Oscars 2023
List

Notes on the 2023 Oscars

Best Picture

Somehow, someway, sci-fi oddity Everything Everywhere All At Once is poised to take home the big trophy on Oscar night this year. Its ascent to surefire Best Picture winner by way of numerous other top awards this season flies in the face of several Oscar conventions: it’s weird, it’s funny, it’s chaotic and it came out in April. I needed to see it twice in theaters to unpack its heady concepts and whirlwind pace and while it’s not quite my personal favorite of the pack, I’m certainly a big fan and welcome its weirdness into the annals of Academy Award history. Box office juggernaut Top Gun: Maverick is the only one I would consider a dark horse but A24 should have this in the bag with Everything Everywhere. Lovely to see my top film from last year, Tár, in the running, even if it doesn’t have a chance.

My Prediction: Everything Everywhere All At Once
My Vote: Tár
Overlooked: Glass Onion

Best Director

It’s just about as surprising that The Daniels are the favorites for Director that the film they made together is the favorite for Best Picture. They’re going up against heavyweights like Steven Spielberg, who earns his 9th Best Director nomination here, but their idiosyncratic collaboration inspired the year’s most bold and bizarre cinematic vision. Who would have predicted that the pair of goofballs whose previous project was centered around a flatulent corpse would win Best Director with their next movie? Not me.

My Prediction: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
My Vote: Todd Field
Overlooked: Kogonada – After Yang

Best Actor

There are 16 first-time Oscar nominees spread across the four acting categories and 5 of them can be found here. Much has been made of Austin Butler’s commitment to playing The King, specifically the lingering effect that studying Elvis’ accent has had on his normal speaking voice, but Brendan Fraser seems to be the favorite at this point. His return to the spotlight with an overwhelmingly tragic performance seems to have voters enraptured and no one loves a comeback story like Hollywood. Between After Yang, The Batman and Banshees, Colin Farrell had an incredible year and his work in Banshees is some of the finest of his career.

My Prediction: Brendan Fraser
My Vote: Colin Farrell
Overlooked: John Boyega – Breaking

Best Actress

The biggest surprise here is Andrea Riseborough, whose To Leslie was given practically no awards attention prior to this nomination but seemed to benefit from fervent Twitter buzz last month. She’s a terrific actress and it’s a good movie, so I’m happy to see her here. However, this is going to come down to Cate Blanchett, who has been nominated for 8 acting Oscars (and won twice) before, and Yeoh, who stars in the movie with the most nominations this year. While I don’t think Tár has much of a shot in Picture or Director, it has a strong chance here with what I would likely consider Blanchett’s best performance.

My Prediction: Cate Blanchett
My Vote: Cate Blanchett
Overlooked: Rebecca Hall – Resurrection

Best Supporting Actor

My Prediction: Ke Huy Quan
My Vote: Ke Huy Quan
Overlooked: Rory Kinnear – Men

Best Supporting Actress

My Prediction: Angela Bassett
My Vote: Kerry Condon
Overlooked: Nina Hoss – Tár

Plenty of new faces here when it comes to nominees and lots of pleasant surprises. Brian Tyree Henry was the best thing about Causeway and I’m thrilled to see him included here after watching his career steadily take off since Atlanta. The dual Banshees nominations in Supporting Actor, along with the dual Supporting Actress nominations for Everything Everywhere, does my heart good. Hong Chau was also fantastic in The Menu but she was one of the best things about The Whale as well; I’m glad she’s finally finding the right movie roles. Ke Huy Quan is arguably at the center of an even bigger comeback story than Brendan Fraser’s and incidentally, he’s outstanding in Everything Everywhere, so he seems to be a lock for Supporting Actor. The Supporting Actress race seemed to be up in the air for a bit but consensus has circulated around Angela Bassett, whose win would be the first for a performance in a Marvel Cinematic Universe film.

Best Original Screenplay

My Prediction: Everything Everywhere All At Once
My Vote: Tár
Overlooked: Flux Gourmet

Best Adapted Screenplay

My Prediction: Women Talking
My Vote: Glass Onion
Overlooked: Marcel The Shell With Shoes On

Best Animated Feature Film

My Prediction: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
My Vote: Turning Red
Overlooked: Wendell & Wild

Best International Feature Film

My Prediction: All Quiet on the Western Front
My Vote: All Quiet on the Western Front
Overlooked: Hit The Road

Best Documentary – Feature

My Prediction: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
My Vote: Fire of Love
Overlooked: Aftershock

Best Documentary – Short Subject

  • The Elephant Whisperers
  • Haulout
  • How Do You Measure a Year?
  • The Martha Mitchell Effect
  • Stranger at the Gate

My Prediction: The Elephant Whisperers
My Vote: —
Overlooked: —

Best Live Action Short Film

  • An Irish Goodbye
  • Ivalu
  • Le Pupille
  • Night Ride
  • The Red Suitcase

My Prediction: Le Pupille
My Vote: —
Overlooked: —

Best Animated Short Film

  • The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
  • The Flying Sailor
  • Ice Merchants
  • My Year of Dicks
  • An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It

My Prediction: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
My Vote: —
Overlooked: —

Best Production Design

My Prediction: Babylon
My Vote: All Quiet on the Western Front
Overlooked: The Whale

Best Cinematography

My Prediction: All Quiet on the Western Front
My Vote: Tár
Overlooked: Top Gun: Maverick

Best Costume Design

My Prediction: Elvis
My Vote: Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris
Overlooked: The Woman King

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

My Prediction: The Whale
My Vote: The Batman
Overlooked: Blonde

Best Original Score

My Prediction: Babylon
My Vote: The Banshees of Inisherin
Overlooked: The Batman

Best Original Song

My Prediction: “Naatu Naatu”
My Vote: “Naatu Naatu”
Overlooked: “New Body Rhumba” from White Noise

Best Sound

My Prediction: Top Gun: Maverick
My Vote: Top Gun: Maverick
Overlooked: Kimi

Best Film Editing

My Prediction: Everything Everywhere All At Once
My Vote: Everything Everywhere All At Once
Overlooked: Ambulance

Best Visual Effects

My Prediction: Avatar: The Way of Water
My Vote: Avatar: The Way of Water
Overlooked: Nope

Enjoy the show!