Best Picture Anora The Brutalist A Complete Unknown Conclave Dune: Part Two Emilia Pérez I’m Still Here Nickel Boys The Substance Wicked
Actor in a Leading Role Adrien Brody, The Brutalist Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown Colman Domingo, Sing Sing Ralph Fiennes, Conclave Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice
Actress in a Leading Role Cynthia Erivo, Wicked Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez Mikey Madison, Anora Demi Moore, The Substance Fernanda Torres, I’m Still Here
Actor in a Supporting Role Yura Borisov, Anora Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown Guy Pearce, The Brutalist Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice
Actress in a Supporting Role Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown Ariana Grande, Wicked Felicity Jones, The Brutalist Isabella Rossellini, Conclave Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez
Animated Feature Film Flow Inside Out 2 Memoir of a Snail Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl The Wild Robot
Documentary Feature Film Black Box Diaries No Other Land Porcelain War Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat Sugarcane
International Feature Film I’m Still Here The Girl with the Needle Emilia Pérez The Seed of the Sacred Fig Flow
Directing Sean Baker, Anora Brady Corbet, The Brutalist James Mangold, A Complete Unknown Jacques Audiard, Emilia Pérez Coralie Fargeat, The Substance
Cinematography Lol Crawley, The Brutalist Greig Fraser, Dune: Part Two Paul Guilhaume, Emilia Pérez Ed Lachman, Maria Jarin Blaschke, Nosferatu
Writing (Original Screenplay) Anora The Brutalist A Real Pain September 5 The Substance
Writing (Adapted Screenplay) A Complete Unknown Conclave Emilia Pérez Nickel Boys Sing Sing
Film Editing Anora The Brutalist Conclave Emilia Pérez Wicked
Music (Original Song) “El Mal” from Emilia Pérez “The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight “Like a Bird” from Sing Sing “Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez “Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late
Music (Original Score) The Brutalist Conclave Emilia Pérez Wicked The Wild Robot
Sound A Complete Unknown Dune: Part Two Emilia Pérez Wicked The Wild Robot
Production Design The Brutalist Conclave Dune: Part Two Nosferatu Wicked
Visual Effects Alien: Romulus Better Man Dune: Part Two Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Wicked
Makeup and Hairstyling A Different Man Emilia Pérez Nosferatu The Substance Wicked
Costume Design Arianne Phillips, A Complete Unknown Lisy Christl, Conclave Janty Yates and Dave Crossman, Gladiator II Linda Muir, Nosferatu Paul Tazewell, Wicked
Best Animated Short Beautiful Men In the Shadow of the Cypress Magic Candles Wander to Wonder Yuck!
Best Documentary Short Death by Numbers I am Ready, Warden Incident Instruments of a Beating Heart The Only Girl in the Orchestra
Best Live-Action Short A Lien Anuja I’m Not a Robot The Last Ranger The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
I was able to see the five Academy Award nominated Live-action shorts and the five animated shorts today at Cinemark. I look forward to this every year, getting the chance to see these well deserving films. I was under a time constraint today thanks to the WWE Elimination Chamber, but it was able to fit nicely in.
Live-Action Shorts.
I am going to list these in order of my favorite. I will also give you which one I think will win the Oscar. Spoiler, my favorite animation short is not the one that I am predicting will win the Academy Award.
#5. The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent. From Croatia. Honestly, this was my least favorite of the films I saw today. It felt like it was doing something special, but it just seemed to end and I did not like the conclusion of the film.
#4. Anuja. India. I liked this short. The actress playing Anuja does a great job with the talented young girl, but the ending of this one was left fairly uncertain and I wanted more closure.
#3. I’m Not a Robot. Netherlands/Belgium. This sci-fi short was very clever. Started off with some good humor, but developed into an obsession. I did not know that the CAPTCHA could identify robots in other ways. This was an enjoyable short.
#2. The Last Ranger. South Africa. A remarkably powerful short film detailing poachers targeting rhino horns. There are some really emotional moments in this short and the performance by Liyabona Mroqoza is riveting. I just about put this at number one, but…
#1. A Lien. USA. Man this was a tough short to watch. A young couple and their daughter heads down to have the husband’s green card meeting and ICE is there. The emotion, the fear, the anger and frustration jumps off the screen in this short.
A Lien gets my pick as the winner for the Academy Award for Best Live-Action Short.
Animated Shorts
I did enjoy the Live-Action shorts overall more than the Animated ones, but these were all pretty decent too.
#5. Wander to Wonder. Netherlands/Belgium/France. This was such a bizarre short. Wander to Wonder was a kiddie show at one point but things have become really dark. It was truly disturbing and weird.
#4. Beautiful Men. Netherlands/Belgium/France. Three brothers who were hoping to get a hair transplant surgery, have to face their problems and their insecurities. I thought this was a good short with some solid characteristic development.
#3. Magic Candies. Japan. This one felt like it was just too long. There was a scene in this film, where the young boy had some magic candy and it led to a nice moment with his father. That should have been the end, but then the short continued on. It just went too long for me. The first fifteen minutes or so were really great.
#2. Yuck!. France. This is the sweetest of the animated films as the whole thing was based around a first kiss. This was a nice animated short.
#1. In the Shadow of the Cypress. Iran. This was my favorite animated short. I loved the animation and I thought this story was the deepest. There was a lot of emotion. The father, daughter and a whale. I loved this whole thing.
However, my pick to win the Oscar is Magic Candies. I just have a feeling this is what the Academy will do. I hope In the Shadow of the Cypress wins, but I do not think it will.
Here are my official Academy Award picks for the Sunday night awards. I am not seeing the short films until tomorrow so I will be skipping that pick as of now.
Best Picture Anora The Brutalist A Complete Unknown Conclave Dune: Part Two Emilia Pérez I’m Still Here Nickel Boys The Substance Wicked
Actor in a Leading Role Adrien Brody, The Brutalist Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown Colman Domingo, Sing Sing Ralph Fiennes, Conclave Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice
Actress in a Leading Role Cynthia Erivo, Wicked Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez Mikey Madison, Anora Demi Moore, The Substance Fernanda Torres, I’m Still Here
Actor in a Supporting Role Yura Borisov, Anora Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown Guy Pearce, The Brutalist Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice
Actress in a Supporting Role Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown Ariana Grande, Wicked Felicity Jones, The Brutalist Isabella Rossellini, Conclave Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez
Animated Feature Film Flow Inside Out 2 Memoir of a Snail Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl The Wild Robot
Documentary Feature Film Black Box Diaries No Other Land Porcelain War Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat Sugarcane
International Feature Film I’m Still Here The Girl with the Needle Emilia Pérez The Seed of the Sacred Fig Flow
Directing Sean Baker, Anora Brady Corbet, The Brutalist James Mangold, A Complete Unknown Jacques Audiard, Emilia Pérez Coralie Fargeat, The Substance
Cinematography Lol Crawley, The Brutalist Greig Fraser, Dune: Part Two Paul Guilhaume, Emilia Pérez Ed Lachman, Maria Jarin Blaschke, Nosferatu
Writing (Original Screenplay) Anora The Brutalist A Real Pain September 5 The Substance
Writing (Adapted Screenplay) A Complete Unknown Conclave Emilia Pérez Nickel Boys Sing Sing
Film Editing Anora The Brutalist Conclave Emilia Pérez Wicked
Music (Original Song) “El Mal” from Emilia Pérez “The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight “Like a Bird” from Sing Sing “Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez “Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late
Music (Original Score) The Brutalist Conclave Emilia Pérez Wicked The Wild Robot
Sound A Complete Unknown Dune: Part Two Emilia Pérez Wicked The Wild Robot
Production Design The Brutalist Conclave Dune: Part Two Nosferatu Wicked
Visual Effects Alien: Romulus Better Man Dune: Part Two Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Wicked
Makeup and Hairstyling A Different Man Emilia Pérez Nosferatu The Substance Wicked
Costume Design Arianne Phillips, A Complete Unknown Lisy Christl, Conclave Janty Yates and Dave Crossman, Gladiator II Linda Muir, Nosferatu Paul Tazewell, Wicked
Best Animated Short Beautiful Men In the Shadow of the Cypress Magic Candles Wander to Wonder Yuck!
Best Documentary Short Death by Numbers I am Ready, Warden Incident Instruments of a Beating Heart The Only Girl in the Orchestra
Best Live-Action Short A Lien Anuja I’m Not a Robot The Last Ranger The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
I’ll pick the other two tomorrow after I see the live action and animated shorts.
Best Picture Anora The Brutalist A Complete Unknown Conclave Dune: Part Two Emilia Pérez I’m Still Here Nickel Boys The Substance Wicked
Actor in a Leading Role Adrien Brody, The Brutalist Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown Colman Domingo, Sing Sing Ralph Fiennes, Conclave Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice
Actress in a Leading Role Cynthia Erivo, Wicked Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez Mikey Madison, Anora Demi Moore, The Substance Fernanda Torres, I’m Still Here
Actor in a Supporting Role Yura Borisov, Anora Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown Guy Pearce, The Brutalist Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice
Actress in a Supporting Role Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown Ariana Grande, Wicked Felicity Jones, The Brutalist Isabella Rossellini, Conclave Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez
Animated Feature Film Flow Inside Out 2 Memoir of a Snail Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl The Wild Robot
Documentary Feature Film Black Box Diaries No Other Land Porcelain War Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat Sugarcane
International Feature Film I’m Still Here The Girl with the Needle Emilia Pérez The Seed of the Sacred Fig Flow
Directing Sean Baker, Anora Brady Corbet, The Brutalist James Mangold, A Complete Unknown Jacques Audiard, Emilia Pérez Coralie Fargeat, The Substance
Cinematography Lol Crawley, The Brutalist Greig Fraser, Dune: Part Two Paul Guilhaume, Emilia Pérez Ed Lachman, Maria Jarin Blaschke, Nosferatu
Writing (Original Screenplay) Anora The Brutalist A Real Pain September 5 The Substance
Writing (Adapted Screenplay) A Complete Unknown Conclave Emilia Pérez Nickel Boys Sing Sing
Film Editing Anora The Brutalist Conclave Emilia Pérez Wicked
Music (Original Song) “El Mal” from Emilia Pérez “The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight “Like a Bird” from Sing Sing “Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez “Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late
Music (Original Score) The Brutalist Conclave Emilia Pérez Wicked The Wild Robot
Sound A Complete Unknown Dune: Part Two Emilia Pérez Wicked The Wild Robot
Production Design The Brutalist Conclave Dune: Part Two Nosferatu Wicked
Visual Effects Alien: Romulus Better Man Dune: Part Two Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Wicked
Makeup and Hairstyling A Different Man Emilia Pérez Nosferatu The Substance Wicked
Costume Design Arianne Phillips, A Complete Unknown Lisy Christl, Conclave Janty Yates and Dave Crossman, Gladiator II Linda Muir, Nosferatu Paul Tazewell, Wicked
Best Animated Short Beautiful Men In the Shadow of the Cypress Magic Candles Wander to Wonder Yuck!
Best Documentary Short Death by Numbers I am Ready, Warden Incident Instruments of a Beating Heart The Only Girl in the Orchestra
Best Live-Action Short A Lien Anuja I’m Not a Robot The Last Ranger The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent
Every year, EYG watch movies that are released in 2023, but we do not watch it until 2024. These film do not go on the final Best or Worst film list, so I have been giving them their own list. I did not see very many early in January (perhaps only one), but that was because I wanted to save the other films for the June Swoon.
There are six films on this list. As with the year end best and worst lists, star ratings are not the final score. They may help me generalize where they may go on the list, but it does not require me to put them in that numerical order.
Starting off…
#6. Flamin’ Hot. The story of the creation of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and the man behind them. It was a comedic biopic with some creative adjustment… but hey, it was “based” on a true story. It was a very entertaining film.
#5. Thanksgiving. One of the big surprises in the list was this slasher movie from Eli Roth being a movie that I really enjoyed. Eli Roth has never been my favorite director, but this ne was clever and creative and well worth the watch. We just passed the holiday so it may be a perfect time for you to revisit this movie.
#4. 20 Days in Mariupol. A truly tough documentary following some media individuals through the war tarn land in Ukraine. It was real, too real at times and it was a very difficult watch. It was a very important watch too.
#3. The Zone of Interest. One of the big Oscar nominated International films from last year, The Zone of Interest focused on Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss and his wife Hedwig and the life they lived during the Holocaust.
#2. Anatomy of a Fall. Another Oscar nominated international film, Anatomy of a Fall told the story of a woman who was suspected of the murder of her husband, her trial, and what exactly her blind son knows. This is an extremely compelling mystery that keeps you guessing to the end.
#1. American Fiction. This was the film I watched in January because I did not want to wait until June to see it. I had heard a lot of great things about it and I was not disappointed. Jeffrey Wright is an author who, frustrated with his inability to sell a book, writes a “black” book under a pseudonym and suddenly finds a ton of success. That success made Wright all the more frustrated. This is a great movie with stunning performances and Oscar nominations, from not only Wright, but also Sterling K. Brown.
It is a busy day today so I had to get the June Swoon 3 going early this morning and I had another Oscar winner on the list. This was the Oscar winner for Best Documentary Short and it was entitled The Last Repair Shop. I watched it on YouTube, but I see that it is available as well on Disney +. This is just over thirty five minutes long and is a joyous expression of love for music and for those for whom music has changed their lives.
The focus was on a instrument repair shop from Los Angeles that provided a service to the schools of the area to repair damaged or broken musical instruments for free. The film profiles four members of the shop: Dana Atkinson, Paty Moreno, Duane Michaels and Steve bagmanyan.
The film also had words from students who gave quick stories about how they wound up playing the instrument they played. The passion and the joy came through each child’s words as it helped us understand how important these musical instruments would be in their lives.
The stories were very emotional and compelling. The stories of the workers at the repair shop ranged from a man who an Armenian refugee from Azerbaijan to a woman who tried to give her children a better life in America only to struggle to a man who played on the same stage as Elvis Presley.
The film ended with a performance of a song called “The Alumni” which featured many of the voices that we heard during the film.
If you love music, or if you ever played an instrument, you will be inspired by this documentary short film. It is a love letter to music and those people who make it or allow other people to make it.
So the Oscars were last night, and I wanted to see how well I did. Here was the list of nominees, and my original picks for who should win and who will win. I will add the who did win section with some thoughts.
BEST PICTURE
American Fiction Anatomy of a Fall Barbie The Holdovers Killers of the Flower Moon Maestro Oppenheimer Past Lives Poor Things The Zone of Interest
SHOULD WIN: Oppenheimer
WILL WIN: Oppenheimer
WHO DID WIN: Oppenheimer
Not a surprise.
BEST DIRECTOR
Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest Yorgos Lanthimos, Poor Things Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon Justine Triet, Anatomy of a Fall
SHOULD WIN: Christopher Nolan
WILL WIN: Christopher Nolan
WHO DID WIN: Christopher Nolan. Nolan was another fairly obvious pick.
BEST ACTRESS
Annette Bening, Nyad Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon Sandra Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall Carey Mulligan, Maestro Emma Stone, Poor Things
SHOULD WIN: Emma Stone
WILL WIN: Lily Gladstone (I’ve got a feeling on this one. I could see Emma Stone winning easily too)
WHO DID WIN: Emma Stone. I should have stuck with my gut, but I thought Lily Gladstone had the momentum.
BEST ACTOR
Bradley Cooper, Maestro Colman Domingo, Rustin Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction
SHOULD WIN: Paul Giamatti
WILL WIN: Cillian Murphy
WHO DID WIN: Cillian Murphy.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple America Ferrera, Barbie Jodie Foster, Nyad Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers
SHOULD WIN: Da’Vine Joy Randolph
WILL WIN: Da’Vine Joy Randolph (LOCK!)
WHO DID WIN: Da’Vine Joy Randolph. It was a Sure thing lock. She was wonderful with ehr speech too.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Sterling K. Brown, American Fiction Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer Ryan Gosling, Barbie Mark Ruffalo, Poor Things
SHOULD WIN: Robert Downey Jr.
WILL WIN: Robert Downey Jr. (Almost a LOCK)
WHO DID WIN: RDJ. Downey Jr. deserved his award for his performance and for years of great work.
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Justine Triet and Arthur Harari, Anatomy of a Fall David Hemingson, The Holdovers Bradley Cooper and Josh Singer, Maestro Samy Burch, May December Celine Song, Past Lives
SHOULD WIN: The Holdovers
WILL WIN: Anatomy of a Fall (I have not seen this film, waiting for the June Swoon.)
WHO DID WIN: Anatomy of a Fall. Got this one right. I did really well on the films that I have not yet seen.
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Cord Jefferson, American Fiction Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, Barbie Tony McNamara, Poor Things Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest
SHOULD WIN: American Fiction
WILL WIN: Oppenheimer
WHO DID WIN: American Fiction. I did the Should Win here. Too bad I didn’t put it on the Will Win.
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
Io Capitano, Italy Perfect Days, Japan Society of the Snow, Spain The Teacher’s Lounge, Germany The Zone of Interest, United Kingdom
SHOULD WIN: Society of the Snow
WILL WIN: The Zone of Interest
WHO DID WIN: The Zone of Interest. Easy to pick, even if I liked Society of the Snow. I’ll see Zone of Interest in June Swoon 3.
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Boy and the Heron Elemental Nimona Robot Dreams Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
SHOULD WIN: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
WILL WIN: I’m uncertain for this. I am tempted to say The Boy and the Heron, but I’ll stick with Spider-Man.
WHO DID WIN: The Boy and the Heron. I had this feeling, but I could not pick against Spidey. I was not surprised at this ‘upset.’
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Bobi Wine: The People’s President The Eternal Memory Four Daughters To Kill a Tiger 20 Days in Mariupol
Haven’t seen any of these. I’ll guess 20 Days in Mariupol
WHO DID WIN: 20 Days in Mariupol. Good guesser!
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
El Conde Killers of the Flower Moon Maestro Oppenheimer Poor Things
SHOULD WIN: Oppenheimer
WILL WIN: Oppenheimer
WHO DID WIN: Oppenheimer.
BEST EDITING
Anatomy of a Fall The Holdovers Killers of the Flower Moon Oppenheimer Poor Things
SHOULD WIN: Poor Things
WILL WIN: Poor Things
WHO DID WIN: Oppenheimer. Part of the Oppenheimer rush -7 total wins!
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Barbie Killers of the Flower Moon Napoleon Oppenheimer Poor Things
SHOULD WIN: Barbie
WILL WIN: Poor Things
WHO DID WIN: Poor Things. Very funny with a naked John Cena presenting this award.
BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP
Golda Maestro Oppenheimer Poor Things Society of the Snow
SHOULD WIN: Poor Things
WILL WIN: Poor Things
WHO DID WIN: Poor Things. People were surprised this did not go to Maestro. I was confident in Poor Things.
BEST SOUND
The Creator Maestro Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One Oppenheimer The Zone of Interest
SHOULD WIN: Oppenheimer
WILL WIN: Oppenheimer
WHO DID WIN: The Zone of Interest. This was a surprise for me. Of course, I have not seen the Zone of Interest yet.
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The Creator Godzilla Minus One Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One Napoleon
SHOULD WIN: The Creator
WILL WIN: Godzilla Minus One
WHO DID WIN: Godzilla Minus One. I was excited for this win.
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Barbie Killers of the Flower Moon Napoleon Oppenheimer Poor Things
SHOULD WIN: Barbie
WILL WIN: Poor Things
WHO DID WIN: Poor Things. I did well with my Poor Things picks.
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“What Was I Made For?”, Billie Eilish and Finneas, Barbie “I’m Just Ken,” Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, Barbie “The Fire Inside,” Diane Warren, Flamin’ Hot “It Never Went Away,” Jon Batiste, American Symphony “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People),” Osage Tribal Singers, Killers of the Flower Moon
SHOULD WIN: “I’m Just Ken”
WILL WIN: “What Was I Made For?”
WHO DID WIN: “What Was I Made For?” However Ryan Gosling’s performance of “I’m Just Ken” was one of the best moments of the night!
Here are the picks from EYG for tonight’s Academy Awards. I am giving the Should Win, Will Win choice for each. These are my picks, the nominees I think are going to win, not necessarily my favorites.
BEST PICTURE
American Fiction Anatomy of a Fall Barbie The Holdovers Killers of the Flower Moon Maestro Oppenheimer Past Lives Poor Things The Zone of Interest
SHOULD WIN: Oppenheimer
WILL WIN: Oppenheimer
BEST DIRECTOR
Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest Yorgos Lanthimos, Poor Things Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon Justine Triet, Anatomy of a Fall
SHOULD WIN: Christopher Nolan
WILL WIN: Christopher Nolan
BEST ACTRESS
Annette Bening, Nyad Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon Sandra Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall Carey Mulligan, Maestro Emma Stone, Poor Things
SHOULD WIN: Emma Stone
WILL WIN: Lily Gladstone (I’ve got a feeling on this one. I could see Emma Stone winning easily too)
BEST ACTOR
Bradley Cooper, Maestro Colman Domingo, Rustin Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction
SHOULD WIN: Paul Giamatti
WILL WIN: Cillian Murphy
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple America Ferrera, Barbie Jodie Foster, Nyad Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers
SHOULD WIN: Da’Vine Joy Randolph
WILL WIN: Da’Vine Joy Randolph (LOCK!)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Sterling K. Brown, American Fiction Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer Ryan Gosling, Barbie Mark Ruffalo, Poor Things
SHOULD WIN: Robert Downey Jr.
WILL WIN: Robert Downey Jr. (Almost a LOCK)
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Justine Triet and Arthur Harari, Anatomy of a Fall David Hemingson, The Holdovers Bradley Cooper and Josh Singer, Maestro Samy Burch, May December Celine Song, Past Lives
SHOULD WIN: The Holdovers
WILL WIN: Anatomy of a Fall (I have not seen this film, waiting for the June Swoon.)
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Cord Jefferson, American Fiction Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, Barbie Tony McNamara, Poor Things Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest
SHOULD WIN: American Fiction
WILL WIN: Oppenheimer
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
Io Capitano, Italy Perfect Days, Japan Society of the Snow, Spain The Teacher’s Lounge, Germany The Zone of Interest, United Kingdom
SHOULD WIN: Society of the Snow
WILL WIN: The Zone of Interest
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Boy and the Heron Elemental Nimona Robot Dreams Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
SHOULD WIN: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
WILL WIN: I’m uncertain for this. I am tempted to say The Boy and the Heron, but I’ll stick with Spider-Man.
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Bobi Wine: The People’s President The Eternal Memory Four Daughters To Kill a Tiger 20 Days in Mariupol
Haven’t seen any of these. I’ll guess 20 Days in Mariupol
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
El Conde Killers of the Flower Moon Maestro Oppenheimer Poor Things
SHOULD WIN: Oppenheimer
WILL WIN: Oppenheimer
BEST EDITING
Anatomy of a Fall The Holdovers Killers of the Flower Moon Oppenheimer Poor Things
SHOULD WIN: Poor Things
WILL WIN: Poor Things
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Barbie Killers of the Flower Moon Napoleon Oppenheimer Poor Things
SHOULD WIN: Barbie
WILL WIN: Poor Things
BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP
Golda Maestro Oppenheimer Poor Things Society of the Snow
SHOULD WIN: Poor Things
WILL WIN: Poor Things
BEST SOUND
The Creator Maestro Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One Oppenheimer The Zone of Interest
SHOULD WIN: Oppenheimer
WILL WIN: Oppenheimer
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The Creator Godzilla Minus One Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One Napoleon
SHOULD WIN: The Creator
WILL WIN: Godzilla Minus One
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Barbie Killers of the Flower Moon Napoleon Oppenheimer Poor Things
SHOULD WIN: Barbie
WILL WIN: Poor Things
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“What Was I Made For?”, Billie Eilish and Finneas, Barbie “I’m Just Ken,” Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, Barbie “The Fire Inside,” Diane Warren, Flamin’ Hot “It Never Went Away,” Jon Batiste, American Symphony “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People),” Osage Tribal Singers, Killers of the Flower Moon
SHOULD WIN: “I’m Just Ken”
WILL WIN: “What Was I Made For?”
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
American Fiction Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Killers of the Flower Moon Oppenheimer Poor Things
SHOULD WIN: Oppenheimer
WILL WIN: Oppenheimer
BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT
The After Invincible Knight of Fortune Red, White and Blue The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
SHOULD WIN: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
WILL WIN: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
BEST ANIMATED SHORT
Letter to a Pig Ninety-Five Senses Our Uniform Pachyderme War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko
SHOULD WIN: Letter to a Pig
WILL WIN: War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
The ABCs of Book Banning The Barber of Little Rock Island in Between The Last Repair Shop Nai Nai & Wai Po
Again, have not seen any of these. Guess: The Last Repair Shop
“All Right, Mr. Deville, I am Ready for my Close Up” Award for Best Director
Previous Winners: A.G. Inarritu (Birdman), Tim McCarthy (Spotlight), Damien Chazelle (La La Land), Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman), Alfonso Cuarón (Roma), Anthony and Joe Russo (Avengers: Endgame), Spike Lee (Da 5 Bloods), Jon Watt (Spider-Man: No Way Home), Ryan Coogler (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
The director is a vital part of the film. In fact, these days, a lot of times, the director is more of a star of the movie than the lead actors.
Again, these choices come from the EYG site and may be different than other awards shows. There are some crossover for sure, but there are some on my list than no one else will nominate.
Top 10 directors of 2023
10. Paul King (Wonka)
9. Ben Affleck (Air)
8. Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things)
7. Blitz Bazawule (The Color Purple)
6. Alexander Payne (The Holdovers)
5. Sean Durkin (The Iron Claw)
4. James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3)
3. Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson (Spider-Man: Across teh Spider-Verse)
2. Greta Gerwig (Barbie)
and the winner…
#1: Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer)
I actually have always considered Nolan to be overrated as a director. There have not been that many of Nolan’s films that I loved. Most I felt were somewhat pretentious. Plus, it felt like critics always gave this guy a pass. Even garbage like Tenet had many critics making execuses.
There is no arguing that he has made a masterpiece in Oppenheimer. Every bit of this film is wonderful and, while it may be too long, all scenes feel important to what was happening.
Then, the film was a massive hit as well, finding a place with Barbie in one of the biggest events of the summer, Barbenheimer.
Christopher Nolan surpassed what I expected and he truly deserves this award and I do think he is probably the front runner for the Oscar.
EYG- Embrace Your Geekness 