A 2023 Oscars Preview
By Victoria White
A&E Editor
The 95th annual Academy Awards (or Oscars) are set to take place at 7 p.m. on Mar. 12.
This year’s ceremony will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and will air on ABC.
The nominations for this year’s ceremony resulted in many firsts.
The acting nominations for “Everything Everywhere All At Once” (Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Stephanie Hsu) in addition to Hong Chau’s nomination for “The Whale” mark the first instance of four Asian actors being nominated in a single year.
“Everything Everywhere All At Once” earned the most nominations this year with a total of 11. This includes most of the key categories such as Best Actress and Best Picture.
The entirety of the Best Actor category (Austin Butler, Colin Farrell, Brendan Fraser, Paul Mescal and Bill Nighy) are all first-time nominees, and with the exception of Angela Bassett, all nominees in the Best Supporting Actress category (Hong Chau, Kerry Condon, Jamie Lee Curtis and Stephanie Hsu) are also first-time nominees.
For her role in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” Bassett received a Best Supporting Actress nomination.
This makes her the first person to earn an acting nomination for a Marvel movie.
Despite the strides in diversification, the Oscars still have a lot of work to do. The hashtag #OscarsSoWhite initially went viral in 2015 as a result of all acting nominations that year being white.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization that oversees and votes for the annual Oscars, has been predominantly composed of older white men.
A 2012 study by The Los Angeles Times concluded the organization was 94% white, 77% male, age 50 or older. This resulted in insignificant numbers of nonwhite nominees.
The Academy of today is largely more diverse, but the crisis is not entirely diverted.
The 2023 Oscar nominations featured no directorial nominations for women. Black actors were widely overlooked in acting categories, with the exceptions of Bassett and Brian Tyree Henry, who received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for “Causeway.”
In a controversial decision, actresses Viola Davis and Danielle Deadwyler, who were at one point both frontrunners in the Best Actress discussion, were shut out of the Oscars entirely, likely in favor of actresses Michelle Williams and Andrea Riseborough.
Riseborough herself was entirely a surprise. Having received critical praise for the indie film “To Leslie,” but virtually no awards buzz, her nomination came solely from a grassroots campaign only a month prior to the nomination.
Snubs and controversies aside, the night is sure to be an exciting one, with many of the categories being nail bitingly close.
Here is a guide to who is being nominated in key categories, and who will likely take home the golden statue at Sunday’s ceremony.
Best Picture
“All Quiet On The Western Front”
“Avatar: The Way Of Water”
“The Banshees Of Inisherin”
“Elvis”
“Everything Everywhere All At Once”
“The Fabelmans”
“Tár”
“Top Gun: Maverick”
“Triangle Of Sadness”
“Women Talking”
Who Will Win: “Everything Everywhere All At Once”
A forerunner since its release back in March 2022, it has not faced much major competition for the top prize. “The Banshees of Inisherin” and even box-office juggernaut “Top Gun: Maverick” have given it a run for its money with critical buzz in the last few months, but after the domination of most of the precursor award shows, including a record-breaking night at the SAG Awards, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” will undoubtedly be the grand winner for the night.
Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, “Tár”
Ana De Armas, “Blonde”
Andrea Riseborough, “To Leslie”
Michelle Williams, “The Fabelmans”
Michelle Yeoh, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”
Who Will Win: Cate Blanchett
This race is going to be extremely close.
All signs were pointing to Yeoh up until awards season officially kicked off, when Blanchett swept the BAFTAs, Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards. Yeoh won the SAG award, often considered a precursor to the Oscars acting categories, but given the Academy’s love for Blanchett and the weight “Everything Everywhere All At Once” carries in other categories, I think they will instead award Blanchett the honor.
Best Actor
Austin Butler, “Elvis”
Colin Farrell, “The Banshees of Inisherin”
Brendan Fraser, “The Whale”
Paul Mescal, “Aftersun”
Bill Nighy, “Living”
Who Will Win: Austin Butler
Once again, at one point this award was all but secured by another contender.
Upon the release of “Elvis,” Butler’s portrayal of Elvis Presley was seemingly sure to land him with the top prize given the Academy’s love of biopics and an actor’s physical or mental transformation.
That is, until “The Whale” provided a comeback for Fraser, critics basked in his unforeseen acting ability.
The two are neck-and-neck, having split the key awards up until the Oscars. However, I think traditionalism will once again prevail and the Academy will award Butler.
Best Supporting Actress
Angela Bassett, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”
Hong Chau, “The Whale”
Kerry Condon, “The Banshees of Inisherin”
Jamie Lee Curtis, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”
Stephanie Hsu, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”
Who Will Win: Angela Bassett
This is yet another extremely close race. Bassett was initially poised to dominate the awards circuit, but wild card Condon won the BAFTA and Curtis won the SAG award. Bassett’s Golden Globe award counts for something, though, and I believe Curtis and Conden could potentially split the vote, ultimately granting Bassett the top prize. This would also be redemption for Bassett, whose Best Actress loss at the 1994 Oscars is widely regarded as a snub.
Best Supporting Actor
Brendan Gleeson, “The Banshees of Inisherin”
Brian Tyree Henry, “Causeway”
Judd Hirsch, “The Fabelmans”
Barry Keoghan, “The Banshees of Inisherin”
Ke Huy Quan, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”
Who Will Win: Ke Huy Quan
This acting category is a bit more clear. Though each nominee delivered critically acclaimed performances, Quan has long been the frontrunner for the award and has not had much major competition.
Like Fraser, Quan is beginning a career resurgence thanks to his performance.
Following his powerful Golden Globes acceptance speech, I’m sure Quan’s Oscars speech will be even more emotional and moving.
Best Director
Martin McDonagh, “The Banshees of Inisherin”
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Steven Spielberg, “The Fabelmans”
Todd Field, “Tár”
Ruben Östlund, “Triangle of Sadness”
Who Will Win: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
Despite the inclusion of awards juggernaut Spielberg and critical darlings McDonagh, Field and Östlund, none stand a true chance against the newcomers behind “Everything Everywhere All At Once.”
Kwan and Scheinert, known collectively as “Daniels,” have dominated the awards scene with a movie that satisfied both critics and audiences alike, with its absurdist and nihilistic take on the strength of family.
The heft behind the film itself and Daniels’ win at the Directors Guild of America awards essentially secures them the Oscars win.
Do you agree with my predictions? Make your own, and tune in to the broadcast on Sunday to see who takes home the top prizes.