My alarm went off at 5:10am on a random Thursday in January which can only mean one thing, it was Oscar nomination morning. While sometimes I let myself sleep in and play catch up, I’m glad I caught this one live because it was an eventful one!
As this title hinted at, a new film stands atop the all-time Oscar nomination count list. Ryan Coogler’s Sinners pulled out a staggering 16 nominations to surpass the previous high-water mark of 14 (All About Eve, Titanic, and La La Land). While Gold Derby had it (and One Battle After Another) tying the record, a surprise Delroy Lindo supporting nomination (at the expense of Paul Mescal from Hamnet) proved to be the extra nod it needed to break the record. While I still believe that it is a long shot to win Best Picture out of the odds-on favorite One Battle’s hands, this morning was an undeniable achievement for Coogler and everyone else who made the film.
The biggest surprise of the morning had to be F1’s ascension to Best Picture nominee. While it was expected to pick up some below the line nominations, when it was named in Editing, I called out that the category was normally a Best Picture precursor and that F1 taking one of the 5 slots was odd. It turns out that The Academy has a higher “dad” contingency than I assumed and they were able to power the film into the top category.
Not to let it fall through the cracks, but One Battle After Another was not shut out or anything. While Chase Infinity was denied an Actress nomination to make room for Kate Hudson in Song Sung Blue, 13 nominations is still nothing to be ashamed of, and it still must be considered the favorite to have the biggest night on March 15.
While I didn’t have much hope for Amanda Seyfried or Mona Fastvold getting recognition for my favorite film of the year, The Testament of Ann Lee, when the film was not mentioned in Costume, I knew that my disappointment would be greater than anticipated as it was destined to walk away without a single nomination.
While Blue Moon was extremely likely to get an acting nomination for Ethan Hawke, it also receiving an Original Screenplay recognition I found well deserved if unexpected.
What was expected was that Diane Warren would pick up her 17th nomination (and 9th in a row) for best original song, though between the juggernaut that is Golden (KPop Demon Hunters) and dark horse I Lied to You (Sinners) she will go another year without adding a trophy to her shelf.
International feature had a bit of an upset as The Voice of Hind Rajab overtook No Other Choice for the 5th slot denying Neon the 5 for 5 sweep of the category. I’m happy that it made the cut even though I have not yet had a chance to see it. Since Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk wasn’t in real contention for Documentary, it is nice to see The Voice of Hind Rajab get recognition to keep the world’s eyes on the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza the year after No Other Land’s historic win.
Almost lost on me was the fact that Wicked for Good was completely shut out of this year’s event. I noticed when Ariana Grande was not announced for Supporting Actress and when it missed Original Song, but it did take me a while to realize that it was completely shut out. Maybe splitting the movie into 2 parts isn’t always the best idea.
Sinners will take every headline this morning and for good reason. Its dominance was exciting to see unfold, and seeing a Black-made, original film with mass appeal go into the record books as the most nominated film of all time is something to celebrate.
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