Oscars 2023
Nominations make history
Angela Bassett could be crowned Queen of Oscars alongside Queen of Wakanda on March 12. Her Academy nomination for the MCU is already special.
© Marvel/Annette Brown
It’s still a long time before the Oscars. But even the nominations ensure superlatives – not least thanks to “Nothing new in the West”.
In the night from March 12 to 13, German time, the Academy Awards will be presented in Los Angeles for the 95th time. But just a month and a half before the famous sentence “And the Oscar goes to…” causes worldwide excitement, the upcoming Oscars are writing history: When the nominated works and filmmakers were announced last Tuesday (January 24), not only old ones fell Records, there were also some firsts. Among other things, thanks to Marvel and the German Oscar hope “Nothing new in the West”.
Marvel coming?
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” star Angela Bassett (64) caused a novelty at the Golden Globes in early January: she was the first person to be awarded this prize for a role in a Marvel blockbuster. Your Oscar coup is in the same vein: So far, no MCU star has even been nominated for an acting Oscar. Should she win the Supporting Actress category for her performance as Queen Ramonda, the next milestone would be in mid-March.
John Williams (90) has been providing musical superlatives for decades. His compositions have already earned him five Oscars. Since he was also nominated this year for his music in Steven Spielberg’s (76) “The Fabelmans”, another record is added: at the age of 90, he is the oldest person to date in the almost 100-year history of the Academy Awards in the race for a gold boy – by the way, this is already the 53rd time! No living person has more nominations, only Walt Disney (1901-1966) has been more successful with 59.
The German contribution mixes up
In the form of the war drama “Nothing New in the West” Germany not only has great Oscar hopes. With a total of nine nominations, the film by Edward Berger (53) beats the previous German Academy record by far. Another anti-war film has held that up to now: Wolfgang Petersen’s (1941-2022) “Das Boot” with six nominations. The fact that the Netflix production was nominated in both the “Best International Film” and “Best Film” categories is also sensational.
With eleven chances of a golden boy, only the wacky fantasy flick “Everything Everywhere All at Once” is ahead of “Nothing New in the West”. The film is instrumental in ensuring that more Asian actresses have never been nominated for an acting Oscar at the same time. Michelle Yeoh (60, Lead), Ke Huy Quan (51, Supporting) and Stephanie Hsu (32, Supporting) are all in the running thanks to Everything Everywhere All at Once. Hong Chau (43) with her supporting role in “The Whale”. the record-breaking quartet.
High percentage of Irish
The Irish can be proud: Five of their compatriots are in the running: Colin Farrell (46, leading actor), Barry Keoghan (30, supporting actor), Brendan Gleeson (67, supporting actor) and Kerry Condon (40, supporting actress) all for ” The Banshees of Inisherin”. Meanwhile, Paul Mescal (26) earned his nomination as a leading actor in the drama “Aftersun”. In other words: 25 percent of the nominations in the four acting categories are in Irish hands.
In general, this year’s line-up in the acting categories is like a debutante ball: 16 of the 20 nominees have their first chance at an Oscar.
Some honorable mentions
No direct records, but still special achievements: Steven Spielberg, with his “Best Director” nomination for “The Fablemans”, is now in second place with Martin Scorsese (80). They were each nominated nine times in this category, only William Wyler (1902-1981, “Ben Hur”) is enthroned ahead of them with twelve.
“The Fablemans” actor Judd Hirsch just missed a record. At 87, he’s not the oldest person ever to be nominated for an Oscar acting award. The late Christopher Plummer (1929-2021) snatched this record in 2018 at the age of 88 and the film “All the Money in the World”. Should Hirsch win, however, he would be the oldest recipient of an acting Oscar to date and would outperform Anthony Hopkins (85). Hopkins set a new record in 2020 for “The Father” at the age of 83.