by Jacob Jones Well, that was pretty crazy, wasn’t it? Of course, what couldn’t be crazy about the 2025 Oscar Nominations? It’s the Oscars; they thrive on crazy! All jokes aside, now that the Academy has finally unveiled their nominees for the Best in Film of 2024, it’s time to break open that pandora’s box and examine all the surprises and disappointments it holds. To start, the absolute disrespect towards Dune: Part Two by AMPAS’ choice to leave it out of Adapted Screenplay, Makeup & Hairstyling, Costume Design, Film Editing, and of course, Director, is an absurdity I will not stand for. The first film was nominated for 10 Oscars, winning 6, but an even better follow-up only gets half that recognition? I mean, I’m aware of what happened with Empire Strikes Back, but I didn’t think this new Academy was doing the same old song and dance by ignoring sci-fi and giving into such blatant recency bias. More to the point, though, Challengers receiving 0 nominations is a genuine outrage, especially in Best Original Score, in which Wicked seemed to take its place (and I can’t even begin to describe how irritating that is from a musical standpoint). Among other disappointments were Clarence Maclin missing Best Supporting Actor despite its unlikelihood, which indicated early that Sing Sing could likely miss Best Picture (thank you A24 for messing the release strategy up so spectacularly), and of course Emilia Pérez running the table with no less than 13 nominations to its name. The morning was not without its pleasant surprises, however as twenty-one of my wildcard picks – many of them hopefuls – did end up landing nominations in their respective categories, including Nickel Boys in Best Adapted Screenplay, Alien: Romulus is Best Visual Effects, and both Sugarcane and Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat in Best Documentary Feature. Also, as it turns out, I was right to trust my instincts on a few things, namely that the international contingent of the Academy would show strong support for Sebastian Stan in The Apprentice (for which Jeremy Strong also received a nomination in Best Supporting Actor), and Flow – which comes to us from Latvia – would ultimately land nominations in both Animated Feature and International Feature. I also correctly predicted that September 5 would receive the fifth spot in the Best Original Screenplay category, and that Edward Lachmann would receive Maria’s lone nomination in Cinematography. By far the morning’s biggest surprise, however, came at the tail end of the announcement when the words “I’m Still Here” were read out amongst the nominees. Having not yet seen the film, I can’t comment on whether this is a pleasant or an unpleasant surprise, but it does re-enforce the one consistent thing about this entire awards season: how chaotic and distinctly inconsistent it has always been. Word to the wise: never underestimate the Brazilians, who not only catapulted I’m Still Here into the Best Picture category, but also secured a Best Actress nomination for Fernanda Torres’ work in the film. She now joins her mother, Fernanda Montenegro, who was previously nominated in the same category for her work in Central Station, which was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 71st Academy Awards. It would seem now that she, and not Mikey Madison as had previously been thought, is the primary challenger to Demi Moore, whose Best Actress nomination for The Substance is just one of that film’s five (including Best Picture and Best Director for Coralie Fargeat). All told, the ups and downs of these awards races are sure going to be a roller-coaster ride all the way to the finish line when the Oscars air live on ABC and stream for the first time on Hulu on March 2nd. A full list of the 2025 Oscar nominees is below. BEST PICTURE The Nominees:
BEST DIRECTOR The Nominees:
BEST ACTRESS The Nominees:
BEST ACTOR The Nominees:
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS The Nominees:
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR The Nominees:
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE The Nominees:
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM The Nominees:
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE The Nominees:
The Nominees:
BEST FILM EDITING The Nominees:
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN The Nominees:
BEST COSTUME DESIGN The Nominees:
BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING The Nominees:
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE The Nominees:
BEST ORIGINAL SONG The Nominees:
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY The Nominees:
BEST ORIGNAL SCREENPLAY The Nominees:
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS The Nominees:
BEST SOUND The Nominees:
BEST LIVE-ACTION SHORT The Nominees:
BEST ANIMATED SHORT The Nominees:
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT The Nominees:
What do you think of these nominations? Anything you’re surprised to see or find absent? Any choices that delight you? Enrage you? Let us know in the comments section below, and thanks for reading!
- The Friendly Film Fan
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by Jacob Jones Ladies, gentlemen, those who identify otherwise, we have arrived. The industry’s kick-off to awards season, a.k.a. the Golden Globes, took place last night, and what a whirlwind of a night it was. Following stand-up comic and show host Nikki Glaser’s stellar opening monologue in which she thankfully avoided the tired cliché of joking that a movie was too long, the new Globes leadership got right to work reminding everyone that this is not the same voting body of years past – the kind that would have nominated The Tourist for multiple awards without ever having seen the film, or boosted Emily in Paris’ profile following a string of bribes from the production. Instead, the night begat a healthy mix of both expected winners and surprise victors in multiple categories, largely on the film side (though television did have at least one upset). Emilia Pérez was the big winner of the night, taking home four statues, including one for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy), and Best Supporting Actress for Zoe Saldaña. In second place came Brady Corbet’s mid-century epic The Brutalist, which took home the other Best Picture award in the Drama category, as well as Best Director, and Best Actor in a Drama for Adrien Brody, who now shoots to the front of the line for an Oscar win (it would be his second, following his work in 2002’s The Pianist). Beyond these wins, however, things start to look a little more spread out on the film side. Conclave bested Anora in the combined screenplay category, Demi Moore won her first ever acting award in Best Actress (Musical or Comedy) for her performance in The Substance in a stunning blow to Mikey Madison’s awards campaign (also for Anora), and Sebastian Stan managed an upset in the Best Actor (Musical or Comedy) category as well for his incredible work in A Different Man, boosting his profile for the Academy Awards and shouting out The Apprentice – for which he was also nominated – in his acceptance speech. The animated film Flow bested DreamWorks’ The Wild Robot in Best Motion Picture (Animated), effectively shutting the latter out of an Oscar win if it doesn’t pick up some serious momentum soon, and even Fernanda Torres proved that awards pundits have been underestimating her as a serious contender with a win in Best Lead Actress (Drama) for I’m Still Here, which is Brazil’s official submission in the International Feature category at the Oscars. Beyond all of that, Challengers proved that its club dance-esque score by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross is far from dead in the water despite having missed the BAFTA longlists, and Wicked’s only win came in the form of the Cinematic and Box Office Achievement Award. Apart from those wins, the big story of the night was the complete and total shut-out of Anora, which raked in exactly zero wins despite front-runner status in multiple categories. If these new Globes are meant to now be a significant indicator of where the Oscar race is heading, those who have Anora at the top of their winner predictions may want to ease off the gas a bit. On the television side (which I won’t spend too much time covering), Hulu and FX’s Shōgun cleaned house in the Drama Series categories, picking up wins for Best Series (Drama), Best Actor (Drama) for Hiroyuki Sanada, Best Actress (Drama) for Anna Sawai, and Best Supporting Actor in Any Series for Tadanobu Asano. The Comedy or Musical and Limited Series awards were a bit more spread out, as Max Original Series Hacks took home the awards for Best Series (Comedy or Musical), as well as Best Actress in a Comedy Series for Jean Smart. Over on the Limited Series side, Netflix’s Baby Reindeer racked up two wins for Limited Series and Supporting Actress in Any Series, which went to Jessica Gunning. The big surprise of the night for television was Richard Gadd’s loss to Colin Farrell in the Best Actor (Limited Series) category, the latter of the two winning for his work in HBO’s The Penguin. Jodie Foster and Jeremy Allen White also won their respective categories, Best Actress in a Limited Series and Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for their work in True Detective: Night Country and The Bear, respectively. Overall, it was a solid show this year. Emilia Pérez’s Best Picture win notwithstanding, almost all the winnings were richly deserved, and the shake-ups to the Oscar race make this one of the most unpredictable and interesting races we’ve had in quite some time. We’ll have to see which direction all the guild awards such as SAG-AFTRA, the DGA, the WGA, and the PGA go, but for the time being at least, the starting lineup is tremendously exciting. A full list of all the 2025 Golden Globe nominees and winners is below. FILM Best Motion Picture (Drama):
Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy):
Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama):
Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama):
Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy):
Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy):
Best Supporting Actress in Any Motion Picture:
Best Supporting Actor in Any Motion Picture:
Best Director (Motion Picture):
Best Screenplay (Motion Picture):
Best Motion Picture (Animated):
Best Motion Picture (Non-English Language):
Best Original Score (Motion Picture):
Best Original Song (Motion Picture):
Cinematic and Box Office Achievement:
TELEVISION Best Series (Drama):
Best Series (Musical or Comedy):
Best Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television:
Best Actress in a Television Series (Drama):
Best Actor in a Television Series (Drama):
Best Actress in a Television Series (Musical or Comedy):
Best Actor in a Television Series (Musical or Comedy):
Best Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television:
Best Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television:
Best Supporting Actress in Any Television Series:
Best Supporting Actor in Any Television Series:
Best Stand-Up Comedy Performance:
What did you think of the Golden Globes this year? Did they live up to your expectations? Surpass them? Which surprise win was you favorite? Let us know in the comments section below, and thanks for reading!
- The Friendly Film Fan by Jacob Jones On Tuesday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) unveiled their shortlists for ten below-the-line categories at the 97th Oscars, revealing which films voters had selected as finalists for a nomination in each. Shortlists are a hallowed tradition for the Academy’s voting body and for awards prognosticators, who use these lists as a means of more accurately predicting what will be competing for those coveted gold statues come January. Wicked and Emilia Pérez were the big winners of the day, taking up 4 and 6 shortlist spots each in a strong bid for both movie musicals from Universal Pictures and Netflix. Though there were no major surprises in most categories, a few inclusions (and exclusions) stood out amongst the rest. Notably, Hans Zimmer’s score for Dune: Part Two was deemed ineligible for competition by AMPAS’ music branch – who determined that it contained too much previously published music to be considered original to the film – but the score for Wicked, which adapts Act One of the iconic Broadway musical for the silver screen, does make an appearance in the Original Score shortlist (which includes 20 shortlisted competitors, the most in any category), leaving awards pundits scratching their heads about how it remains eligible, given that much of the music seems to find its origins in the stage version. Other surprises included Alien: Romulus showing up not only in Visual Effects, but also in Sound and Original Score (two categories it was not expected to be competitive in), as well as the film Waltzing with Brando sneaking into the Makeup & Hairstyling lineup for its transformation of Billy Zane into the titular movie icon. Even the corpse of the ill-fated Joker: Folie à Deux managed to eek out a single nod in Best Sound. On the losing side, the unfortunately underseen Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – George Miller’s follow-up prequel to six-time Oscar winner Mad Max: Fury Road – went entirely ignored, missing key chances to remind Oscar voters and viewers of its potential as an awards contender in the craft categories. Less similarly, though still notably, Alex Garland’s Civil War landed a shortlist spot in Best Visual Effects, but not Best Sound, where most awards pundits had predicted it could appear given that the sound editing in the film is frequently lauded as its greatest accomplishment. The Golden Globe-nominated Miley Cyrus song “Beautiful That Way,” which appears in The Last Showgirl, missed the cut for its designated category as well, in a swift reversal to its new awards season momentum, leaving at least one more chance for Kneecap’s “Sick in the Head” to make a surprise appearance. All in all, however, despite the shortlists’ miscarriages of justice towards George Miller and company, they remain full of strong contenders, any number of whom would be worthy of a nomination come announcement morning. A full list of the 2025 Oscar Shortlists appears below. Best Documentary Feature:
Best Documentary Short:
Best International Feature:
Best Makeup & Hairstyling:
Best Original Score:
Best Original Song:
Best Animated Short:
Best Live-Action Short:
Best Sound:
Best Visual Effects:
What do you think of these shortlists? Are there any films you’re surprised made an appearance? Any you’re shocked or disappointed are missing? Let us know in the comments section below, and thanks for reading! - The Friendly Film Fan *"Forbidden Road," from Better Man, has been disqualified from Oscar competition. Its inclusion here is reflective of its appearance in the original iteration of these shortlists.
by Jacob Jones Awards season is in full swing as the Golden Globes unveiled their nominations this morning for the best in film and television, having followed a slew of critics group and other indie organizations’ nominating and win ceremonies, which began with the Gotham Awards earlier last week. The Gothams handed out a major surprise in Best Picture, handing the trophy to Aaron Schimberg’s dark self-image comedy A Different Man – which received no other awards that evening – while the National Board of Review selected Wicked as Best Film, also electing Jon M. Chu the Best Director prize despite the musical adaptation not appearing in the NBR’s official Top 10 for the year. Neither NBR nor the Gothams are typically expected to exert major influence over the Oscar nominations in January, but smaller films such as A Different Man and Sing Sing (which took home two Gotham Awards) can be offered a much-needed boost to keep them front of mind for industry voters. In all truth, the first major domino to fall in any awards season is usually the Golden Globes, whose imperfect but notable impact on many films’ awards season prospects warrants a bit more attention than organizations like the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the Boston Society of Film Critics, or the New York Film Critics Circle, all of whom selected their honorees within the last week (The Critics Choice Awards is the most consequential of the critics groups overall.) Globe nominations don’t always translate to Oscar glory – category distinction by the Globes and the lack of available slots at the Oscars are just two major factors preventing some of the more fringe contenders from appearing on the AMPAS’ honorees list – but they can act as an important bellwether for what direction things are likely to be going. It was a very good morning for films like Anora, The Brutalist, Emilia Pérez, and Wicked, all of which are expected to be major players in the Oscar race going forward, the first two competing it seems neck-and-neck for the top prize of Best Picture, though Anora – Sean Baker’s excellent comedy about a Brooklyn sex worker who marries the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch, for which Baker was nominated for Best Director and Best Screenplay – does seem to currently have the edge. The day was also not without its surprises, both good and bad, as Paramount’s September 5 landed a twist nomination in the Best Picture (Drama) category over A24’s Sing Sing, while The Substance walked away with no less than five nominations, including Best Picture (Comedy or Musical), Best Director (Coralie Fargeat), Best Actress (Demi Moore), Best Supporting Actress (Margaret Qualley), and Best Screenplay in a much-needed supercharge to its awards momentum. Unfortunately, Dune: Part Two missed two key nominations in Best Director for Denis Villeneuve, as well as Best Screenplay, though the film did show up in Best Picture (Drama), and Best Score for Hans Zimmer, whose music was deemed officially ineligible for Oscar competition by the Academy yesterday. Sing Sing and Piano Lesson hopefuls Clarence Maclin and Danielle Deadwyler were also absent from their respective Supporting performance categories. The larger crop of nominations in both the film and television categories more or less followed the expected trends with limited exceptions, but we’ll have to see just how consequential those trends become in the months ahead. A full list of the 2025 Golden Globe nominees is below. FILM Best Motion Picture (Drama):
Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy):
Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama):
Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama):
Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy):
Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy):
Best Supporting Actress in Any Motion Picture:
Best Supporting Actor in Any Motion Picture:
Best Director (Motion Picture):
Best Screenplay (Motion Picture):
Best Motion Picture (Animated):
Best Motion Picture (Non-English Language):
Best Original Score (Motion Picture):
Best Original Song (Motion Picture):
Cinematic and Box Office Achievement:
TELEVISION Best Series (Drama):
Best Series (Musical or Comedy):
Best Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television:
Best Actress in a Television Series (Drama):
Best Actor in a Television Series (Drama):
Best Actress in a Television Series (Musical or Comedy):
Best Actor in a Television Series (Musical or Comedy):
Best Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television:
Best Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television:
Best Supporting Actress in Any Television Series:
Best Supporting Actor in Any Television Series:
Best Stand-Up Comedy Performance:
What do you think of these nominations? Are there any you’re psyched to see, or bummed out not to see? Let us know in the comments section below, and keep your eyes peeled for more awards season content, coming soon! - The Friendly Film Fan
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AuthorFilm critic in my free time. Film enthusiast in my down time. Categories
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