Although awards season (in my opinion) has very much tainted the way a lot of viewers watch films these days, and the fact the Oscars has faced loads of backlash that effectively take away a lot of their integrity as a stage of merit for accolades in the film industry, I still love watching this culminating finale each year that celebrates (some of) the year’s best. Following the nominations that were announced this morning, here are my personal picks for some of the major categories of the 2024 Oscars.
Note: My picks are solely based on what I would like to see, based on my own personal reactions to the films nominated, rather than predictions on who or what film I think has the best chance at winning based on previous awards handed out this year.
Best Original Song
“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)
It is hilarious to me that off the bat Flamin’ Hot can now be called an Oscar nominee. Sad that Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night” wasn’t recognized, as that is just the definition of a fun summer movie song. And I am just so excited that this means we will now hopefully see “I’m Just Ken” performed live at the ceremony.
Pick: “What Was I Made For?” from Barbie. The essential song about being a girl for a movie and a sequence so dear to the movie and so many women’s hearts.
Best Original Score
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)
No noms for The Zone of Interest here is definitely a choice, but at least it got into sound. On rewatching Killers of the Flower Moon recently, I was really taken by the score which was not something that stood out to me on an initial watch. But for this category, Oppenheimer has stood out to me since the first time I saw it, with a score that commands the film and carries it forward the entire time. Its possibly one of the best scores of all time.
Pick: Oppenheimer (Ludwig Göransson)
Best Production Design
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)
I love the Barbie dream house, and the entire world of Barbieland as much as the next girl, but for this one, Poor Things really takes the cake. It uniquely casts cities we all know in a new light, blending the old and new to recreate these palces in such recognizable yet stunningly unique ways, with gorgeous colours and wonky angles to complement the journey its protagonist takes.
Pick: Poor Things (Production Design: James Price and Shona Heath; Set Decoration: Zsuzsa Mihalek).
Best Adapted Screenplay
American Fiction (Written for the screen by Cord Jefferson)
Barbie (Written by Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach)
Oppenheimer (Written for the screen by Christopher Nolan)
Poor Things (Screenplay by Tony McNamara)
The Zone of Interest (Written by Jonathan Glazer)
It’s so great to see American Fiction on these nominations, and more than once. After taking the People’s Choice Award at TIFF, I wondered if it had the chops in this stellar year of film to make it into BP, but knew it had a solid chance in this category. I think that Barbie is kind of a mess, and shouldn’t be here over Killers of the Flower Moon.
Pick: American Fiction (Written for the screen by Cord Jefferson), or Oppenheimer (Written for the screen by Christopher Nolan).
Best Original Screenplay
Anatomy of a Fall (Screenplay by Justine Triet and Arthur Harari
The Holdovers (Written by David Hemingson)
Maestro (Written by Bradley Cooper & Josh Singer)
May December (Screenplay by Samy Burch; Story by Samy Burch & Alex Mechanik)
Past Lives (Written by Celine Song)
Anatomy of a Fall is a masterclass in writing courtroom dramas that keep the viewer on their feet and ready to go. The Holdovers and Past Lives, too, make such great additions to this category. For myself, it is the May December screenplay that is the top of this category. The fact that this is Samy Burch’s first screenplay is honestly shocking to me, and the way that the story slowly unravels while playing on viewer’s own former knowledge of a story similar to this one is brilliant. And thank God for no Saltburn.
Pick: May December (Screenplay by Samy Burch; Story by Samy Burch & Alex Mechanik)
Best Supporting Actress
Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer)
Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple)
America Ferrera (Barbie)
Jodie Foster (Nyad)
Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers)
If last year’s shoe-in was Ke Huy Quan for EEAAO, then this year’s is Da’Vine Joy Randolph for The Holdovers. Her performance really is that good, and she complements the leading men so well that she commands each scene she is in. I am shocked to see America Ferrera here, where I can think of a lot of other much more deserving performances. Would have loved to see Cara Jade Myers in her place, for her role of Anna in Killers of the Flower Moon.
Pick: Da’Vine Joy Randolph for The Holdovers.
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)
I don’t know what happened this year, but there are so many well deserved supporting actor performances. Most of these are expected, but I am surprised and very happy to see Sterling K. Brown here for American Fiction. Very disappointed that Charles Melton was not nominated for May December, and that Milo Machado Graner was not nominated for Anatomy of a Fall.
Pick: Charles Melton for May December, but just based on the nominees I think RDJ will take this for Oppenheimer.
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)
Although Maestro was definitely not one of my favourites of the year, Carey Mulligan’s performance kept me seated until the credits rolled. I didn’t particularly enjoy Nyad. Sandra Hüller was a force in Anatomy of a Fall, and Emma Stone’s Bella Baxter in Poor Things was a career defining performance where barely a scene goes by without her taking charge. But here, my choice is without a doubt Lily Gladstone for Killers of the Flower Moon. Despite her screen-time being less than that of her male counterparts, the way she embodies Mollie to the point where she fully commands this film, even the scenes she is not present in, is amazing. This story is Mollie’s story, and Gladstone seemed to fully understand this woman and her history, and truly care for her, to give one of the best performances of the year. I think about Mollie almost every day.
Pick: Lily Gladstone for Killers of the Flower Moon, and it’s going to be a tight race between Gladstone and Emma Stone, both wildly deserving.
Best Actor
Bradley Cooper (Maestro)
Colman Domingo (Rustin)
Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers)
Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer)
Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction)
One of the biggest shocks for me this awards season has been watching Paul Giamatti slowly sneak up on Cillian Murphy, making this a tighter race than I initially thought. Cillian Murphy is insane as Oppenheimer in Oppenheimer, so I think he is my personal pick. But Giamatti’s hilarious and crude performance as the cranky history teacher Paul Humham is also so well deserved to be recognized this year. Would have loved to see Zac Efron get some recognition for his role in The Iron Claw. I am also shocked to see Leonardo DiCaprio for his performance in Killers of the Flower Moon not recognized in this category, as I definitely think it should be there over Bradley Cooper’s in Maestro. Jeffery Wright is a pleasant surprise, and although Rustin was not too impressive to me, Colman Domingo’s performance made it completely worth watching. And, again, thank God for no Saltburn.
Pick: Cillian Murphy for Oppenheimer.
Best Director
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)
Everything here is what I expected. Phenomenal line-up.
Pick: Christopher Nolan for Oppenheimer.
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
I love that The Zone of Interest is being recognized in the Best Picture category. Also very happy to see Past Lives and American Fiction here too, but putting Past Lives here without any other noms for directing or performances just seems a little off to me from the Academy’s side. Would have liked to see May December here instead of Maestro, and just over all to have seen much more love for the performances in May December.
Pick: I would be happy with any of these winning except for American Fiction, Past Lives, (loved both just not the best picture for me compared to everything else this year!), Barbie, or Maestro. I really hope one of Oppenheimer or Killers of the Flower Moon takes the big one.
The Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, March 10 at 8:00 pm.
After Screening Cinema 