By Riley Dauber
Editor-in-Chief
After a few delays due to the tragic fires in Los Angeles, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released the Oscar nominations on Jan. 23.
As soon as the event, which was hosted by “Saturday Night Live” stand-out Bowen Yang and comedian Rachel Sennott, started, it became clear that recency bias played a factor in which films received more nominations. However, the recent reveal that “The Brutalist” and “Emilia Pérez” utilized AI did not seem to affect the outcome.
In fact, “Emilia Pérez” led the group with 13 nominations, including a Best Picture nod, according to The Washington Post. Considering its wins for Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy, Best Motion Picture — Non-English Language, and Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture for Zoe Saldaña at the Golden Globes, the film is proving to be quite popular among voters.
Best Motion Picture — Drama winner “The Brutalist” and “Wicked” both received 10 nominations; “Conclave” and the Bob Dylan biopic, “A Complete Unknown,” each earned eight nominations, while former awards season darling “Anora” gained six, according to The Washington Post.
Each of the aforementioned films earned a nomination in the coveted Best Picture category; “Dune: Part Two,” “I’m Still Here,” “Nickel Boys,” and “The Substance” rounded out the category.
Most notably, “Sing Sing” and Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain” were excluded from the Best Picture category despite strong showings in the acting categories; Colman Domingo is nominated in the Lead Actor category for the former, and Kiernan Culkin is nominated in the Supporting Actor category for the latter.
Due to the Golden Globes results, the acting categories provided few surprises. Adrien Brody (“The Brutalist”) and Timothee Chalamet (“A Complete Unknown”) are frontrunners in the Lead Actor category. Sebastian Stan earned a nomination for his role in “The Apprentice,” even though he won the Golden Globe for his role in the dark comedy “A Different Man.” Domingo and Ralph Fiennes (“Conclave”) round out the category.
The Lead Actress category is arguably the most interesting and competitive this year. While Demi Moore (“The Substance”) took home the Golden Globe for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy, Fernanda Torres (“I’m Still Here”) nabbed the Golden Globe for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama, according to the Golden Globes website. These two talented performers are joined by Mikey Madison (“Anora”), Cynthia Erivo (“Wicked”), and Karla Sofía Gascón (“Emilia Pérez”), who became the first transgender actor to be nominated for an Oscar, according to The Washington Post.
Moore and Torres are arguably the frontrunners due to their prior awards, but this could be anyone’s win, which makes watching the awards ceremony all the more interesting.
Other films had plenty of love in the production categories. The horror genre received some much-needed attention, with both “The Substance” and “Nosferatu” earning nominations in the makeup and hairstyling category. The latter also received a nomination for costume design and best cinematography.
The Original Score category was a bit of a letdown, however, due to the exclusion of “Challengers,” which took home the Golden Globe.
This snub, along with many others, points to an overall issue during this awards season: recency bias. Most of the films receiving attention were released in the latter half of 2024, even though many excellent films came out at the beginning of the year.
Along with “Challengers,” many cinephiles believed “Dune: Part Two” should have received more love.
“‘Dune: Part Two’ is just simply not getting enough nominations for me, idk,” Twitter user @sourlittleme tweeted.
The AI concern may also play a role this awards season. According to The Guardian, editor Dávid Jancsó utilized AI software to adjust Brody and Felicity Jones’ Hungarian in “The Brutalist.” Considering both actors received nominations for their acting performances, this information calls into question the use of AI to edit actors and whether their performances are their own.
“Emilia Pérez” also utilized AI cloning to “increase the range of Gascón’s vocal register and…utilized Respeecher to blend their singing with that of Camille, the French pop star who co-wrote the film’s score,” according to The Guardian.
While the news was released after the nomination voting period ended, this controversy may affect who wins. Both films took home the Best Picture awards at the Golden Globes, and Brody walked away with the Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama statue, according to the Golden Globes website.
Despite the snubs and AI concerns, the nominations are overall exciting. “The Substance” director Coralie Fargeat earned a Best Director nomination, making her the only woman in the category; considering other female directors were excluded in prior years, this pick was a surprise.
Since the Academy Awards are not until March 2, you still have plenty of time to catch up on some of the nominated films that you may have missed in 2024. The ceremony will be available to stream on Hulu LiveTV or YouTube TV.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Photo Caption: Wicked dominated many different potential award nominations this year.