Oscar Noms Are Here Again

Wicked fans....we're up.

It’s here, an important day to the most annoying person you know (me). Honestly, if the Golden Globes are any indicator (and sometimes they are) I just KNOW the 97th Academy Awards are going to piss me OFF. Looking at you, Emilia Pérez.

Let me say this:

• There was a lot of weird admin shit going down because many films were listed with “nominees to be determined”. Somebody didn’t turn in their paperwork!

• I’m going to address the Emilia Pérez of it all right now. I have not watched this movie and I will not watch this movie. I still have an opinion because I’m me and this is my newsletter and I exist in this world. Now I LOVE being trans and I LOVE trans people, and I am thrilled for Karla Sofía Gascón. But. This movie is not by and for trans people. This movie is written by some cis French dude with some of the worst song lyrics and music I’ve ever heard (yeah, I’ve seen the clips!). The Academy and these other award bodies want to feel good about nominating a trans person or a film “about” trans stuff, without actually doing it in a real way. If they wanted to "support” or care about anything trans related, they would uplift and back films like, oh, I don’t know….I Saw The TV Glow. It’s the same old thing, the same old bullshit, that keeps films like Green Book winning awards instead of meaningful art MADE BY the people who are the subject FOR the people who live those experiences.¹ Not some fucking white dudes being edgy. I do not want it to win a single fucking award.

As usual, you can find the full list of nominations elsewhere, I am just breaking down a few of the categories that I’m interested in!

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Best Picture: Anora - Alex Coco, Samantha Quan, and Sean Baker (producers); The Brutalist - nominees TBD; A Complete Unknown - Fred Berger, James Mangold, and Alex Heineman (producers); Conclave - Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell, and Michael A. Jackman (producers); Dune: Part Two - Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Tanya Lapointe, and Denis Villeneuve (producers); Emilia Pérez - nominees TBD; I’m Still Here - nominees TBD; Nickel Boys - nominees TBD; The Substance - nominees TBD; Wicked - Marc Platt (producer)

• Who I want to win: Nickel Boys or Wicked!!!!!

• Who I fear will win: Anora. Although Emilia Pérez won the Golden Globe for musical/comedy, I don’t think it could take it all here.

• What win would send flames on the side of my face: YOU KNOW.

• Who got snubbed: Challengers and Sing Sing.

• Other thoughts: now why isn’t John M. Chu listed under Wicked??????

Brandon Wilson and Ethan Herisse in Nickel Boys

Best Director: Sean Baker - Anora; Brady Corbet - The Brutalist; James Mangold - A Complete Unknown; Jacques Audiard - Emilia Pérez; Coralie Fargeat - The Substance

• Who I want to win: Coralie Fargeat

• Who I fear will win: I think it might go to Brady Corbet….or possible James Mangold, because Oscars love a biopic?

• What win would send flames on the side of my face: YOU KNOW. And also Sean Baker.

• Who got snubbed: John M. Chu - Wicked; RaMell Ross - Nickel Boys; Luca Guadagnino - Challengers

• Other thoughts: I mean….you have to laugh at most of these noms?? What is going ON?

Cinematography: The Brutalist - Lol Crawley; Dune: Part Two - Greig Fraser; Emilia Pérez; Maria - Ed Lachman; Nosferatu - Jarin Blaschke

• Who I want to win: I mean…kind of a bunch of duds? Although I’m really excited to watch Maria.

• Who I fear will win: Not fear, but my assumption is that The Brutalist or Nosferatu will win?

• What win would send flames on the side of my face: You already fucking know.

• Who got snubbed: Nickel Boys - Jomo Fray, Sing Sing - Pat Scola, Challengers - Sayombhu Mukdeeprom.

• Other thoughts: No seriously….where the fuck is the Jomo Fray nom?? What are we even doing here????

Best Documentary Feature: Black Box Diaries - Shiori Ito, Eric Nyari, and Hanna Aqvilin; No Other Land - Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal, and Yuval Abraham; Porcelain War - Brendan Bellomo, Slava Leontyev, Aneila Sidorska, and Paula DuPre’ Pesem; Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat - Johan Grimonprez, Daan Milius, and Rémi Grellety; Sugarcane - nominees TBD

• Who I want to win: Sugarcane, No Other Land, or Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat

• Who I think will win: I have no guesses, tbh.

• Who got snubbed: you know what….when is Erin Lee Carr’s documentary nom coming???

Ed Archie NoiseCat and Julian Brave NoiseCat in Sugarcane

International Feature Film: I’m Still Here (Brazil); The Girl with The Needle (Denmark); Emilia Pérez (France); The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Germany); Flow (Latvia)

• Who I want to win: I’m behind but I want anything but EP to win.

• Who I fear will win: Emilia Pérez.

• What win would send flames on the side of my face: I mean, you fucking know! Winning International Feature would be fucking INSANE.

• Who got snubbed: All We Imagine As Light - Payal Kapadia

Best Actress: Cynthia Erivo - Wicked; Karla Sofía Gascón - Emilia Pérez; Mikey Madison - Anora; Demi Moore - The Substance; Fernanda Torres - I’m Still Here

• Who I want to win: CYNTHIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Demi would also be acceptable!

• Who I think will win: I really really really think it will be Demi…

• What win would send flames on the side of my face: Tbh, I think Mickey Madison? I really don’t give a fuck about that little movie.

• Who got snubbed: Zendaya - Challengers; Marianne Jean-Baptiste - Hard Truths; Angelina Jolie - Maria. I’m also quite surprised to see nothing for Pamela Anderson? Not because I care, but because it seemed like it was heading that way?

• Other thoughts: I mean if somebody from Emilia Pérez is going to win, it better be the trans woman.

There is no Elphaba like her. Beyond reproach. I think about The Wizard and I every day. PERFECTION.

Best Actor: Adrien Brody - The Brutalist; Timothée Chalamet - A Complete Unknown; Colman Domingo - Sing Sing; Ralph Fiennes - Conclave; Sebastian Stan - The Apprentice

• Who I want to win: Colman Domingo. OBVIOUSLY.

• Who I fear will win: Ralph Fiennes. Him and his little bff JK Rowling can eat my shit.

• What win would send flames on the side of my face: Honestly…..anything but Colman is going to piss me off? All respect to Sebastian Stan, but we do not need a man winning an Oscar for being Trump. PLEASE.

• Who got snubbed: Ethan Herisse and Brandon Wilson - Nickel Boys; Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist - Challengers; Daniel Craig - Queer. Not a snub I guess because he’s nominated, but I’m surprised that Stan wasn’t nominated for A Different Man?

• Other thoughts: I am not a fan of Adrien Brody.

Best Supporting Actress: Monica Barbaro - A Complete Unknown; Ariana Grande - Wicked; Felicity Jones - The Brutalist; Isabella Rossellini - Conclave; Zoe Saldaña - Emilia Pérez

• Who I want to win: Ariana Grande. She was amazing. Argue with yourselves!!!

• Who I fear will win: Zoe Saldaña.

• What win would send flames on the side of my face: Zoe Saldaña.

• Who got snubbed: Joan Chen - Didi

• Other thoughts: Everybody moved on too fast from Zoe Saldaña in blackface as Nina Simone………

I can *hear* this image

Best Supporting Actor: Yura Korisov - Anora; Kieran Culkin - A Real Pain; Guy Pearce - The Brutalist; Edward Norton - A Complete Unknown; Jeremy Strong - The Apprentice

• Who I want to win: Kieran Culkin.

• Who I fear will win: Honestly, no idea?

• What win would send flames on the side of my face: Not flames, but like…does Edward Norton really need to win?

• Who got snubbed: Clarence Maclin - Sing Sing, Adam Pearson - A Different man, Drew Starkey - Queer.

• Other thoughts: Just a bunch of white men…………..

Best Original Screenplay: Anora - Sean Baker; The Brutalist - Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold; A Real Pain - Jesse Eisenberg; September 5 - Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum & Alex David; The Substance - Coralie Fargeat

• Who I want to win: It simply has to be The Substance or A Real Pain. I can’t deal with these other films.

• Who I fear will win: Anora

• What win would send flames on the side of my face: September 5. Don’t piss me OFF. It will be very very bad for this film to win.

• Who got snubbed: Janet Planet - Annie Baker, Didi - Sean Wang, and truly many more independent films.

Best Adapted Screenplay: A Complete Unknown - James Mangold and Jay Cocks; Conclave - Peter Straughan; Emilia Pérez - Jaques Audiard in collab w/ Thomas Bidegain, Léa Mysius, and Nicolas Livecchi; Nickel Boys - RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes; Sing Sing - Clint Bently, Greg Kwedar, story by Clint Bently, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, John ‘Divine G’ Whitfield

• Who I want to win: It simply has to be Nickel Boys or Sing Sing.

• Who I fear will win: Conclave or A Complete Unknown.

• What win would send flames on the side of my face: The obvious and also anything that isn’t Nickel Boys or Sing Sing.

• Who got snubbed: Kinda surprised not to see a nom for Justin Kuritzkes (Queer) here???

Best Costume Design: A Complete Unknown - Arianne Phillips; Conclave - Lisy Christl; Gladiator II - Jany Hates & Dave Crossman; Nosferatu - Linda Muir; Wicked - Paul Tazewell

• Who I want to win: It’s Wicked or nothing. I’m sorry be so fucking serious right now.

• Who I fear will win: Conclave

• What win would send flames on the side of my face: literally anything else? How hard it is to make some priest robes or some vampire robes?? OOoOoOo you made Bob Dylan’s ugly ass hat? Be for real.

• Other thoughts: EVERY. SINGLE. DETAIL. OF. WICKED. IS. PERFECT.

Paul Tazewell, costume designer for Wicked

Makeup & Hairstyling: A Different Man - Mike Marino, David Presto, and Crystal Jurado; Emilia Pérez - Julia Floch Carbonel, Emmanuel Janvier, and Jean-Christophe Spadaccini; Nosferatu - David White, Traci Loader, and Suzanne Stokes-Munton; The Substance - Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon, and Marilyne Scarselli; Wicked - Frances Hannon, Laura Blount, and Sarah Nuth

• Who I want to win: WICKED!!

• Who I fear will win: Not fear, but it could go to The Substance or A Different Man because the Academy is fascinated by making “normal” people look “ugly”.

• What win would send flames on the side of my face: You know.

• Other thoughts: ELPHABA’S SKIN!!! HER BRAIDS!! HELLO!!!!!!

She IS Elphaba

Best Production Design: The Brutalist - Judy Becker, with set decoration by Patricia Cuccia; Conclave - Suzie Davies, with set decoration by Cynthia Sleiter; Dune: Part Two - Patrice Vermette, with set decoration by Shane Vieau; Nosferatu - Craig Lathrop, with set decoration by Beatrice Brentnerová; Wicked - Nathan Crowley, with set decoration by Lee Sandales

• Who I want to win: Wicked. Yeah. Again. YUP. Have y’all SEEN what went into this production design? Real newsletter fans should know because I’ve plugged the Architectural Digest video before. Nathan Crowley, you genius!!

• Who I fear will win: I really have no guesses but Conclave would piss me off, as would Dune. SORRY.

• What win would send flames on the side of my face: frankly, any win but Wicked would irritate me to no end.

let’s go to Shiz University, baybeeeee!

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Final musings

• I’m surprised to see nothing for Babygirl and Blitz? The campaign for Babygirl felt strong? Or maybe that’s just my algorithm. And Steve McQueen is usually in the mix!!

• Don’t forget the Film Independent Spirit Awards are February 22nd — and there’s lots of amazing talent nominated!!

• Also kinda surprised to see no love for Denzel (Gladiator II)?

• No original score nom for Challengers - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross……PARDON?

• Clearly nobody actually listened to Cord Jefferson’s speech last year.

• I’ve got some watching to do before March 2nd!!!

1. Which doesn’t mean you can only make art about your own experiences, but let’s be real about the power dynamics in the world.