96th Academy Awards (2024)

In the year of Barbenheimer, I think it's safe to say the movies are back. Barbie was indisputably the short-term victor, but Oppenheimer will have the last laugh. And this was in a year Hollywood shut down thanks to twin strikes by WGA and SAG. Shawn Fain may be the face of labor in America, but Fran Drescher's rousing speech that made the rounds on social media is the defining image of the labor movement. She has the advantage of being an actor of course, but I was genuinely moved by her advocacy for the cause. And even more than The Nanny, this will be her legacy. A note to Jimmy Kimmel; in reference to Anatomy of a Fall, he should deliver his monologue with an instrumental version of 50 Cent's P.I.M.P. blasting over him. 

My Top 10:

1. A Thousand and One
2. Past Lives
3. The Boy and the Heron
4. The Holdovers
5. American Fiction
6. Oppenheimer
7. Monster
8. Asteroid City
9. How to Blow Up a Pipeline
10. Killers of the Flower Moon
11. Poor Things
12. All of Us Strangers

Honorable Mentions: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Are You There God? It's Me Margaret, Blackberry, You Hurt My Feelings, The Promised Land, Dicks: The Musical

Best Picture:

1. Oppenheimer
2. Barbie
3. Killers of the Flower Moon
4. Poor Things
5. The Holdovers
6. Anatomy of a Fall
7. Past Lives
8. The Zone of Interest
   
9. American Fiction
10. Maestro

Best Director:
Will Win/Should Win: Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer

Best Actress:
Will Win/Should Win: Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon
Honorable Mention: Teyana Taylor, A Thousand and One

Best Actor:
Will Win: Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer
Should Win: Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction
Honorable Mention: Leonardo DiCaprio, Killers of the Flower Moon

Best Supporting Actress:
Will Win/Should Win: Da'Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers

Best Supporting Actor:
Will Win: Robert Downey Jr, Oppenheimer
Should Win: Ryan Gosling, Barbie
Honorable Mention: Charles Melton, May December

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Will Win: Barbie
Should Win: Oppenheimer

Best Original Screenplay:
Will Win/Should Win: Past Lives

Best Cinematography:
Will Win/Should Win: Oppenheimer

Best Costume Design:
Will Win/Should Win: Barbie

Best Editing:
Will Win/Should Win: Oppenheimer

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:
Will Win/Should Win: Maestro

Best Production Design:
Will Win: Barbie
Should Win: Poor Things
Honorable Mention: Asteroid City

Best Score:
Will Win/Should Win: Oppenheimer
Honorable Mention: The Boy and the Heron

Best Song:
Will Win/Should Win: What Was I Made For? by Billie Eilish, Barbie

Best Sound:
Will Win/Should Win: The Zone of Interest

Best Visual Effects:
Will Win/Should Win: The Creator

Best Animated Feature:
Will Win/Should Win: The Boy and the Heron

Best Documentary Feature:
Will Win/Should Win: 20 Days in Mariupol

Best International Film:
Will Win: The Zone of Interest
Should Win: Perfect Days

Best Animated Short:
Will Win: WAR IS OVER! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko
Should Win: Ninety-Five Senses

Best Documentary Short:
Will Win: The ABC of Book Banning
Should Win: The Last Repair Shop

Best Live Action Short:
Will Win/Should Win: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

Result: I scored a paltry 15/23, placing seventh in my Oscars pool (congrats to Stephen with 20!). Emma Stone ended up breaking the 3-way tie. I'm not mad though about my errors because I loved the American Fiction screenplay, and the Poor Things production design and costume design and makeup/hairstyles and The Last Repair Shop and the Godzilla Minus One VFX. Also kind of hilarious that Hayao Miyazaki and WEs Anderon didn't show up.

I think it is notable that five distinct foreign language features won Oscars outside the International category: Anatomy of a Fall (screenplay), The Zone of Interest (sound), The Boy and the Heron (animation), 20 Days in Mariupol (documentary) and Godzilla: Minus One (VFX), reflecting the real impact the internationalization of the voting body over the last several years has had. Love that Justine Triet walked up to P.I.M.P in her Nicky-Kidman-at-an-AMC-getup.

I think the other story here is the non-story that Barbie's snubs became. Though there was much uproar over the snubs of Greta Gerwig for director and Margot Robbie for lead actor at the time nominations came out, it did not result in voters trying to make up for it in the final voting. Even Jimmy Kimmel noted that it was only the fault of the folks in the room. In the below-the-line craft categories where I had predicted Barbie victories, they lost all of them to Poor Things (probably an early indicator that Emma would topple Lily). The lone category Gerwig was nominated for in adapted screenplay ended up going to American Fiction, something of an upset, but a clear indication that the voters were not going for Barbie.