Image via Disney
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced nominations for the 95th Academy Awards on Tuesday, Jan. 24, and there were moments of pure delight and some major disappointments. People like Viola Davis and Danielle Deadwyler were snubbed in the Best Actress category, while James Cameron got no love for his groundbreaking directing on Avatar: The Way of Water. Top Gun: Maverick got more love than expected, and Marvel received its first acting nomination thanks to the incredible talents of the one and only, Angela Bassett, for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Everything Everywhere All at Once is leading the charge with 11 nominations—which is a surprise to no one who has seen it—but it is still admirable to see the film become a darling this awards season. Some talent was recognized for the first time by the Academy this year, including Rihanna, Brian Tyree Henry, and Ana de Armas. Check out our key takeaways from the nominations below before the ceremony, which will take place on March 12 at 8 p.m.
Angela Bassett is Marvel's first acting Oscar nominee
Angela Bassett’s performance as Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever absolutely floored me, and the Academy’s voters agree. Bassett landed a Best Supporting Actress nomination for the role, making it the first time an acting performance in a Marvel movie has been recognized at the Oscars. It only took 15 years and 30 films for an actor from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to receive a nomination and if anyone was going to get the job done it was going to be her.
There were several scenes throughout the sequel that left me sure that a nomination was in the cards for her, especially the scene of her at the United Nations as well as her powerful speech to Okoye (Danai Gurira) after Shuri (Letitia Wright) gets kidnapped. Those two moments alone make her deserving of this award, and as much as we loved Stephanie Hsu’s performance in Everything Everywhere All At Once, this one belongs to Bassett to honor her contributions to the MCU and Hollywood as a whole. This is her first Oscars nomination since 1993 when she received one for Best Actress for her role in What’s Love Got to Do with It—so it’s up to the Academy to do the right thing.
'Everything Everywhere All At Once' leads with 11 nominations
We are not at all surprised by Everything Everywhere All At Once earned more nominations than any other film this year. If you’ve been following along during Awards SZN, the film has already been a favorite. At the Oscars it will be competing in the Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Costume Design, Best Score, Best Song categories and in the acting categories for Best Supporting Actor for Ke Huy Quan, Best Supporting Actress for both Jamie Lee Curtis and Stephanie Hsu, and Best Lead Actress for Michelle Yeoh. The groundbreaking A24 film winning big at the Academy Awards should be expected, it’s beloved by both critics and fans, but it is also refreshing to see a film with all-Asian leads get this much love. Maybe The Academy is making strides in terms of diversity.
‘Top Gun: Maverick’ continues to soar
Having already bagged the distinction of being crowned the best film of 2022 by Complex, Tom Cruise’s return to the skies is now poised to continue its remarkable streak of well-earned acclaim. In total, the Top Gun sequel—which, in this writer’s opinion, managed the nearly impossible feat of besting its predecessor—scored six nominations on Tuesday morning including Best Picture, Best Original Song (for Lady Gaga’s “Hold My Hand”), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Sound, Best Film Editing, and Best Visual Effects.
Rihanna is an Oscar nominee
Rihanna and Tems have both received their first-ever Oscar nomination for Best Original Song for their work on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s “Lift Me Up.” She is up against Diane Warren’s “Applause” for Tell It Like a Woman, Lady Gaga’s “Hold My Hand” for Top Gun: Maverick, NTR and Ram Charan’s “Naatu Naatu” for RRR and Son Lux, Mitski and David Byrne’s “This Is a Life” for Everything Everywhere All at Once. Rihanna may not have won at the Golden Globes but the song marked her return to music and kicking this new era with an Oscar nomination is not half bad.
"Oscar Nominee Brian Tyree Henry" sounds good, doesn't it?
Outshining an Oscar winner in a movie when you’re the central characters ain’t easy, but Brian Tyree Henry did it effortlessly in Causeway—landing him a nomination for Best Supporting Actor. With Jennifer Lawrence as his counterpart, the Atlanta alum brought so much heart to the Apple TV+ film. Causeway is about a U.S. soldier dealing with a traumatic brain injury she suffered during a tour in Afghanistan, which forces her to return home. Once there, she finds an unlikely friend in Henry’s character, and the relationship that blossoms between them is the lifeline of the film.
“AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!❤️👍🏿❤️👍🏿❤️😭😭😭 I am beyond honored to be nominated!!!!!” Henry said in a statement celebrating his first Oscar nomination. “And in such amazing company!!! I’m so grateful. And to the random man in the elevator who saw me scream at the news, thank you for hugging me and not freaking out!!!!!!”
He is going up against Brendan Gleeson for The Banshees of Inisherin, Judd Hirsch for The Fabelmans, Barry Keoghan for The Banshees of Inisherin, and Ke Huy Quan for Everything Everywhere All at Once. Henry joins his Atlanta costar LaKeith Stanfield in the Oscar-nominees list, and this is only the beginning for him. We’ll be seeing more of Henry for decades to come.
James Cameron left out of Best Director category
Avatar: The Way of Water may have crossed the $2 billion global gross mark with ease but the Academy doesn’t seem to care one bit, leaving James Cameron (the only director to have three of the top 10 highest-grossing films in history) out of the Best Director category. The sequel didn’t get snubbed altogether though, and received four nominations including Best Picture (This is a big deal for action flicks!), as well as Best Production Design, Sound, and Visual Effects.
Ana de Armas gets the love she deserves for 'Blonde'
Feel how you feel about Blonde, 2022’s Marilyn Monroe biopic, but if you sat through the three-hour film you know there is no doubt that Ana de Armas was at her best while portraying the famed Hollywood. The film may have been discarded by critics due to its exploitative nature, and there are some scenes that are extremely hard to watch, but the actress made it all bearable, and watching her come to life as Monroe was a delight. Her nomination makes her the first Cuban actress to be nominated in the Best Lead Actress category and she is now the fifth Latina to be nominated for the award.
Mia Goth snubbed, pissing off horror fans
Immediately upon the release of last year’s X sequel Pearl, co-written by star Mia Goth and director Ti West, much attention was (rightfully) given to a lengthy monologue that lays bare what this film trilogy (MaXXXine is set to close the story soon) is really about. But for those who have been following her career, Pearl was merely the latest example of an awards-worthy performance from Goth, who will next be seen in the Sundance 2023 hit Infinity Pool.