Brutally Honest Oscar Ballot No. 1: ‘Conclave’ for Best Picture, ‘Emilia Pérez’ Star Lost His Vote with Tweets – Hollywood Reporter
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This member of the Academy’s short films branch also says that ‘No Other Land’ deserved a best picture nom and got his vote for best doc feature: “It moved me so much. I wasn’t really aware of what was going on over there [in the West Bank], and it’s just so objectively awful.”
By
Anonymous, as told to Scott Feinberg
This “Brutally Honest Oscar Ballot,” the first in a series that THR will run ahead of Oscar night, reflects the votes — and candid rationales for them — of a male member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 202-person short films branch, as communicated to THR in return for anonymity. THR does not necessarily endorse these views or suggest that they are representative of anything other than this voter’s perspective.
I liked Emilia Pérez when I watched it but, even before all the shit that happened [involving lead actress Karla Sofía Gascón], it wasn’t in my top 10. I’d have preferred to see its spot go to Sing Sing, which was underappreciated; or Juror #2, which I really liked; or The Wild Robot or No Other Land, but you know how most of the Academy treats animated and documentary films — no respect. I do like musicals, and Wicked was tight. I’m Still Here was great, and, as we’ll come to, it’s my pick for international feature. I really liked the performances in A Complete Unknown — the fact that Timmy [Chalamet] and Monica [Barbaro] were both really singing and playing the guitar was incredible. Anora was great — the story and the performances were really fun, Sean [Baker] directed the shit out of it — but the others did more for me. The Substance was what I love about cinema at its best. It’s so bold — the story, the sound design, the makeup. They gave the audience an experience. And it’s so rare for the Academy to recognize a horror film, but the fact that this one is kind of about what it’s like to be a woman in Hollywood probably helped more people to connect with it. I loved the first Dune. Dune: Part Two had some weaker story elements — he [Denis Villeneuve] cares so much more about visuals than storytelling, and you can notice that in this one more than the first — and I didn’t think Zendaya was that great in it. But the cinematic spectacle of it was so monumental that I still was blown away. Nickel Boys is so audacious — I’d read the book, and let me tell you, that is not an easy one to adapt, but the way that RaMell Ross did it, with the first-person perspective, was exactly right. But for me, the final two films were incredibly hard to decide between. Going in to The Brutalist, I’d never heard of Brady Corbet and was dreading the [three-and-a-half-hour] runtime, but the way people who had seen it at the festivals were talking about it convinced me to go to a screening really early in the season, and by the end I really appreciated why he did it the way he did it. It’s just an incredible film — beautifully shot, amazing performances, and such a powerful story. But Conclave was so interesting and exciting in a completely different way — and fun, with a little mystery involved. I thought the ending was great — it wasn’t trying to make a point, it was just a perfect reveal. Edward Berger is an incredible director.
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VOTE: (1) Conclave, (2) The Brutalist, (3) Nickel Boys, (4) Dune: Part Two, (5) The Substance, (6) Anora, (7) A Complete Unknown, (8) I’m Still Here, (9) Wicked, (10) Emilia Pérez
Best director
I judge this category like one judges an Olympic sport: the degree of difficulty, plus the execution — did you stick the landing? I think this category needs to be expanded to at least eight. Edward Berger, RaMell Ross and Denis Villeneuve should’ve been nominated. How many other directors could’ve done what they did? And why is [A Complete Unknown’s] James Mangold in here but they aren’t? He’s a really good director — he told the story well — but there was nothing special about the way he directed that film. You want to tell me that directing Timmy Chalamet in New York was harder than directing an epic in the desert? Come on. I was torn between Brady and [The Substance’s] Coralie Fargeat, and I ended up going with Coralie. If she wasn’t there, I’d have picked Brady, because the fact that he made his movie look that good with only $10 million is unbelievable. But I just thought about historical absence [only three women have ever won this category’s Oscar] and high degree
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