96th Oscar Nominations

[Daniel]

Nominees are out! Wish is snubbed! Not surprised honestly. Same for Mario. So happy for Elemental but it will probably go to The Boy and the Heron or Spider-Verse. Would be funny if it went to Nimona!

[Bill1978]

I am so excited that Nimona got nominated. It's my favourite animated feature of 2023. I thought I had done all my homework with the Animated Feature category but then the Academy had to go and nominate Robert Dreams. I do like how the Animation Branch takes their voting seriously though and refuse to just go with popular/expected choices - public and critic.

[Ben]

In terms of American animation, Spidey is going to take some beating, although I wonder if it not being a standalone — as in if you watch this without seeing Into first you won't have a clue what's going on — will go against it.

I thought the noms were largely "meh", being a mix of obvious ones and some really out there choices. Which all goes to make it interesting I guess!

[Randall]

It's between Spidey and Heron, I think. I thought Spidey was pretty wonderful, honestly, but haven't seen Heron yet. And true, Spidey is not a standalone film at all. I liked Elemental, but it was average Pixar and can't compete with the Amazing Spidey. Robot Dreams is an interesting choice, but I can't see it winning against the big guys. And sorry, but I didn't care all that much for Nimona; it barely held my interest (maybe it was the fantasy setting), and the ending was meh.

Otherwise, the story of the noms largely feels like it's Scorcese vs Nolan.

[Bill1978]

My main issue with Spideyverse 2 is the lack of closure to the movie's story. I have a similar issue with Deathly Hallows Part 1 and to a lesser extent Infinity War. They all feel like a 2 hour long teaser for the actual movie that isn't/wasn't released yet. But yet the Middle Earth movies never made me felt like they ended on a cliffhanger that left me saying 'Come on!" I think if Spideyverse 2 didn't end with that particular scene, I probably would have felt better about the movie.

Since I haven't seen Robot Dreams, I would swap Elemental with Suzume, it kept me engaged from beginning to end, unlike Elemental which had a great concept but didn't really execute as well as prior Pixar films that took a unique concept and created a decent world.
 
I was disappointed that The Boy And The Heron didn't get a nom for Original Score, even if I don't think it is his best work, I was hoping the Academy was going to recognise the career of Joe, but instead they decided to throw another nom to John.

[Ben]

I actually thought Spidey was going to end on that final comics cover, towards the end, which would have given the same feel but maybe felt more "finished".

The first two LOTR made me eager to watch the next one. As with Empire Strikes Back. Trilogies are not called trilogies for nothing, and this was certainly the middle of a three-act plot, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

[Dacey]

Interesting article on Robot Dreams (and Migration). From a month ago so kinda late for me to share it on the news page, but it’s a nice quick read. I think we’re supposedly getting Dreams in the states this summer (although I doubt it will go wide):

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-a ... share-ties

[James]

Nope. They just announced it's going wide this May!

What's amazing about this film is that they were going to have Cartoon Saloon do the animation but when they pulled out because of Covid, the filmmakers created a single-use "pop-up" animation studio from scratch!

More about that here: https://www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-fil ... 35924.html

[James]

New category coming to the Oscars:

ACADEMY ESTABLISHES CASTING AWARD FOR 98TH OSCARS®

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today the creation of an annual competitive Academy Award® for Achievement in Casting, beginning with the 98th Academy Awards® for films released in 2025.

“Casting directors play an essential role in filmmaking, and as the Academy evolves, we are proud to add casting to the disciplines that we recognize and celebrate,” said Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Janet Yang. “We congratulate our Casting Directors Branch members on this exciting milestone and for their commitment and diligence throughout this process.”

“On behalf of the members of the Casting Directors Branch, we’d like to thank the Board of Governors, the Awards Committee and Academy leadership for their support. This award is a deserved acknowledgment of our casting directors’ exceptional talents and a testament to the dedicated efforts of our branch,” said Academy Casting Directors Branch governors Richard Hicks, Kim Taylor-Coleman and Debra Zane.

Category rules for eligibility and voting for the inaugural award will be announced in April 2025 with the complete 98th Academy Awards Rules. The specifics of the award’s presentation will be determined by the Academy’s Board of Governors and its administrative leadership at a future date.

The Casting Directors Branch was created in July 2013. There are currently nearly 160 members of the branch.

The last new award category created was Best Animated Feature Film, established in 2001.

[Ben]

Woah! This’ll be touchy in many circles…

[Bill1978]

Finally, I can stop pondering during movies opening credits, why it's only the casting agents that don't get recognized out of all the areas that are deemed worthy enough to be placed on a movie's opening credits at the Oscars. I am looking forward to my first good night sleep in decades.

[Ben]

The stunt guys are not happy, I can tell you that for one thing. Much more deserved…

[Daniel]

Somewhere Sarah Halley Finn is celebrating!

[Ben]

Many of them will be, yes.

[Daniel]

Voice acting would be my top choice for future awards.