Watch this supercut of the nominees in preparation.
The Oscars are a mere four days away and we could not be more excited this year. Often, The Oscars can be a pretty stuffy affair. Considering this year’s nominees though, hopefully, Moonlight‘s surprise win last year has paved the way for a much cooler awards show this time around.
First off, the best director category is out of the ordinary for a few reasons this year. Greta Gerwig is only the fifth women The Academy has ever nominated for the prestigious award. Also, her and Jordan Peele are being honored for their directorial debuts. Along with Guillermo Del Toro, Paul Thomas Anderson and Christopher Nolan, all of this year’s nominees also wrote or co-wrote their films. I think many would agree that auteurs often make the best films so it’s satisfying to see these directors being recognized for such personal works.
Another nominee worth mentioning is Get Out. A horror film with a potent social critique is rare to find among the best picture nominees. Horror fans are surely excited by Get Out‘s four nominations, considering The Academy’s long history of overlooking the genre. Many have likely noticed that Get Out‘s award season trajectory has paralleled that of another horror film; Jonathan Demme’s The Silence of the Lambs. Both movies came out in February, an entire year before their respective Oscars and still earned nominations. In comparison, most award season bait comes out just before the ceremony, starting around November.
The Silence of the Lambs became the only horror film to win Best Picture. The film is also one of only three movies that have ever swept the five main Oscar categories: best picture, director, screenplay, actor, and actress. Hopefully, these similarities will spell big wins for Peele’s directorial debut on Sunday night.
Speaking of Get Out, lead actor Daniel Kaluuya’s nomination is an exciting one. He is one of several young acting nominees this Oscar season, along with Timothée Chalamet (22), Saoirse Ronan (23) and Margot Robbie (27). If Chalamet were to win for best actor in a leading role, he’d be the second youngest person ever to do so. Unfortunately for Kaluuya and Chalamet, Gary Oldman seems favored to take home the statuette for his performance in a British period piece. Baby steps.
Something else to look forward to on Oscars night is the incredible roster of performers. Sufjan Stevens wrote two beautiful original songs for Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name this year. He will be performing “Mystery of Love” at the event, so get your tissues ready. Also performing this year are Mary J. Blige, Gael Garcia Bernal, Common, and more.
Hopefully, Oscars night will have more surprises in store this year. Watch this supercut of the 2018 nominees in preparation:
Related Topics: Academy Awards, Awards, Oscars
