What a day for Oscars superfans!
After the nominations presentation was delayed twice due to the tragic California wildfires, the Academy Award nominations hit the news this morning in advance of the ABC Oscars telecast on March 2. And they're packed with snubs and surprises.
Aren't they always? Sure, but this year you could create a whole new awards show with just those who aren't nominated for prizes.
Oscars 2025: Full list of nominationsThat all speaks to the gravity-defying strength of movies against pandemics, strikes and streaming wars that might otherwise bring them down. Not gonna happen.
SURPRISE: "Emilia Pérez"
I'm not surprised this terrific film was nominated. I'm shocked that it took a whopping 13 nominations, more than any other film. Not bad for a musical sung and acted in Spanish from a French director about a ruthless Mexican gangster who undergoes gender-affirming surgery, leaving her family behind and sparking tragic repercussions for all those concerned. The odds are now in favor of an Oscar win for best picture (watch out, "The Brutalist") that would be a first for Netflix and a significant sign that a rise in global Oscar voters is having an effect. As Timothée Chalamet's Bob Dylan sings in "A Complete Unknown," another best picture contender, "The times, they are a-changin'."
SNUBS: "Sing Sing," "A Real Pain"
The former is a prison drama about a real-life arts program at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in New York. The latter is a stirring personal take on two American cousins (Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin) who undertake a Holocaust tour of Poland in honor of their late grandmother.
How these two missed inclusion among Oscar's top 10 is beyond my comprehension.
Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande and more stars react to 2025 Oscar nominationsSURPRISE: Coralie Fargeat for "The Substance"
Of course, Fargeat fully deserves this spot. But since the Oscar boys club has only awarded its prize three times to a female director in the academy's 97-year history (pause here for a scream of protest), it still qualifies as a shock that Fargeat made the cut, especially for a horror film that voter snobs stupidly love to snub.
SNUB: Edward Berger for "Conclave" and Jon M. Chu for "Wicked"
Berger, foolishly counted out for "All Quiet on the Western Front," gets the cold shoulder again for his superb Vatican thriller "Conclave," despite the film earning 10 nominations, including for best picture. Did it direct itself? Academy disdain for film versions of Broadway musicals continues unabated with the exclusion of virtuoso Chu among the directing nominees for "Wicked." The film did snag 10 nominations, including for best picture.
SURPRISE: Karla Sofía Gascón for "Emilia Pérez"
The academy's tradition of hewing to a straight line gloriously broke form by making the transfixing Gascón the first openly trans actor to receive an Oscar nomination. Gascón may have a tough time beating comeback queen Demi Moore ("The Substance") in the race for Oscar gold, but it will be a blast watching her try.
SURPRISE: Fernanda Torres for "I'm Still Here"
Brazilian actress Torres, magnificent as a wife and mother fighting her country's corruption, is nominated in the same category as her mother, Fernanda Montenegro, who earned the nomination for "Central Station" 26 years ago. How do you not love that?
SNUB: Marianne Jean-Baptiste for "Hard Truths"
Critics groups from New York to Los Angeles rightly thought that Jean-Baptiste gave the female performance of the year as Pansy, a working-class member of London's Afro-Caribbean community. Some thought her character unlikable. Ha! Unforgettable is more like it.
SNUBS: Pamela Anderson for "The Last Showgirl." Nicole Kidman for "Babygirl," Angelina Jolie for "Maria," Amy Adams for "Nightbitch," Saoirse Ronan for "The Outrun," Kate Winslet for "Lee," Tilda Swinton for "The Room Next Door."
I'm not kidding about the quality of contenders in this race. I bet you have your own. But the exclusion of Jean-Baptiste and Anderson hurt the most. This category needs stretching?
Cynthia Erivo could earn EGOT with 'Wicked' nomination at 2025 OscarsSURPRISE: Sebastian Stan for "The Apprentice"
The word was that election fatigue would hurt Stan's chances for his highly praised but little-seen performance as the young Donald Trump in "The Apprentice." The newly inaugurated president himself previously derided the film on Truth Social. Oscar voters thought differently, putting Stan in the race against favorites Adrien Brody ("The Brutalist") and Timothée Chalamet ("A Complete Unknown"). Let the Oscars election campaign begin.
SNUB: Daniel Craig for "Queer"
The former James Bond was touted for his first acting nomination ever as a gay man tormented by unrequited love. Or was there resentment over Craig being cast in a role for which a gay actor may have been better suited? I get the sense that Stan just edged out Craig by a hair.
SNUB: Selena Gomez for "Emilia Pérez"
Had the pop star turned acclaimed actress snagged her predicated nomination as a gangster's rejected wife, "Emilia Pérez" would have tied the record at 14 for most Oscar nominations ever for a single film, along with "Titanic," "All About Eve" and "La La Land." Maybe the idea of another pop star in the lineup, along with Ariana Grande for "Wicked," was too much for elitist Oscar voters to take. No matter. Gomez's performance will stand the test of time.
SURPRISE: Monica Barbaro for "A Complete Unknown"
Many were expecting Gomez or Jamie Lee Curtis, so great as a Vegas cocktail waitress in "The Last Showgirl," to grab this spot. But that's no knock on Barbaro, who proved her mettle in song and story as Joan Baez, the folk goddess who held her own onstage and off against her sometimes lover Bob Dylan. Barbaro was no slouch on guitar either.
'Emilia Pérez' star Karla Sofía Gascón becomes 1st openly trans actor to snag Oscar nominationSNUB: Denzel Washington for "Gladiator II"
Are you kidding me? Everyone thought Washington had this Oscar in the bag, a third Academy trophy to add to his wins for "Glory" and "Training Day." Heck, he's only one of the best actors on the planet. But voters sniffed at all the digital fakery in "Gladiator II," despite Denzel's everlasting starshine. They also rejected newcomer Clarence Maclin who matched Denzel's scene-stealing bravado as a prisoner with acting chops to die for in "Sing Sing." What gives?
SURPRISE: Jeremy Strong for "The Apprentice"
So much for the pundits who wrote off "The Apprentice" because of its lack of box-office sizzle. But actors, who vote the nominations in this category, know when they're seeing a master at work. And Strong's dynamite portrayal of Trump's legal fixer Roy Cohn is one for the time capsule. What a juicy coincidence that Strong will be facing off against his "Succession" co-star Kieran Culkin for "A Real Pain." They each won an Emmy for the HBO series, but which of the former Roy brothers will take home his first Oscar? Place your bets. Just another reason the Oscars are such a fun watch. See you on March 2.
Check out the full list of 2025 Oscar nominations here.
