Between big surprise nominations and serious sunbs, this year’s list of Academy Awards nominees is an interesting and unexpected one. From Ana de Armas making it into Best Actress to Triangle of Sadness picking up multiple nominations to RRR only getting one nod, there’s a lot to talk about, so let’s get into it.
Ana De Armas And Andrea Riseborough Got Best Actress Nominations
Well, hearing Riz Ahmed and Allison Williams read out Ana de Armas’ and Andrea Riseborough’s names for Blonde and To Leslie, respectively, was a big surprise to put it lightly. This is because, even though long-time frontrunners Michelle Yeoh and Cate Blanchett made it in for Everything Everywhere All at Once and Tár, as well as Michelle Williams for The Fabelmans, Ana de Armas and Andrea Riseborough were extremely unexpected and hadn't been talked about nearly as much as the other three actresses.
De Armas, who played Marilyn Monroe in the movie Blonde, which got middling reviews, has picked up some awards season momentum. The actress received nominations for her performance from the BAFTAs, the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild, however, it’s still a surprise that she was nominated because of audiences' negative reception of the film.
As for Riseborough, she only recently picked up steam for her performance in To Leslie. She did get a nod at the Independent Spirit Awards as well as a few other smaller shows, however, the Academy nomination was unexpected.
Overall, the Best Actress race ended up being the most shocking to me overall, because of these two surprises. Now, we'll have to wait and see if de Armas and Riseborough rise to the top, or if Yeoh and Blanchett remain the frontrunners.
Stephanie Hsu With The Supporting Actress Nomination
There has been a lot of buzz about Stephanie Hsu being overlooked by various awards shows this entire season. However, it seems The Academy heard the discourse surrounding the actress, and it came to its senses because the woman behind Everything Everywhere All at Once’s badass and heartfelt antagonist is getting the recognition she deserves!
We knew EEAAO would be an award’s season darling based on its winning streak throughout some of the biggest award shows on the circuit. However, Hsu was someone who wasn’t a guaranteed nominee. While it’s so exciting Jamie Lee Curtis picked up a nomination, and Ke Huy Quan remains the frontrunner for Best Supporting Actor those two things were expected, Hsu’s nomination wasn’t.
While seeing her name on the list is amazing for the actress, it also means The Daniels movie picked up four acting nominations, along with many others, showing just how much love there is for Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Lots of Triangle of Sadness Representation
One movie that roped in more nominations than expected is Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness. While the Best Original Screenplay nomination was to be expected, the Best Director and Best Picture nods were not.
The film did perform extremely well during the festival season, picking up Cannes’ highest honor: the Palme d’Or. It’s also been well-reviewed and put on some of 2022s best-of lists, including our own Eric Eisenberg's top 10 movies.
However, what makes this surprising is the movies that didn’t get nominated in these categories, especially in Best Director. While Östlund has always been a contender, directors like Joseph Kosinski for Top Gun: Maverick, Sarah Polley for Women Talking and James Cameron for Avatar: The Way of Water seemed to be the people the Academy would choose. However, they chose the director of this little, but forceful satire about wealth instead, which is still super exciting.
Dark Horse Paul Mescal Got A Best Actor Nomination For Aftersun
Paul Mescal has been a dark horse this whole awards season, and the fifth spot in Best Actor has fluctuated for the last few months, and I’m overjoyed that the young actor made it in for his performance in Aftersun. The actor who broke onto the scene with the hit series Normal People, has run a quiet Oscar campaign, and Aftersun has been a movie beloved by critics. It was always a question of if the actor would get recognition, and it seems The Academy loves his performance just as much as those who saw the film that was one of the best under-the-radar movies of 2022.
Over the course of the awards season, Mescal has picked up nominations here and there, and he had some major professional news break when he was cast in Gladiator 2 and Richard Linklater’s Merrily We Roll Along. I’d say that between all this news, and his beloved performance in Aftersun, while it was shocking, it makes sense that the breakout actor got a nomination.
RRR Was Only Nominated For Original Song
It was sadly not RRR’s morning. The movie has been making a massive push for a Best Picture nomination for a while now. This is kind of because it was not able to be considered in the International Feature category, due to the fact that the Film Federation of India submitted Last Film Show instead for its entry, according to IndieWire. Sadly it wasn’t able to nab the biggest nomination in movies.
However, after a successful run at a few awards shows, the film did pick up a Best Original Song nomination for “Natu Natu” which was 100% deserved. It's also worth noting that even though this is the only nomination the movie got, I would consider this tune the frontrunner in its category.
Top Gun: Maverick Got Lots Of Nominations But Not In Lead Actor Or Best Director
They Dune-ed Top Gun: Maverick. Much like last year with the sci-fi hit, Top Gun: Maverick got tons of nominations, however, was left out of all the acting categories as well as Best Director. The biggest snubs here are 100% Joseph Kosinski not getting a Best Director nomination and Tom Cruise being left out of the Best Actor race.
While this is a big bummer, the movie did pick up lots of nominations in the technical categories, as well as nods in Best Adapted Screenplay and the big award: Best Picture.
These are just a few of the biggest surprises from this year’s Academy Awards nominations. Make sure to keep up with the 2023 TV schedule for more information on the ceremony, and tune into the 95th Oscars on March 12 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
