10 Takeaways From The Oscar Nominations

by Nathaniel R

If you predicted AVATAR FIRE AND ASH in costumes. Please take the week off in celebration and invest immediately in gambling because you are psychic.

Dear readers, as I recreate the Oscar charts to reflect nominations and add "Reader Choice" polling, consider these 10 off-the-cuff takeaways about this morning's Oscar nominations -- you can see the full list (as well as my prediction score) here. In the meantime I hope you enjoy these takeaways and answer three questions that come to mind...

10 TAKEAWAYS + 4 COMMENT PARTY QUESTIONS

Oscar Voters  Can Still Surprise Us! 
I really didn't expect to type this. "Surprises" generally being an overstatement when it comes to Oscar results. Even if something happens that isn't widely expected it's usually at least been talked up as a  "spoiler" possibility for months. In comes the Costume Design branch to keep us on our toes. Who on Gods Green Earth or Pandora's Blue Oceans saw a Best Costume Design nomination coming for the CGI loincloths and tribal accessories of Avatar Fire and Ash !?

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"Kokuho" dominates the 49th Japan Academy Prize nominations

by Nathaniel R

KOKUHO is nominated across the board with Japan's Academy

While many other countries film awards operate on different time tables Japan and France, like the US, are calendar year with nominations in January and awards ceremonies in February or March. The French César nominations are a week away but Japan announced yesterday. They requiretwo continuous weeks in theaters for eligibility (the Oscars are less theatrical-focused *sigh* with only one week required). While Japan is inarguably the most successful Asian country at the Oscars, outside of anime (which Oscar ignores), Korean and Chinese cinema are more popular with US moviegoers with regular crossover hits. We've always wondered why there's that disconnect between the Oscars and arthouse moviegoers. But that's a larger and more complex topic. For now, let's look at the nominees for the 49th edition of Japan's Academy prizes. Japan's eye candy spectacle and Oscar finalist Kokuho received 17 (*gulp*) nominations with eight (*gulp x 2*) nominations happening within the 5 acting categories alone. We don't know if that's a record but it sounds like one. Kokuho has been so popular in release in Japan that it is already the highest grossing live-action Japanese film of all time there.

Nominees, commentary, and some history after the jump...

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Pt 3. International Feature Race: A Dozen Movie Stars!

by Nathaniel R

Internationally famous South Korean superstar Lee Byung-hun in "No Other Choice"

As a final part of our general trivia overview (pt 1 stats & genres / pt 2 directors) of the Best International Feature Film race -- before things narrow down -- we thought we'd look at famous actors gracing the international Oscar race this year. Here are a dozen of the most familiar faces that Academy voters (and you) will recognize from their own history of awardage not to mention previous classics and contenders from this very category. If their new film is nominated, you might see them in their full tux/gown glory on Oscar night.

We'll take these dozen megawatt talents alphabetically...

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In conversation with "Sound of Falling"'s Evelyn Rack

Voting for the Oscar shortlists is ongoing, including in the Best International Film category. Here's Eurocheese talking with Evelyn Rack, the extraordinary editor of Germany's Sound of Falling...

SOUND OF FALLING (2025) Mascha Schilinski | © MUBI

(Please note - this interview contains SPOILERS in you haven't seen the film.)

EUROCHEESE: Congratulations on Sound of Falling. I was able to catch it at AFI fest this year – it was my favorite film at the festival. It such a unique viewing experience – so different from anything that I've seen in a long time, and I'm really excited to get to talk to you about it today. First of all, I just wanted to find out a little bit about how the project came to you. 

EVELYN RACK: The producer Maren Schmitt approached me – we had worked on other projects before and she told me listen Eva, I have this amazing script from this awesome director; you have to come on board, I know you're the right one. So she sent me the script, I opened it, and on the first page before anything else there was a quote from Bresson: “I'd rather have people feel a film before understanding it.” My heart skipped a beat because I feel like it's exactly my editing approach on every film that I edit, that I seek to really feel a film rather than understanding it...

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Review: "The Secret Agent" is a mischievous masterpiece

by Cláudio Alves

Today, The Secret Agent begins its Oscar-qualifying run, ahead of an awards season it enters full of high hopes. And why not? At Cannes, Kleber Mendonça Filho won the Best Director trophy while Wagner Moura was picked as Best Actor by the Main Competition jury, a set of honors complemented by the FIPRESCI prize, which made it the Croisette's most awarded film. Between critical acclaim and yet more festival hardware, The Secret Agent was announced as Brazil's official submission for the 98th Academy Awards, where it surely hopes to replicate some of I'm Still Here's success from last year. Right now, it's up for two Gotham awards, competing in the categories of Best Original Screenplay and Outstanding Lead Performance. 

All that said, at this time of the year, it's easy to let oneself think about cinema exclusively in these terms. The race for gold is a thrilling diversion, yet it shouldn't distract us from appreciating the art for what it is. Nor should it flatten how we look at film. In The Secret Agent's case, this is especially true as it's a work much greater than any award could hope to be. Pardon the hyperbole, but I'd easily call it a masterpiece, an instant classic even…

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