The Oscars 2022 Nominations: Who’s Bringing Home the Gold?
Hollywood’s biggest night is right around the corner, and this year’s Oscars nominations may just have more twists and turns than the movies themselves.
Ellen DeGeneres’ poorly-aged ‘Break The Internet’ selfie, which was taken at The Oscars 2014. Can you spot who’s been cancelled since this photo was taken?
The 94th Academy Awards recently revealed the nominations list for the film industry’s hottest event, which is set to take place March 27th, returning to its original home in Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre for the first time since 2002. The night will honour Tinseltown’s best and brightest stars while paying homage to the hardworking writers, directors and crewmembers who work tirelessly to bring our favourite cinematic moments to life.
This year’s Oscars will mark an end to the awards season’s dry spell. Last year’s show was downsized due to COVID restrictions, while celebrity boycotts forced January’s Golden Globes to pull back on their usual grandeur, live-tweeting, rather than televising the event amid controversy about the show’s lack of diversity. As you can imagine, this didn’t go down too well with Twitter.
The upcoming Oscars are loosening COVID restrictions by returning to their full capacity and no longer requiring proof of vaccination to enter the premises. loosening up on vaccination rules. Fashion fanatics also have something to look forward to, with the show bringing back its iconic red carpet. Expect overstated ballgowns, mile-long trains and heels higher than your average wage.
Icelandic singer Björk famously attended The 73rd Academy Awards in a swan dress, laying an egg on the red carpet later on in the night. The outfit instantly went down in Oscars history. Credit: Steve Granitz/WireImage
This year’s biggest contender is director Jane Campion, whose Western psychodrama ‘The Power of the Dog’ leads the pack with an astonishing twelve nominations. The film follows a ruthless cowboy rancher, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, whose life is flipped upside down when his brother brings a new family home. Campion is nominated for Best Director, which shockingly makes her the first-ever woman to be nominated for this category twice, having received a nod for ‘The Piano’ back in 1993.
But despite wrangling up the most nominations, Campion’s cowboy flick isn’t a lone ranger by any means. The Power of the Dog will show down for Best Picture against other big-name blockbusters including ‘Licorice Pizza’, a sunny coming-of-age comedy set in 1970s California; Climate-conscious Netflix original ‘Don’t Look Up’, which features well-known faces like Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio and Ariana Grande; and ‘Dune’, the Timothée Chalamet-led sci-fi that took the box office by storm last Autumn, earning $221 million in its opening weekend.
'Dune' stars Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya attending the film's Paris premiere. The sci-fi smash was a reboot of director David Lynch's original cut from 1984, which was a commercial flop. Credit: CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/AFP via Getty Images
The most surprising Best Picture nomination went to sole foreign film: ‘Drive My Car’, a Japanese drama written and directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, which follows a movie director grieving the death of his wife while trying to work on a new project. Kenneth Branagh’s ‘Belfast’ is also nominated, a bittersweet tear-jerker that glimpses into a young boy’s upbringing in a war-stricken Northern Ireland. The film’s distinctive black-and-white visuals and jazzy musical stylings, courtesy of Irish legend Van Morrison, mark Belfast as one to watch for the grand prize.
As for lead role nominations, reactions from film fans have ranged from utter glee at their favourite performer’s work being recognised, to disappointment for those who felt the Academy had left their top picks in the cinematic cinders. Nominated for his role in Netflix original ‘Tick, Tick… Boom!’ was Andrew Garfield, who movie enthusiasts seemed collectively pleased to see credited. Kristen Stewart’s nomination for her portrayal of Princess Diana in ‘Spencer’ was also met with a largely positive reception. The former ‘Twilight’ star proved she can do more than just teen Vampire flicks; her role as the people’s princess was one of last year’s most talked-about performances.
Kristen Stewart attends Spencer’s Los Angeles premiere. Diana's actual bodyguard praised Stewart's performance, telling PEOPLE Magazine: "She managed to perfect her mannerisms.” Credit: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Other stars up for leading role awards include the multi-talented Will Smith, who took on the job of playing Venus and Serena Williams’ father in ‘King Richard’; Jessica Chastain, up for her second-ever Best Actress nomination for ‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye’; Denzel Washington in ‘The Tragedy of MacBeth’, an eery A24 retelling of Shakespeare’s classic; and Olivia Coleman in ‘The Lost Daughter’, a book adaptation that follows a woman’s unhealthy obsession with a mother and daughter she meets while on a trip to Greece. Coleman previously won Best Actress in 2019 for her performance in ‘The Favourite’.
Noticeably absent from the list of nominees was musician-turned-actress Lady Gaga, who immersed herself as fashion designer Patrizia Reggiani late last year in stylish biopic ‘House of Gucci’. Based on a true story, Ridley Scott’s latest project follows the life and times of Reggiani, who infamously paid to have her ex-husband killed. Gaga’s ultra-protective fan army – the ‘Little Monsters’ – took to Twitter to air their grievances towards the Academy, who they accused of ‘robbing’ their idol. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Gaga revealed the drastic measures she took to fully embody the role. She said: “I will be fully honest and transparent: I lived as her [Reggiani] for a year and a half. And I spoke with an accent for nine months of that,”.
Lady Gaga attends the film’s UK premiere. The singer allegedly ate a high-carb diet to prepare her body for the role, tucking into pasta and bread for months before filming. Credit: Karwai Tang/WireImage
While Gaga’s fans remain livid, the ‘Bad Romance’ singer is pleased for those who did receive nominations this year, writing on Instagram: “And to all the nominees this year, congratulations on all your hard work, dedication, your nomination and YOUR magic,”. Gaga previously lost Best Actress to Glenn Close, when she was nominated in 2018 for ‘A Star Is Born’.
On a lighter note, The Oscars did recognise Welsh film ‘Affairs of the Art’, an animated short which was hand-drawn, voiced and written by Cardiff-based couple Joanna Quinn and Les Mills. The film took six years to fully develop, focusing on Welsh factory worker Beryl, whose love for all things artistic leads her down unexpected new avenues. Beryl is a familiar character, having previously featured in various short films commissioned by channel four. In an interview with BBC Radio Wales, Quinn described Affairs of the Art as “a labour of love” that she was “shocked” and “over the moon” to see nominated. The film was also nominated for Best Animated Short at this year’s BAFTAs.
If, at the expense of your sleep schedule, you’re hoping to catch The Oscars from the UK, the event will be airing on Sky Cinema’s Oscars Channel and on NOW TV from 1AM till 4AM next month, so be sure to keep the Red Bulls handy.
Here’s a list of nominees for the show’s main categories:
Best Picture
· ‘CODA’
· ‘Don’t Look Up’
· ‘Belfast’
· ‘Dune’
· ‘West Side Story’
· ‘The Power of the Dog’
· ‘Licorice Pizza’
· ‘King Richard’
· ‘Nightmare Alley’
· ‘Drive My Car’
Best Actress
· Olivia Colman in ‘The Lost Daughter’
· Nicole Kidman in ‘Being the Ricardos’
· Jessica Chastain in ‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye’
· Kristen Stewart in ‘Spencer’
· Penelope Cruz in ‘Parallel Mothers’
Best Actor
· Andrew Garfield in ‘Tick, Tick… Boom!’
· Denzel Washington in ‘The Tragedy of MacBeth’
· Benedict Cumberbatch in ‘The Power of the Dog’
· Will Smith in ‘King Richard’
· Javier Bardem in ‘Being the Ricardos’
Best Supporting Actress
· Ariana DeBose in ‘West Side Story’
· Kirsten Dunst in ‘The Power of the Dog’
· Aunjanue Ellis in ‘King Richard’
· Dame Judi Dench in ‘Belfast’
· Jessie Buckley in ‘The Lost Daughter’
Best supporting actor
· Kodi Smit-McPhee in ‘The Power of the Dog’
· Ciarán Hinds in ‘Belfast’
· Troy Kotsur in ‘CODA’
· Jesse Plemons in ‘The Power of the Dog’
· JK Simmons in ‘Being the Ricardos’
Best director
· Jane Campion for ‘The Power of the Dog’
· Paul Thomas Anderson for ‘Licorice Pizza’
· Steven Spielberg for ‘West Side Story’
· Sir Kenneth Branagh for ‘Belfast’
· Ryusuke Hamaguchi for ‘Drive My Car’