Tag: Poor Things

January 23, 2024

by Carla Hay

With 13 nods, the Universal Pictures drama “Oppenheimer” (a biopic of atomic bomb creator J. Robert Oppenheimer) is the top nominee for the 96th Annual Academy Awards, which will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 10, 2024. ABC will have the U.S. telecast of the show, which will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. The nominations were announced on January 23, 2024, by Jack Quaid and Zazie Beetz.

The nominations for “Oppenheimer” are Best Picture; Best Director (for Christopher Nolan); Best Actor (for Cillian Murphy); Best Supporting Actor (for Robert Downey Jr.); Best Supporting Actress (for Emily Blunt); Best Adapted Screenplay; Best Film Editing; Best Cinematography; Best Production Design; Best Costume Design; Best Original Score; Best Sound; and Best Visual Effects.

The other contenders for Best Picture are Orion Pictures’ comedy/drama “American Fiction,” Neon’s drama “Anatomy of a Fall,” Warner Bros. Pictures’ comedy”Barbie,” Focus Features’ comedy/drama “The Holdovers,” Apple Studios’ drama “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Netflix’s “Maestro,” A24’s drama “Past Lives,” Searchlight Pictures’ comedy/drama “Poor Things” and A24’s drama “The Zone of Interest.” As of 2022, the Academy Awards rule is that no less than 10 movies can be nominated in Best Picture.

“Poor Things” had the second-highest number of Oscar nominations this year (11 nods), followed by “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which had 10 nods. (Click here to read Culture Mix’s reviews of all these movies that are nominated for Best Picture.)

The awards are voted for by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. For the 2024 ceremony, eligible movies were those released in the U.S. cinemas or in their native country in 2023.

Snubs and Surprises

“Barbie” slew of Oscar nominations did not include Greta Gerwig for Best Director or Margot Robbie for Best Actress, even though Gerwig and Robbie had been widely predicted to get Oscar nods in those categories and were nominated at other major awards in those categories. However, Gerwig and Robbie each got other Oscar nominations for the movie. “Barbie” co-writers Gerwig and Noah Baumbach (who are married) were both nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay. Robbie, who is one of the four producers of “Barbie,” received a nomination for Best Picture, along with “Barbie” producers Tom Ackerley (who is Robbie’s husband), David Heyman, and Robbie Brenner. In the category for Best Actor, Leonardo DiCaprio did not get a widely predicted nomination for his starring role in “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

Movies that have been getting awards or nominations elsewhere were completely snubbed by the Academy Awards. They include the Seachlight Pictures drama “All of Us Strangers,” the Amazon MGM Studios comedy/drama “Saltburn,” the Apple TV+ documentary “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie,” the HBO documentary “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project” and and the Amazon MGM Studios drama “Air.”

Some of the biggest surprise nominations came from international films. France’s “Anatomy of a Fall” scored a Best Director nod for Justine Triet, when “Barbie” director Gerwig was widely predicted to be the only female nominee in that category. France’s official selection for Best International Film was not “Anatomy of a Fall” but was “The Taste of Things,” which failed to get any Oscar nominations. Netflix’s “El Conde” (from Chile) received a surprise nod for Best Cinematography, after the movie was passed over at other awards shows. “Society of the Snow” (from Spain) was expected to get nominated for Best International Film, but most awards pundits did not predict that it would also get an Oscar nod for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, which was a category where “Barbie” failed to make the Oscar shortlist and therefore couldn’t be nominated.

Speaking of “Barbie,” America Ferrera got a surprise nomination for Best Supporting Actress, when more people were predicting that Robbie would get an Oscar nomination for being an actress in the film. Another surprise was Scott George’s “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” from “Killers of the Flower Moon” getting a nomination for Best Original Song, after being ignored for nominations at other awards shows. “American Fiction” composer Laura Karpman, who was also snubbed at other major awards, got a surprise Oscar nod for Best Original Score.

Diversity and Inclusion

Racial diversity is in every actor/actress category at 2022 Academy Awards. Black people are represented the most with “American Fiction,” which has five nominations: Best Picture; Best Actor (for Jeffrey Wright); Best Supporting Actor (for Sterling K. Brown); Best Adapted Screenplay; and Best Original Sore. “American Fiction” is based on Percival Everett’s 2001 novel “Erasure,” which is about a literature professor (played by Wright), who invents a fugitive criminal persona to write a book that becomes a surprise hit. Meanwhile, the Ugandan film “Bobi Wine: The People’s President” (co-directed by Moses Bwayo) is nominated for Best Documentary Feature Film.

The other Black people nominated for Oscars this year in acting categories are Colman Domingo of Netflix drama “Rustin” (Best Actor); Da’Vine Joy Randolph of the Focus Features drama “The Holdovers” (Best Supporting Actress); and Danielle Brooks of the Warner Bros. Pictures musical “The Color Purple” (Best Supporting Actress). For behind-the-scenes jobs, Black nominees include Kemp Powers, one of the directors for Sony Pictures Animation/Columbia Pictures’ “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”; Jon Batiste, co-writer of “It Never Went Away” from the Netflix documentary “American Symphony” (Best Original Song); Kris Bowers, co-director of The Los Angeles Times/Searchlight Pictures’ “The Last Repair Shop” (Best Documentary Short Film); Christine Turner, co-director of The New Yorker’s “The Barber of Little Rock” (Best Documentary Short Film); Misan Harriman, director of the Netflix drama “The After” (Best Live-Action Short Film); Willie Burton, audio engineer of “Oppenheimer” (Best Sound); and Andrew Roberts, visual effects on-set supervisor of “The Creator” (Best Visual Effects).

Asians were represented in the most Oscar categories with “Past Lives,” a drama about two childhood sweethearts from South Korea who are separated when the girl in the duo moves to North America with her family, and then the two former sweethearts see each other in person years later when she is married to an American man. “Past Lives” writer/director Celine Song, whose life partially inspired the movie, is nominated for Best Original Screenplay. Three movies from Japan are nominated for Oscars: “Perfect Days” (Best International Feature), “The Boy and the Heron” (Best Animated Feature) and “Godzilla Minus One” (Best Visual Effects). Meanwhile, the Indian film “To Kill a Tiger” is nominated for Best Documentary Feature Film. The Chinese films “Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó” and “Island in Between” are each nominated for Best Documentary Short Film, while Korean American director Peter Sohn received a Best Animated Feature Film nomination for Pixar’s “Elemental.”

For the first time, there are several Native Americans nominated for Academy Awards in the same year. They are all from “The Killers of the Flower Moon”: the aforementioned songwriter George; Lily Gladstone (Best Actress, the first Native American nominated in this category); and the late Robbie Robertson (Best Original Score).

Hispanic/Latino people nominated for Oscars this year included the aforementioned Ferrera from “Barbie,” plus filmmakers from “Society of the Snow” and “El Conde.” The Chilean film “The Eternal Memory” got an Oscar nod for Best Documentary Feature Film.

LGBTQ representation in the Oscar nominations can be found in the characters played by Colman in “Rustin,” Brown in “American Fiction,” Annette Bening in “Nyad” and Jodie Foster in “Nyad.” Colman and Foster are openly gay in real life.

Here is the complete list of nominations for the 2024 Academy Awards:

Best Picture

“American Fiction,” Ben LeClair, Nikos Karamigios, Cord Jefferson and Jermaine Johnson, producers

“Anatomy of a Fall,” Marie-Ange Luciani and David Thion, producers

“Barbie,” David Heyman, Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley and Robbie Brenner, producers

“The Holdovers,” Mark Johnson, producer

“Killers of the Flower Moon,” Dan Friedkin, Bradley Thomas, Martin Scorsese and Daniel Lupi, producers

“Maestro,” Bradley Cooper, Steven Spielberg, Fred Berner, Amy Durning and Kristie Macosko Krieger, producers

“Oppenheimer,” Emma Thomas, Charles Roven and Christopher Nolan, producers

“Past Lives,” David Hinojosa, Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler, producers

“Poor Things,” Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone, producers

“The Zone of Interest,” James Wilson, producer

Best Director

Justine Triet (“Anatomy of a Fall”)

Martin Scorsese (“Killers of the Flower Moon”)  

Christopher Nolan (“Oppenheimer”)

Yorgos Lanthimos (“Poor Things”)

Jonathan Glazer (“The Zone of Interest”)

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Bradley Cooper (“Maestro”)

Colman Domingo (“Rustin”) 

Paul Giamatti (“The Holdovers”)  

Cillian Murphy (“Oppenheimer”)  

Jeffrey Wright (“American Fiction”) 

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Annette Bening (“Nyad”)

Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon”)  

Sandra Hüller (“Anatomy of a Fall”)

Carey Mulligan (“Maestro”) 

Emma Stone (“Poor Things”)  

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Sterling K. Brown (“American Fiction”)

Robert De Niro (“Killers of the Flower Moon”)

Robert Downey Jr. (“Oppenheimer”) 

Ryan Gosling (“Barbie”) 

Mark Ruffalo (“Poor Things”) 

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Emily Blunt (“Oppenheimer”) 

Danielle Brooks (“The Color Purple”)  

America Ferrera (“Barbie”)

Jodie Foster (“Nyad”)

Da’Vine Joy Randolph (“The Holdovers”)

Best Adapted Screenplay

“American Fiction,” written by Cord Jefferson

“Barbie,” written by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach

“Oppenheimer,” written by Christopher Nolan

“Poor Things,” written by Tony McNamara

“The Zone of Interest,” written by Jonathan Glazer

Best Original Screenplay

“Anatomy of a Fall,” written by Justine Triet and Arthur Harari

“The Holdovers,” written by David Hemingson

“Maestro,” written by Bradley Cooper and Josh Singer

“May December,” written by Samy Burch; story by Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik

“Past Lives,” written by Celine Song

Best Cinematography

“El Conde,” Edward Lachman

“Killers of the Flower Moon,” Rodrigo Prieto

“Maestro,” Matthew Libatique

“Oppenheimer,” Hoyte van Hoytema

“Poor Things,” Robbie Ryan

Best Film Editing

“Anatomy of a Fall,” Laurent Sénéchal

“The Holdovers,” Kevin Tent

“Killers of the Flower Moon,” Thelma Schoonmaker

“Oppenheimer,” Jennifer Lame

“Poor Things,” Yorgos Mavropsaridis

Best Sound

“The Creator,” Ian Voigt, Erik Aadahl, Ethan Van der Ryn, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic

“Maestro,” Steven A. Morrow, Richard King, Jason Ruder, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic

“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,” Chris Munro, James H. Mather, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor

“Oppenheimer,” Willie Burton, Richard King, Gary A. Rizzo and Kevin O’Connell

“The Zone of Interest,” Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn

Best Original Score

“American Fiction,” Laura Karpman

“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” John Williams

“Killers of the Flower Moon,” Robbie Robertson

“Oppenheimer,” Ludwig Göransson

“Poor Things,” Jerskin Fendrix

Best Original Song

“The Fire Inside” from “Flamin’ Hot,” music and lyric by Diane Warren

“I’m Just Ken” from “Barbie,” music and lyric by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt

“It Never Went Away” from “American Symphony,” music and lyric by Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson

“Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)” from “Killers of the Flower Moon,” music and lyric by Scott George

“What Was I Made For?” from “Barbie,” music and lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell

Best Animated Feature Film

“The Boy and the Heron,” Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki

“Elemental,” Peter Sohn and Denise Ream

“Nimona,” Nick Bruno, Troy Quane, Karen Ryan and Julie Zackary

“Robot Dreams,” Pablo Berger, Ibon Cormenzana, Ignasi Estapé and Sandra Tapia Díaz

“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Amy Pascal

Best International Feature Film

“Io Capitano” (Italy)  

“Perfect Days” (Japan)  

“Society of the Snow” (Spain)  

“The Teachers’ Lounge” (Germany) 

“The Zone of Interest” (United Kingdom) 

Best Documentary Feature

“Bobi Wine: The People’s President,” Moses Bwayo, Christopher Sharp and John Battsek

“The Eternal Memory,” Maite Alberdi

“Four Daughters,” Kaouther Ben Hania and Nadim Cheikhrouha

“To Kill a Tiger,” Nisha Pahuja, Cornelia Principe and David Oppenheim

“20 Days in Mariupol,” Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner and Raney Aronson-Rath

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

“Golda,” Karen Hartley Thomas, Suzi Battersby and Ashra Kelly-Blue

“Maestro,” Kazu Hiro, Kay Georgiou and Lori McCoy-Bell

“Oppenheimer,” Luisa Abel

“Poor Things,” Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier and Josh Weston

“Society of the Snow,” Ana López-Puigcerver, David Martí and Montse Ribé

Best Costume Design

“Barbie,” Jacqueline Durran

“Killers of the Flower Moon,” Jacqueline West

“Napoleon,” Janty Yates and Dave Crossman

“Oppenheimer,” Ellen Mirojnick

“Poor Things,” Holly Waddington

Best Production Design

“Barbie,” production design: Sarah Greenwood; set decoration: Katie Spencer

“Killers of the Flower Moon,” production design: Jack Fisk; set decoration: Adam Willis

“Napoleon,” production design: Arthur Max; set decoration: Elli Griff

“Oppenheimer,” production design: Ruth De Jong; set decoration: Claire Kaufman

“Poor Things,” production design: James Price and Shona Heath; set decoration: Zsuzsa Mihalek

Best Visual Effects

“The Creator,” Jay Cooper, Ian Comley, Andrew Roberts and Neil Corbould

“Godzilla Minus One,” Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi and Tatsuji Nojima

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” Stephane Ceretti, Alexis Wajsbrot, Guy Williams and Theo Bialek

“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,” Alex Wuttke, Simone Coco, Jeff Sutherland and Neil Corbould

“Napoleon,” Charley Henley, Luc-Ewen Martin-Fenouillet, Simone Coco and Neil Corbould

Best Documentary Short Subject

“The ABCs of Book Banning,” Sheila Nevins and Trish Adlesic

“The Barber of Little Rock,” John Hoffman and Christine Turner

“Island in Between,” S. Leo Chiang and Jean Tsien

“The Last Repair Shop,” Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers

“Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó,” Sean Wang and Sam Davis

Best Animated Short Film

“Letter to a Pig,” Tal Kantor and Amit R. Gicelter

“Ninety-Five Senses,” Jerusha Hess and Jared Hess

“Our Uniform,” Yegane Moghaddam

“Pachyderme,” Stéphanie Clément and Marc Rius

“War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko,” Dave Mullins and Brad Booker

Best Live-Action Short Film

“The After,” Misan Harriman and Nicky Bentham

“Invincible,” Vincent René-Lortie and Samuel Caron

“Knight of Fortune,” Lasse Lyskjær Noer and Christian Norlyk

“Red, White and Blue,” Nazrin Choudhury and Sara McFarlane

“The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” Wes Anderson and Steven Rales