This morning, we saw the nominations announced for this year’s Academy Awards, and while many of the nominees were what was to be expected, withEverything Everywhere All At Once,The Banshees of Inisherin,The Fabelmans,Elvis, and more doing extremely well, there were also a number of huge surprises and major snubs. As we look back and celebrate the best in film from last year, let’s take a look at some of the biggest shocks and disappointing absences from this year’s awards.
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Brian Tyree Henry’s Best Supporting Actor Nomination forCauseway
We’ve been saying for a while now thatBrian Tyree Henry’s performance inCausewaywas certainly awards-worthy, but seeing the actor finally get nominated was a pleasant surprise during the nominations. While many regional awards groups and the Critics Choice Awards nominated Henry, it seemed like he might come against some major competition, withBen WhishawforWomen TalkingandBrad PittforBabylonalso seemingly competing for the category’s fifth spot. Yet Henry’s beautifully quiet and captivating performance inLila Neugebauer’s film deserved a spot here—even though it seems like this isKe Huy Quan’s award to lose.
But Also, No Paul Dano in Best Supporting Actor
Paul Dano’s role inThe Fabelmansalso seemed like one of the no-brainer nominations for Best Supporting Actor, yet Burt Fabelman managed to once again receive nothing but disappointment. Instead,Judd Hirschas Boris Schildkraut inThe Fabelmansended up making the cut, despite only appearing in a few scenes. While it seemed like we might get double theFabelmansin this category, Dano’s absence was a fairly big surprise, but even more shocking is that Danostillhas never been nominated for an Oscar.
Double theEverything EverywhereLove in Best Supporting Actress
One of the big questions going to the awards was how well wouldEverything Everywhere All at Oncedo. Sure, it’s one of the most critically acclaimed films of 2022, but it’s alsoextremely weird. Speaking to that is several awards groups nominatedJamie Lee Curtisand leavingStephanie Hsuout—a strange choice considering how much more prominent Hsu was in the film. But the Academy decided to go all-in withEEAAO, giving two of the Best Supporting Actress nominations to the Daniels' film. Considering there was also the possibility we could see double nominations forWomen Talkingas well, it’s also a bit strange we didn’t even get a single nomination for it here, or in any other acting category. But instead of having to choose between Curtis or Hsu, the Academy decided to say screw it and just nominated both actresses—which was probably the right choice.
Marvel Gets Its First Acting Nomination
Marvel has always done fairly decent in technical awards, but up until this year’s nominations, Marvel had never received an Oscar nomination in an acting category—not even nominatingChadwick BosemanforBlack Panther. As DC has been nominated and won several acting awards before, Marvel received their first throughAngela Bassett’s performance as Queen Ramonda inBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever. This marks Bassett’s first Oscar nomination in thirty years forWhat’s Love Got to Dowith It, and it’s a well-deserved nomination. If anyone was going to break Marvel’s acting nominations drought at the Oscars, Bassett is an excellent choice.
Diane Warren Is Once Again Nominated For Writing a Song for a Movie You’ve Never Heard Of
Another Oscars, another nomination forDiane Warren. This year marks her 14th nomination, and her fifth nomination in as many years, for films likeBreakthrough,The Life Ahead, andFour Good Days. Nothing is more consistent at this point than Warren getting nominated with a film that no one has ever heard of, and this year seems especially egregious, considering this nomination meant kickingTaylor SwiftandThe Weekndout of the nominees. Last year, Warren finally won an honorary Oscar, and considering her competition this year includesLady Gaga,Rihanna, and “Naatu Naatu” fromRRR, it looks like Warren is probably going to lose for a 14th time.
No Matter How Hard She Tried, Taylor Swift Couldn’t Get an Oscar Nomination
It really seemed likeTaylor Swiftwanted an Oscar this year. First, she campaigned hard to get her extended video for “All Too Well” nominated for Best Live-Action Short Film, but the video missed the shortlist. Swift was also in contention for Best Song with “Carolina” fromWhere the Crawdads Sing, but instead, Warren snuck in yet again. It’s almost a surprise that the Academy didn’t nominate Swift solely, so they could have her, Gaga, and Rihanna all perform at the ceremony—which couldn’t hurt continually dwindling viewership numbers.
Major Absences in Best International Feature
When the Academy announced the shortlist for the Best International Feature category, it became very clear that some major nominees were going to be left out of the category this year. While films likeAll Quiet on the Western FrontandEO, which seemed like obvious picks, did get nominations, plenty of greats missed out. Most notably,Decision to Leave, one of the best-reviewed films of the last year, not only didn’t receive a nomination here, but didn’t receive any nominations. We also saw films likeSaint Omer,Return to Seoul,Holy Spider,Corsage, andBardoget skipped over here. Some great films were always going to get left behind here, but some of these absences were fairly surprising.
Best Cinematography Is Weird, or (The Unexpected Virtue of Thinking the Academy Wouldn’t Nominate an Iñárritu Film)
Maybe one of the most shocking categories compared to predicted nominees was Cinematography, which saw major titles likeTop Gun: Maverick,Avatar: The Way of Water,The Fabelmans,Babylon,The Batman, andEverything Everywhere All At Oncegetting passed over for more surprising choices likeBardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths,TÁR, andEmpire of Lightgetting its sole nomination throughRoger Deakins. But kudos to the Academy for going with more unconventional picks, even if it does leave some huge films on the table. And also, after not getting nominated in International Feature, we should’ve knownAlejandro González Iñárritu’sBardowould get a nomination somewhere. The Academy loves the guy! They can’t get enough of throwing awards at him!
Paul Mescal Makes His Way Into Best Actor
One of the bigger questions going into the nominations was how wellCharlotte Wells’Aftersunmight do, considering it’s been steadily receiving praise for months now.Aftersunseemed like it could sneak into the Best Original Screenplay category, or,Paul Mescalmight knockTom Cruiseout of Best Actor. Well, it turns out the latter is how the Academy decided to award Wells' remarkable film, giving Mescal his first nomination, and pitting him against major competition likeBrendan Fraser,Colin Farrell, andAustin Butler. Mescal is without a doubt a dark horse in this category, but this is a well-deserved nomination.
