2025 Oscar (97th Academy Awards) Nominations

Cafe Society
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97th Academy Awards - Wikipedia

Oscar nominations have been released, and as usual we won’t see any of these until we watch them all at once in a couple of weeks (all in the theater except Dune 2, which we’ll watch at home). But more importantly, what are you thinking? Any obvious winners?

A partial list:

Best Picture
Anora – Alex Coco, Samantha Quan, and Sean Baker, producers
The Brutalist – Nominees to be determined
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 to be determined
I’m Still Here – Nominees to be determined
Nickel Boys – Nominees to be determined
The Substance – Nominees to be determined
Wicked – Marc Platt, producer

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

Best Actor
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist as László Tóth
Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown as Bob Dylan
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing as John “Divine G” Whitfield
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence
Sebastian Stan – The Apprentice as Donald Trump

Best Actress
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked as Elphaba Thropp
Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez as Emilia Pérez / Juan “Manitas” Del Monte
Mikey Madison – Anora as Anora “Ani” Mikheeva
Demi Moore – The Substance as Elisabeth Sparkle
Fernanda Torres – I’m Still Here as Eunice Paiva

Best Supporting Actor
Yura Borisov – Anora as Igor
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain as Benji Kaplan
Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown as Pete Seeger
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist as Harrison Lee Van Buren Sr.
Jeremy Strong – The Apprentice as Roy Cohn

Best Supporting Actress
Monica Barbaro – A Complete Unknown as Joan Baez
Ariana Grande – Wicked as Galinda “Glinda” Upland
Felicity Jones – The Brutalist as Erzsébet Tóth
Isabella Rossellini – Conclave as Sister Agnes
Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez as Rita Mora Castro

Best Original Screenplay
Anora – Sean Baker
The Brutalist – Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold
A Real Pain – Jesse Eisenberg
September 5 – Moritz Binder and Tim Fehlbaum; co-written by Alex David
The Substance – Coralie Fargeat

Best Adapted Screenplay
A Complete Unknown – James Mangold and Jay Cocks; based on the book Dylan Goes Electric! by Elijah Wald
Conclave – Peter Straughan; based on the novel Conclave by Robert Harris
Emilia Pérez – Jacques Audiard; in collaboration with Thomas Bidegain, Léa Mysius, and Nicolas Livecchi; based on the opera libretto Emilia Pérez by Jacques Audiard
Nickel Boys – RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes; based on the novel The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
Sing Sing – Screenplay by Greg Kwedar and Clint Bentley; story by Greg Kwedar, Clint Bentley, Clarence Maclin, and John “Divine G” Whitfield; based on the book The Sing Sing Follies by John H. Richardson

Best Animated Feature
Flow – Nominees to be determined
Inside Out 2 – Kelsey Mann and Mark Nielsen
Memoir of a Snail – Adam Elliot and Liz Kearney
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – Nominees to be determined
The Wild Robot – Chris Sanders and Jeff Hermann

Best International Feature Film
Emilia Pérez (France) in Spanish – directed by Jacques Audiard
Flow (Latvia) – directed by Gints Zilbalodis
The Girl with the Needle (Denmark) in Danish – directed by Magnus von Horn
I’m Still Here (Brazil) in Portuguese – directed by Walter Salles
The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Germany) in Persian – directed by Mohammad Rasoulof

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I’ve seen every single one of those. Right now I’d say the favorites are:

Picture: The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Actor: Adrian Brody
Actress: Demi Moore
Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin
Supporting Actress: Zoe Saldana
Original Screenplay: Anora
Adapted Screenplay: Conclave
Animated: The Wild Robot
International: Emilia Perez

I am thrilled that The Substance got a Best Pic nomination! A body-horror film being recognized as one of the best of the year is huge for the genre. I wish Sing Sing was also in there, that was my #1 of the year.

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Almost exactly what I would’ve picked, with maybe The Wild Robot being the exception. I loved it, but I’m thinking Wallace & Gromit: VMF deserves this one.

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I’ve not seen them all but do expect The Brutalist to win Best Picture, Director, Actor, and Supporting.

I do not expect Wicked to winner any of the major categories.

I was unimpressed by Emilia Perez as a movie but Zoe Saldana was very good. Her winning would not surprise.

And I’ll bet on Flow for animated.

The Substance has been on our list but we understand we need to be in the appropriate frame of mind and haven’t yet. It sounds like it deserves some recognition.

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I fixed the thread title for you.

RickJay
Moderator

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I have seen precisely zero of the Best Pic noms. (Of course many aren’t available for home viewing yet.) I am planning on seeing A Complete Unknown and perhaps Anora. The latter is a hard sell given the premise: stripper hooks up with the son of a Russian oligarch. Doesn’t exactly seem like a feel good movie.

Digging thru actor noms I recently saw Kieran Culkin in A Real Pain. Not a very good movie and his performance was quite generic for him.

I might watch Sing Sing at some point.

I feel like those people who perennially complain that the Oscars don’t honor “their type” of movies. I’m a solid fan of more artsy movies. And this list just doesn’t do it for me.

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Every year we sign up to see all the nominees at one of the chains that runs them all at once (we used to go to AMC, now we go to Regal), and I end up watching a bunch of movies there is zero chance I’d otherwise see. We’ve been doing this since I think 2010, and I’ve had some really great experiences over those years. I’d say a meaningful majority I was glad I had seen, with a small minority that I really did not like.

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I’ve seen more of the Best Picture nominees this year than I typically do. Still haven’t gotten around to subjecting myself to three and a half Brutalist hours, though.

I imagine Demi Moore will take Best Actress, but if Mikey Madison upsets that prediction I’d have no issue with that.

Biggest shock to me from the noms was the complete shutout of Challengers. Largely critically acclaimed, solid box office, starring AND produced by one of Hollywood’s biggest "it-girl"s and not a sausage when they announced. Very strange to me.

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Did you see it? Personally think it was good?

Trailers definitely made me think it would be crap.

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This may be the first year when I have no feelings as to who will win. I also have very little desire to watch any other than Dune.

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I mean, that’s trailers. We saw the trailer last year nine times over three days, because it ran before every damned nominee, and we mocked it roundly. Then my son saw it as part of a movie club, and said it wasn’t at all what he expected, and that he quite enjoyed it. Add an 82 on Metacritic and 7.1 on IMDb to that, plus four Golden Globe nominations, and there’s definitely something going for it.

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On the flip side, I think this is the first year in memory I have not seen a single best picture nominee by the time of announcement. I’m not a super-duper cinephile, but I’ve usually seen a couple-few of the nominees by now.

I’d say I need to get out more, but with streaming, I don’t even have that excuse :blush:

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I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I’m pretty sure Edward Norton’s going to win. He’s a respected actor, he’s been around forever, he’s been nominated 4 times and he’s never won. It’s just the kind of “lifetime achievement” award Hollywood loves to give.

Plus, I hear he’s really good in the role; and it’s an actual historical figure, which the Academy always falls for.

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Ed Norton was very good as Pete Seeger. I haven’t seen all of the movies but really liked A Complete Unknown.

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He’s also been known to be a handful on sets: there’s a reason Mark Ruffalo now plays Bruce Banner. Shouldn’t matter, but anyway. If there’s a “most times nominated without a win” person in recent years it’s the amazing Amy Adams, who’s racked up six noms without a win so far. I really hope she gets one someday.

Yeah, I thought Challengers was fantastic. Really smart and dynamically directed. I couldn’t give a monkey’s about tennis, ubt I was riveted. I also like that for her first producing credit, Zendaya chose a really tough, adult script to work with.

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I haven’t seen all the best picture nominees (6/10) and may not. I will likely seek out Emilia Perez and The Substance before the ceremony, but the other two are long shots and fit in the category of “life sucks and then you die” movies I tend to avoid. That said, my expectations are:

Picture: The Brutalist is most likely and not undeserving, but I wouldn’t be surprised if A Complete Unkown wins. If I made the selection, I would give it to Anora (hey, they finally adapted the original script of Pretty Woman!).

Actor: Adrian Brody gave a compelling performance in one of the year’s best movies, and he’s a veteran actor. He’s the frontrunner. Timothée Chalamet could be a dark horse. The Academy loves a performance in a biopic and Chalamet gives a great rendition of the early Dylan as a uber-talented punk (and he sings!).

Actress: Demi Moore is another veteran in a notable performance, and in a movie that isn’t going win much else. My personal choice would be Mikey Madison. She is the heart and soul of Anora and it wouldn’t work with any other performance.

Supporting Actor: Edward Norton is in the poster child category for lifetime achievement awards and in a role that allows showing off acting chops. My choice would be Kieran Culkin in a performance that humanizes an unlikable asshole (and he is basically a co-lead in the movie, which is an advantage).

Supporting Actress: I don’t know who the front runner is here. Isabella Rossellini is the veteran in this category, so you can’t count her out, but her role is something of a blink and miss it role. IMHO Felicity Jones gives a performance in The Brutalist that stands up to Adrian Brody’s. A good measure is the fact that turning the movie into telling her story would probably be equally compelling.

Screenplay: Meh, who cares? I’m guessing that if they don’t win Best Picture, Anora and A Complete Unknown might get these.

Animated: Flow is both the best I’ve seen this year and probably a lock, given that it is an animated feature that made the International Feature nominees.

International: I’m still pissed that Santosh did not make the cut. Given that it is nominated for Best Picture, I’m guessing Emilia Perez is a virtual lock.

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Zoe Saldana. I think this is the one category that as of now is pretty much a complete lock.

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With two exceptions, I’ve seen all the Best Picture nominees that I care to see, though I may expand my horizons with a couple more. But Emilia Perez I have ruled out completely.

The two that I really want to see that are currently unavailable for home viewing are The Brutalist and A Complete Unknown. The latter is somewhat reminiscent of the Coen brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis, although that one was a semi-fictionalized biopic of one of Dylan’s contemporaries, Dave Van Ronk. It’s a truly beautiful film with a great soundtrack and I’d be surprised and delighted if A Complete Unknown is as good.

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It’s cool that unlike recent years, the Best Picture race actually feels up in the air and not completely set before the noms were even announced. I wouldn’t be totally surprised if either Conclave or A Complete Unknown ends up winning, because of the ranked voting. Emilia Perez is divisive and The Brutalist definitely has it’s fans but I haven’t really heard anyone who really hated either Conclave or A Complete Unknown. If enough voters choose one of those are their #2 or #3 pick, one of those two could end up winning. Or even Anora for the same reason. Pretty much everyone likes Anora, even though it seems to have fallen off a bit after the Globes.

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I thought Conclave was very skillfully done in all respects and Ralph Fiennes was magnificent, yet it had a certain prosaic quality to it. Definitely a fine film deserving of acclaim, but I feel that the Best Picture winner needs more than that – it needs some kind of emotional punch beyond technical expertise and acting accomplishment.