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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98th Academy Awards: Team Experience Predictions

by Cláudio Alves

Tomorrow will be a big day for the ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER and SINNERS' teams.

Before tomorrow’s nomination announcement rocks our world and redefines the season, it’s time for ten Team Experience writers (including Nathaniel!) to throw their hat in the punditry ring and hope for the best. This year, ten predictors are in play, doing their best to see who has the best instincts for Oscar prognostication. Last time, Eric proved himself our champion, but things may change with a new season, new contenders, new narratives. There are some wild swings among the various picks – Kokuho in Costume Design, for instance – along with many locks that everyone agrees with – Best Animated Feature feels terribly predictable – yet may still produce some shocking snubs. One thing’s for sure, either One Battle After Another or Sinners will be our nomination leader. Indeed, there’s a strong possibility one or both will break the record for most nods ever. We have to wait and see.

You can find the prediction charts and added commentary after the jump…

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It’s Autumn Season for Best Cinematography

By Juan Carlos Ojano

Ryan Coogler and Autum Durald Arkapaw while filming SINNERS. (Courtesy: Eli Adé)

After 98 years, history might just be made in Best Cinematography. Autumn Durald Arkapaw, the cinematographer of SINNERS, is the current frontrunner for Best Cinematography, the last non-gendered Oscar category yet to have a female winner. Born of African-American and Filipino descent, Arkapaw has worked for more than a decade. Her resume includes Palo Alto, Teen Spirit, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and The Last Showgirl. In Sinners, Arkapaw already made history for being the first female cinematographer to have shot a film on large format IMAX film.

The history of women nominated for this category has unfortunately been short and recent. The list includes...

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State of the Race: Guilds! Guilds!! Guilds!!!

by Cláudio Alves

With so many guild mentions, BUGONIA may be strutting toward some surprise Oscar nods.

The Oscar nominations are ever closer, and it’s time to start making final predictions. So far, these awards round-ups have focused on critics groups, but the guilds have spoken, and pundits must listen. After all, AMPAS voters are industry people. Not that these honors matter only as data points for accurate predictions. They represent celebration among artistic peers and, sometimes, there are even surprises that have nothing to do with the Oscar race and are all the sweeter because of it. So, without further ado, let’s run the gamut from the American Society of Cinematographers to the Visual Effects Society, going through such major plaudits as the DGA and PGA awards…

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"One Battle After Another" leads the SAG Actor Award Nominations

by Eric Blume

Going lead was a risky move for Chase Infiniti, but it's paying off.

SAG Award nominations (for the newly-rebranded “The Actor Awards”…oy vey) were announced today. As usual, they are pretty lame.

The key thing to remember here is that the voting body for the SAG Awards consists of about 160,000 members. This number includes a large number of people who, for example, might have stood in the background of an insurance company commercial, or did a promo spot for a dishwater detergent brand. So, let’s just say these are not the most… discerning… group of people, if you know what I’m saying. And while there is some crossover between SAG Award voters and Oscar voters, it's not as big as you might think...

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