This year’s Oscar winners will be announced live at the 97th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday night.
Conan O’Brien will be hosting this year’s ceremony, which will include live musical performances by Doja Cat, Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Queen Latifah, RAYE and LISA of Blackpink.
“Anora,” directed by Sean Baker, is the favorite to win Best Picture at this year’s awards, according to Oscar odds expert and Hollywood Reporter writer Ben Zauzmer. The film is about the troubled relationship of an exotic dancer who getsbecomes engaged to the wealthy son of a shady Russian oligarch and their troubled relationship.
Zauzmer also picked “Anora’s” director Sean Baker to win Best Director and Mikey Madison, who plays Anora, to win Best Actress. Neither Madison nor Baker, also director of “The Florida Project,” have been nominated before.
“Conclave,” a thriller about papal politics, is competing with “Anora” for Best Picture. “Conclave” was also nominated for Best Costume Design, Best Original Score, Best Editing, Best Production Design and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Englishman Ralph Fiennes received a Best Actor nomination for his role as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence and his Italian costar Isabella Rossellini received a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her role as Sister Agnes.
“A Complete Unknown,” another nominee for Best Picture, received nominations for Best Costume Design, Best Directing, Best Sound and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Fresh off a visit to Minneapolis where he was hunted by fans at the University of Minnesota, Timothée Chalamet is up for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance of native Minnesotan Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unknown.” This is his first nomination since 2018 for his role as Elio in “Call Me by Your Name.”
Adrien Brody is competing with Chalamet for Best Actor. Brody was nominated for his role as Hungarian architect and Holocaust survivor László Tóth in “The Brutalist.”
Monica Barbaro got a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her portrayal of Joan Baez, and “The Incredible Hulk” star Edward Norton got a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role as Pete Seeger.
“The Brutalist” also received nominations for Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Directing, Best Editing, Best Original Score and Best Production Design. Guy Pearce and Felicity Jones received Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress nominations for their roles in the film.
“Emilia Pérez,” the controversial Spanish-language, French musical about a cartel leader who attempts to transition to a woman and disappear, received more nominations than any other film with 13 total nominations. It received nominations for both Best Picture and Best International Feature Film.
Karla Sofía Gascón, who plays the titular character, made history as the first transgender woman to be nominated for Best Actress, but has recently caome under fire after it was uncovered that she had made several racist and islamophobic tweets in the past. In November, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation said “Emilia Pérez” is not good trans representation, compiling remarks from several queer critics who said the film exploited and parodied the trans experience.
“I’m Still Here,” a heart-wrenching Brazilian drama about life under authoritarianism, was also nominated for both Best Picture and Best International Feature Film. Actress Fernanda Torres is up for Best Actress for her portrayal of Eunice Paiva in the film.
The Main Cinema hosted one of the first screenings of “I’m Still Here” in the U.S. as part of the Cine Latino Film Festival last October.
Other nominees for Best Picture are “Dune: Part Two,” “Nickel Boys,” “The Substance,” and “Wicked.” Demi Moore and Cynthia Erivo both received Best Actress nominations for their roles in “The Substance” and “Wicked.”
