Articles
Oscar Nominations 2024 (And Our Thoughts)
The 2024 Oscar Award nominations have been announced — today! — and we here at For Film’s Sake think this year’s list is pretty meh. It’s a lot of Barbie and Oppenheimer, sprinkled with some Poor Things and Killers of the Flower Moon. Not saying that those aren’t noteworthy movies, but there definitely were a lot more movies released in 2023 that were remarkable. Ah well. We aren’t SAG and can’t put in our two cents.
2023 WAS NOT THIS BORING. We’re overall unhappy with how limited the nominations for the 2024 Oscar awards are. Only eight movies out of the many movies that came out in 2023 are being congratulated for their contributions! Sure, these movies are noteworthy, but there’s no reason for so many nominations to go to so few movies. This isn’t a unique occurance, though; movies that come out earlier in the year are usually skipped over for awards — unless we’re talking about the Razzies!
Just look at the long list of movies that came out in 2023. (Our list is incomplete, but still use it as a reference.) What about Beau Is Afraid? Renfeld? Dungeons & Dragons? Astroid City? Chevalier? Bottoms? Beast? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Drive Away Dolls? Air Gran Turismo?
Our prediction for the 2024 Oscars Award show? It’s going to be a dull one. Just call it for Oppenheimer and bring on the band.
So yeah, let’s look at the nominations based on movie.
AMERICAN FICTION
5 NOMINATIONS
Best Picture
Best Actor
Best Supporting Actor
Adapted Screenplay
Original Score
BARBIE
9 NOMINATIONS
Best Picture
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Adapted Screenplay
Production Design
Costume Design
Editing
Original Song (two nominations)
KILLERS of the Flower MOON
9 NOMINATIONS
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Production Design
Costume Design
Cinematography
Original Score
Original Song
MAESTRO
7 NOMINATIONS
Best Picture
Best Actor
Best Actress
Original Screenplay
Cinematography
Makeup and Hairstyling
Sound
OPPENHEIMER
12 NOMINATIONS
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actor
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Adapted Screenplay
Production Design
Costume Design
Cinematography
Editing
Makeup and Hairstyling
Sound
POOR THINGS
11 Nominations
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Adapted Screenplay
Production Design
Costume Design
Cinematography
Editing
Makeup and Hairstyling
Original Score
Zone of Interest
5 Nominations
Best Picture
Best Director
Adapted Screenplay
Sound
International Feature
Best Picture
Our Thoughts…
Of course the winner is going to be Oppenheimer. But in our opinion, Past Lives was one of those amazing movies with characters and scenes that speak directly to your heart and make you think back to all the people (or that one special person) from your younger years who got away. The tension captured between two people who must maintain their distance despite a carnal desire to grasp each other and never let go. I mean, this movie rocked our worlds. But for sure, the winner will be the movie with all the explosions cause people like to see stuff get blown up. Sigh…
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
Our Thoughts…
Okay, sure. Give this one to Nolan. But out of all the nominations for Barbie, we really thought Greta Gerwig was going to at least get a nomination. Wouldn’t it be great if there were a Best Producer category, too? And the winner of that would go to Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, for either Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem or Joy Ride…right?
Best Actor
Bradley Cooper, Maestro
Colman Domingo, Rustin
Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers
Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer
Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction
OUR THOUGHTS…
We think Paul Giamatti gave a deserving performance as the grouchy, complicated teacher who cares just enough to tip the scale, but Bradley Cooper or Cillian Murphy will probably walk away with the golden guy. But what happened to Joaquin Phoenix for his epic performance in Beau Is Afraid? Were SAG voters afraid of Beau, too, or did they just not understand the film? Perhaps Jules wasn’t serious enough for Ben Kingsley to be considered, and The Baker too kitschy for Ron Pearlman to be considered worthy. And dare we ask about Kelvin Harrison Jr. for his portrayal of violin baddie Chevalier?
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
OUR THOUGHTS…
We would have liked to see Margaret Qualley (Sanctuary), Shailene Woodley (To Catch a Killer), Greta Lee (Past Lives), or Helen Mirren (Golda) on the list, but these movies came out too early in the year and SAG voters can’t see anything past the end of their nose (apparently). Honestly, whoever wins this one doesn’t really matter. Congrats to you, whatever winner.
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
OUR THOUGHTS…
Despite wanting to bathe ourselves in pink, we aren’t fans of Barbie. But Ryan Gosling was the Ken that every little girl wanted. He was soft hearted but strong, fun and funny. Ryan for the win, please.
Best Supporting Actress
Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer
Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple
America Ferrera, Barbie
Jodie Foster, Nyad
Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers
OUR THOUGHTS…
Da’Vine had our hearts when her character took over DJ’ing duties at the Christmas party. She turned the NPC school lunch lady into a fully dimensional character whom we wanted to see overcome her losses and smile again. And the Oscar goes to…America, more likely, but our fingers are still crossed for lady Da’Vine.
Original Screenplay
Anatomy of a Fall
The Holdovers
May December
Maestro
Past Lives
OUR THOUGHTS…
We absolutely loved Past Lives, but seeing as the movie was character driven and those accolades are attributed to actions rather than words, we don’t see how it’s deserving of an award for screen play. Bottoms is probably seen more as a Razzies kind of move, but the screenplay was smart and snappy and should have at least gotten a mention here. What’s our prediction? The Holdovers, probably.
Adapted Screenplay
OUR THOUGHTS…
Not even going to waste time thinking about this: Oppenheimer is getting this award. Carmen didn’t stand a chance…
Animated Feature
The Boy and the Heron
Elemental
Nimona
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Robot Dreams
OUR THOUGHTS…
Elemental is likely to walk away — it’s the only Disney movie on the list (AFAIK) and it pushed the boundaries of CGI with its AI-created flame and water animations. Spider-Man was also a visual feast, as was the unmentioned Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Production Design
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Costume Design
OUR THOUGHTS…
Argh. This list is so disappointing. Why wasn’t Beau Is Afraid on the list? Haunted Mansion? Dungeons & Dragons? Reinfeld? There were so many good movies with excellent costumes this year.
Editing
Anatomy of a Fall
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Makeup and Hairstyling
OUR THOUGHTS…
Sure, give this one to Poor Things. We’re saying the same lines as for the Best Costumes category… Why wasn’t Beau Is Afraid on the list? Haunted Mansion? Dungeons & Dragons? Reinfeld? Nicholas Cage filed down his teeth for the role, for crying out loud. Come on, SAG…
Sound
OUR THOUGHTS…
Remember that deafening silence after the bomb goes off? Yeah, Oppenheimer. (How did the other movies even make this list. Nothing about The Creator was memorable…especially the sound. Golda should have gotten on this list, IMO.)
Visual Effects
The Creator
Godzilla Minus One
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One
Napoleon
OUR THOUGHTS…
Gran Turismo came out during the SAG strike, while voters were spending their time away from theaters. Cause if they had seen it, Gran Turismo would be on this list. So sorry, Sony. We hope Guardians walks away with an Oscar.
Original Score
American Fiction
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Original Song
The Fire Inside (Flamin’ Hot)
I’m Just Ken (Barbie)
It Never Went Away (American Symphony)
Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People) (Killers of the Flower Moon)
What Was I Made For? (Barbie)
OUR THOUGHTS…
We’re looking forward to I’m Just Ken winning this category, especially since we absolutely gagged at the montage that played while the song “What Was I made For?” played in Barbie. Ugh. As for the Flamin’ Hot nomination, it’s likely this was more of a polite gesture toward Eva Longoria than an actual accolade for the song.
Documentary Feature
Bobi Wine: The People’s President
The Eternal Memory
Four Daughters
To Kill a Tiger
20 Days in Mariupol
OUR THOUGHTS…
We didn’t see any of these films, so we’re reserving comments on the nominees.
International Feature
The Teachers’ Lounge, Germany
Io Capitano, Italy
Perfect Days, Japan
Society of the Snow, Spain
The Zone of Interest, United Kingdom
OUR THOUGHTS…
We didn’t see any of these films, so we’re reserving comments on the nominees. However, we would have liked to see Beasts on the list. That’s a hard movie to forget, so we’re guessing the SAG voters didn’t get a chance to see it in theaters.
Animated Short
Letter to a Pig
Ninety-Five Senses
Our Uniform
Pachyderme
War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko
OUR THOUGHTS…
We didn’t see any of these films, so we’re reserving comments. Best of luck of all the nominees!
Documentary Short
The ABCs of Book Banning
The Barber of Little Rock
Island in Between
The Last Repair Shop
Nai Nai & Wai Po
OUR THOUGHTS…
We didn’t see any of these films, so we’re reserving comments. Best of luck of all the nominees!
Live-Action Short
The After
Invincible
Knight of Fortune
Red, White and Blue
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
OUR THOUGHTS…
We didn’t see any of these films, so we’re reserving comments. Best of luck of all the nominees!
Alternate Breakdown
Let’s look at the nominations based on movie…
AMERICAN FICTION
5 NOMINATIONS
Best Picture
Best Actor
Best Supporting Actor
Adapted Screenplay
Original Score
BARBIE
9 NOMINATIONS
Best Picture
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Adapted Screenplay
Production Design
Costume Design
Editing
Original Song (two nominations)
THE HOLDOVERS
5 NOMINATIONS
Best Picture
Best Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Original Screenplay
Editing
KILLERS of the Flower MOON
9 NOMINATIONS
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Production Design
Costume Design
Cinematography
Original Score
Original Song
MAESTRO
7 NOMINATIONS
Best Picture
Best Actor
Best Actress
Original Screenplay
Cinematography
Makeup and Hairstyling
Sound
OPPENHEIMER
12 NOMINATIONS
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actor
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Adapted Screenplay
Production Design
Costume Design
Cinematography
Editing
Makeup and Hairstyling
Sound
POOR THINGS
11 Nominations
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Adapted Screenplay
Production Design
Costume Design
Cinematography
Editing
Makeup and Hairstyling
Original Score
Zone of Interest
5 Nominations
Best Picture
Best Director
Adapted Screenplay
Sound
International Feature