By Eddie on 08/03/2024
Over the coming days Hollywood’s night of nights will take place.
The 2024 Academy Awards features some of the strongest candidates in years and after the over reaction to Everything Everywhere All at Once last year it’s refreshing to see that for the majority of instances the deserving products are likely to walk away with the golden statues.
After years of being ignored by the Academy one of the most exciting prospects of this years ceremony is the fact it appears as though beloved director Christopher Nolan is likely to be crowned the years Best Director, an award he has been overlooked for in the past on multiple occasions.
His historical epic Oppenheimer is likely to be the major winner on the night and there’s not many that could argue with that outcome if its comes to fruition. A bold and singular vision, Oppenheimer is the exact type of film Hollywood should be championing.
There are a few films such as Maestro, Barbie and Killers of the Flower Moon that should consider themselves lucky being up for some many varied awards, even if its likely that only Barbie has a shot at more than 1 or 2 awards.
Speaking of Killers of the Flower Moon, I personally hope Lily Gladstone’s incredibly overrated performance in that film doesn’t take Emma Stone’s rightful Best Actress award for her. It would be heart-breaking to see such a fabulously unique turn from Stone in Poor Things be overshadowed by Gladstone’s po-faced and mostly bed-ridden performance.
Whatever happens on the night there is sure to much debate and movie memories made.
Happy watching. See you at the movies!
Disclaimer – Bold for wins, *for potential upset.
Best Picture
Oppenheimer would be a worthy recipient of the Best Picture award
American Fiction
Anatomy of a Fall*
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things
The Zone of Interest
Best Director
A director long overdue, it’s about time Nolan took home an Oscar
Justine Triet — “Anatomy of a Fall”*
Martin Scorsese — “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Christopher Nolan — “Oppenheimer”
Yorgos Lanthimos — “Poor Things”
Jonathan Glazer — “The Zone of Interest”
Actor in a Leading Role
Jeffrey Wright finally got a chance to shine in a lead role with American Fiction
Bradley Cooper — “Maestro”
Colman Domingo — “Rustin”
Paul Giamatti — “The Holdovers”*
Cillian Murphy — “Oppenheimer”
Jeffrey Wright — “American Fiction”
Actress in a Leading Role
A breakout year for Sandra Hüller, she is unlikely to knock off the two frontrunners here
Annette Bening — “Nyad”
Lily Gladstone — “Killers of the Flower Moon”*
Sandra Hüller — “Anatomy of a Fall”
Carey Mulligan — “Maestro”
Emma Stone — “Poor Things”
Actor in a Supporting Role
An against type performance from Mark Ruffalo was noteworthy in Poor Things
Sterling K. Brown — “American Fiction”
Robert De Niro – “Killers of the Flower Moon”
Robert Downey Jr. — “Oppenheimer”
Ryan Gosling — “Barbie”*
Mark Ruffalo — “Poor Things”
Actress in a Supporting Role
Da’Vine Joy Randolph is unbeatable in this category
Emily Blunt — “Oppenheimer”*
Danielle Brooks — “The Color Purple”
America Ferrera – “Barbie”
Jodie Foster — “Nyad”
Da’Vine Joy Randolph — “The Holdovers”
Adapted Screenplay
The Zone of Interest is a haunting adaptation that could pull of a surprise win here
“American Fiction,” written for the screen by Cord Jefferson
“Barbie,” written by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach
“Oppenheimer,” written for the screen by Christopher Nolan*
“Poor Things,” screenplay by Tony McNamara
“The Zone of Interest,” written by Jonathan Glazer
Original Screenplay
Shut out elsewhere, May December is merely making up the numbers here
“Anatomy of a Fall,” screenplay by Justine Triet and Arthur Harari
“The Holdovers,” written by David Hemingson
“Maestro,” written by Bradley Cooper and Josh Singer
“May December,” screenplay by Samy Burch; story by Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik
“Past Lives,” written by Celine Song*
Cinematography
Far too long, Killers of the Flower Moon at least looked amazing
“El Conde” – Edward Lachman
“Killers of the Flower Moon” – Rodrigo Prieto
“Maestro” – Matthew Libatique
“Oppenheimer” – Hoyte van Hoytema
“Poor Things” – Robbie Ryan*
Original Song
It is likely to lose everywhere else but no way Barbie loses here
“The Fire Inside” from “Flamin’ Hot,” music and lyric by Diane Warren
“I’m Just Ken” from “Barbie,” music and lyric by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt*
“It Never Went Away” from “American Symphony,” music and lyric by Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson
“Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)” from “Killers of the Flower Moon,” music and lyric by Scott George
“What Was I Made For?” from “Barbie,” music and lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell
Costume Design
The film itself was a huge let-down by Napoleon sure looked good!
“Barbie” – Jacqueline Durran*
“Killers of the Flower Moon” – Jacqueline West
“Napoleon” – Janty Yates and Dave Crossman
“Oppenheimer” – Ellen Mirojnick
“Poor Things” – Holly Waddington
Sound
The Creator had its issues but technically it was outstanding
“The Creator,” Ian Voigt, Erik Aadahl, Ethan Van der Ryn, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic
“Maestro,” Steven A. Morrow, Richard King, Jason Ruder, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic
“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,” Chris Munro, James H. Mather, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor
“Oppenheimer,” Willie Burton, Richard King, Gary A. Rizzo and Kevin O’Connell
“The Zone of Interest,” Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn*
Original Score
John Williams gets a token nomination for his new work on the latest Indiana Jones film
“American Fiction” – Laura Karpman
“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” John Williams
“Killers of the Flower Moon” – Robbie Robertson*
“Oppenheimer” – Ludwig Göransson
“Poor Things” – Jerskin Fendrix
Documentary Feature Film
20 Days in Mariupol is a critical darling and favourite here
“Bobi Wine: The People’s President,” Moses Bwayo, Christopher Sharp and John Battsek
“The Eternal Memory”
“Four Daughters,” Kaouther Ben Hania and Nadim Cheikhrouha
“To Kill a Tiger,” Nisha Pahuja, Cornelia Principe and David Oppenheim*
“20 Days in Mariupol,” Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner and Raney Aronson-Rath
International Feature Film
Netflix’s well-liked Society of the Snow won’t be able to take down Zone of Interest
“Io Capitano” (Italy)
“Perfect Days” (Japan)
“Society of the Snow” (Spain)*
“The Teachers’ Lounge” (Germany)
“The Zone of Interest” (United Kingdom)
Animated Feature Film
It would be a huge shame if the latest Spider-Man outing didn’t win here
“The Boy and the Heron,” Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki*
“Elemental,” Peter Sohn and Denise Ream
“Nimona,” Nick Bruno, Troy Quane, Karen Ryan and Julie Zackary
“Robot Dreams,” Pablo Berger, Ibon Cormenzana, Ignasi Estapé and Sandra Tapia Díaz
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Amy Pascal
Makeup and Hairstyling
An overrated awards baiter, Maestro did have some great elements
“Golda,” Karen Hartley Thomas, Suzi Battersby and Ashra Kelly-Blue
“Maestro,” Kazu Hiro, Kay Georgiou and Lori McCoy-Bell*
“Oppenheimer,” Luisa Abel
“Poor Things,” Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier and Josh Weston
“Society of the Snow,” Ana López-Puigcerver, David Martí and Montse Ribé
Production Design
Oppenheimer’s production design was immaculate
“Barbie,” production design: Sarah Greenwood; set decoration: Katie Spencer
“Killers of the Flower Moon,” production design: Jack Fisk; set decoration: Adam Willis
“Napoleon,” production design: Arthur Max; set decoration: Elli Griff
“Oppenheimer,” production design: Ruth De Jong; set decoration: Claire Kaufman*
“Poor Things,” production design: James Price and Shona Heath; set decoration: Zsuzsa Mihalek
Film Editing
A wonderful slow-burn, Anatomy of a Fall will likely be over-shadowed in this category
“Anatomy of a Fall” – Laurent Sénéchal
“The Holdovers” – Kevin Tent
“Killers of the Flower Moon” – Thelma Schoonmaker
“Oppenheimer” – Jennifer Lame
“Poor Things” – Yorgos Mavropsaridis*
Visual Effects
Moulding practical with effects, the latest Mission Impossible was a fantastic technical achievement
“The Creator,” Jay Cooper, Ian Comley, Andrew Roberts and Neil Corbould*
“Godzilla Minus One,” Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi and Tatsuji Nojima
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” Stephane Ceretti, Alexis Wajsbrot, Guy Williams and Theo Bialek
“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,” Alex Wuttke, Simone Coco, Jeff Sutherland and Neil Corbould
“Napoleon,” Charley Henley, Luc-Ewen Martin-Fenouillet, Simone Coco and Neil Corbould
Jordan and Eddie (The Movie Guys) 
Great predictions! I think it’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that Oppenheimer is going to win Best Picture. It will also likely sweep the technical categories. I loved the movie but do feel that it has taken attention from other contenders (ex. “Past Lives”). Here’s my review: https://huilahimovie.reviews/2023/07/29/oppenheimer-2023-movie-review/
It’s a shame Past Lives walked away with nothing but overall I think this is one of the best Oscars in years for deserving wins.
E
It sounds good. Maybe “Anatomy” for editing (the film winned the French reward), “Zone” for sound, and “Barbie” for Production design… We’ll see.
Zone’s sound must be something to beat out Oppenheimer. I can’t wait to watch it.
E
Prepare for a disturbing experience…
In some ways I am looking forward to it, in other ways not but I am very keen to see what Glazer has produced, I know some people thought it had a chance for Best Picture even.
E
That was my opinion too. But Oppenheimer had a better weapon. 😉
Fingers crossed for Oppenheimer sweep! I’d love Emma Stone to win, but there’s a couple of factors working against her: previous Best Actress win (for a much less deserving performance IMO), and a narrative of recognising a minority that hasn’t been a huge winner in the past in Gladstone’s favour. That’s not to knock on her performance, which I haven’t seen and which might be fantastic, but narrative is always a powerful thing when it comes to these awards.
For the Best Song, my head says What Was I Made For? but my heart says I’m Just Ken 😊
I am so glad Emma Stone was, she was such a deserving winner. I don’t completely understand the hype for Gladstone’s turn, I appreciate the uniqueness of it but I really felt rather cold towards her turn. Stone’s was the complete opposite for me, she just delivered in every scene.
E