First of all, I’d like to thank the Academy for choosing to reveal this year’s Oscar nominees on my birthday. It was truly a fantastic way to begin the celebrations. Overall, I’d say I’m happy with the choices this year. I was holding my breath when they announced the nominees for Best Actress because I was so afraid Kristen Stewart was going to be snubbed. Thankfully, she pulled out a nomination and who knows? Bella Swan may be walking away with an Oscar come March 27th.
Now I’d like to compare my personal choices in eight major categories with the choices made by the Academy. Without further ado, here they are:
My Choices: Best Picture
- Belfast
- CODA
- Drive My Car
- Dune
- King Richard
- Licorice Pizza
- The Lost Daughter
- The Power of the Dog
- The Tragedy of Macbeth
- West Side Story
Official Nominations: Best Picture
- Belfast
- CODA
- Don’t Look Up
- Drive My Car
- Dune
- King Richard
- Licorice Pizza
- Nightmare Alley
- The Power of the Dog
- West Side Story
It looks like the Academy agreed with me on all but two films: The Lost Daughter and The Tragedy of Macbeth. I knew The Lost Daughter was a long shot but I’m really offended about Macbeth. In place of the films I picked, the Academy chose Don’t Look Up and Nightmare Alley. All of the films are worthy of the distinction but there can only be so many nominees.
My Choices: Best Director
- Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza
- Kenneth Branagh, Belfast
- Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
- Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter
- Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car
Official Nominations: Best Director
- Kenneth Branagh, Belfast
- Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car
- Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza
- Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
- Steven Spielberg, West Side Story
So I overshot on Maggie Gyllenhaal. Sue me. Four out of five isn’t bad.
My Choices: Best Actor
- Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog
- Peter Dinklage, Cyrano
- Andrew Garfield, tick, tick… Boom!
- Will Smith, King Richard
- Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth
Official Nominations: Best Actor
- Javier Bardem, Being the Ricardos
- Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog
- Andrew Garfield, tick, tick… Boom!
- Will Smith, King Richard
- Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth
Switch Dinklage and Bardem and I nailed it. I’m not surprised Bardem secured a nomination given how much the Academy loves movies about show business, but I still remain unimpressed with his performance. I may need to watch Being the Ricardos again and reevaluate my opinion. If I do, you all will be the first to know.
My Choices: Best Supporting Actor
- Bradley Cooper, Licorice Pizza
- Ciarán Hinds, Belfast
- Troy Kotsur, CODA
- Jesse Plemons, The Power of the Dog
- Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog
Official Nominations: Best Supporting Actor
- Ciarán Hinds, Belfast
- Troy Kotsur, CODA
- Jesse Plemons, The Power of the Dog
- J.K. Simmons, Being the Ricardos
- Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog
I’m not surprised about J.K. Simmons. For one thing, he’s already won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role once and the Academy tends to reward industry veterans. Combined with that, he was a very convincing William Frawley. Up until now, the award has all but sat atop Kodi Smit-McPhee’s mantle. Now, it’s anyone’s guess who will walk away with Oscar gold. One thing that’s working against Kodi Smit-McPhee is that his costar Jesse Plemons is competing against him in the same category. Greater odds have been surmounted but now that Simmons is in the ring, we’ll have to wait until the night of the ceremony to see who will win.
My Choices: Best Actress
- Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye
- Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter
- Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos
- Frances McDormand, The Tragedy of Macbeth
- Kristen Stewart, Spencer
Official Nominations: Best Actress
- Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye
- Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter
- Penélope Cruz, Parallel Mothers
- Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos
- Kristen Stewart, Spencer
Frances McDormand is usually a safe bet, but I guess the Academy has decided she’s been recognized enough in the past several years. At any rate and once again, four out of five isn’t bad.
My Choices: Best Supporting Actress
- Caitríona Balfe, Belfast
- Jessie Buckley, The Lost Daughter
- Ariana DeBose, West Side Story
- Ann Dowd, Mass
- Kathryn Hunter, The Tragedy of Macbeth
Official Nominations: Best Supporting Actress
- Jessie Buckley, The Lost Daughter
- Ariana DeBose, West Side Story
- Judi Dench, Belfast
- Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog
- Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard
I’m the most angry about Kathryn Hunter being snubbed. Did the Academy voters even watch The Tragedy of Macbeth?
My Choices: Best Original Screenplay
- Belfast
- Don’t Look Up
- The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun
- King Richard
- Licorice Pizza
Official Nominations: Best Original Screenplay
- Belfast
- Don’t Look Up
- King Richard
- Licorice Pizza
- The Worst Person in the World
Four out of five. That appears to be how I’m trending.
My Choices: Best Adapted Screenplay
- CODA
- Dune
- The Lost Daughter
- The Power of the Dog
- The Tragedy of Macbeth
Official Nominations: Best Adapted Screenplay
- CODA
- Drive My Car
- Dune
- The Lost Daughter
- The Power of the Dog
Well, that’s it. Let me know what you think. Like the rest of you, I’ve got a lot of movies to watch.
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The Voracious Bibliophile 
Four out of five is a pretty good ratio. I haven’t seen all the films yet (even Belfast, which is from my part of the world, doesn’t appeal to me and I’m guessing there are about twenty van Morrison songs in it, but will probably get dragged to it.) Like you, surprised at Maggie Gyllenhaal’s omission. Jesse Buckley was especially good in that. Looking forward to Liquorice Pizza as I usually enjoy Anderson movies. You’ve convinced me to give Macbeth a watch. Think Jane Campion is a good shot for Director.
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I was afraid Maggie Gyllenhaal might be snubbed in the Best Director but get a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. I’m sad that I turned out to be right. To be fair though, my pump was primed for a Ferrante adaptation even without Gyllenhaal and Colman. She’s one of my favorite writers. I am going to have to train my brain to watch longer films again because a lot of the Best Picture nominees are well over two hours. I hate that about our modern attention spans. That said, I can watch Gone with the Wind without stopping for a bathroom break. I’m glad I convinced you to watch Macbeth. I am still irritated that Kathryn Hunter didn’t get nominated for Best Supporting Actress. That category, more than any other this year, just disappointed me. So many of my favorites weren’t nominated. In my idealized ballot where I don’t have to limit myself to five, I’d nominate Kathryn Hunter for “The Tragedy of Macbeth” (and she’d win), Jessie Buckley for “The Lost Daughter”, Dakota Johnson for “The Lost Daughter”, Kirsten Dunst for “The Power of the Dog”, Ann Dowd for “Mass”, Martha Plimpton for “Mass”, Nina Arianda for “Being the Ricardos”, Aunjanue Ellis for “King Richard”, and Ariana DeBose for “West Side Story”. I guess it’s easy to see why I’m not picking the shortlist because I do not like to narrow things down.
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