Matt at the Movies: The Oscar Breakdown
After the California wildfires delayed the announcement, the 2025 Academy Awards nominees are finally here.
Editor’s Note: Matt is too humble to put it in an article, but all of us at Y’all Weekly would like to congratulate him for being named Teacher of the Year at his middle school!
With a two hour school delay last Thursday morning, I made a warm cup of coffee and tuned in to the live feed of the Oscar nominations hosted by SNL cast member Bowen Yang (Wicked) and Rachel Sennott (Shiva Baby).
One thing to note: nominations come from the individual branches for each category, i.e. writers nominate for writing awards, and directors choose the nominees for Best Director.
There were some things that popped out in a mostly straightforward process, with many of the awards circuit favorites receiving expected nominations. Here are the overall nomination leaders after Thursday’s announcement.
Total Academy Awards Nominations by Film
Emilia Pérez - 13
The Brutalist - 10
Wicked - 10
A Complete Unknown - 8
Conclave - 8
Anora - 6
Dune: Part Two - 5
The Substance - 5
Emilia Pérez once again leads the pack after a strong showing internationally and at the Golden Globes. Domestically, it has taken a few lumps, accused of being a simplified look at Mexican culture and the trans community by a foreign filmmaker. Those problems could be exacerbated by the online echo chamber and leave room for films like The Brutalist or Conclave to make a bigger push, especially as voters may take longer than usual due to the California wildfires.
Let’s first look at the “below the line” categories and go behind the scenes with the professionals who enhance the viewer experience, often bringing films to the next level. In our next article, we’ll look at
The 2025 “Below the Line” Nominations
Best Costume Design
A Complete Unknown – Arianne Phillips
Conclave – Lisy Christl
Gladiator II – Janty Yates and Dave Crossman
Nosferatu – Linda Muir
Wicked – Paul Tazewell
A two-horse race between Nosferatu and Wicked, as their costume choices impacted the aesthetic of their stories most. A dark horse could be Conclave, as Edward Berger’s film captured the many styles of the bishops and cardinals, and I’m on record for being a huge fan of the visual feast of papal congregations.
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
A Different Man – Mike Marino, David Presto, and Crystal Jurado
Emilia Pérez – Julia Floch Carbonel, Emmanuel Janvier, and Jean-Christophe Spadaccini
Nosferatu – David White, Traci Loader, and Suzanne Stokes-Munton
The Substance – Pierre-Oliver Persin, Stéphanie Guillon, and Marilyne Scarselli
Wicked – Frances Hannon, Laura Blount, and Sarah Nuth
The Academy gave a nod to special effects, like Sebastian Stan in A Different Man (streaming on Max), and the total contradictory tones that encompass The Substance.
Once again, it feels like a two-horse race between Nosferatu and Wicked.
Best Sound
A Complete Unknown – Tod A. Maitland, Donald Sylvester, Ted Caplan, Paul Massey, and David Giammarco
Dune: Part Two – Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett, and Doug Hemphill
Emilia Pérez – Erwan Kerzanet, Aymeric Devoldère, Maxence Dussère, Cyril Holtz, and Niels Barletta
Wicked – Simon Hayes, Nancy Nugent Title, Jack Dolman, Andy Nelson, and John Marquis
The Wild Robot – Randy Thom, Brian Chumney, Gary A. Rizzo, and Leff Lefferts
These choices were baffling to me as Civil War, which expertly used the chaos of gunfire to put us in the fight, was not even shortlisted by the academy. This might be a below the line category for Dune: Part Two to win as the sci-fi juggernaut made great use of sound for its futuristic technology, large stadium sequences, and massive battle scene at the conclusion of the film.
Best Production Design
The Brutalist – Production Design: Judy Becker; Set Decoration: Patricia Cuccia
Conclave – Production Design: Suzie Davies; Set Decoration: Cynthia Sleiter
Dune: Part Two – Production Design: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau
Nosferatu – Production Design: Craig Lathrop; Set Decoration: Beatrice Brentnerová
Wicked – Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales
Another category that would appear to favor Wicked, and rightly so as it brought the Broadway show to life, but Nosferatu was a pure period piece where each setting made the crescendoing dread tangible as the story played out.
The dark horse is The Brutalist, which featured amazing set pieces and architectural grandeur with a Bauhaus flavor (and maybe some AI).
Best Visual Effects
Alien: Romulus – Eric Barba, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser, Daniel Macarin, and Shane Mahan
Better Man – Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft, and Peter Stubbs
Dune: Part Two – Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, and Gerd Nefzer
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes – Erik Winquist, Stephen Unterfranz, Paul Story, and Rodney Burke
Wicked – Pablo Helman, Jonathan Fawkner, David Shirk, and Paul Corbould
A lot of primates in this category as both Better Man and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes received nominations. Wicked seemed perfunctory in this category as the animal roles felt like an afterthought. Dune: Part Two should be the obvious winner here as Denis Villeneuve and his vision was brought to life by his team.
My personal favorite was Alien: Romulus, which features some stunning horror scenes incorporating the Xenomorphs and “facehugger” aliens.
Best Film Editing
Anora – Sean Baker
The Brutalist – Dávid Jancsó
Conclave – Nick Emerson
Emilia Pérez – Juliette Welfling
Wicked – Myron Kerstein
I looked at pre-nomination betting odds to see Dune: Part Two was the overwhelming favorite, yet did not secure a spot. This could be a category where Conclave wins a consolation Oscar, and I would be pleased to hear its name read. The cuts between massive set pieces and intimate small rooms created a tense viewing experience that drove the dramatic high notes of the story.
Best Original Score
The Brutalist – Daniel Blumberg
Conclave – Volker Bertelmann
Emilia Pérez – Clément Ducol and Camille
Wicked – John Powell and Stephen Schwartz
The Wild Robot – Kris Bowers
Another category that had me scratching my head. No nomination for Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for Challengers, an absolute banger of a soundtrack that kept the hard charging film pumping throughout? Wicked was considered original music? Emilia Pérez may have a leg up here, but both The Wild Robot and The Brutalist had completely moving musical pieces that gave me goosebumps.
Best Original Song
"El Mal" from Emilia Pérez – Music by Clément Ducol and Camille; lyrics by Clément Ducol, Camille, and Jacques Audiard
"The Journey" from The Six Triple Eight – Music and lyrics by Diane Warren
"Like a Bird" from Sing Sing – Music and lyrics by Abraham Alexander and Adrian Quesada
"Mi Camino" from Emilia Pérez – Music and lyrics by Camille and Clément Ducol
"Never Too Late" from Elton John: Never Too Late – Music and lyrics by Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt, and Bernie Taupin
The category features two nominations from Emilia Pérez, and I wouldn’t be disappointed if “El Mal" won. This was the highlight of the film, as Zoe Saldana’s delivery mixed with excellent choreography may have sealed her a win for Best Supporting Actress.
Best Cinematography
The Brutalist – Lol Crawley
Dune: Part Two – Greig Fraser
Emilia Pérez – Paul Guilhaume
Maria – Ed Lachman
Nosferatu – Jarin Blaschke
To close out the below the line categories, Lol Crawley of The Brutalist created the most incredible scenes of the year for me. The work behind the camera to capture the vastness of post-industrial America in both urban and rural landscapes, all on 70mm film, was an absolute treat. Nosferatu also should have a strong case for Jarin Blaschke as we wander through early 19th century European cities and isolated dreary forests that created Robert Eggers haunting vision.
We’ll have the second part of our Oscar nominations analysis out shortly (including some chats about the feature award categories with friend of Y’all Dana Gillis), and you can expect more Oscar chats with Dana as we will dive into our email exchange after catching the rest of the slate.
The weather is cold and dreary but the warm smell of popcorn and the big screen can take you away from the troubles of life, if only for a few hours. Thanks for reading and see you next time at Matt at the Movies by Y’all Weekly.