All right, here we go. Quiet. Roll up. And the Oscar goes to...
You'll like me right now. You'll like me. There's a mistake. Moonlight, you guys won Best Picture.
Fascinating thing, but probably the only love that man will ever get in his life by stripping off and showing his shortcomings. And the Oscar goes to Jack Palance. It's a clean sweep. Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King.
Happy birthday weekend. Yes, I know. That's going to be fun. That gives me a good reason to take the next day off, so I can sleep in after we do a midnight podcast that night, and then on we go.
Anyways, there was a see also... Also a big shocker. Apart from Ralph Fiennes, no other acting nominations for Conclave. Isabella Rossellini.
Yes, yes, but none of the other gentlemen in the cast. And honest, I think Isabella Rossellini was the least deserving one in the supporting cast. I'm not sure I agree with you there. I would say, though, that the men probably canceled each other out.
Probably, yeah. Because, I mean, as much as you say, oh, I want to go for John Lithgow, you're like, oh, I want to go for Stanley Tucci. Oh, I want to go for... Sergio Castellino?
I was going to say Cardinal Vaping, but... Of course, I know Sergio. I know, you're getting ready for your trip to Italy, so... Well, also, he's a great Italian director, actor, and I was first introduced to him in Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian, where he played King Miraz.
And he was just like, wow. And it's the same with his henchman, Piero Francesco Favino, who was in Maria. Okay, but, so yeah, Wicked obviously was going to get a bunch. I was a little surprised, and we can probably hit this again when we get to the actual category.
John Chu, though, getting froze out of director. Yes, I heard about that. Which is crazy to me, unless they're thinking... Save it for part two?
Yeah, the Peter Jackson Return of the King treatment. And other people are like, well, give it to him now, because who knows what comes out next year that could possibly bump him again, as we're seeing a little bit with Dune part two. Yeah, the first part. So it's always kind of odd, and maybe just in the moment, award what you think and don't think ahead about, don't try to play four-dimensional chess with the Oscars.
Also, A Complete Unknown got six nominations. I'm sorry, A Complete Unknown got eight nominations, as well as Conclave. And Dune part two and The Substance got five. So those are all the biggies.
What about Foranora? Oh, yeah, Foranora got six as well. I was very excited. Sean Baker, whose work I have been really keeping an eye on ever since Tangerine came out.
So we have that, Florida Project, Red Rocket, and now this. He keeps making really interesting stories about people on the margins of society. A lot of times they're like sex workers or things like that. And there's a certain level of humanity about it.
There's never any kind of judgment about it. And I'm very excited to see that Nora is kind of breaking through into the mainstream, even more so than The Florida Project did for him a few years ago. So I'm very excited. I've always been kind of aware of his work.
I cannot say I've ever seen a single one of his movies. You've been aware because I've been nagging you to watch some of his stuff. Yeah, no, I was familiar because I've gone through plenty of awards seasons at this point. And I've heard his name get mentioned several times.
I just never gotten around to his work, mainly because it never hits the cinemas around here. It doesn't. Well, because Neon gave it a big push. I think maybe Florida Project hit our local cinemas for a week.
Not even a week, and it was only after the nominations came out and I couldn't get to it, because unfortunately, our local Cinemark likes to say, oh, here's something that's awards heavy. We're gonna put it at 11 a.m. on a Tuesday when the only people who could go see it are retirees. Yeah, I have a long list of complaints about how our local Cinemark schedules their screenings for certain things, which is upsetting because, you know, hey, I would like to go see more things.
You would get more of my money. One of my favorite nominations, though, that hit the list was Nosferatu for cinematography. And I was jumping up and down about that one. Well deserved.
Very well deserved. Let's kind of go through some of the majors and a few of them. I don't want to say minors, but some of the other categories here going from reverse alphabetical order, except outside of the biggies of picture, actors, and writers. So let's start with visual effects.
Alien Romulus, fine. Better Man. That's the one I kind of want to win because I really liked Better Man. And when your entire film is hinged on your main character seeing himself as a monkey and he is portrayed on screen as a monkey, and it's a hell of a performance, but even like some of the...
That's a hard sell. I know, it's a hard sell, but... Well, no, it's going to be a hard sell, not because it's Better Man or because of its story or whatever it is. It is going to be a hard sell because there has been a strong line for several years that separates visual effects from motion capture.
And there has been a lot of arguments in the past about Andy Serkis' great motion capture work and that he should be being nominated for roles. And we do have to think about the thing with the AHO within this category. Exactly. And I would like to see it, though, kind of, you know, there's more than just the monkey in Better Man.
There's a lot of things. A lot of the music videos, music production numbers are very effects heavy and they're amazing. And I think rather than just using visual effects to extend city streets to make them look like certain places or for big giant space battles or what have you, I think what they do is kind of a little bit more interesting and maybe a little bit more artistic. We'll see how the Academy feels about that.
I have a feeling it's going to land between Dune Part 2 and Wicked. And as much as we have had the spike in the past about what is it, better visual effects or is it the most visual effects? Or most editing. Looking at you, Queen movie.
Unfortunately, visual effects at this point has become a that is the popularity vote that we give to the blockbuster. So it's probably going to come down between those two. International feature film. We've got I'm Still Here from Brazil, Amelia Perez from France, and Flow, which is an animated film from Latvia.
And Flow is also under Best Animated Feature. And as we noted, Amelia Perez and also I'm Still Here are also in Best Picture overall. It's going to go to Amelia Perez. You think it will win here and not Best Picture?
No, there's a possibility it could take home both. That's true. Parasite did it. Parasite did, yeah.
So maybe we'll see. Documentary feature film. Black Box Diaries was really fantastic. I'm sitting this category out.
I know you don't do docs all that often. All of them, all five of these nominees. Although that's a hell of a fucking title. Soundtrack to a coup d'etat.
Yeah, it's an amazing documentary as well. The only thing I haven't seen on here is No Other Land. But the other four are all worthy films. And it should be interesting how they play out.
Hopefully, just being on the list will get eyes on more eyes on all of them. Moving along, let's go to, well, let's go. Cinematography. Brutalist.
Dune Part 2. Amelia Perez. Maria. Nosferatu.
I want it for Nosferatu. I think it could end up going to either Dune or Amelia Perez. Yeah, I mean. Nosferatu, I think the cinematography is part of what really creates the world and the atmosphere.
It's not just a we're pointing a camera and framing up a gorgeous shot. It's a gorgeous shot that conveys sometimes more, I think, than the actors. Because there are times when the actors aren't on set. I would say Dune Part 2 has similar artistry in terms of different techniques that they use to realize some of the different worlds that we go to in that movie.
Again, should be a great, great category to watch. Let's see. Original screenplay. Anora.
The Brutalist. A Real Pain. September 5. And The Substance.
Now, I'm going to throw September 5 a bone here and say this feels like it's a great movie. I really like it. It's a great ensemble. There was nobody who could stand out as a lead.
That was my problem with Saturday Night. Again, yeah. It's a great ensemble film. So this feels almost like a recognition of the ensemble as well.
I don't know why I'm just reading it that way. What happened to our casting nominations this year? Wasn't this the year they were supposed to start that category? Well, shit.
Because this would have been a great year for ensembles. Yes. Yeah, it was a great year for ensembles. You're right.
But out of these, though, as much as I love Anora, I kind of am likely leaning towards A Real Pain. I think what Jesse Eisenberg wrote was an amazing story about dealing with the death of a loved one and struggling with that kind of emotional turmoil inside. I think it's going to go to Anora because I don't think Sean Baker is going to take director. I think it's going to go to Bradley Corbett for Brutalist.
And that breaks my heart because I would love it to go to The Substance for writing. Oh, yeah. The Substance is also great. It's some audacious writing.
It is. It's insane. I love it so much. It's so ambitious.
And it's ambition that was realized. Yes, very much so. Okay. Adapted screenplay.
We've got A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Amelia Perez, Nickel Boys, Sing Sing, and Sing Sing. I have a feeling it might be Amelia Perez. It's going to be. A Complete Unknown, I don't think, digs into its subject matter at the heart of it.
It doesn't give us... If the whole purpose of this movie is to not kind of try to figure out who Bob Dylan is, then it succeeded. But really, I don't think that should have been a goal of a movie. So...
Well, thanks for the spoiler. I haven't seen it yet. I mean, it's still worth seeing. There's some great performances in here, a few of which who are not nominated.
And the production design and stuff like that is amazing. And it gives you the broad strokes of his early career. So that's always nice to have. Okay, but let's move into the acting categories.
Starting with Actress in a Supporting Role. Zoe Saldana. Yes, you love Zoe Saldana and Amelia Perez. She is such a standout on this list of performances.
The only other one I would put behind her currently right now would be Ariana Grande. Okay. I've not seen The Brutalist, though. I cannot...
And I have not seen A Complete Unknown, but I've seen enough clips to be able to look at this and go, no. Okay. Felicity Jones, I think, is good in The Brutalist. I don't think it's enough of a part to really give one of those really captivating performances.
She does great work with what she has, though. So we'll see going forward. Actor in a Supporting Role. Yuri Borosov for Anora.
Kiernan Culkin for A Real Pain. Edward Norton in A Complete Unknown. Guy Pearce in The Brutalist. Jeremy Strong in The Apprentice.
Okay, so I actually got the biggest laugh when the nominations were announced. And I was like, oh, this is another Succession off. And I'm waiting for Jeremy Strong to storm the stage, take it right out of Kiernan's hands, and goes, I'm the eldest boy! Which would make sense considering the character that he plays for The Apprentice.
But this is Kiernan's. This is his moment. It's a phenomenal performance. As much as I like Yuri Borosov in Anora, I thought his was great.
Guy Pearce in The Brutalist is just so fun and stunning and amazing. He does not get a lot of great work anymore. A lot of these categories, you're looking at it like, yeah, I can't be too mad if whoever wins. So, you know, that's always the best thing.
Okay, so Actress in a Leading Role. Cynthia Erivo for Wicked. Carlosofia Gaston for Amelia Perez, as we already mentioned. Mikey Madison for Anora.
Demi Moore for The Substance. And Fernanda Torres for I'm Still Here. Demi Moore. I love what Demi Moore did.
And I think there is a nostalgia factor for her and how she was trying to push her career at one point doing some films that pushed the boundaries. And I'm blanking on the name of the movie where she was the Marine. GI Jane. Yeah, GI Jane.
How could you forget it after the Oscars a couple years ago? Yeah, I know. Yikes. And then she just didn't get those opportunities until this movie came along.
And I think a lot of people might be like, you know what? Maybe we did her wrong. Maybe we... I don't wanna say we owe her Like it makes me want to actually sit down and watch this because it racked up like four or five nominations.
There's a sound design. It's within the sound score. It's a wonderful film. I really love it.
I kind of lean towards Memoir of a Snail a little bit more just because it feels like it's a very small personal story. And I kind of relate it a little bit to the outsider aspect of the main character there, you know, kind of growing up as a weirdo around, you know, other people in school and stuff like that. So you're letting it get personal. I know, I know.
And this is why my picks are always a lot better than yours. At least I'm admitting to it now, right? As opposed to before I never would. I love it.
Big short. Yes, I know You are gonna like bring that up when you eulogize my dead corpse at my funeral. After getting past that hit, it's a book that yes, I will. I still haven't opened it and watched it because I know In my heartest of hearts that there is no way even after seeing it my mind would change.
Yeah, you will want to get the last word in on that. I know. I fully understand that this is one of the dynamics of our friendship. That's the only night that I can ever remember where I missed half an Oscar ceremony and I still fucking got best picture.
True. Okay, but speaking of best picture, we have our list of 10 this year. Anora, The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune Part 2, Amelia Perez, I'm Still Here, Nickel Boys, The Substance, and Wicked. Thoughts?
Wicked is going to take home a lot of the production categories on this. And I think they're gonna capitalize on that even more so than Dune is going to. I somehow have it down between Anora, The Brutalist, and Amelia Perez. Conclave, I actually think that there is the religious aspect of it mixed with these very interesting surprise at the end of the film is going to turn a lot of people off.
And I think that that movie is gonna get really shut out. I would hate to see that because I really like that. I loved it. I loved it.
And I loved the conversations that were happening actually in the cinema when the film was done. People were just sitting in their seats talking amongst themselves. I've never seen anything like that happen. Old, young, religious, non-religious, and they were all having interesting conversations and questions.
Yeah, and it's a movie that treats its characters respectfully. Yeah. They all have a point of view. It's not just, I wanna be Pope.
Yeah, there's no malice. There is no I am bad for the sake of being bad or I am a placeholder for all of the anti-Catholic propaganda or whatever it is. It is a very strong character piece across the board. Yeah, these characters all come with their own points of view, which are kind of And their own convictions.
Yes. But these points of view are all part of, you know, different sections of Catholicism where they want someone to be a little bit more progressive. Others want to bring Latin back, you know. And they want to be a little more traditional.
Yes. So I appreciate what it's doing very much so. Maybe that's where it gets a screenwriting award then and maybe not get best picture. It'll be interesting to see how all of this plays out.
As much as I really would love The Substance to just come in as like an underdog and just take them by surprise, which would also be the same for I'm Still Here and Nickel Boys, I do not see that happening. I have a question for you. Okay. And this might play into how I also see The Substance working out.
In your very long Oscar history brain. Yes. And I have a great Oscar history brain, but it only goes back 20 years. You've got a little bit more time on your hands.
I haven't missed one since, I think, 86. 85, 86, somewhere in there in high school. Has the Academy Awards ever awarded a horror film Best Picture? Silence of the Lambs.
I wouldn't call that a horror film, actually. Some people do, though. I can see how it can straddle the line, but to me, that is not a horror film at all. I consider it a crime thriller.
And that's fair. Oh, boy. But like a more straight up horror film. I mean, I think The Substance kind of straddles the line, too.
It does, but it definitely plants itself more on the side of body horror than Silence of the Lambs planted itself in the horror film. I'm trying to remember if David Cronenberg... No, David Cronenberg's crash didn't. That other movie called Crash didn't, which is such a travesty.
Politics. Hey, yeah, it really did. I thought it had lazy stereotypes. But anyways.
A lot of people see the same thing about Amelia Perez. That's true, too. So, you know, we'll find out. But yeah, I can't remember any off the top of my head throughout all of Oscar history that would have gone to horror, and especially would have happened probably within the last 20 or 30 years.
Because before that, it would have been considered way too genre to ever even make it outside of, like, makeup. The last horror film, and even I don't consider it horror. I actually consider it black comedy, satirical black comedy, that got a nomination was Get Out. That was 10 years ago.
Oh my gosh, that's right. Yeah. Wait, didn't Nope get a... Nope.
Okay, I set you up, and I didn't intend to, but it works fine. But yeah, no. Yeah. Yeah, you're right.
We haven't seen anything in horror. Which is why I would love to see this come in and just, like, bitch slap Anora and The Brutalist right out of the way and take it. Again. But it won't.
Nearly all of these films are fantastic and deserving. You know, my personal beef about Amelia Perez aside, I really wouldn't be too upset if... Oh, I love Amelia Perez. I mean, I'm not angry at Amelia Perez the same way I was angry at something like Green Book, which was not a good movie and kind of crappy.
You know, we're way too late in the history of our country to still be awarding films for having a white savior character. And yet Shogun did so well, and the only person who didn't get the award was the white savior character. Okay, well, there you go. There you go.
So we'll see. Six weeks or so until March 2nd. So everybody, you have some time to catch up on some of these films. Some of them are being re-released back into theaters.
I know The Substance was this past week. I know, I didn't see it. I don't know if how long it's gonna hang around, but that's a movie you kind of want to go see in the theater, especially if you're going with a bunch of people who have no idea what they're in for. Particularly, take a mom, take your dad, tell them it's the feel-good film about, you know, a person and their little sister.
An aging actress and her little sister who may have the ability to upstage her and take her spot in society. Wow. That is incredible misrepresentation of this movie. Well, it's partially there.
And I like it, though. I like it a lot. And just watch their face come the third act. Watch their face after like about 20 minutes in.
Watch their face when they see Dennis Quaid eating shrimp. For some reason, watching Dennis Quaid eating shrimp is the most disgusting thing about this movie. Yeah, I kind of agree with you there. Yep.
Not gonna argue. Okay, but on that note, though, I think that about wraps us up for today. Remember, you can find us online at bigpicturepod.com. And we are available on iTunes and Google Play.
So either use the link in the show notes post or head directly there, search and hit subscribe. And if you like what you're hearing, feel free to leave a rating and a review because that always helps us connect with new listeners. We will be back again, hopefully at least one more time before our Academy Awards wrap-up show. And you will find that all right here on The Big Picture Podcast.