Australian actors Rose Byrne and Jacob Elordi are among those vying for Hollywood’s greatest prize: the 3.8 kilogram, 24-karat gold-plated Oscar. Byrne has been nominated for her performance in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. Elordi has been nominated for his role in Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein.
Byrne’s performance has become one of the most dazzling in this year’s film awards season, having already taken out the best actress prize at four key pre-Oscar events: the New York Film Critics Circle Awards, the National Board of Review Awards, the Los Angeles Film Critics Awards and the Golden Globes.
In the best actress category at the Oscars, Byrne is up against some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, and some of this year’s most impactful performances: Jessie Buckley in Hamnet, Kate Hudson in Song Sung Blue, Renate Reinsve in Sentimental Value and Emma Stone in Bugonia.
Australian costume and production designer Fiona Crombie, the daughter of legendary director Donald Crombie, has also been nominated for an Oscar this year, in the best production design category, for her work on Hamnet, Chloé Zhao’s compelling biography of playwright William Shakespeare.
And Australian singer-songwriter Nick Cave has been nominated for an Oscar, in the achievement in music written for motion pictures (original song) category, for the title song to Clint Bentley’s film Train Dreams, which stars Australian actor Joel Edgerton.
With 16 nods, Ryan Coogler’s supernatural thriller Sinners is now the most nominated film in Oscar history, beating the previous record of 14 which is jointly held by three films: All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997) and La La Land (2016).
In addition to its best picture nomination, Sinners is up for lead actor (Michael B. Jordan), supporting actor (Delroy Lindo), supporting actress (Wunmi Mosaku), Coogler as director and for original screenplay, and in 10 other categories.
But like any race, all eyes will turn quickly to the frontrunner. And in season-to-date terms, this year’s frontrunner is Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, which has won six out of six trophies at pre-Oscar award ceremonies. (The four events above, plus the Gotham Awards and the Critics’ Choice Awards.)
That would seem to set up One Battle After Another as a likely candidate for best picture. It is rare to have a single film dominating the season trend so clearly at this point; there is little doubt that makes One Battle After Another the one to beat.
The other eight nominees for the night’s biggest prize – the best picture Oscar – are Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value and Train Dreams.
The best actor category is perhaps the widest field of any key category. The five nominees are: Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme), Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), Michael B. Jordan (Sinners) and Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent).
From that field, it’s tough to pick front-runners. So far, in awards season, only Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme) and Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent) have won two or more pre-Oscar awards.
Though the nominations contained few surprises, there will no doubt be some arched eyebrows at who was left off the list. There was no love for John M. Chu’s Wicked sequel, For Good, and no nominations for its stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. Paul Mescal’s dazzling performance in Hamnet was overlooked, as was Chase Infiniti’s work in One Battle After Another. And while Kate Hudson landed a nomination for Song Sung Blue, the film’s Australian star, Hugh Jackman, did not.
Academy Awards are given out in 24 categories annually; this year marks the addition of the first new category since 2001, when best animated film joined Oscar’s hallowed ranks. The new category recognises casting directors who, along with stunt people, have quietly campaigned for decades for inclusion.
At this point in the Oscar voting process, the nominees are determined by eligible voting members of the corresponding branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which is to say, actors vote for actors, directors for directors and so on. All voting was completed between January 12-16 via a secret online ballot.
From this point, all eligible Academy members vote in all 24 categories in the final round. Voting in the final round, which will determine the winners in each category, will take place between 9am, Pacific Time, February 26 and 5pm, Pacific Time, March 5.
The winners will be announced at the 98th annual Academy Awards, on Monday, March 16, Australian time
Oscar nominees in key categories
- Best picture: Bugonia, F1, Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sinners, Train Dreams.
- Best actor: Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme), Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), Michael B. Jordan (Sinners), Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent).
- Best actress: Jessie Buckley (Hamnet), Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You), Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue), Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value), Emma Stone (Bugonia).
- Best supporting actor: Benicio Del Toro (One Battle After Another), Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein), Delroy Lindo (Sinners), Sean Penn (One Battle After Another), Stellan Skarsgard (Sentimental Value).
- Best supporting actress: Elle Fanning (Sentimental Value), Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Sentimental Value), Amy Madigan (Weapons), Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners), Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another).
- Best director: Chloe Zhao (Hamnet), Josh Safdie (Marty Supreme), Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another), Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value), Ryan Coogler (Sinners).
- Best writing (original screenplay): Blue Moon (Robert Kaplow), It Was Just an Accident (Jafar Panahi), Marty Supreme (Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie), Sentimental Value (Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier), Sinners (Ryan Coogler).
- Best international feature film: The Secret Agent (Brazil), It Was Just an Accident (France), Sentimental Value (Norway), Sirāt (Spain), The Voice of Hind Rajab (Tunisia).
- Best animated feature: Arco, Elio, KPop Demon Hunters, Little Amélie or the Character of Rain, Zootopia 2.
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