The nominees for the 2022 Oscars AKA the 94th annual Academy Awards are in. Did your favourite films make the cut? Here are five highlights from the announcement that you shouldn't miss out on.
‘The Power of the Dog’ leads with 12 nominations
Two-time Academy Award nominee, director Jane Campion.
The Western psychological drama flick has been nominated in several key categories including Best Picture. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee.
More notably, the film is directed by New Zealand director, screenwriter and producer Jane Campion, who also became the first woman to be nominated twice for an Academy Award for Best Director. Catch the film now on Netflix.
‘Drive My Car’ is the first Japanese film to be nominated for Best Picture
Asian films are making their mark on the Oscars map too. Drive My Car became the first Japanese film to score an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. The drama flick is directed and co-written by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, who is also only the third Japanese filmmaker to be nominated in the Best Director category.
The film is also nominated in two other categories: Best International Feature and Best Adapted Screenplay. Drive My Car is based on a short story by renowned author Haruki Murakami and was also the most awarded film from the Cannes 2021 Official Selection. It is currently showing only in theatres and will be released on DVD Blu-Ray.
Andrew Garfield and Kristen Stewart become fan favourites
The unveiling of nominees for the 2022 Oscars was streamed ‘live’ on Oscars.com, Oscars.org and the Academy’s various social media platforms. On Twitter, fans flooded the comments section and voiced their support for two actors in particular: Andrew Garfield and Kristen Stewart.
Andrew is nominated for Best Performance by an Actor In A Leading Role for the musical Tick, Tick… BOOM!, which is directed by Lin Manuel-Miranda. Lin is also the creator of the popular Broadway musical Hamilton. You can catch Tick, Tick… BOOM! on Netflix.
K-Stew fans were also in for a treat as the actress earned her first Oscar nomination for Spencer. The psychological drama film made headlines as it is inspired by Princess Diana’s decision to end her marriage to Prince Charles. Spencer is currently showing at selected theatres. (P.S. Kristen is also the first openly gay actress to be nominated in this key category!)
Lady Gaga keeps it classy following Oscars snub
Lady Gaga’s portrayal of Patrizia Reggiani in the biographical crime drama film House of Gucci generated plenty of press, albeit receiving mixed reviews from critics. Fans were eager to witness ‘Mother Monster’ earn a Best Actress nomination this year. However, the nominations went to Jessica Chastain, Olivia Colman, Penélope Cruz, Nicole Kidman and Kristen Stewart instead.
Still, the Bad Romance singer took the news in a graceful manner and shifted the attention towards her friend and hairstylist, Frederic Aspiras, via a celebratory post on her Instagram. Frederic is part of a three-person team that is nominated for Best Makeup and Hairstyling for House of Gucci.
Lady Gaga also congratulated all the Oscar nominees in her post and shared that they all “deserve major recognition for what was a truly beautiful landscape of performances and accomplishments this past year.” Catch House of Gucci in selected theatres and on Amazon Prime Video.
The Academy Awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on 27 March and will be broadcast ‘live’ on ABC at 5PM PT. That’s 28 March, 9AM GMT+8.
(Cover photos from: @spencer_movie and @ticktickboom)
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