I love Oscar nomination day. Sometimes more than Oscar night itself.
There are often more surprises.
Here are my thoughts (as they happen) on the 2025 Academy Award Nominations. Love that Rachel Sennot and Bowen Yang are presenting the nominees. They are doing a great, adorable job. I love that they touched on the alternative comedy scene.
Best Picture
- Anora (available to rent or buy on VOD)
- The Brutalist (in theaters)
- A Complete Unknown (in theaters)
- Conclave (Peacock)
- Dune: Part Two (MAX)
- Emilia Pérez (Netflix)
- I’m Still Here (available to rent or buy on VOD)
- Nickel Boys (In theaters)
- The Substance (MUBI)
- Wicked (available to rent or buy on VOD)
There are things I love here and things I do not like.
Love: The Substance got a nod – this had a very slim chance of happening, and I’m thrilled. This was a FANTASTIC movie. Different than any other Best Pic Nominee. First time a body horror movie got a Best Pic nod and I am thrilled.
Did not like: The Brutalist. I knew it was gonna happen, but it’s just a Best Pic wanna-be. It’s not the best picture released on December 20th by A24, even. That award goes to Babygirl. I hope it is one of those movies that gets a lot of nominations but doesn’t win a single award.
Love: A Complete Unknown. My friend Nick is in this so, I am thrilled for him. Haven’t seen this movie yet, but it’s on my list.
Did not like: Emilia Pérez. I haven’t seen it, but all the backlash I’ve seen from the Mexican population and trans folks, makes me feel like the proper research and due diligence weren’t done for this film.
Love: the surprise nod for I’m Still Here. Was not expecting that.
HATE: No love for Challengers. Also Sing Sing should be here.
Love: Conclave – the stunning Pope movie that reads like a reality TV show that I can’t stop thinking about. This is my pic for Best Pic.
Best Director
- Sean Baker, Anora
- Brady Corbet, The Brutalist
- James Mangold, A Complete Unknown
- Jacques Audiard, Emilia Pérez
- Coralie Fargeat, The Substance
Yay, Coralie. Yay, Sean Baker, Yay, Mangold!
Boo the other two.
Best Actor
- Adrien Brody, The Brutalist
- Timothee Chalamet, A Complete Unkown
- Colman Domingo, Sing Sing (in theaters)
- Ralph Fiennes, Conclave
- Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice (available to rent or buy on VOD)
I clapped so hard when Sebastian Stan’s name was announced that my hands hurt. He deserves this nomination, and, what’s more, he deserves to win.
If he doesn’t win, my backup choices are Colman or Ralph. I don’t care which.
Best Actress
- Cynthia Erivo, Wicked
- Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez
- Mikey Madison, Anora
- Demi Moore, The Substance
- Fernanda Torres, I’m Still Here
June Squibb should be here for Thelma. If you haven’t seen it yet, it is currently streaming on Hulu and it’s a literal delight.
Best Supporting Actor
- Yuri Borisov, Anora
- Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain (Hulu)
- Edward Norton, A Complete Unkown
- Guy Pearce, The Brutalist
- Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice
Yuri is the biggest surprise, but honestly, any of these fellas could win this, and I’d be happy. I ain’t seen A Complete Unknown yet, but I’ve loved Ed Norton since 1996, so I’m sure I’ll think he deserves it.
My dream win here is Guy, even though I didn’t enjoy the film he was in. He was simply that good.
Best Supporting Actress
- Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unkown
- Ariana Grande, Wicked
- Felicity Jones, The Brutalist
- Isabella Rosellini, Conclave
- Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez
If I had to vote right now, I’d be voting for Isabella or Ariana. I am sad Margaret Qualley didn’t get recognized for The Substance. I also know this is out of left field, but I also think that Maria Bakalova deserved a nomination for playing Ivana in The Apprentice.
Best Score
- The Brutalist
- Conclave
- Emilia Pérez
- Wicked
- The Wild Robot (Peacock on January 24)
I AM ANGRY. ANGRY ANGRY ANGRY. I am legit so livid at this. Challengers had the best score this year. It’s nonsense it wasn’t nominated. It fits the movie perfectly -it was driving and energetic, and FRESH.
If The Brutalist wins for the score that annoyed me so, I will be very very sad.
Similar for the Wicked score, which was fine and all, but it was just variations on themes that already existed. This might be the year that ends my Oscar obsession.
Best Original Screenplay
- Anora
- The Brutalist
- A Real Pain
- September 5 (in theaters)
- The Substance
Anora or The Substance, please. I’ve seen all five nominees and those were the most original. A Real Pain could also win because the dialogue is strong, but I don’t think it deserves it, really. Let Eisenberg cook for ten years; then he’s gonna be a killer writer/director.
I also think Thelma should have popped up in this category. It was a fresh, fun movie.
Best Adapted Screenplay
- A Complete Unkown
- Conclave
- Emilia Pérez
- Nickel Boys
- Sing Sing
Conclave, plz. Then Sing Sing.
Best Hair & Makeup
- A Different Man (MAX)
- Emilia Pérez
- Nosferatu (In theaters)
- The Substance
- Wicked
The Apprentice should be here, and that’s all there is to it.
I’m glad to see both A Different Man and The Substance, though. Both are deserving, and I wish they could tie.
I’ve not yet seen Nosferatu. My normal movie lovin’ friends that have seen it, adored it, so I’m sure I will too.
What I’m saying is… my opinions on this category might change.
Best Original Song
- “El Mal” from Emilia Pérez
- “The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight (Netflix)
- “Like a Bird” from Sing Sing
- “Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez
- “Never Too Late” from Elton John: Never Too Late (Disney+)
WTF is that Elton John song? Never heard of the song or the movie, and I have obsessively been reading Oscar nomination odds and predictions. This was barely mentioned.
And don’t even get me started on “The Journey”, the song Diane Warren had her friends nominate her for. This happens every year it seems, and I hate it. This is her 10th Best Original Song nomination since 2014. She has never won and they are rarely from a movie anyone has heard of.
“Compress/Repress” from Challengers should be here.
Best Cinematography
- The Brutalist
- Dune: Part Two
- Emilia Pérez
- Maria (Netflix)
- Nosferatu
Another surprise Nosferatu nod.
I do not want The Brutalist to win this.
Best Production Design
- The Brutalist
- Conclave
- Dune: Part Two
- Nosferatu
- Wicked
Right now my pick for this is Conclave. It was just so lush.
I gotta get my ass to the theaters to see Nosferatu, soon.
Best Film Editing
- Anora
- The Brutalist
- Conclave
- Emilia Pérez
- Wicked
I don’t even know what to pick here. I don’t know that any of these are excellent examples of editing imho.
Best Sound
- A Complete Unknown
- Dune: Part Two
- Emilia Pérez
- Wicked
- The Wild Robot
I feel like music movies always do well here.
Best International Feature
- I’m Still Here
- The Girl with the Needle (in theaters)
- Emilia Pérez
- The Seed of the Sacred Fig (in theaters)
- Flow (available to rent or buy on VOD)
FLOW FLOW FLOW. I yelped at this nomination. This movie surprised me so much. It was animated in Blender and didn’t have a single word of dialogue.
Best Visual Effects
- Alien: Romulus (Hulu)
- Better Man (in theaters)
- Dune: Part Two
- Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (Hulu)
- Wicked
I haven’t seen it yet, but I want the monkey movie to win. And I don’t mean Planet of the Apes.
Best Documentary Feature
- Black Box Diaries (Hulu)
- No Other Land (not currently available)
- Porcelain War (in theaters)
- Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
- Sugarcane (available to rent or buy on VOD)
I haven’t seen any of these yet, but I will.
Best Costume Design
- A Complete Unkown
- Conclave
- Gladiator 2 (Paramount Plus)
- Nosferatu
- Wicked
Best Animated Feature
- Flow
- Inside Out 2 (Disney+)
- Memoir of a Snail (AMC+)
- Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (Netflix)
- The Wild Robot
Obviously, I’m team Flow. I still have to see a couple of these, though.
Best Animated Short
- Beautiful Men (Mubi)
- In the Shadow of the Cypress (Mubi)
- Magic Candies (not currently available)
- Wander to Wonder (not currently available)
- Yuck! (not currently available)
I know nothing about any of these, but. Iwill.
Best Live Action Short
- A Lien (not currently available)
- Anuja (Netflix)
- I’m Not a Robot (not currently available)
- The Last Ranger (Mubi)
- The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent (Arte)
Another category I’m clueless about.
Best Documentary Short
- Death by Numbers (Lonestar & MSNBC)
- I Am Ready, Warden (Paramount +)
- Incident (not currently available)
- Instruments of a Beating Heart (Vimeo)
- The Only Girl in the Orchestra (Netflix)
See above.
