Feinberg Spotlight: Contenders’ (First) Big Moment of Truth Arrives
THR’s awards expert chimes in on the Oscars race after the announcement of BAFTA and Academy Award nominations.
Clockwise from Top Left: Anatomy of a Fall, The Color Purple, Oppenheimer, Poor Things, Barbie and American Fiction
Neon/Courtesy Everett Collection; Eli Ade/Warner Bros.; Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures; Yorgos Lanthimos/Searchlight Pictures; Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bros.; Courtesy of ORION Pictures Inc.Best Picture
Anatomy of a Fall
Seven BAFTA noms (including best film, director and actress) presaged five Oscar noms (including those same three), a formidable showing for the film. France must regret not submitting it for the international feature Oscar; The Taste of Things wasn’t nominated.
The Color Purple
Despite producer Oprah Winfrey’s best efforts to boost Blitz Bazawule’s film, this musical version of Alice Walker’s novel, which was made into a nonmusical film that received 11 Oscar noms 37 years ago, landed just one this cycle: best supporting actress, for Danielle Brooks.
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Oppenheimer
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Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece, on the heels of landing a field-leading 13 BAFTA nominations, garnered the same number of Oscar noms (a number exceeded only by All About Eve, Titanic and La La Land, which each received 14), cementing it as the formidable frontrunner in the category.
Poor Things
Searchlight, which has distributed the best picture Oscar winner in four of the past 10 years, has a serious contender with Yorgos Lanthimos’ dramedy, which received 11 noms from both BAFTA (not best director) and the Academy (though Willem Dafoe missed a supporting nom).
Best Director
Greta Gerwig, Barbie
The director of 2023’s biggest blockbuster was passed over for BAFTA and Oscar directing noms (though both groups nominated her script). Her first three films have been Oscar-nominated for best picture, but only one brought her a directing nom.
Best Actor
Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction
His James Bond movie collaborators Daniel Craig and Barbara Broccoli hosted an event for him Jan. 16; the Advanced Imaging Society said he’ll receive its Distinguished Artist Award; and, despite missing a BAFTA nom, he landed his first Oscar nomination.
This story first appeared in the Jan. 26 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.