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Road to the Oscars

By Eleanor D'Angelo


Well, it’s that time of the year again… The Academy announced the nominees for the 94th Oscars ceremony on the morning of February 8.


From Arrakis to Belfast to the Moonlight Diner in New York City, the Oscar nominees came in hot on Tuesday morning. Actors Tracee Ellis Ross and Leslie Jordan announced the 2022 nominees for the most prestigious awards in the film industry over video with appearances from students and first responders across the country. TikTok star Reece Feldman, AKA @guywithamoviecamera, appeared on the live stream to discuss his predictions and thoughts on the nominees. Feldman found fame on the platform after sharing videos about his experiences and life as a production assistant on the Amazon Prime television hit The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Since his start, he’s earned 18.4 million likes on TikTok and has over 520k combined followers across his social media platforms.


Last year, Chloé Zhao made history as the first woman of color to win the Oscar for Best Director with her film Nomadland, starring Frances McDormand. She was the second woman in history to win the award following Katheryn Bigelow’s 2008 war thriller The Hurt Locker. Zhao was also the first woman to nab four nominations in a single year in the Best Film Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture categories.


Following the announcement of the 2022 nominees, Jane Campion became the first woman with two nominations for Best Director. She’s nominated alongside fellow veteran directors like Paul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza), Kenneth Branagh (Belfast), and Steven Spielberg (West Side Story). Spielberg beat Campion for Schindler’s List at the 1994 Academy Awards, though her film The Piano took home the gold for Best Original Screenplay.


The Piano allowed the New Zealand-born director to become the first woman to win the Cannes Palme d’Or prize in 1993. Her 2021 psychological thriller The Power of the Dog starring Benedict Cumberbatch swept the categories with 12 nominations, followed closely by Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic science fiction novel Dune with ten nominations.


The hit song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from Disney’s Encanto dominates the charts (and social media) from its No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. However, it is notably absent from the category for Best Original Song. The reason? Disney didn’t submit it. Instead, “Dos Oruguitas” made the list of contenders-- and now nominees. Studios must submit their songs by a specific deadline, and Disney chose “Dos Oruguitas” before Encanto debuted on Disney+, not anticipating the success of the chart-topper.


The nomination for “Dos Oruguitas” brings Lin Manuel Miranda one step closer to achieving the “grand slam” of show business: receiving an EGOT. In other words, if he wins, Miranda could join the ranks of Rita Moreno, Audrey Hepburn, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and most recently, Alan Menken as a winner of all four of the major American entertainment awards (i.e. an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony).


The 2021 Academy Award ceremony broke records for diversity and inclusion at the awards show with nine actors of color receiving nominations. The 2022 nominees feature only four actors of color: Ariana DeBose, Aunjanue Ellis, Will Smith, and Denzel Washington. Ellis is a first-time nominee for her role in King Richard, though Smith and Washington have won in the past. Denzel Washington’s nod for best actor (The Tragedy of Macbeth) furthers his lead as the most Oscar-nominated Black actor with 10 nominations and two wins. Smith’s role in King Richard marks his third best actor nomination and first as a producer. DeBose (West Side Story) is the first Afro-Latina and openly queer woman of color ever nominated.


Representation for the Latino community is strong this year, with two-time winner Guillermo Del Toro earning another best picture nomination for Nightmare Alley. The neo-noir psychological thriller earned four total nominations. Encanto, a musical about a Colombian family gifted with magical powers to help their community, earned three nods. Producer Yvett Merino and composer Germaine Franco became the first Latinas ever to be nominated for animated feature and original score, respectively. Franco is the first Latina ever accepted into the Academy’s music branch.


Best actor nominee Troy Kotsur is the second deaf actor to be nominated for an Oscar. The first was his CODA co-star Marlee Matlin who took home the best actress trophy in 1987 for her performance in Children of a Lesser God. CODA features a predominantly deaf cast, making it another first in the best picture category.


Craig Erwich, president of Hulu Originals & ABC entertainment, confirmed that this year’s ceremony will indeed have a host for the first time since 2018. After a decline in viewers in 2020 and 2021, ABC hopes to reverse the trend with the 2022 broadcast.


Despite Oscar buzz and campaign efforts, Sony and Marvel’s record-breaking box office hit Spider-Man: No Way Home nabbed only one nomination for Best Visual Effects. Tom Holland’s recent performance as Peter Parker/Spider-Man solidified his status as a global superstar. The British actor is rumored to have a chance at hosting this year’s ceremony, though neither Holland nor The Academy has confirmed the speculation.


The 94th Academy Awards ceremony will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California, on March 27, 2022, and is set to air at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.



Here’s the full list of nominees:


Best Picture

Belfast, Laura Berwick, Kenneth Branagh, Becca Kovacik and Tamar Thomas, producers

CODA, Philippe Rousselet, Fabrice Gianfermi and Patrick Wachsberger, producers

Don’t Look Up, Adam McKay and Kevin Messick, producers

Drive My Car, Teruhisa Yamamoto, producer

Dune, Mary Parent, Denis Villeneuve and Cale Boyter, producers

King Richard, Tim White, Trevor White and Will Smith, producers

Licorice Pizza, Sara Murphy, Adam Somner and Paul Thomas Anderson, producers

Nightmare Alley, Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale and Bradley Cooper, producers

The Power of the Dog, Jane Campion, Tanya Seghatchian, Emile Sherman, Iain Canning and Roger Frappier, producers

West Side Story, Steven Spielberg and Kristie Macosko Krieger, producers


Best Director

Kenneth Branagh, Belfast

Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car

Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza

Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog

Steven Spielberg, West Side Story


Best Lead Actor

Javier Bardem, Being the Ricardos

Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog

Andrew Garfield, Tick, Tick… BOOM!

Will Smith, King Richard

Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth


Best Lead Actress

Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter

Penelope Cruz, Parallel Mothers

Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos

Kristen Stewart, Spencer


Best Supporting Actor

Cirián Hines, Belfast

Troy Kotsur, CODA

Jesse Plemmons, The Power of the Dog

J.K. Simmons, Being the Ricardos

Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog


Best Supporting Actress

Jessie Buckley, The Lost Daughter

Ariana DeBose, West Side Story

Judi Dench, Belfast

Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog

Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard


Best Adapted Screenplay

CODA, screenplay by Siân Heder

Drive My Car, screenplay by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Takamasa Oe

Dune, screenplay by Jon Spaihts and Denis Villeneuve and Eric Roth

The Lost Daughter, written by Maggie Gyllenhaal

The Power of the Dog, written by Jane Campion


Best Original Screenplay

Belfast, written by Kenneth Branagh

Don’t Look Up, screenplay by Adam McKay; story by Adam McKay and David Sirota

King Richard, written by Zach Baylin

Licorice Pizza, written by Paul Thomas Anderson

The Worst Person in the World, written by Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier


Best Cinematography

Dune, Greig Fraser

Nightmare Alley, Dan Laustsen

The Power of The Dog, Ari Wegner

The Tragedy of Macbeth, Bruno Delbonnel

West Side Story, Janusz Kaminski


Best Animated Feature Film

Encanto, Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino and Clark Spencer

Flee, Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen and Charlotte De La Gournerie

Luca, Enrico Casarosa and Andrea Warren

The Mitchells vs. the Machines, Mike Rianda, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Kurt Albrecht

Raya and the Last Dragon, Don Hall, Carlos López Estrada, Osnat Shurer and Peter Del Vecho



Best Animated Short Film

Affairs of the Art, Joanna Quinn and Les Mills

Bestia, Hugo Covarrubias and Tevo Díaz

Boxballet, Anton Dyakov

Robin Robin, Dan Ojari and Mikey Please

The Windshield Wiper, Alberto Mielgo and Leo Sanchez


Best Costume Design

Cruella, Jenny Beavan

Cyrano, Massimo Cantini Parrini and Jacqueline Durran

Dune, Jacqueline West and Robert Morgan

Nightmare Alley, Luis Sequeira

West Side Story, Paul Tazewell


Best Original Score

Don’t Look Up, Nicholas Britel

Dune, Hans Zimmer

Encanto, Germaine Franco

Parallel Mothers, Alberto Iglesias

The Power of the Dog, Jonny Greenwood


Best Sound

Belfast, Denise Yarde, Simon Chase, James Mather and Niv Adiri

Dune, Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill and Ron Bartlett

No Time To Die, Simon Hayes, Oliver Tarney, James Harrison, Paul Massey and Mark Taylor

The Power of the Dog, Richard Flynn, Robert Mackenzie and Tara Webb

West Side Story, Tod A. Maitland, Gary Rydstrom, Brian Chumney, Andy Nelson and Shawn Murphy


Best Original Song

“Be Alive” from King Richard, music and lyric by Dixson and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter

“Dos Oroguitos” from Encanto, music and lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda

“Down to Joy” from Belfast, music and lyric by Van Morrison

“No Time To Die” from No Time To Die, music and lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell

“Somehow to Do” from Four Good Days, music and lyric by Diane Warren


Best Documentary Feature

Ascension, Jessica Kingdon, Kira Simon-Kennedy and Nathan Truesdell

Attica, Stanley Nelson and Traci A. Curry

Flee, Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Monica Hellström, Signe Byrge Sørensen and Charlotte De La Gournerie

Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Joseph Patel, Robert Fyvolent and David Dinerstein

Writing With Fire, Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh


Best Documentary Short Subject

Audible, Matt Ogens and Geoff McLean

Lead Me Home, Pedro Kos and Jon Shenk

The Queen of Basketball, Ben Proudfoot

Three Songs of Benazir, Elizabeth Mirzaei and Gulistan Mirzaei

When We Were Bullies, Jay Rosenblatt


Best Film Editing

Don’t Look Up, Hank Corwin

Dune, Joe Walker

King Richard, Pamela Martin

The Power of the Dog, Peter Sciberras

Tick, Tick…Boom!, Myron Kerstein and Andrew Weisblum


Best International Feature Film

Drive My Car (Japan)

Flee (Denmark)

The Hand of God (Italy)

Yanna (Bhutan)

The Worst Person in the World (Norway)


Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Coming 2 America, Mike Marino, Stacey Morris and Carla Farmer

Cruella, Nadia Stacey, Naomi Donne and Julia Vernon

Dune, Donald Mowat, Love Larson and Eva von Bahr

The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram and Justin Raleigh

House of Gucci, Göran Lundström, Anna Carin Lock and Frederic Aspiras


Best Production Design

Dune, production design: Patrice Vermette; set decoration: Zsuzsanna Sipos

Nightmare Alley, production design: Tamara Deverell; set decoration: Shane Vieau

The Power of the Dog, production design: Grant Major; set decoration: Amber Richards

The Tragedy of Macbeth, production design: Stefan Dechant; set decoration: Nancy Haigh

West Side Story, production design: Adam Stockhausen; set decoration: Rena DeAngelo


Visual Effects

Dune, Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor and Gerd Nefzer

Free Guy, Swen Gillberg, Bryan Grill, Nikos Kalaitzidis and Dan Sudick

No Time To Die, Charlie Noble, Joel Green, Jonathan Fawkner and Chris Corbould

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Christopher Townsend, Joe Farrell, Sean Noel Walker and Dan Oliver

Spider-Man: No Way Home, Kelly Port, Chris Waegner, Scott Edelstein and Dan Sudick


Best Live-Action Short Film

Ala Kacchu – Take and Run, Maria Brendle and Nadine Lüchinger

The Dress, Tadeusz Łysiak and Maciej Ślesicki

The Long Goodbye, Aneil Karia and Riz Ahmed

On My Mind, Martin Strange-Hansen and Kim Magnusson

Please Hold, K.D. Dávila and Levin Menekse


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