If We Chose the Nominees…

This year, we think the Academy did rather well in terms of nominating deserving films, with exception of certain categories. We recognize the artistry behind the costume design in The Woman King and think that Decision to Leave may not have been given its fair shake. We’re partial to Nope‘s sound design, and would have swapped a few of the nominations that RRR received.

Best Picture: RRR; Runner-up: Decision to Leave
Best Director: James Cameron (Avatar: The Way of Water); Runner-up: S.S. Rajamouli (RRR)
Best Actor: Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin); Runner-up: Brendan Fraser (The Whale)
Best Actress: Tang Wei (Decision to Leave); Runner-up: Cate Blanchett (Tár)

Best Supporting Actor: Paul Dano (The Fabelmans), Runner-up: Barry Keoghan (The Banshees of Inisherin)
Best Supporting Actress: Nina Hoss (Tár), Runner-up: Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin)
Best Original Screenplay: Damien Chazelle (Babylon), Runner-up: Todd Field (Tár)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Guillermo del Toro, Patrick McHale (Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio), Runner-up: Samuel D. Hunter (The Whale)

Best Animated Feature Film: Apollo 10 1/2, Runner-up: The Bad Guys
Best International Feature Film: Decision to Leave, Runner-up: RRR
Best Documentary – Feature: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, Runner-up: Sr.
Best Documentary – Short Subject: Haulout, Runner-up: The Elephant Whisperers

Best Live Action Short Film: Le Pupille, Runner-up: An Irish Goodbye
Best Animated Short Film: The Flying Sailor, Runner-up: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
Best Original Score: Alexandre Desplat (Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio), Runner-up: Justin Hurwiz (Babylon)
Best Original Song: ‘Nobody Like U’ (Turning Red), Runner-up: ‘Hold My Hand’ (Top Gun: Maverick)

Best Sound: Julian Howarth, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Dick Bernstein, Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, and Michael Hedges (Avatar: The Way of Water), Runner-up: Johnnie Burn (Nope)
Best Production Design: Production Design: Florencia Martin; Set Decoration: Anthony Carlino (Babylon), Runner-up: Guy Davis, Curt Enderle (Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio)
Best Cinematography: Claudio Miranda (Top Gun: Maverick), Runner-up: Gregory Oke (Aftersun)

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Adrien Morot, Judy Chin, and Anne Marie Bradley (The Whale), Runner-up: Alexandra Anger (Crimes of the Future)
Best Costume Design: Gersha Phillips (The Woman King), Runner-up: Deborah Lynn Scott, Bob Buck (Avatar: The Way of Water)
Best Film Editing: Stephen Rivkin David Brenner John Refoua James Cameron (Avatar: The Way of Water), Runner-up: Kim Sang-bum (Decision to Leave)
Best Visual Effects: Jason Billington, Thomas Horton, Denis Baudin, Michael Harrison, Brian Cox (Thirteen Lives), Runner-up: Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, and Daniel Barrett (Avatar: The Way of Water)