises for the 95th Academy Awards, of which the scheduled date is so far away that it feels like a surprise and a snub in and of itself.
SNUB: Tom Cruise, âTop Gun: Maverickâ (lead actor)
To be fair, I donât think anyone - even Cruise himself - thought heâd earn an Oscar nomination for playing Capt. Pete âMaverickâ Mitchell in a sequel to an action movie made 36 years ago. But because the lead actor field wasnât crowded with contenders from high-profile pictures, many thought Cruise could sneak in and earn his first nod since 1999âs âMagnolia.â He did pick up a nomination for producing âTop Gun: Maverick,â which was recognized for best picture. Is that reason to jump up and down on the couch? Kind of ⌠right?
SURPRISE: Ana de Armas, âBlondeâ (lead actress)
Andrew Dominikâs nightmarish look at the tragic life of Marilyn Monroe was miserable, ghoulish and tasteless ⌠but De Armas seamlessly portrayed the screen legend with such command and empathy that you could almost forgive the misguided approach. Acting branch voters find it hard to resist performances based on well-known figures (Lydia T?r was real, right?), so even with the brutal reviews, De Armas had a built-in advantage.
SURPRISE: âWomen Talkingâ (best picture)
Lauded out of Telluride and feted subsequently at the Toronto and New York film festivals, Sarah Polleyâs breathtaking drama seemed to lose steam once the fall fests ended. Admittedly, its story - a group of Mennonite women must decide whether to leave the community after discovering theyâve been drugged and sexually assaulted - was a hard sell ⌠unless youâve seen the film. And then âWomen Talkingâ becomes a movie you want everyone you know to see. The strong word-of-mouth carried the day.
SNUB: James Cameron, âAvatar: The Way of Waterâ (director)
I guess heâll just have to be content with the $2 billion in box office and the knowledge that he pushed the digital realm of the art form forward in a way that only he could.
SURPRISE: Judd Hirsch, âThe Fabelmansâ (supporting actor)
Hirschâs powerhouse explanation of âThe Fabelemansââ theme - âFamily, art, life - it will tear you in two!â - gave us one of the yearâs best scenes. But after early festival raves - the audience at its AFI Fest premiere applauded loudly when the scene ended - there was a sense that Hirsch simply wasnât in the movie long enough to earn a nomination. Fact is, he stole the movie. And, it would seem, voters hearts as well.
SURPRISE: Brian Tyree Henry, âCausewayâ (supporting actor)
Henry is one of those actors who elevates everything heâs in, and his work opposite Jennifer Lawrence in this moving Apple TV+ drama was no exception. Playing an auto repair shop owner trying his best to deal with a tragic past, Henry strongly communicates the characterâs pain and humanity without words. Whatâs left unsaid lingers. And it did for voters.
SURPRISE: Andrea Riseborough, âTo Leslieâ (lead actress)
Perhaps the greatest grassroots campaign in Oscar history, Riseboroughâs team enlisted the help of dozens of A-list actors to stump for her searing turn as an addict in âTo Leslie,â a movie that premiered in March at South by Southwest and grossed $27,000 in its brief theatrical run. Amy Adams moderated a virtual screening not long after a similar event moderated by Kate Winslet, who gushed: âYou should be up for everything. You should be winning everything. Andrea Riseborough, I think this is the greatest female performance on screen I have ever seen in my life.â Hyperbole? Yes! But Riseborough has been revered by her colleagues and critics for years, and this late-breaking push tapped into that love just as Oscar voting began.
SNUB: âBardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truthsâ (international feature)
After being savaged at fall film festivals, Alejandro G. I??rritu recut âBardo,â removing around 20 minutes from the original 184-minute movie. But the early negative reviews, combined with the filmâs still leisurely running time, must have scared away some voters from giving it a proper look.
SURPRISE: Paul Mescal, âAftersunâ (lead actor)
You know heâs Irish. You sighed over his vulnerability and openness in âNormal People.â Maybe you knew he was 26, which makes him four and a half years younger than fellow first-time nominee Austin Butler. That youth and the relatively low profile of Charlotte Wellsâ aching âAftersunâ made me think heâd be an outsider when nominations landed. But Mescal gives such a raw, tender performance in the movie that heâs impossible to ignore.
Hereâs the full list of nominees.
Best picture
âAll Quiet on the Western Frontâ
âAvatar: The Way of Waterâ
âThe Banshees of Inisherinâ
âElvisâ
âEverything Everywhere All at Onceâ
âThe Fabelmansâ
âT?râ
âTop Gun: Maverickâ
âTriangle of Sadnessâ
âWomen Talkingâ
Actor in a leading role
Austin Butler (âElvisâ)
Colin Farrell (âThe Banshees of Inisherinâ)
Brendan Fraser (âThe Whaleâ)
Paul Mescal (âAftersunâ)
Bill Nighy (âLivingâ)
Actress in a leading role
Cate Blanchett (âT?râ)
Ana de Armas (âBlondeâ)
Andrea Riseborough (âTo Leslieâ)
Michelle Williams (âThe Fabelmansâ)
Michelle Yeoh (âEverything Everywhere All at Onceâ)
Actor in a supporting role
Brendan Gleeson (âThe Banshees of Inisherinâ)
Brian Tyree Henry (âCausewayâ)
Judd Hirsch (âThe Fabelmansâ)
Barry Keoghan (âThe Banshees of Inisherinâ)
Ke Huy Quan (âEverything Everywhere All at Onceâ)
Actress in a supporting role
Angela Bassett (âBlack Panther: Wakanda Foreverâ)
Hong Chau (âThe Whaleâ)
Kerry Condon (âThe Banshees of Inisherinâ)
Jamie Lee Curtis (âEverything Everywhere All at Onceâ)
Stephanie Hsu (âEverything Everywhere All at Onceâ)
Animated feature film
âGuillermo del Toroâs Pinocchioâ
âMarcel the Shell With Shoes Onâ
âPuss in Boots: The Last Wishâ
âThe Sea Beastâ
âTurning Redâ
Animated short film
âThe Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horseâ
âThe Flying Sailorâ
âIce Merchantsâ
âMy Year of Dicksâ
âAn Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe Itâ
Cinematography
âAll Quiet on the Western Frontâ
âBardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truthsâ
âElvisâ
âEmpire of Lightâ
âT?râ
Costume design
âBabylonâ
âBlack Panther: Wakanda Foreverâ
âElvisâ
âEverything Everywhere All at Onceâ
âMrs. Harris Goes to Parisâ
Directing
Todd Field (âT?râ)
Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (âEverything Everywhere All at Onceâ)
Martin McDonagh (âThe Banshees of Inisherinâ)
Ruben Ostlund (âTriangle of Sadnessâ)
Steven Spielberg (âThe Fabelmansâ)
Documentary feature
âAll That Breathesâ
âAll the Beauty and the Bloodshedâ
âFire of Loveâ
âA House Made of Splintersâ
âNavalnyâ
Documentary short film
âThe Elephant Whisperersâ
âHauloutâ
âHow Do You Measure a Year?â
âThe Martha Mitchell Effectâ
âStranger at the Gateâ
Film editing
âThe Banshees of Inisherinâ
âElvisâ
âEverything Everywhere All at Onceâ
âT?râ
âTop Gun: Maverickâ
International feature
Germany, âAll Quiet on the Western Frontâ
Argentina, âArgentina, 1985â
Belgium, âCloseâ
Poland, âEOâ
Ireland, âThe Quiet Girlâ
Live-action short film
âAn Irish Goodbyeâ
âIvaluâ
âLe Pupilleâ
âNight Rideâ
âThe Red Suitcaseâ
Makeup and hairstyling
âAll Quiet on the Western Frontâ
âThe Batmanâ
âBlack Panther: Wakanda Foreverâ
âElvisâ
âThe Whaleâ
Music (original song)
âApplauseâ from âTell It like a Womanâ
âHold My Handâ from âTop Gun: Maverickâ
âLift Me Upâ from âBlack Panther: Wakanda Foreverâ
âNaatu Naatuâ from âRRRâ
âThis Is a Lifeâ from âEverything Everywhere All at Onceâ
Music (original score)
âAll Quiet on the Western Frontâ
âBabylonâ
âThe Banshees of Inisherinâ
âEverything Everywhere All at Onceâ
âThe Fabelmansâ
Production design
âAll Quiet on the Western Frontâ
âAvatar: The Way of Waterâ
âBabylonâ
âElvisâ
âThe Fabelmansâ
Sound
âAll Quiet on the Western Frontâ
âAvatar: The Way of Waterâ
âThe Batmanâ
âElvisâ
âTop Gun: Maverickâ
Writing (Adapted screenplay)
âAll Quiet on the Western Frontâ
âGlass Onion: A Knives Out Mysteryâ
âLivingâ
âTop Gun: Maverickâ
âWomen Talkingâ
Writing (Original screenplay)
âThe Banshees of Inisherinâ
âEverything Everywhere All at Onceâ
âThe Fabelmansâ
âT?râ
âTriangle of Sadnessâ
Visual effects
âAll Quiet on the Western Frontâ
âAvatar: The Way of Waterâ
âThe Batmanâ
âBlack Panther: Wakanda Foreverâ
âTop Gun: Maverickâ
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