The 96th Annual Academy Awards nominations announced last month made Oppenheimer the most nominated film of the year, being recognized in 10 different categories.The Oscars will be awarded on March 10 in Los Angeles and coverage will begin at 3:30 pm PST on ABC. For the fourth time, late night entertainer and comedian Jimmy Kimmel will be hosting the event.
The most anticipated category, Best Picture, includes ten nominees with films ranging in genres from dramas such as Oppenheimer and Killers of the Flower Moon, to comedies like Barbie, The Holdovers, and Poor Things. This year, two foreign language films will be up for the most prestigious Oscar: Anatomy of a Fall and Zone of Interest. After taking the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Drama on January 7 and the Critics Choice Award for Best Picture a week later on January 14, Oppenheimer is favored to win Best Picture.
In the Best Actor category, Bradley Cooper, who both starred in and directed his movie Maestro received a nomination. Rustin actor Coleman Domingo has made history as the first Afro-Latino actor nominated in the category. This comes just 2 years after Afro-Latina actress Ariana DeBose won Best Actress for West Side Story. Other nominees include Paul Giamatti from The Holdovers, Jeffery Wright star of American Fiction, and Cillian Murphy who plays physicist and lead creator of the atomic bomb Robert J. Oppenheimer in Oppenheimer.
As for Best Actress, Emma Stone received her fifth Academy award nomination for Poor Things. Lily Gladstone became the first Native American woman to be nominated for an Oscar for her role in Killers of the Flower Moon. This film, which is based on a true story, follows Gladstone who stars as member of the Osage tribe whose family made a significant sum of money from oil found on Osage land. She marries a white man who, alongside his uncle and brother, plot a way to gain possession of her family’s wealth. The film industry has a history of casting white actors to play people of color and Gladstone’s nomination signifies a step forward when it comes to casting people of color in movies as well as the telling of indigenous stories. Alongside them, Emily Blunt was nominated for Oppenhiemer, as well as Anette Benning for Nyad, and Carrie Mulligan who plays Felecia Montealegre, wife of conductor Leonard Bernstien in Maestro.
For the category of Best Supporting Actor, nominees include Sterling K. Brown of American Fiction, Robert De Niro with his ninth Academy Award nomination for his performance in Killers of the Flower Moon, Robert Downey Jr. for Oppenheimer, Ryan Gosling for Barbie, and Mark Ruffalo of Poor Things, director Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest film which is a fantastical depiction of a woman going from an infant to a sophisticated adult. Aside from Nyad’s Jodie Foster, all nominees in the Best Supporting Actress category are first-time nominees. Emily Blunt was nominated for Oppenheimer, Danielle Brooks for The Color Purple, America Ferrera for Barbie, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph for The Holdovers.
Barbie director Greta Gerwig was nominated only in the adapted screenplay category, and not for best director, while lead actress Margot Robbie did not receive a nomination for her lead performance. On social media many people have commented on the irony and frustration of the situation as Ryan Gosling was nominated for his role as Ken. When asked about the Oscars, San Marcos Senior Grace Shifflet said “Margot Robbie was the lead and was incredible had a lot more depth then Ryan Gosling did.” Historically, the vast majority of Academy Awards nominees and winners are men, even this year 4 of the 5 best director nominees are men. On the other hand, more of the Best Picture nominees are directed by women, although it is only three of the ten films.
