We’ve reached the big category. Best picture winners of the past have rarely aligned with my tastes, but I’m fairly confident that my favorite film of the year will match up with the Academy’s choice. One thing I love is a list, so I’ve decided to talk about this year’s best picture nominees in the reverse order of my preference. However, let’s keep it positive. Every movie on this year’s list has merit.
Many moons ago, in 1929, the first best director prize was handed out to Frank Borzage. He directed the best picture nominee “7th Heaven” that year. A few years later, he won the same award for directing “Bad Girl,” another best picture nominee.
Hey, look, it’s my favorite category! Okay, best picture is my favorite category, but best original screenplay is the clear second option. Sitting down and writing a single page of a script is one of the most difficult creative challenges I’ve faced. The screenwriters nominated in this category pulled off full scripts that fired imaginations, including my own. The challenges they’ve faced were surely brutal, but the time for struggle with these projects has ended. Let’s praise them.
For my friends at the Luzerne County Arts & Entertainment Hall of Fame, this is my official endorsement of Norman Reilly Raine’s eventual induction. Raine is a Wilkes-Barre native who won an Oscar in 1937 for the best picture winner “The Life of Emile Zola.” The category he won for was best adapted screenplay, and that’s the category we’re going to talk about today. (Note to the Hall of Fame: The Mankiewicz brothers, also of Wilkes-Barre, were nominated in this category as well.) Let’s see which of this year’s nominees stack up to the legends of Luzerne County’s past.
Here’s a fun little factoid: This year is the first year that multiple best picture nominees are international films. “Anatomy of a Fall” and “The Zone of Interest” found their own, distinct fans in the Academy and made history together. Oddly, you won’t see “Anatomy of a Fall” on the nominee list for best international film. That’s because “Anatomy” director Justine Triet is just a little too cool for the French nominating committee. But as it goes with other snubs discussed, our main focus should be on the films that are nominated.
Animation isn’t just for kids! The winners this decade have dealt with topics like pre-existence, transgenerational trauma and the frailty of our free will. These movies mean more to 27-year-old me than they would have to 7-year-old me. While this year’s nominated films could probably be enjoyed by most children, I feel they were probably made with a wider audience in mind.
The Academy has a habit of confusing most editing with best editing. One of those things is quantifiable and objective, and the other is most certainly subjective. Other than the concept of the Oscars in general, this is perhaps the starkest example of the Academy attempting to bring objectivity into a subjective race. That being said, the Academy does make some fun choices in this category, and all others, and I love them for it.
The Oscar for best original song has gone to classic Hollywood fare like “Over the Rainbow” and “When You Wish Upon a Star,” and to unconventional choices like the pump-up song “Lose Yourself” and the rollicking “Naatu Naatu” from last year’s “RRR.” All of these songs contribute to the fabric of their films, emphasizing themes and giving audiences a way to remember the action beyond the imagery.
LOS ANGELES — The metaphysical multiverse comedy “Everything Everywhere All at Once” wrapped its hot dog fingers around Hollywood’s top prize Sunday, winning best picture at the 95th Academy Awards, along with awards for Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis.
