Awards Season 2025

[Toland's Mitchell]

We live in a world where Jurassic World Rebirth gets a nom, and No Other Choice doesn't. One of a few head-scratchers. F1 for BP also seems nuts. I suppose for the TV draw, they wanted one nom to be a high-octane, high-earning summer blockbuster. Was F1 really the best of that bunch? The acting categories also have some questionable choices. I'll echo those for Sinners. Teyana getting nominated for 1BAA but not Chase feels wrong. On the plus side, I'm glad to see love and support for Marty Supreme and Sinners (16 noms is a bit much, but hey), hope they take a couple trophies (or more).

[Never Cursed]

We live in a world where Jurassic World Rebirth gets a nom

I had completely forgotten that this movie had come out this year, but apparently it made close to a billion dollars.

[mfunk9786]

I think we sometimes have a tendency to talk about Oscar nominations as though they've been carefully curated. "they wanted one nom to be..." - people voted on these, and this is how the vote shook out. F1 is a really impressive technical production spanning a number of months, various technological innovations in digital camera technology, and a whole lot of veteran industry professionals. It's also not some execrable disappointment, it's fine at worst, pretty damn enjoyable at best. Were I in the Academy, would I think it's worthy of a nomination in this category? No, but I'd understand if a colleague did.

[cantinflas]

Yeah I thought F1 was well done plus you can't deny the presence of Brad Pitt in elevating it to the Academy.

Wonder if Chainsaw Man Reze Arc or Demon Slayer Infinity Castle got many votes? Would've been cool to see one of them get a nom.

[soundchaser]

Different voting blocs prioritize different things. It's not THAT surprising that a film expected to get a few techs will have enough support from that crowd to propel it to a bigger nomination, particularly when the below-the-line categories are 5 to the BP's 10. Sometimes it's just a numbers game.

[Never Cursed]

I'm still baffled by the nomination, but it could also just as easily be that Apple and Pitt and crew put lots of money and effort behind an FYC campaign. I would assume that Warners didn't do much, as they have two other big contenders, but if Apple wants attention for their streaming service, this is probably a sensible way of getting it

[Captain Paranoia]

We live in a world where Jurassic World Rebirth gets a nom

I had completely forgotten that this movie had come out this year, but apparently it made close to a billion dollars.

It's no surprise that it was the former a technical category but I'm surprised No Other Choice was shut out completely (though it at least made the shortlist) given that it managed to earn a nom in the main Best Picture slots at the Globes.

[domino harvey]

Surprisingly it’s the first VFX nom for the franchise since Lost World

[Toland's Mitchell]

There are several forces at play when deciding the BP noms. Yes, at the end of the day, it's just people voting. But there are influences on those voters. As Never Cursed pointed out, FYC campaigns are huge. And as soundchaser pointed out, members from the technical branches can elevate a blockbuster into the BP field. It looks like dating back to 2018, minus the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, every BP lineup has had 1 or 2 Top 10 box office performers. It isn't carefully curated that way, but nevertheless it happens. Thus I can't help but think that a sizable portion of Academy members won't openly say it, but they like the idea of big mainstream film in the BP field. It's a way to get folks to tune to ABC and increase ad sales. I'm not saying this a bad thing, just business. And I'm not saying F1 is a bad movie either. It's ok. It's entertaining. Best Picture just didn't cross my mind when I saw it on the big screen, nor since, until this morning.

[Matt]

I will happily defend both Ford vs. Ferrari and F1 as top-tier Hollywood filmmaking, even though (much to my former car-racing father’s dismay) I don’t care about cars at all. I’m happy to see Wicked get flushed down the awards toilet, but not every piece of big-budget mainstream entertainment is bad.

[Brian C]

Honestly, I wish the Best Picture nominees at least were more curated. Some kind of nominating committee picking the finalists and then, of course, the membership would vote for the winners.

I have no idea if this would have any meaningful effect, or make things better or worse. I just want to feel alive again on nomination day.

[domino harvey]

It needs to go back to five nominees. It’s just not special with ten, and i think it’s removed the sheen from getting the nom

[Brian C]

Agreed. It was cool for a year or two, but then over time it’s come to feel like a glorified participation trophy.

Now the only selling point seems to be that we get to laugh at Wicked for not having enough of a following to get a nomination in even a 10-movie field. But, alas, a hollow and unsatisfying victory.

[aox]

F1 is incredibly entertaining and well made. I’m more shocked that some people hate Ford v Ferrari. It is one of the most fun movies Hollywood has produced in years. The ending might be sanguine, but that is actually what happened. My partner and I watch it once a year. It’s a comfort movie.

[Matt]

Can any Norwegian comment on the origin of Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas' surname? Lilleaas sounds very Estonian, literally means flower meadow, but I haven't seen anybody in local media claim her one of our own yet. Usually they are very quick to sniff these thing out, the tragedy of a being a small irrelevant nation.

I am not Norwegian (not by a long shot), but the MyHeritage.com genealogy site says:

The surname Lilleaas (also spelled Lilleås) is of Norwegian origin and is classified as a toponymic (geographical) name. The name is a combination of two Norwegian words:

Lille: Meaning "little" or "small".
Aas (Ås): Derived from the Old Norse áss, meaning a "hill," "ridge," or "mound".

Historically, it often appeared alongside patronymic names (names based on the father), such as Nilssen Lilleaas ("son of Nils from the little hill") or Olsdatter Lilleaas ("daughter of Ole from the little hill").

[dda1996a]

It needs to go back to five nominees. It’s just not special with ten, and i think it’s removed the sheen from getting the nom

I feel as if having so many precursors also killed the excitment. Nowadays it usually end up being 1-3 nominations that surprise while the rest are telegraphed mo thsin advance.

[colinr0380]

The Razzies also released their nominations, with Disney's Snow White leading the pack:

WORST PICTURE
The $320 million production of a well-regarded graphic novel, that despite the highly touted talent involved, fell flat on originality, execution and heart - The Electric State
A vanity project that doesn't move fast enough towards the ending - Hurry Up Tomorrow
A slow-paced unnecessary re-imagining of a classic, filled with drawn-out musical numbers, dopey CGI dwarfs, and enough mediocrity to leave the audience in a very unhappy place - Disney's Snow White (2025)
A convoluted mess beaming its audience to a frontier that could finally bring this once inspiring franchised journey to a screeching halt - Star Trek: Section 31.
And if butchering an H.G. Wells classic by stringing together video chats, surveillance cams and FaceTime with panic attacks makes for a compelling film experience - please allow the robots to attack and get it over with! - War Of The Worlds (2025)

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR
All Seven Artificial Dwarfs / Snow White (2025)

WORST SCREEN COMBO
All Seven Dwarfs / Snow White (2025)
James Corden & Rihanna / Smurfs (2025)
Ice Cube & His Zoom Camera / War Of The Worlds (2025)
Robert DeNiro & Robert DeNiro (as Frank & Vito) / The Alto Knights
The Weeknd & His Colossal Ego / Hurry Up Tomorrow

Amusingly even they snub the second Wicked film! And Rachel Ziegler somehow dodged an actress nom as well.

[thirtyframesasecond]

I'd say the Barbie song beats "City of Stars" pretty easily in that department, though it seems "Golden" beats them both.

I always thought the songs were better in The Greatest Showman than La La Land. I know This is Me didn't win the Oscar but I think that probably is more widely remembered than City of Stars.

[thirtyframesasecond]

It needs to go back to five nominees. It’s just not special with ten, and i think it’s removed the sheen from getting the nom

It often seems like a few films are there to make up the numbers but if it was five, would Sentimental Value or The Secret Agent get nominated (the former probably would have judging by it's acting noms).

[GaryC]

How did Frankenstein get nominated for cinematography is beyond me (I hate the film overall but Del-Toro has his fans + Netflix money)
The whole thing looked CGI ugly, nothing was interesting in the lighting or camera movements, just a horrid horrid film...

I loved the film, but the cinematography was perhaps its worst attribute. Can say the same about Sinners, which was also nominated.

For the record, for Sinners Autumn Durald Arkapaw is the fourth woman to be nominated for Best Cinematography, and the first woman of colour. She may well become the first to win - shooting in 65mm and IMAX 70mm isn't necessarily an unfair advantage though Oppenheimer was shot that way and did win.

Of the five nominees, three were shot mostly or entirely on film - Sinners as above, One Battle After Another in VistaVision and Marty Supreme in 35mm. Frankenstein and Train Dreams were digitally-captured.

[dda1996a]

I thought Sinners looked meh but it was much better than Frankenstein (as mentioned), and Train Dreams.
Train Dreams tries to go for that Malick poetic look but still manages to look rather amateurish (what with the high shutter speed etc.). Its "pretty pictures" but rather flat ones.

Martty Supreme looks great, bht for me One Battle was indeed the best one - composition, lighting, camera movements. Just that sequence of roof-running easily beats out everything else.

[domino harvey]

WGA noms:

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Black Bag, Written by David Koepp; Focus Features

If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Written by Mary Bronstein; A24

Marty Supreme, Written by Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie; A24

Sinners, Written by Ryan Coogler; Warner Bros. Pictures

Weapons, Written by Zach Cregger; Warner Bros. Pictures


ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Bugonia, Screenplay by Will Tracy, Based on the Film Save the Green Planet Written and Directed by Jang Joon Hwan and Produced by Sidus; Focus Features

Frankenstein, Screenplay by Guillermo del Toro, Based on Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley; Netflix

Hamnet, Screenplay by Chloe Zhao & Maggie O’Farrell, Based on the Novel Written by Maggie O’Farrell; Focus Features

One Battle After Another, Screenplay by Paul Thomas Anderson, Screen Story by Paul Thomas Anderson, Inspired by the novel Vineland by Thomas Pynchon; Warner Bros. Pictures

Train Dreams, Screenplay by Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar, Based on the Novella by Denis Johnson; Netflix

[The Narrator Returns]

Koepp is such an inspired nomination, him and Mary Bronstein maybe make that a better category than the Oscars despite the disqualifications (and Weapons taking up a spot).

[GaryC]

BAFTA nominations

Best FIlm: Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, Sentimental Value, Sinners
All five are also Best Film Oscar nominees

Outstanding British Film: 28 Years Later, The Ballad of Wallis Island, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, Die My Love, H is for Hawk, Hamnet, I Swear, Mr Burton, Pillion, Steve

[Never Cursed]

Cesar nominations - somehow, this is not Xavier Dolan's first acting nom?