The Oscars: Dubs and Snubs (Ashley Holloman)
On January 23, 2025, the Academy released its nominations for the 97th annual Oscar Awards. Emilia Pérez, a musical following a Mexican cartel leader who undergoes a gender transition, led the pack with 13 nominations: like movies such as Forrest Gump and Mary Poppins which received an equal number in past Oscar awards.
The latest phenomenon in pop culture, Wicked, received 10 nominations, beating recent releases such as Conclave and A Complete Unknown, receiving 8 nominations. Thanks to fans who held space for the lyrics of Defying Gravity, the musical received acknowledgment in various categories, including lead actress Cynthia Erivo and supporting actress Ariana Grande receiving recognition in their respective categories.
The recently released film The Brutalist tied Wicked for nominations despite the backlash for utilizing artificial intelligence. Following Adrian Brody who speaks Hungarian in a portion of the film, with the use of AI, movie editors changed the actors’ accents to make the Hungarian dialogue more authentic.
While these movies got their praise, many movie fanatics have described their disdain for the lack of nominations for the highly praised film, Challengers. The film’s score was recently recognized at the Grammy Awards in the best soundtrack category. With a stacked cast of actors including Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist, the film was shoeing for an award, although the academy thought otherwise.
With over 400 films being released in 2024, continuously the same films are gaining nominations. While the nominations recognized the creative aspect of film in 2024, they also emphasized a new sense of inclusivity in the film industry. As anticipation builds, viewers become increasingly eager to see who will take home the coveted Oscars on the evening of March 2, 2025.
