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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences showered little-seen movies rooted in progressive politics with nominations for the 97th Oscars on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmilia P\u00e9rez,\u201d a musical exploration of trans identity, and \u201cThe Brutalist,\u201d a three-and-a-half-hour study of immigrant trauma and antisemitism, emerged as films to beat by securing nominations in most of the major categories, including best picture and best director. \u201cEmilia P\u00e9rez,\u201d a Netflix entry, received 13 nominations in total, the most of any film.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Brutalist,\u201d a low-budget movie from A24 that arrives in theaters nationwide on Friday, received 10 nominations. One blockbuster, \u201cWicked,\u201d with its messages about the dangers of authoritarianism and the power of resistance, also did well with voters. It garnered 10 nominations, but failed to crack the important directing and screenplay categories.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
While the acting races have taken clearer shape over the past month, the best picture contest remains unusually wide open. Unlike last year, when \u201cOppenheimer\u201d cemented its front-runner status almost immediately and never looked back, multiple films remain in the hunt for Hollywood\u2019s top prize this time around.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The nominees for best picture included \u201cConclave,\u201d a Vatican thriller that explores identity politics; \u201cThe Substance,\u201d a feminist manifesto in the form of a body horror flick; \u201cNickel Boys,\u201d a historical drama set at a racist reform school in 1960s Florida; \u201cAnora,\u201d a Cinderella story about a sex worker who impulsively marries the hard-partying son of a Russian oligarch; \u201cI\u2019m Still Here,\u201d a Brazilian drama about family life and political oppression; and the Bob Dylan biopic \u201cA Complete Unknown.\u201d<\/p>\n
The big-budget studio movies \u201cWicked\u201d and \u201cDune: Part Two\u201d filled out the category. The academy expanded the best picture field to 10 in 2022; it previously had a sliding number with as few as five slots. The academy positioned the changes as part of an expanded focus on diversity, equity and inclusion.<\/p>\n
Adrien Brody (\u201cThe Brutalist\u201d), Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet (\u201cA Complete Unknown\u201d), Colman Domingo (\u201cSing Sing\u201d) and Ralph Fiennes (\u201cConclave\u201d) were nominated for best actor, as expected. Sebastian Stan drew the wild-card spot for his performance as an unsavory, early-career Donald Trump in \u201cThe Apprentice,\u201d an independent film that nearly did not make it to theaters. (The big studios balked<\/a>, in part because Trump threatened to sue. He has called the film \u201cgarbage.\u201d)<\/p>\n Demi Moore (\u201cThe Substance\u201d) has been the favorite to win best actress since she delivered a poignant acceptance speech about Hollywood pigeonholing at the Golden Globes this month. Academy voters waved her through to the nomination stage<\/a> while also giving best actress nods to Cynthia Erivo (\u201cWicked\u201d), Mikey Madison (\u201cAnora\u201d), Fernanda Torres (\u201cI\u2019m Still Here\u201d) and Karla Sof\u00eda Gasc\u00f3n (\u201cEmilia P\u00e9rez\u201d). Gasc\u00f3n became the first openly trans actress to receive an Oscar nomination<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Left out were Angelina Jolie (\u201cMaria\u201d) and Nicole Kidman (\u201cBabygirl\u201d), both of whom were active on the Oscar campaign circuit.<\/p>\n Kieran Culkin, fresh off winning a Golden Globe for his performance in the dramedy \u201cA Real Pain,\u201d received a nomination for best supporting actor. Filling out the category were Yura Borisov (\u201cAnora\u201d), Guy Pearce (\u201cThe Brutalist\u201d), Edward Norton (\u201cA Complete Unknown\u201d) and Jeremy Strong (\u201cThe Apprentice\u201d).<\/p>\n For supporting actress, Oscar voters handed nominations to the favorites Zoe Salda\u00f1a (\u201cEmilia P\u00e9rez\u201d) and Ariana Grande (\u201cWicked\u201d), both of whom played lead roles but decided to run as secondary candidates<\/a>. Joining them were Isabella Rossellini (\u201cConclave\u201d), Monica Barbaro (\u201cA Complete Unknown\u201d) and Felicity Jones (\u201cThe Brutalist\u201d).<\/p>\n A majority of the acting nominees \u2014 13 out of 20 \u2014 were first-time academy honorees, perhaps underscoring the organization\u2019s effort over the past decade to make its voting ranks less dominated by older white men. The academy now has roughly 10,000 voting members, up from about 6,700 in 2017.<\/p>\n In the director category, the academy nominated the favorites Sean Baker (\u201cAnora\u201d), Brady Corbet (\u201cThe Brutalist\u201d) and Jacques Audiard (\u201cEmilia P\u00e9rez\u201d). Rounding out the category were James Mangold (\u201cA Complete Unknown\u201d) and the French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat (\u201cThe Substance\u201d). Prominent omissions included Edward Berger (\u201cConclave\u201d) and Jon M. Chu (\u201cWicked\u201d).<\/p>\n Fargeat becomes the 10th woman to be nominated in the best director category in the academy\u2019s 97-year history. Only three have won: Jane Campion (\u201cThe Power of the Dog\u201d) in 2022, Chlo\u00e9 Zhao (\u201cNomadland\u201d) in 2021 and Kathryn Bigelow (\u201cThe Hurt Locker\u201d) in 2009.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The nominees for original screenplay included the favorites \u201cAnora,\u201d \u201cThe Brutalist\u201d and \u201cA Real Pain.\u201d The remaining two slots went to \u201cThe Substance\u201d and \u201cSeptember 5.\u201d<\/p>\n Adapted screenplay nods went to \u201cConclave,\u201d \u201cEmilia P\u00e9rez ,\u201d \u201cA Complete Unknown,\u201d \u201cNickel Boys\u201d and \u201cSing Sing.\u201d<\/p>\n