98th Oscars

[RobertR]

Let's see how much interest there is this year.  The ceremony is on March 15th.

I think it's an above the Oscar average set of movies nominated for best picture.  I've seen 7 of 10 (everything except Sentimental Value, The Secret Agent, and F1.) So I strongly expect I've seen the big winner.  That said, I don't feel that there is too much in the way of notable snubs. Certainly noone who should have won is really out of the running. And, by reputation, it feels like that International Film category is particularly strong. I think that the rise of people watching shows with subtitles has probably helped the visibility of that category too.

That said, it certainly feels like there's not much of a horse race aspect this year. I expect it will come down to Sinners and One Battle After Another for Best Picture. And I'll be fine with either. Best Actress looks competitive. I expect some pushback towards Chalamet becoming one of the youngest Best Actor winners. It sure seems that something is likely to get shutout despite a lot of nominations, but we'll see. But it seems like it could be a spread the wealth year.

I'm dreading the Academy finding a way to screw up the In Memoriam segment for a year of tremendous losses.

So, some personal rankings of BP nominees.

1. Sinners

2. One Battle After Another

3. Train Dreams

4. Hamnet

5. Marty Supreme

6. Bugonia

7. Frankenstein

(I'll most likely update and reshuffle later.)

And the list of nominees for discussion:

Actor in a Leading Role

Nominees

Timothée Chalamet

Marty Supreme

Leonardo DiCaprio

One Battle after Another

Ethan Hawke

Blue Moon

Michael B. Jordan

Sinners

Wagner Moura

The Secret Agent

Actor in a Supporting Role

Nominees

Benicio Del Toro

One Battle after Another

Jacob Elordi

Frankenstein

Delroy Lindo

Sinners

Sean Penn

One Battle after Another

Stellan Skarsgård

Sentimental Value

Actress in a Leading Role

Nominees

Jessie Buckley

Hamnet

Rose Byrne

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You

Kate Hudson

Song Sung Blue

Renate Reinsve

Sentimental Value

Emma Stone

Bugonia

Actress in a Supporting Role

Nominees

Elle Fanning

Sentimental Value

Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas

Sentimental Value

Amy Madigan

Weapons

Wunmi Mosaku

Sinners

Teyana Taylor

One Battle after Another

Animated Feature Film

Nominees

Arco

Ugo Bienvenu, Félix de Givry, Sophie Mas and Natalie Portman

Elio

Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina and Mary Alice Drumm

KPop Demon Hunters

Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans and Michelle L.M. Wong

Little Amélie or the Character of Rain

Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han, Nidia Santiago and Henri Magalon

Zootopia 2

Jared Bush, Byron Howard and Yvett Merino

Animated Short Film

Nominees

Butterfly

Florence Miailhe and Ron Dyens

Forevergreen

Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears

The Girl Who Cried Pearls

Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski

Retirement Plan

John Kelly and Andrew Freedman

The Three Sisters

Konstantin Bronzit

Casting

Nominees

Hamnet

Nina Gold

Marty Supreme

Jennifer Venditti

One Battle after Another

Cassandra Kulukundis

The Secret Agent

Gabriel Domingues

Sinners

Francine Maisler

Cinematography

Nominees

Frankenstein

Dan Laustsen

Marty Supreme

Darius Khondji

One Battle after Another

Michael Bauman

Sinners

Autumn Durald Arkapaw

Train Dreams

Adolpho Veloso

Costume Design

Nominees

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Deborah L. Scott

Frankenstein

Kate Hawley

Hamnet

Malgosia Turzanska

Marty Supreme

Miyako Bellizzi

Sinners

Ruth E. Carter

Directing

Nominees

Hamnet

Chloé Zhao

Marty Supreme

Josh Safdie

One Battle after Another

Paul Thomas Anderson

Sentimental Value

Joachim Trier

Sinners

Ryan Coogler

Documentary Feature Film

Nominees

The Alabama Solution

Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman

Come See Me in the Good Light

Ryan White, Jessica Hargrave, Tig Notaro and Stef Willen

Cutting through Rocks

Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni

Mr. Nobody against Putin

David Borenstein, Pavel Talankin, Helle Faber and Alžběta Karásková

The Perfect Neighbor

Geeta Gandbhir, Alisa Payne, Nikon Kwantu and Sam Bisbee

Documentary Short Film

Nominees

All the Empty Rooms

Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones

Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud

Craig Renaud and Juan Arredondo

Children No More: "Were and Are Gone"

Hilla Medalia and Sheila Nevins

The Devil Is Busy

Christalyn Hampton and Geeta Gandbhir

Perfectly a Strangeness

Alison McAlpine

Film Editing

Nominees

F1

Stephen Mirrione

Marty Supreme

Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie

One Battle after Another

Andy Jurgensen

Sentimental Value

Olivier Bugge Coutté

Sinners

Michael P. Shawver

International Feature Film

Nominees

Brazil

The Secret Agent

France

It Was Just an Accident

Norway

Sentimental Value

Spain

Sirāt

Tunisia

The Voice of Hind Rajab

Live Action Short Film

Nominees

Butcher's Stain

Meyer Levinson-Blount and Oron Caspi

A Friend of Dorothy

Lee Knight and James Dean

Jane Austen's Period Drama

Julia Aks and Steve Pinder

The Singers

Sam A. Davis and Jack Piatt

Two People Exchanging Saliva

Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata

Makeup and Hairstyling

Nominees

Frankenstein

Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey

Kokuho

Kyoko Toyokawa, Naomi Hibino and Tadashi Nishimatsu

Sinners

Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine and Shunika Terry

The Smashing Machine

Kazu Hiro, Glen Griffin and Bjoern Rehbein

The Ugly Stepsister

Thomas Foldberg and Anne Cathrine Sauerberg

Music (Original Score)

Nominees

Bugonia

Jerskin Fendrix

Frankenstein

Alexandre Desplat

Hamnet

Max Richter

One Battle after Another

Jonny Greenwood

Sinners

Ludwig Goransson

Music (Original Song)

Nominees

Dear Me

from Diane Warren: Relentless; Music and Lyric by Diane Warren

Golden

from KPop Demon Hunters; Music and Lyric by EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo and Teddy Park

I Lied To You

from Sinners; Music and Lyric by Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Goransson

Sweet Dreams Of Joy

from Viva Verdi!; Music and Lyric by Nicholas Pike

Train Dreams

from Train Dreams; Music by Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner; Lyric by Nick Cave

Best Picture

Nominees

Bugonia

Ed Guiney & Andrew Lowe, Yorgos Lanthimos, Emma Stone and Lars Knudsen, Producers

F1

Chad Oman, Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Joseph Kosinski and Jerry Bruckheimer, Producers

Frankenstein

Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale and Scott Stuber, Producers

Hamnet

Liza Marshall, Pippa Harris, Nicolas Gonda, Steven Spielberg and Sam Mendes, Producers

Marty Supreme

Eli Bush, Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie, Anthony Katagas and Timothée Chalamet, Producers

One Battle after Another

Adam Somner, Sara Murphy and Paul Thomas Anderson, Producers

The Secret Agent

Emilie Lesclaux, Producer

Sentimental Value

Maria Ekerhovd and Andrea Berentsen Ottmar, Producers

Sinners

Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian and Ryan Coogler, Producers

Train Dreams

Marissa McMahon, Teddy Schwarzman, Will Janowitz, Ashley Schlaifer and Michael Heimler, Producers

Production Design

Nominees

Frankenstein

Production Design: Tamara Deverell; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau

Hamnet

Production Design: Fiona Crombie; Set Decoration: Alice Felton

Marty Supreme

Production Design: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Adam Willis

One Battle after Another

Production Design: Florencia Martin; Set Decoration: Anthony Carlino

Sinners

Production Design: Hannah Beachler; Set Decoration: Monique Champagne

Sound

Nominees

F1

Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo and Juan Peralta

Frankenstein

Greg Chapman, Nathan Robitaille, Nelson Ferreira, Christian Cooke and Brad Zoern

One Battle after Another

José Antonio García, Christopher Scarabosio and Tony Villaflor

Sinners

Chris Welcker, Benjamin A. Burtt, Felipe Pacheco, Brandon Proctor and Steve Boeddeker

Sirāt

Amanda Villavieja, Laia Casanovas and Yasmina Praderas

Visual Effects

Nominees

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett

F1

Ryan Tudhope, Nicolas Chevallier, Robert Harrington and Keith Dawson

Jurassic World Rebirth

David Vickery, Stephen Aplin, Charmaine Chan and Neil Corbould

The Lost Bus

Charlie Noble, David Zaretti, Russell Bowen and Brandon K. McLaughlin

Sinners

Michael Ralla, Espen Nordahl, Guido Wolter and Donnie Dean

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Nominees

Bugonia

Screenplay by Will Tracy

Frankenstein

Written for the Screen by Guillermo del Toro

Hamnet

Screenplay by Chloé Zhao & Maggie O'Farrell

One Battle after Another

Written by Paul Thomas Anderson

Train Dreams

Screenplay by Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar

Writing (Original Screenplay)

Nominees

Blue Moon

Written by Robert Kaplow

It Was Just an Accident

Written by Jafar Panahi; Script collaborators - Nader Saïvar, Shadmehr Rastin, Mehdi Mahmoudian

Marty Supreme

Written by Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie

Sentimental Value

Written by Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier

Sinners

Written by Ryan Coogler

[RobertR]

Updated personal rankings.

Posted Monday at 11:52 AM

Let's see how much interest there is this year.  The ceremony is on March 15th.

I think it's an above the Oscar average set of movies nominated for best picture.  I've seen 7 of 10 (everything except Sentimental Value, The Secret Agent, and F1.) So I strongly expect I've seen the big winner.  That said, I don't feel that there is too much in the way of notable snubs. Certainly noone who should have won is really out of the running. And, by reputation, it feels like that International Film category is particularly strong. I think that the rise of people watching shows with subtitles has probably helped the visibility of that category too.

That said, it certainly feels like there's not much of a horse race aspect this year. I expect it will come down to Sinners and One Battle After Another for Best Picture. And I'll be fine with either. Best Actress looks competitive. I expect some pushback towards Chalamet becoming one of the youngest Best Actor winners. It sure seems that something is likely to get shutout despite a lot of nominations, but we'll see. But it seems like it could be a spread the wealth year.

I'm dreading the Academy finding a way to screw up the In Memoriam segment for a year of tremendous losses.

So, some personal rankings of BP nominees.

1. Sinners

2. One Battle After Another

3. Train Dreams

4. Hamnet

5. Sentimental Value

6. Marty Supreme

7. Bugonia

8. Frankenstein

[homer]

I thought Joel Edgerton would be nominated for Train Dreams. He earned it.

[RobertR]

Updated personal rankings of BP nominees.

1. Sinners

2. One Battle After Another

3. Train Dreams

4. Hamnet

5. The Secret Agent

6. Sentimental Value

7. Marty Supreme

8. Bugonia

9. Frankenstein

 

F1 to complete the set.

[RobertR]

Well, you can put F1 in 10th in my rankings. Entertaining enough but there are at least a half dozen big studio films that are just as entertaining and have legitimate artistic vision.

There seems to be some intrigue about the winners this year. The two BP front-runners are from the same studio and that perhaps has cut down on the ugly campaigning along with the preferential ballot. But actor seems up for grabs along with Best Picture. As long as the don't blow the In Memoriam, should be a good show.

[TURBO]

Wouldn't it be great if they could have a show without political pandering?

I'm to the point now, that anything I see with political bias, either side of the isle, I just turn the channel.  Not just awards shows, but all television in general.  Nobody is changing anybody's mind these days, it's just a platform for those who feel superior to everyone else, to blather on and on.

I don't watch news channels any longer, again, either side of the isle, it's all just sickening.  Both sides pandering bias like it's candy.

Where's Walter Kronkite (spelling) when we need him?

[sveumrules]

6 minutes ago, TURBO said:

Where's Walter Kronkite (spelling) when we need him?

Old Walt was apparently in the Epstein Files so not sure he is the best example.

[homer]

On 3/14/2026 at 7:58 AM, RobertR said:

Well, you can put F1 in 10th in my rankings. Entertaining enough but there are at least a half dozen big studio films that are just as entertaining and have legitimate artistic vision.

I have absolutely no idea how that movie got a nomination other than Apple spending billions on bribes. 

I finally watched One Battle After Another last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was not expecting to laugh as much as I did but given the source material, I should have seen it coming. 

[sveumrules]

4 hours ago, homer said:

I finally watched One Battle After Another last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was not expecting to laugh as much as I did but given the source material, I should have seen it coming. 

Kind of wild that PTA (& Wes Anderson too) has been at it for thirty years now with Hard Eight & Bottle Rocket both dropping as pretty low key indie debuts back in 1996.

Would take some kind of magic to knock Magnolia and Punch Drunk Love out of the Top Two spots on my PTA list, but I’d probably slot One Battle in the #3 spot just ahead of There Will Be Blood.

Quick check of betting odds looks like Penn is the favorite for supporting actor but I’d give it to Benicio all day.

[wallus]

Out of that list, I have only seen two so far. Sinners was creative and good. Marty Supreme was not good at all.