BEVERLY HILLS—Who received good news? Who was snubbed? What were the surprises? Those are all the conversations being had after the nominees for the 2023 Academy Awards were announced on Tuesday, January 24 by actors Riz Ahmed and Allison Williams. The movie “Everything Everywhere All at Once” led all contenders with a total of 11 nominations including Best Picture.
Followed close behind were the films “All Quiet on the Western Front” and “The Banshees of Inisherin” with nine nominations apiece. The biopic “Elvis” earned eight nominations and “The Fabelmans” picked up seven nominations. The snubs and surprises people, we absolutely have to talk about them. I am ecstatic that Michelle Williams earned a Lead Actress nomination for her performance in “The Fabelmans.” I thought she was fantastic in the movie and deserved that nomination, even though I expected her to land in the Supporting Actress race, and we’ll chat about how Williams inclusion shook up the Best Actress category in a massive way.
Another surprise was Brian Tyree Henry landing a nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in “Causeway.” His nomination was absolutely not expected by the pundits, but a welcome inclusion people. Lots of love for actors of Asian descent who have virtually gone ignored for decades by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. It is long overdue and a welcome change people. Love for Paul Mescal for his slow simmering performance as Best Actor for “Aftersun.” Moving towards Best Actress Ana de Armas and Andrea Riseborough earned nods for “Blonde” and “To Leslie” which left audible gasps for plenty of people I know. Don’t blame the actors or actresses who earned the nominations, Academy Members pick people.
However, the snubs people we have to talk about it. I really thought Tom Cruise would get a nomination for Best Actor for “Top Gun: Maverick,” but nope he was overlooked. Viola Davis not earning a Best Actress nomination for “The Woman King” had plenty of people stunned. However, her admission didn’t shock me that much, it was the omission of Danielle Deadwyler for “Till.” Her performance in that drama was beyond riveting; it sends chills down the spine and was one of the best performances I have seen in years.
C’mon Academy Members, that was an absolute damn shame. Stunned to see James Cameron didn’t earn a nomination for Best Director for his riveting work on “Avatar: The Way of Water.” Another snub I have to discuss is Paul Dano being overlooked for Best Supporting Actor in “The Fabelmans,” but his co-star getting a nom for a performance that is so minimal if you blink you miss it?
The year 2023 presented the most shocking omissions or surprises I can recall in Oscars history. I guess that’s a good thing because surprises make awards season less predictable. Best Actress might be a real dog fight because I think the race is between Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh, yes the inclusion of the other ladies is interesting, but what Blanchett does with “Tàr” is sensational. Best Actor is looking like a three-way race between Colin Farrell, Brendan Fraser and Austin Butler, but that competing could cancel them out leaving someone else to claim victory.
Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress are locks already people. Best Picture and Best Director I could NOT give you an answer who could win, it could be a blockbuster or an indie this year. Would it be great to see “Top Gun: Maverick” win? Yeah, but I would be stunned, absolutely stunned if that transpire. We will talk more about the BIG SIX in the coming weeks leading up to the ceremony people.
A list of this year’s nominees can be viewed below:
Best Picture
-“Tàr”
-“Avatar: The Way of Water”
-“The Fabelmans”
-“The Banshees of Inisherin”
-“Everything Everywhere All at Once”
-“Top Gun: Maverick”
-“Elvis”
-“Triangle of Sadness”
-“Women Talking”
-“All Quiet on the Western Front”
Best Director
-Daniel Kwan and Daniel Schienert “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
-Martin McDonagh “The Banshees of Inisherin”
-Steven Spielberg “The Fabelmans”
-Ruben Ostlund “Triangle of Sadness”
-Todd Field “Tàr”
Best Actor
-Austin Butler “Elvis”
-Colin Farrell “The Banshees Of Inisherin”
-Brendan Fraser “The Whale”
-Bill Nighy “Living”
-Paul Mescal “Afterlife”
Best Actress
-Cate Blanchett “Tàr”
-Ana de Armas “Blonde”
-Michelle Yeoh “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
-Andrea Riseborough “To Leslie”
-Michelle Williams “The Fabelmans”
Best Supporting Actress
-Angela Bassett “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
-Jamie Lee Curtis “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
-Hong Chau “The Whale”
-Kerry Condon “The Banshees of Inisherin”
-Stephanie Hsu “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Best Supporting Actor
-Ke Huy Quan “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
-Brendan Gleeson “The Banshees of Inisherin”
-Judd Hirisch “The Fabelmans”
-Barry Keoghan “The Banshees of Inisherin”
-Brian Tyree Henry “Causeway”
Best Original Screenplay
-Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
-Martin McDonagh “The Banshees of Inisherin”
-Todd Field “Tàr”
-Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner “The Fabelmans”
-Ruben Ostlund “Triangle of Sadness”
Best Adapted Screenplay
-Sarah Polley “Women Talking”
-Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson and Ian Stokell “All Quiet on the Western Front”
-Rian Johnson “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery”
-Kazuo Ishiguro “Living”
-Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie “Top Gun: Maverick”
Best Animated Film
-“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”
-“Turning Red”
-“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”
-“Marcel the Shell With Shoes On”
-“The Sea Beast”
Best Documentary Feature
-“All That Breathes”
-“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”
-“Fire of Love”
-“A House Made of Splinters”
-“Navalny”
Best International Feature
-“All Quiet on the Western Front”
-“Argentina, 1985”
-“Close”
-“EO”
-“The Quiet Girl”
Best Cinematography
-“Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths”
-“Elvis”
-“Tàr”
-“All Quiet on the Western Front”
-“Empire of Light”
Best Film Editing
-“Top Gun: Maverick”
-“The Banshees of Inisherin”
-“Elvis”
-“Tàr”
-“Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Best Costume Design
-“Elvis”
-“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
-“Everything Everywhere All at Once”
-“Babylon”
-“Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris”
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
-“Elvis”
-“The Whale”
-“The Batman”
-“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
-“All Quiet on the Western Front”
Best Original Score
-“The Fabelmans”
-“Babylon”
-“All Quiet on the Western Front”
-“The Banshees of Inisherin”
-“Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Best Original Song
“Naatu Naatu” from “RRR”
-“Lift Me Up” from “Blank Panther: Wakanda Forever”
-“Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick”
-“This is My Life” from “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
-“Applause” from “Tell It Like a Woman”
Best Production Design
-“Elvis”
-“Babylon”
-“Avatar: The Way of Water”
-“The Fabelmans”
-“All Quiet on the Western Front”
Best Sound
-“Elvis”
-“Top Gun: Maverick”
-“Avatar: The Way of Water”
-“The Batman”
-“All Quiet on the Western Front”
Best Visual Effects
-“Avatar: The Way of Water”
-“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
-“Top Gun: Maverick”
-“The Batman”
-“All Quiet on the Western Front”
Best Animated Short Film
-“The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse”
-“The Flying Sailor”
-“Ice Merchants”
-“My Year of Dicks”
-“An Ostrich Told Me the World is Fake and I Think I Believe It”
Best Documentary Short
-“The Elephant Whisperers”
-“Haulout”
-“How Do You Measure a Year?”
-“The Martha Mitchell Effect”
-“Stranger at the Gate”
Best Live-Action Short
-“An Irish Goodbye”
-“Ivalu”
-“Le Pupille”
-“Night Ride”
-“The Red Suitcase”
The 95th Annual Academy Awards will be handed out on Sunday, March 12 live from the infamous Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. The ceremony will air on ABC at 8 p.m. and will be hosted by comedian Jimmy Kimmel.
