General thoughts
The Academy has been bowing down to ABC since Tom Sherak expanded the Best Picture category after the so-called ‘snub’ of The black Knight and created the Governors Awards after Jerry Lewis rambled while accepting his honorary Oscar. Then, during the ‘Oscars So White’ chapter, the Academy threw its members under the bus and has since added new people – many of whom really haven’t accomplished anything and, in some cases, don’t even work in film. . And now, because the Academy has an expensive museum to worry about, and because the whole organization has become so overstaffed and overpaid — there are literally more ushers and security personnel at screenings of the Academy than members – she is afraid to defend herself. When ABC told the Academy to pull a bunch of categories from the live show “or else,” the Academy leaned in and distributed them. They should have told ABC to fuck off and sell the show to someone else. It’s an insult to the nominees in these categories that their awards are presented as the red carpet continues and people walk in and out of the room. And why? Have more time to show clips of superhero movies and award a Twitter prize? On top of all that, members can’t even go to the show anymore—they’re not doing the lottery this year—and yet the Academy’s parking attendant gets seats every year. Many members are extremely upset and are exploring the possibility of a class action lawsuit. That’s not why we signed up.
Best Picture
On my nomination form, I wrote Tick, tick… Boom! at No. 1 – a lot of good that has done for him! I also thought the unforgivable was underrated – it’s the most powerful film about self-sacrifice I’ve ever seen, with an amazing performance from Sandra Bullock. As for the 10 who were nominated? drive my car is not a bad film, but it belongs to the category of international feature films, not here, just like Parasite did. dune is worthy in many categories, but not this one. I was waiting impatiently for the new one West Side Story, but aside from its opening sequence, it’s almost a carbon copy of the original; I know they insist that they cast Latino and Latino actors this time, but the actress who plays Maria is called Rachel Zeglerso I think it’s a bit overkill. Don’t look up is a one-joke movie. King Richard isn’t bad, but it’s not particularly good. Licorice Pizza is masterful in some ways, but I don’t know what it really has to say. The other four — Belfast, CODA, alley of nightmares and The power of the dog – are all worthy. The power of the dog is beautifully acted, photographed, and in many ways directed, but it’s just too long, with some seriously boring moments. Belfast is moving, with great performances, and shows how the Troubles have affected the average person, something I’ve never seen before; I don’t know why they called the kid “Buddy” instead of “Kenneth”, but that’s another matter. alley of nightmares is far superior to the other Guillermo del Toro film that won this award [The Shape of Water]; it’s visually stunning and a study in greed that many people could benefit from seeing. Corn CODA shows a slice of life that some people experience but most people don’t get exposed to, and it’s excellent in every way a better picture should be – it has great storytelling, acting and direction, and it also conveys an important message about the company. He deserves to be recognized.
VOTE: (1) CODA(2) alley of nightmares(3) Belfast(4) The power of the dog(5) Licorice Pizza(6) King Richard(7) Don’t look up(8) West Side Story(9) dune(ten) drive my car
Best Director
I’m shocked that [CODA’s] Sian Heder was not nominated in this category and that [Drive My Car’s Ryusuke] Hamaguchi was. [West Side Story’s] Steven Spielberg shouldn’t have been nominated – this film was made mostly by the art department and the choreography department. [Licorice Pizza’s] Paul Thomas Anderson’s writing is more impressive than his directing. [Belfast’s] Kenneth Branagh and [Dog’s] Jane Campion are both very good candidates; Kenneth just told his story in a more economical way.
VOTE: Kenneth Branagh, Belfast
Best actor
[Being the Ricardos’ Javier] Bardem didn’t do much for me; he looks nothing like Desi Arnaz, and the movie wasn’t that good. I’ve never been a big fan of [King Richard’s] Will Smith. Denzel [Washington of The Tragedy of Macbeth] is always brilliant. [Dog’s Benedict] Cumberbatch gives a powerful yet subtle performance. But my choice, above all, is [Tick, Tick … Boom!’s] Andrew Garfield. You can see he put his heart and soul into this movie, doing things he’s never done before, and with an American accent, I might add. I loved this film.
VOTE: Andrew Garfield, Tick, tick… Boom!
Best Actress
I have a feeling she’s probably going to win, but I didn’t like Olivia Colman’s take on this character [in The Lost Daughter] – she was just a bitter, one-note woman, and I thought the actress who played the younger version of her character [Jessie Buckley] was much better. [Ricardos’] Nicole Kidman was nothing special except when she recreated scenes from i love lucy. Both [The Eyes of Tammy Faye’s] Jessica Chastain and [Parallel Mothers’] Penelope Cruz are always good. Corn [Spencer’s] Kristen Stewart deserves it – if her portrayal of Diana wasn’t perfect, the whole movie would have sank. Not only does she physically embody Diana, but she captures her full essence. I didn’t like many of his other films, but in this one his talent is undeniable.
VOTE: Kristen Stewart, spencer
Best Supporting Actor
I do not know how [Dog’s] Jesse Plemons or [Ricardos’] JK Simmons was nominated. I loved [Dog’s] Kodi Smit-McPhee, but I would like to see more of his work before honoring him with an Oscar. [Belfast’s] Ciaran Hinds is terrific. But for me it’s [CODA’s] Troy Kotsur, hands down – he was able to move a non-deaf audience to tears, he was so brilliant.
VOTE: Troy Kosur, CODA
Best Supporting Actress
i’m not a big guy King Richard fan [the film for which Aunjanue Ellis is nominated]. I did not think [Dog’s] Kirsten Dunst was so special. [The Lost Daughter’s] Jessie Buckley was really good.[Belfast’s] Judi Dench is still amazing. But I vote for Ariana DeBose, the best thing about West Side Story.
VOTE: Ariana DeBose, West Side Story
Best AAdapted scenario
I really did not like The lost girl. I do not think so dune belongs here because it’s not even a finished movie [part two of the adaptation is still to come] – but, in all honesty, it’s already a much better interpretation of the book than the previous adaptation! drive my car is interesting. For me, it’s really close between The power of the dog and CODA. I just found CODA more powerful, and that’s no small feat for a hearing person [Heder] to capture the nuances of life for deaf people.
VOTE: CODA
Best Original Screenplay
The worst person in the world is very interesting, and I appreciated the humor and the cynicism of Don’t look up. Corn Belfast deserves this one.
VOTE: Belfast
Best Animated Film
Encanto is lovely, but To run away deserves recognition in this category, as much as any of the three it’s nominated for, because it uses animation in such a unique way to tell its story.
VOTE: To run away
Best Documentary Feature
The rescue should have been named and won. To run away is gimmicky. write with fire is powerful. But I wasn’t blown away by any of these five.
VOTE: [Abstain]
Best International Feature Film
[Austria’s Oscar entry] great freedom should have been nominated, and I might even have voted for him if he had been. Of the five that were, I liked them all, but the best was clearly [Italy’s] God’s handwhich is the closest thing to Fellini I have ever seen.
VOTE: God’s hand
Best Cinematography
macbeth and alley of nightmares were beautifully photographed. But the hardness of the gaze of The power of the dog made you feel like you were there at that time and place.
VOTE: The power of the dog
Best Costume Design
I don’t think the costumes in dune were something unusual. Cruel’s were very Disney. Alley of nightmares’sand West Side Story’s were certainly stained. Corn Cyrano’s were the most creative.
VOTE: Cyrano
Best Film Editing
The assembly in Tick, tick… Boom! was just amazing. It played on the rhythm and energy of the character and his music, in the sense that it’s frenetic and all over the place in a way that just worked.
VOTE: Tick, tick… Boom!
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Coming 2 America was a terrible movie. Cruel is Disney — exaggerated characters. dune was not particularly notable for her hairstyle and makeup. This leaves Tammy Faye’s eyes and [House of] Gucci. I will give it to Tammy Fay because they totally transformed Jessica; it’s the least I can do to acknowledge the pain she must have endured!
VOTE: Tammy Faye’s eyes
Best Original Score
I liked the score dunecorn The power of the dogThe score of this film corresponds to a T.
VOTE: The power of the dog
Best Original Song
I’m a little biased because Diane Warren [the 13-time nominee who is up this year for “Somehow You Do” from Four Good Days] is a friend. I doubt she’ll walk away with it, but since I wasn’t particularly enamored with the other nominees, I’ll throw a vote at her. “No Time to Die” [from No Time to Die] it’s not bad, but I think “Skyfall” [from Skyfall] was a much better song.
VOTE: “Somehow you do it”, four good days
Best Production Design
I liked the production design of West Side Storycorn Alley of nightmares’its furthered its story and enhanced the experience immensely.
VOTE: alley of nightmares
best sound
I’m looking for a sound design that’s realistic and drives the story forward. dune, no time to die and West Side Story are large and noisy; Belfast and The power of the dog are subtle. I was impressed by Belfast’s stuff in the streets and its use of music.
VOTE: Belfast
Best Visual Effects
Here we have all popular movies and their effects are quite well. Spider Man [No Way Home]’s were above the others’.
VOTE: Spider-Man: No Coming Home
Best Animated Short
VOTE: [Abstain.]
Best Documentary Short
VOTE: [Abstain.]
Best Live Action Short
VOTE: [Abstain.]
A version of this story first appeared in the March 23 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.