Oscar Nominations Reaction
And the Oscar goes to…well, no one knows that part yet. However, the nominations for the 95th Academy Awards (AKA The Oscars) were released bright and early on Tuesday, Jan. 24th.
Most of the nominees were pretty straightforward, expected after they were either nominated or took home an award at the Golden Globes. Since the Oscars only recognize films (long, short, animated, documentary and everything in between), there is a lot more room for films that may have gone completely unrecognized at the Globes.
The Academy Awards consist of 23 categories that recognize all aspects of filmmaking, and this year, every award will be handed out on air. This is huge since it means every winner will get their well-deserved time to accept their trophy and take their moment in the spotlight.
Last year was a mess for many reasons, but besides the obvious, it was unfair to those who had to accept their awards off-camera. Let’s be honest– the Oscars’ audience right now is people who actually care about the filmmakers being honored, not people who want to be entertained with stupid jokes and skits.
Now without further ado, here are some of the big categories to watch out for on Oscars night.
Actor in a Leading Role
The Best Actor category has seen some of the biggest names in film in years past– but this year, it is shockingly home to five first-time Academy Award nominees.
Austin Butler (“Elvis”), Colin Farrell (“The Banshees of Inisherin”), Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”), Paul Mescal (“Aftersun”) and Bill Nighy (“Living”) have all taken the world by storm with powerful performances this year, and it’s certainly refreshing to see new talent like Austin Butler and Paul Mescal being honored at the highest level.
Speaking of Mescal, he was certainly the biggest surprise in this category. His film “Aftersun” was a smaller A24 release that was overlooked by the Golden Globes, and while it is likely that Butler or Fraser takes home the Oscar, don’t count him out just yet.
Actress in a Leading Role
It was the scream heard round-the-campus– when extreme underdog Andrea Riseborough was nominated for Best Actress. CommRadio Arts Director Jack Freiser expressed everyone’s shock during the nominee reaction show.
Her nomination was truly the biggest surprise of the morning, especially since Riseborough’s film “To Leslie” grossed a mere $27,000 after its release. However, she gained social media support from big names like Sarah Paulson, Kate Winslet, Edward Norton, Liam Neeson, and many more.
This raises the question– does social media and celebrity endorsement impact the Academy’s voting? And if so, could this be a problem?
The other nominees in the category are fairly straightforward, Cate Blanchett (“Tár”), Ana de Armas (“Blonde”), Michelle Williams (“The Fablemans”) and Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere all at Once”).
Directing
And here are the all-male nominees. No disrespect to any of the men in this category, they all produced work worthy of the Academy Awards (except, perhaps, Ruben Östlund).
The lineup goes– Martin McDonagh (“The Banshees of Inisherin”), Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (“Everything Everywhere All At Once”), Steven Spielberg (“The Fablemans”), Todd Field (“Tár”) and Ruben Östlund (“Triangle of Sadness”).
It would be a shock if anyone other than Spielberg takes it home after he won the Golden Globe and is the most decorated director on the list.
Best Picture
Blue aliens. An Irishman scorned by his best friend. A Chinese immigrant mother who travels through the multiverse.
The 10 nominees for Best Picture could not be more different, and yet the race is pretty wide open.
It seems as though the front runner would again be Steven Spielberg’s “The Fablemans”, but “Everything Everywhere All At Once” should not be counted out. Many critics named it the best film of 2022, so it would make perfect sense for it to win Best Picture.
A dark horse could possibly be Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis”, but it would be a complete upset to see a film like “Top Gun: Maverick” or “Avatar: The Way of Water” win as big-budget action films.
The biggest upset, however, would have to be “Triangle of Sadness”. A complete outlier among the other entries on the list. Its graphic, gross humor should not have been nominated in the first place.
All will be revealed on Sunday, March 12, when the Oscars stream live from Hollywood.
Kaitlyn Murphy is a first-year majoring in digital and print journalism. To contact her, email kvm6255@psu.edu.
