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Reacting to the 2025 Oscar Nominations (feat. Tansy Gardam)
David and Tansy react to this year's Oscar noms.
The Oscars nominations were announced today and I was pleased to be able to chat with Tansy Gardam from the Going Rogue podcast about what we thought of this year’s crop of nominees. Check out a video of our conversation below, along with some bullet points of my high-level thoughts.
Emilia Perez scored an astounding 13 nominations, which is pretty incredible for a movie that no one I personally know has both 1) seen, and 2) thought was good.
Anora put in a great showing, with nominations in major categories like Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actor. It’s nice to see a relatively small indie critical darling can still get the Oscar spotlight.
While Dune: Part Two was recognized with a few nominations, it really feels like the type of movie that would’ve swept the Oscars not too long ago. A great sci-fi epic that has spectacular filmmaking, is critically acclaimed and also made a boatload of money? Should be a shoo-in for all the major categories. (I could say the same about Conclave as well).
I’m a bit surprised to see so much love for The Substance, a movie I thought was a blast, but isn’t typically the type of movie the Oscars honored. That said, lovely to see nominations for Coralie Fargeat for Best Director and Demi Moore for Best Actress.
It’s cool to see The Apprentice score noms for both Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong, both of whom impressed me in their respective roles. Stan in particular does something really remarkable: he captures the essence of Trump without resorting to a mere impression. It’s really something to see.
I’m Still Here is quietly one of the best films of the year and it’s nice to see it get some more love in Best Picture and Best Actress.
What did you think of the nominations? Feel free to share your reactions in the comments. The full list of nominations is below.
Best picture
"Anora" (Neon)
"The Brutalist" (A24)
"A Complete Unknown" (Searchlight)
"Conclave" (Focus)
"Dune: Part Two" (Warner Bros.)
"Emilia Pérez" (Netflix)
"I'm Still Here" (Sony Classics)
"Nickel Boys" (Amazon/MGM)
"The Substance" (Mubi)
"Wicked" (Universal)
Best director
Sean Baker, "Anora"
Brady Corbet, "The Brutalist"
James Mangold, "A Complete Unknown"
Jacques Audiard, "Emilia Pérez"
Coralie Fargeat, "The Substance"
Best actress
Cynthia Erivo, "Wicked"
Karla Sofia Gascón, "Emilia Pérez"
Mikey Madison, "Anora"
Demi Moore, "The Substance"
Fernanda Torres, "I'm Still Here"
Best actor
Adrian Brody, "The Brutalist"
Timothée Chalamet, "A Complete Unknown"
Colman Domingo, "Sing Sing"
Ralph Fiennes, "Conclave"
Sebastian Stan, "The Apprentice"
Best supporting actress
Monica Barbaro, "A Complete Unknown"
Ariana Grande, "Wicked"
Felicity Jones, "The Brutalist"
Isabella Rossellini, "Conclave"
Zoe Saldaña, "Emilia Pérez"
Best supporting actor
Yura Borisov, "Anora"
Kieran Culkin, "A Real Pain"
Edward Norton, "A Complete Unknown"
Guy Pearce, "The Brutalist"
Jeremy Strong, "The Apprentice"
Best original screenplay
"Anora," Sean Baker
"The Brutalist," Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold
"A Real Pain," Jesse Eisenberg
"September 5," Tim Fehlbaum & Moritz Binder
"The Substance," Coralie Fargeat
Best adapted screenplay
"A Complete Unknown," Jay Cocks & James Mangold
"Conclave," Peter Straughan
"Emilia Pérez," Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain & Nicolas Livecchi
"Nickel Boys," RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes
"Sing Sing," Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin & John "Divine G" Whitfield
Best international feature
"I'm Still Here," Walter Salles (Brazil)
"The Girl with the Needle," Magnus von Horn (Denmark)
"Emilia Pérez," Jacques Audiard (France)
"The Seed of the Sacred Fig," Mohammad Rasoulof (Germany)
"Flow," Miguel Gomes (Latvia)
Best documentary feature
"Black Box Diaries," Shiori Itō (MTV)
"No Other Land," Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham & Rachel Szor (No distributor)
"Porcelain War," Brendan Bellomo & Slava Leontyev (Picturehouse)
"Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat," Johan Grimonprez (Kino Lorber)
"Sugarcane," Julian Brave NoiseCat & Emily Kassie (Nat Geo)
Best animated feature
"Flow" (Janus Films/Sideshow)
"Inside Out 2" (Disney/Pixar)
"Memoir of a Snail" (IFC Films)
"Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl" (Aardman/Netflix)
"The Wild Robot" (Dreamworks/Universal)
Best cinematography
"The Brutalist," Lol Crawley
"Dune: Part Two," Greig Fraser
"Emilia Pérez," Paul Guillaume
"Maria," Edward Lachman
"Nosferatu," Jarin Blaschke
Best costume design
"A Complete Unknown," Arianne Phillips
"Conclave," Lisy Christl
"Gladiator II," Janty Yates
"Nosferatu," Linda Muir
"Wicked," Paul Tazewell
Best film editing
"Anora," Sean Baker
"The Brutalist," Dávid Jancsó
"Conclave," Nick Emerson
"Emilia Pérez," Juliette Welfling
"Wicked," Myron Kerstein
Best production design
"The Brutalist," Judy Becker
"Conclave," Suzie Davies
"Dune: Part Two," Patrice Vermette
"Nosferatu," Craig Lathrop
"Wicked," Nathan Crowley
Best original score
"The Brutalist," Daniel Blumberg
"Conclave," Volker Bertelmann
"Emilia Pérez," Clément Ducol & Camille
"Wicked," John Powell & Stephen Schwartz
"The Wild Robot," Kris Bowers
Best original song
"Never Too Late," "Elton John: Never Too Late" (Elton John & Brandi Carlile)
"El Mal," "Emilia Pérez" (Clement Ducol, Camille & Jacques Audiard)
"Mi Camino," "Emilia Pérez" (Clement Ducol & Camille)
"Like a Bird," "Sing Sing" (Adrian Quesada & Abraham Alexander)
"The Journey," "The Six Triple Eight" (Diane Warren)
Best sound
"A Complete Unknown"
"Dune: Part Two"
"Emilia Pérez"
"Wicked"
"The Wild Robot"
Best visual effects
"Alien: Romulus"
"Better Man"
"Dune: Part Two"
"Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes"
"Wicked"
Best makeup and hairstyling
"A Different Man"
"Emilia Pérez"
"Nosferatu"
"The Substance"
"Wicked"
Best documentary short
"Death by Numbers"
"I Am Ready, Warden"
"Incident"
"Instruments of a Beating Heart"
"The Only Girl in the Orchestra"
Best animated short
"Beautiful Men"
"In the Shadow of the Cypress"
"Magic Candies"
"Wander to Wonder"
"Yuck!"
Best live-action short
"A Lien"
"Anuja"
"I'm Not a Robot"
"The Last Ranger"
"The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent"
A few thoughts:
1. I am not remotely surprised by the EMILIA PÉREZ love, because I witnessed it firsthand. The hype was very real at Cannes; everyone I spoke to adored it and (give or take a SEED OF THE SACRED FIG) thought it was a lock for the Palme. Personally I was mixed: loved the audacity and spectacle (very “how the fuck does this exist”, which often scores extra points in a sleepy festival environment), but felt that its ultra binary handling of gender would be seen as clunky and regressive by a younger, especially American audience. In other words, it was the perfect recipe for a thing that would sweep awards while being hated by moviegoers. The Netflix of it all did it no favors, as most people experienced it in the *least* spectacular setting.
2. Totally agree with Tansy on I SAW THE TV GLOW, and David on CHALLENGERS, for original screenplay. I’d sub out SEPTEMBER 5 and THE SUBSTANCE (which I adored but not primarily for its script).
3. My other biggest snub would be NICKEL BOYS for cinematography. Maybe I’m falling into the “most cinematography” trap, but I can’t think of a movie this year that had half the ambition. It lives or dies by Jomo Fray’s work, and in my mind it’s a triumph. (It was also my favorite film of the year, period, but I knew better than to expect a sweep!)
I am stunned by the lack of love for Challengers