The 95th Academy Award Nominations Roundtable

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IT’S WHERE THE TOP GUN MEETS THE UNDERDOG, THE RUBBER MEETS THE TÁR, THE FABELMANS MEET THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN, ELVIS MEETS BLONDE, AND EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE HAPPENS ALL AT ONCE.

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IT’S AWARDS SEASON.

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[James Lee] Okay, well, Everything Everywhere getting 11 nominations. I think most of us saw that coming.

THAT’S JAMES LEE, A FIRST-YEAR NORTHWESTERN STUDENT MAJORING IN RADIO/TV/FILM, WHO ALSO HAPPENS TO BE AN AFFILIATE MEMBER OF THE CHICAGO INDIE CRITICS.

[Veronica Silvosa] I expected a lot of Fabelmans love, Banshees of Inisherin love.

AND VERONICA SILVOSA, ANOTHER RTVF FIRST-YEAR AND LONG-TIME FOLLOWER OF THE OSCARS.

[JL] WELL DESERVED. YEAH, THOSE ARE GOOD MOVIES.

FIRST HELD AT THE HOLLYWOOD ROOSEVELT HOTEL, THE ACADEMY AWARDS

FOR MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES HAS BEEN RECOGNIZING

EXCELLENCE IN CINEMATIC ACHIEVEMENTS SINCE 1929. THIS PAST TUESDAY,

THE NOMINEES FOR THE 95TH OSCARS WERE ANNOUNCED. I SPOKE WITH MY

FELLOW FIRST-YEAR RTVF MAJORS JAMES AND VERONICA ABOUT SOME OF THEIR OPINIONS AND PREDICTIONS FOR THE UPCOMING AWARD CEREMONY TAKING PLACE ON MARCH 27TH.

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BOTH JAMES AND VERONICA SHARED THEIR DISAPPOINTMENT IN THE EXCLUSION OF A PROMINENT SOUTH KOREAN FILM DIRECTED BY PARK CHAN WOOK.

[JL and VS] On 123… Decision to Leave.

[VS] Ridiculous, like I almost threw my phone when I didn’t see that in the international film category.

VERONICA ALSO EXPRESSED HER UNPOPULAR APPRECIATION FOR BABYLON, THE DAMIAN CHAZELLE FILM THAT PERFORMED RATHER POORLY AT THE BOX OFFICE.

[VS] I feel like it could have gotten more than just score and production design, right? I really loved especially Diego Calva. I thought he was really great. Yeah. And Margot Robbie was I think pretty good. She could’ve gotten a supporting actress nom.

THERE WERE ALSO SOME QUESTIONABLE NOMINATIONS.

[JL] We need to talk about Andrea Riseborough.

REFERRING TO THE LEAD ACTRESS IN THE DRAMA TO LESLIE WHO HAS GARNERED A FAIR SHARE OF CRITICISM FOR HER OSCAR CAMPAIGN TACTICS.

[JL] That is the one that’s going to set an enormous precedent for award-actor campaigns. I saw To Leslie about two days after that came up because I had been hearing about the grassroots campaign for this was 12 different extremely high profile actresses were just like rapidly posting on Instagram.

AMONG WHICH WERE SUSAN SARANDON, HELEN HUNT, AND ZOOEY DESCHANEL. EVEN FELLOW NOMINEE CATE BLANCHETT MENTIONED RISEBOROUGH IN HER CRITICS CHOICE AWARDS SPEECH.

[JL] She’s really good at it in an otherwise like, totally unexceptional, like addiction recovery

JAMES ALSO EXPRESSES HIS DISMAY IN THE OSCAR SNUBS OF ACTRESSES VIOLA DAVIS, FOR THE WOMAN KING, AND DANIELLE DEADWYLER, FOR TILL.

[JL] and I’m just like, looking at this. Like, if you think that’s sort of unfair. And if you think like Riseborough is directly responsible for Davis and Deadwyler being pushed out of consideration. We need to talk about the institutions that allow this to fail.

VERONICA ALSO CITES THIS AS A LESSON IN THE IMPORTANCE OF CAMPAIGNING.

[VS] At the end of the day, your performance doesn’t matter. It’s just whoever campaigns the most and I guess this really showed that like, a movie with a

$27,000 box office could get a nomination just because of connections, I guess.

JAMES ALSO SPEAKS TO THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE CONTROVERSY AS RISEBOROUGH’S CAMPAIGN DIFFERS FROM THE TYPICAL LARGE-BUDGET, STUDIO-BACKED STRATEGIES.

[JL] This is gonna reshape like how different studios are gonna think about campaigning, there’s no question about this, like, they will go to every possible and make a grassroots campaign work.

ON A MORE POSITIVE NOTE, JAMES AND VERONICA BOTH EXPRESSED THEIR JOY AT THE NOMINATION OF PAUL MESCAL FOR HIS ROLE IN THE A24 FILM AFTER SUN.

[VS] Like, I jumped on my feet. I was full of Glee. After Sun was my favorite movie of last year. Like I didn’t expect a single nomination knowing the Oscar. Like this isn’t an Oscars movie. They wouldn’t give it to a little film like this. But then he got a nomination which was so well deserved.

[JL] especially like such an understated performance.

HOWEVER, JAMES AND VERONICA BELIEVE MESCAL’S CHANCES OF WINNING

ARE SLIM. INSTEAD, THEY’RE PLACING THEIR BETS BETWEEN THE

PERFORMANCES OF COLIN FARRELL FOR THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN, AUSTIN BUTLER FOR ELVIS, AND BRENDAN FRASER FOR THE WHALE, WHICH THEY THINK WILL BE A CLOSE RACE– SPEAKING OF WHICH:

[JL] I mean, like Michelle Yeoh versus Cate Blanchett.

IN REFERENCE TO THE BEST ACTRESS SHOWDOWN. THIS YEAR, MICHELLE

YEOH MAKES HISTORY AS THE FIRST ASIAN WOMAN TO BE NOMINATED IN THIS CATEGORY FOR HER PORTRAYAL OF THE STRUGGLING MOTHER EVELYN WANG IN THE SCI-FI DRAMA EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE.

TWO-TIME ACADEMY AWARD WINNER CATE BLANCHETT SPORTS HER 8TH NOMINATION FOR HER ROLE AS A FICTIONAL CONDUCTOR LYDIA TÁR IN THE TODD FIELD FILM TÁR.

[VS] This would be what I would accept as the second tie after Barbra Streisand and Katharine Hepburn.

CRITICS’ OPINIONS HAVE BEEN MOSTLY SPLIT. NOTABLY, BOTH YEOH AND BLANCHETT WON AT THE GOLDEN GLOBES: BLANCHETT IN THE DRAMA CATEGORY AND YEOH IN THE COMEDY OR MUSICAL CATEGORY.

[JL] We have basically a standoff between a role that took 40 years to prepare for and a role so towering and might be the most illustrious in like a great career.

AND OF COURSE, THE MOST ANTICIPATED CATEGORY EVERY YEAR– BEST

PICTURE– HAS BEEN A HOT TOPIC. THIS YEAR THERE SEEMS TO BE A

CONSENSUS AMONG AUDIENCES AND CRITICS. JOSH RYAN, A THIRD-YEAR STUDYING BIOLOGY AND RTVF, SAID HE THINKS EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE HAS A SIGNIFICANT CHANCE OF WINNING.

[Josh Ryan] Everything Everywhere All At Once is one of those few films that I feel that people I know personally who are really into film have been excited about and people I know outside film have been excited about.

JOSH SAYS THAT UNLIKE BOX OFFICE HITS SUCH AS AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER, WHICH FOCUS SOLELY ON THE VISUAL SPECTACLE, IT TAKES MORE SUBSTANCE FOR A FILM TO ACTUALLY WIN IN THIS CATEGORY.

[JR] So it’s just one of those things where it’s like, you have to think of the ones that hit mainstream the hardest and hit the film nerds the hardest, and that’s the one that hits both.

JAMES AND VERONICA ALSO ECHO HIS SENTIMENT WITH A SMALL LEVEL OF DOUBT.

[VS] The Oscars always have a tendency to pick middle-of-the-road movies a lot.

VERONICA MENTIONED THE ACADEMY’S INFAMOUS RANK-CHOICE VOTING SYSTEM.

[VS] They put their number one movie then number two, number three number four, movies. And then it’s basically like imagine like one is like worth like 10 points like two is worth like (and so on…) and that is basically like whichever movie has like the most points not necessarily the movie that’s been number one them most times (wins). Sometimes if a movie is number five for everyone, it could have more points than a movie that was number one for a lot of people but then also was like ten for some people, or like not on the list for some people so that’s why a lot of movies that tend to be in the middle win a lot.

JAMES ADDS THAT THIS MIDDLING PHENOMENON OCCURS TYPICALLY WHEN “EXCITING MOVIES” AREN’T IN THE MIX.

[JL] When I say more exciting movie, I don’t mean like a better movie because Power Of The Dog was much better.

JAMES IS REFERRING TO THE JANE CAMPION FILM THAT LOST TO CODA LAST YEAR.

[JL] But I mean, like a movie that had such substantive hype behind it that it makes sense that everyone would rally behind it like Moonlight, Shape Of Water, Parasite, like all these were big deals in their respective ballots.

HOWEVER, BOTH JAMES AND VERONICA STILL HAVE HIGH HOPES FOR EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE.

[JL] It might be exciting enough that more people decide to put it higher in the rankings, like across the board. And so if that happens, we have a great moment.

THEY ALSO EXPRESSED THEIR PERSONAL PREFERENCE FOR THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN.

[VS] I would be really happy if Banshees wins.

[JL] I think it’s very difficult to make a tale about ghosting in like, an isolated island in Ireland. So compelling and so atmospheric and existentially dreadful.

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JAMES AND VERONICA AGREED ONE CATEGORY THAT ALREADY SEEMS TO HAVE A CERTAIN WINNER IS BEST ORIGINAL SONG.

[JL] I think the most important takeaway we have to get from this is Naatu Naatu winning best Original song. Because none of the other songs there are nearly as exciting.

JAMES IS, OF COURSE, REFERRING TO THE SONG BY PRIYA HIMESH AND RAHUL SIPLIGUNJ FOR THE ACTION DRAMA RRR.

[VS] I feel like since it didn’t get submitted for best international film, I feel like everyone that would have voted for that in best international film will vote for it in best original song.

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JAMES AND VERONICA ALSO GAVE THEIR OPINIONS ON THE GROWING DISILLUSIONMENT SURROUNDING AWARD SHOWS.

[VS] I mean, I don’t think award shows are credible by any means. I watch them for enjoyment purposes and it’s just something to get excited about but it never determines my favorite movie of the year and what’s the best movie of the year. It’s mostly to watch rich people be happy for the movies they made.

[JL] Or be really confused.

LASTLY, THEY EXPRESS THEIR EXCITEMENT FOR KE HUY QUAN’S NOMINATION FOR HIS PERFORMANCE IN EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE.

[JL]  I know Ke Huy Quan is definitely gonna win Best Supporting Actor. I’m going to cry when he goes up on that stage.

AND REFLECT ON ONE OF THEIR FAVORITE OSCAR MOMENTS.

[JL] I mean, like, I remember when Olivia Colman…

[VS] I rewatched that speech, I would say once a month.

REFERRING TO COLMAN’S BEST ACTRESS ACCEPTANCE SPEECH IN 2019 FOR HER PORTRAYAL OF QUEEN ANNE IN THE FAVOURITE.

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[JL] She’s so confused, but it’s like the loveliest thing. Yes, there are deserving winners and there are also truly baffling winners.

TO END ON A CAUTIONARY NOTE:

[JL] You know, you can’t expect a group of self-aggrandizing rich people to keep their fingers on the pulse of like, what makes for the best movies of the year like, that’s for everyone else to really decide at the end of the day.

FOR WNUR NEWS, I’M JESSIE CHEN.

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