The oft anticipated National Board of Review capped off a busy day of awards nominations and winners announcement (i.e. fantasy points.) Did we gain some clarity on important races? Probably not, but we can dream, can we? Let’s get into it.
RRR is having a moment
Do you think the committee who picked India’s official Oscar submission is kicking themselves? (Oh btw, RRR becomes a priority waiver wire add.) I’ve written before about RRR and how it can be similar to Parallel Mothers, garnering three nominations despite it not being Spain’s official submission. But Parallel Mothers didn’t have this much success early on. RRR has now gotten points for the film itself plus points for S.S. Rajamouli (DIR-SCRN), M.M. Keeravani (SCORE-SONG), Sirivennela Seethara Sastry and Chandrabose (SONG), Kaala Bhairava and Rahul Sipilgunj (ACTR, albeit for best song performance at HMMA), Sabu Cyril (PD), A. Sreekar Prasad (EDIT), SOUND, and VFX. Do you remember any VFX or SOUND nominations for Parallel Mothers? Didn’t think so. There is precedent, though, for a foreign language film cracking into the Best Picture race without a corresponding official submission into the Best International (formerly Foreign Language) category. The Italian film The Postman got a Best Picture nomination at the 68th Academy Awards, celebrating the 1995 film year, with Braveheart ultimately winning Best Picture. Italy passed over The Postman in 1994, opting for L’America instead, when The Postman was eligible to be Italy’s submission. However, The Postman found an American audience when it was released in 1995, too late to become Italy’s official submission. So already, this so-called “precedent” I speak of had some extenuating circumstances surrounding it, release eligibility. RRR has no such limitation. India just simply chose something else. And had Italy submitted The Postman in 1994, it would’ve not been eligible for the 1995 Oscars, and maybe it wouldn’t have been considered the year Forrest Gump won. Perhaps it would’ve replaced Four Weddings and a Funeral, but there’s just no way of knowing. The fact is, The Postman was passed over by Italy in 1994, but found itself with multiple Oscar nominations in 1995. All of that is to say if RRR manages to get a Best Picture nomination, that will be pretty groundbreaking. The last foreign language Best Picture nomination before The Postman? Ingmar Bergman’s Cries and Whispers from 1972, a year where Sweden didn’t even submit a film for the Oscars and Cries and Whispers barely had an Oscar qualifying run in theaters.
Foreign films have recently made some noise at the Oscars, with Parallel Mothers breaking into some categories despite not being eligible for Best International feature, but RRR might pave the way for foreign films to not have to rely on their respective country’s consideration to get recognized during the film awards season.
Top Gun: Maverick wins Best Picture
I don’t know if this is a surprise, but it is a good sign for Top Gun: Maverick producers to likely have their name called for Best Picture on Oscar nomination Tuesday. However you don’t have to go back very far to see the last winners not crack the Best Picture nominee list: Da Five Bloods from 2020 and A Most Violent Year from 2014. However, those two are the recent exceptions and those two were fairly polarizing. Every other year saw the winner go on to achieve a nomination, and Top Gun: Maverick is one of this year’s most beloved films. (Not to mention, since 2000, only three films that won here didn’t go on to receive nomination, and that third film is 2000’s Quills.) You do the math.
Janelle Monae frontrunner?
Way too early to tell, but she is now the first person to get multiple wins in Best Supporting Actress following her win at Atlanta. Given that Glass Onion appears to be a contender in Ensemble categories, it only makes sense someone from that ensemble emerges as a supporting acting contender. Right now, Janelle Monae is the safest bet for an Oscar nom, but I’m not sure it’s a near-lock yet.
Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson, and Ian Stokell biggest surprise
The writing team behind All Quiet on the Western Front got a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination, easily the biggest surprise of the announcement and the writers’ first points of the season. All Quiet on the Western Front has been heretofore underwhelming, so maybe this is when it starts getting more nominations. I would be more bullish on it if Close hadn’t won Best International at NBR.
Aftersun bypassed Best Independent Film to get on the NBR’s Top 10
This is a major accomplishment for Aftersun and fellow winner Charlotte Wells for Breakthrough Director. Aftersun faces an uphill battle to get into the Best Picture list, given the sheer volume of quality films that have more mainstream appeal, but this is a good start and solidifies Charlotte Wells being, so far, the steal of the draft.
Speaking of Top 10, The Woman King is named Best Feature from AAFCA
The African America Film Critics Association released their Top 10 films of the year. It was surprising not to see Nope on this list, but a pleasant surprise was seeing The Woman King atop this list. It truly is a remarkable film, and I sincerely hope it does not get overlooked hereafter.
HCA Creative Arts gives us an early glimpse on valuable tech considerations
As is true throughout the regular season, the technical categories aren’t represented fully at each ceremony. This is an early look into some contenders if you’re looking for some players to fill those technical slots on your lineup. Most of the nominees had already earned points somewhere else, but I’ll admit I’ll look back here to get some ideas if my lineup starts to suffer.
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