The 98th Academy Award nominations yesterday brought their fair share of shocks and surprises. Here are five that specifically made us jump out of our seats (which you can see on Next Best Picture’s YouTube page in their live reactions here), with eleation, horror, and sometimes, confusion.
1. Elle Fanning in Best Supporting Actress
The Best Supporting Actress nod for Elle Fanning in “Sentimental Value” seemed dead in the water after she missed the Actor awards and the BAFTA longlist (which notably loved the film). It seemed like what was considered her spot now belonged to one of the women from “Marty Supreme” or Ariana Grande for “Wicked: For Good,” with Grande receiving every precursor so far and “Marty Supreme” rising every day. However, the love for “Sentimental Value” clearly prevailed, as Fanning scored her first nomination for her performance as Rachel Kemp. Perhaps the “Marty Supreme” ladies suffered from a split vote, and the hatred for “Wicked: For Good” outweighed the love for Grande’s performance. Whatever ended up working in her favor, Fanning is one of the most prolific young talents, and it’s exciting to see her excellent work recognized alongside all three of her co-stars.
2. Delroy Lindo in Best Supporting Actor
While many people predicted Lindo would take off when “Sinners” mania began, his lack of any precursor nominations made him seem unlikely. The predicted Best Supporting Actor lineup felt comfortable, but ultimately, it was Paul Mescal (who made every precursor) who ended up slipping. In practice, Lindo’s nomination makes complete sense. He’s a beloved yet underrecognized veteran in a juggernaut film, playing a memorable character with memorable lines. After “Sinners” did exceptionally well at the Actor awards, earning three individual nods and a nomination for Ensemble, it’s clear the passion was there in the acting categories. As seen in the past with “Belfast” and “The Fabelmans,” the veteran inevitably leapfrogged the less established contender. While the nomination for Lindo makes sense, it was still impossible to predict when the projected five felt so strong. Mescal missing feels strange, but it’s nice to see Lindo finally get the recognition he has long deserved.
3. Avatar: Fire and Ash in Best Costume Design
Out of every nomination, this is the one I can’t wrap my head around at all. The Academy did not like “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” giving it only the Best Visual Effects nomination. It’s easy to say the nomination is because they completely shut out “Wicked: For Good,” leaving an open space, but logically, they could’ve gone with films with flashier costume design, such as “Hedda” or “The Testament of Ann Lee.” Neither “Avatar” film has appeared in the category before, despite being in Best Picture, so it’s a real shock that the weakest one was the one to break through. What makes it especially surprising is that there is truly nothing notable about the costumes in “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” which follow the same structure as the other two films. There was virtually no buzz for the costumes, so it’s a truly baffling decision.
4. Two International Films Sneak Into Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Imagine telling someone just two days ago that the Best Picture frontrunner and “Wicked: For Good” would miss out on Best Makeup and Hairstyling to a niche Japanese film and a foreign horror movie. Well, both “Kokuho” and “The Ugly Stepsister” made it into the category. In context, they’re not totally out of left films. International films have been strong here before, with previous nominations for “Border” and “The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared” even before the Academy was more receptive to international films. It’s also been the one branch more responsive to horror films, as seen with “The Substance” taking home the trophy last year. Still, with “One Battle After Another” shortlisted and poised so high in Best Picture, “Wicked: For Good” being a technical feat, and even “Marty Supreme” strongly campaigning itself, it’s a surprise that both international films were able to come in.
5. “Sweet Dreams of Joy” from “Viva Verdi!” in Best Original Song
In yet another shocking miss for “Wicked: For Good” and even more shocking snub for nomination leader “Sinners,” the fifth spot in Best Original Song went to a movie no one has even heard of. That’s not a diss on “Viva Verdi!,” it just happens to be a film with 130 logs on Letterboxd and 23 logs on IMDb. Even more baffling, “Sweet Dreams of Joy” is not from a beloved songwriter like Diane Warren but from Nicholas Pike, who has an entire repertoire of television movies. With other shortlisted songs from music industry legends like Brandi Carlile, Billy Idol, and Miley Cyrus, there’s no clear reason why they chose this song. While most shocking nominations felt like someone who was just considered highly unlikely, this one was truly unknown and unpredictable.
What did you think of the Oscar nominations yesterday? What was the most shocking nomination of the day to you? Please let us know your thoughts on our X account. Click here for more upcoming awards season dates, here for the most recent tally of awards season winners, here for our precursor tracker, and here for our current Oscar predictions.
