Oscar nominations are one of the few places where vampires, Bob Dylan, and two Black reform school students can all share the same space. Today, the nominees for the 97th Academy Awards were announced, and some of the bloodiest and strangest movies of 2024 were celebrated. Alien: Romulus scored a Visual Effects nomination, while other films that arguably better fit what the Academy traditionally looks for were snubbed.
One of the biggest winners of nomination season is the whimsical Wicked, which gets another shot at winning a Best Picture trophy after losing out on the award at the Golden Globes weeks ago. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo deservedly received nominations for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and Best Actress in a Leading Role, respectively. The film also scored nominations for Costume Design, Film Editing, Sound, Visual Effects, Original Score, Makeup and Hairstyling, and Production Design, which makes the snub of Jonathan Bailey, who gave an incredible performance as the charming Prince Fiyero, all the more shocking. Maybe listening to “Dancing Through Life” will help wash away the injustice.
Meanwhile in the realm of sci-fi, a few months ago Josh Brolin threatened to quit acting if Denis Villeneuve didn’t get a Best Director nomination at this year’s Oscar for Dune: Part Two. Well, the Academy is calling his bluff but softening the blow, as the acclaimed director is shut out of the Best Director category for the second Dune movie in a row, even though the movie received five nominations, including a nod for Best Picture. It’s pretty clear what voters are trying to say about Villeneuve’s directing skills when the cinematography, visual effects, sound, and production design of the film are nominated but not the man who helmed it all. Dune: Part Two is very nice to look at, but the story isn’t told at an Oscar-worthy level, apparently.
Depending on how you like your bloody imagery presented in movies, Nosferatu nabbing four nominations to Gladiator II’s one nomination could come as a shock. Neither film was nominated for its acting or directing, which is a surprise seeing as Lily-Rose Depp was mesmerizing as Ellen Hutter in Nosferatu, while Denzel Washington as Macrinus in Gladiator II was unquestionably the best part of the film, and may have made it cool for men to wear multiple gold earrings at once again. To be honest, Washington could’ve taken Timothée Chalamet’s Best Actor in a Leading Role nomination for A Complete Unknown, but we all knew the nomination was already his when he put on those dark shades and started singing “Like A Rolling Stone.”
No award show is perfect, but Zendaya having earned more IGN Award nominations (1) than Academy Award nominations (0) thus far in her illustrious career is a wrong that needs to be rectified immediately. Given that she’s now been snubbed for her sensational performance as Tashi Donaldson in the sexy and cerebral Challengers, though, we’ll have to wait at least a year. We can only hope that when the third Dune movie comes out, the Academy wakes up and realizes she’s been one of the most important parts of a franchise they’ve now twice said has produced one of the best films of their respective years.