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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