The 98th Academy Awards are on the horizon. We hope you’re ready for long acceptance speeches about people’s inspirational mums, zoomed-in shots of celebrities sweating through their black tie attire, and some out-of-touch jokes about being out-of-touch. Once again, the event will be hosted by Conan O’Brien, which will be great news for those who love ‘dark humour’, and less great news for those who are actually looking for dark humour. Nevertheless, we at Varsity have been readily sharpening our witty one-liners, and preparing (as always) to put pen to paper to espouse our filmic opinions. We are sure you all have thoughts on how the ceremony on the 15th of March might turn out, but in case you need any help or persuading, allow us to be that guiding hand.
Amanda Ljungberg (Film & TV Editor)
As is the case with most self-respecting people, I have become so disillusioned with the Academy that the thought of offering any sincere commentary feels impossibly trite and collusive. They have so cheekily shielded themselves against criticism from almost every possible angle that debating the nominations as reflective of anything other than market interests seems pointless. I have been mostly checked out since the Everything Everywhere panderfest of 2022, but Sinners’ record-breaking 16 nominations has sealed it. “The Oscars never award horror”? “#OscarsSoWhite”? Score, two birds with one stone, and it plays to the platforms, and there’ll be no nerve for organized backlash because representation. Something feels deeply insidious about this spineless institution setting that perfectly decent film up as the fall project for their populism. The attention economy has hit the PR-fortified Academy debilitatingly hard, and what’s funniest is that after this whole depressingly drawn-out identity crisis, no one’s even watching the show. Granted, the Oscars are just one victim of cultural “enshittification”, but after a childhood spent believing these awards meant something, to give this mock-prestige sham the time of day just feels tiring. How depressing will it be when it’s 2029 and the Oscars are exclusively on Youtube and the funnel dries up and all of this will have been for nothing? Is there no shame anymore? Do we have to take this? Just give it to F1 at this point. At least that would be funny.
Otto Bawja Greenwood (Film & TV Editor)
My Oscar predictions come more in the form of a rant than anything else. How Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein has been nominated for anything is honestly shocking. Kate Hawley’s aesthetic eye helping to secure the Oscar for best costume design, fair enough. But everything else can only be the result of the film’s big names (Jacob Elordi, Oscar Isaac) and its inflated budget. There has been a lot of recent controversy over Emerald Fennel’s adaptation of “Wuthering Heights”, but Del Toro’s Frankenstein – working with similar classic material – also deserves criticism. It really retains none of the thematic depth of Mary Shelley’s original text, flattening the nuanced antagonist into an unproblematic and sympathetic monster. Elordi for Best Supporting Actor in this role? This is not only an insult to Shelley’s original, but also the other incredible performances in the category, from Sean Penn to Stellan Skarsgård to Delroy Lindo. Nevertheless, one thing I am crossing my fingers for is the end of PTA’s drought. Paul Thomas Anderson has received 11 Academy Awards nominations but has not yet secured a win. A triumph for One Battle After Another (my favourite film of the year) would bring a 28-year wait to a close, and a well-deserved one at that.
Pam Noonpackdee (Film & TV Writer)
The most overlooked but egregious snub on the Oscars horizon right now, for me, is the likelihood that ‘Golden’ from Kpop Demon Hunters is set to win Best Original Song over ‘I Lied To You’ from Sinners. While the animated pop-musical was certainly the sensation of the year, and there is no denying the catchy quality of its soundtrack, it completely paled in comparison to the impact of hearing Sinners’ nominated song for the first time. ‘Golden’ is simply nice, safe, and a secure cathartic round off that does absolutely nothing new, unique, or interesting – even as a K-pop song. Alternatively, ‘I Lied To You’ is an enchanting piece that can be appreciated even if one is not familiar with blues or the time period of the movie. To have something so bland and safe win over something that feels like it only comes around once in a generation and will be remembered for generations to come is… exactly what the Oscars would do.
Hilary Lau (Film & TV Writer)
Though I’d have no gripes with Paul Thomas Anderson winning Best Adapted Screenplay with One Battle After Another, I can’t help but feel that the rest of this year’s nominees leave something to be desired. Bugonia was an alright movie, entertaining purely by virtue of Plemons and Stone delivering stunning performances. The pacing of the film is erratic, hopelessly meandering at times (I was not a fan of the digression with the sheriff) and hasty at others, perfunctorily checking off plot points hoping that the climactic plot twist is enough of a stunner. Overall, definitely not Lanthimos’ best work. No Other Choice, adapted from Donald E Westlake’s novel The Axe, outdoes Bugonia in every way as a black comedy. Park Chan-wook matches Lanthimos in his fanatic storytelling, but whereas Bugonia comes off as messy and erratic, No Other Choice utilises pacing meaningfully to amplify tension while underpinning the film with a deep sense of melancholy. This movie leaves space for the conclusion to really hit, leaving viewers haunted at its implications, while Bugonia’s nuance completely flies over its audiences’ head from just how rushed and deflated it seems.
Heidi Lewis (Film & TV Writer)
Although I am still mourning the Wicked: For Good Oscar nominations for makeup and costuming, I am still very excited for a lot of the nominations this year. Sinners obviously made history with its impressive 16 nominations, which are incredibly well deserved! If not Best Picture, I imagine it will secure Best Original Score, and is definitely the strongest nomination on that list. Personally, I’m rooting for Chloé Zhao as Best Director, and Jessie Buckley as Best Actress. Hamnet deserves all of its flowers and more, and I am glad to see its success in award season so far. Buckley should start clearing room on her trophy shelf now! Marty Supreme was completely ignored at the BAFTAs, but I think it’ll pick up some pace at the Oscars. Whether that is deserved is something else entirely, but Chalamet is clearly chasing these awards in his – self-proclaimed – “pursuit of greatness”. One Battle After Another will definitely collect a good few awards, if its BAFTA sweep is anything to go by. Many claim it as film of the year, but we shall see if the Academy agrees!
Dylan Ingram (Film & TV Writer)
I’d love to see Wagner Moura win for best lead actor in The Secret Agent. My money was previously on Timothée Chalamet for Marty Supreme: he certainly thinks that he deserves it, but the film’s recent awards failures might suggest the shine is wearing off that performance. It was confident and I thought it was very entertaining, but it’s hard to tell how much acting really went into it. A big part of the sell was the overlap between Chalamet and Marty’s psychologies. I respect the dedication for the spanking scene though. There’s a recent turn towards international films at the Oscars, which might swing in The Secret Agent’s favour. I doubt it will clinch the award for best picture: it’s too culturally specific and alienating. I expect any international momentum will go towards Sentimental Value instead. Moura’s performance is sensitive, flickering through emotions across the film’s distinct timelines. He looks so thoroughly 70s, but retains a modern sense of cool. Sadly, the Oscar for ‘Most Aura’ still hasn’t been formally introduced. If we lived in that world, Wagner Moura would win a clean sweep: sorry Timothée.
Daniella Adetoye (Film & TV Writer)
I think 2026 is the year the Academy will finally crown Timothée Chalamet Best Actor, completing his years of campaigning (begging) to be enlisted in the hall of “The Greats”. The machinery behind Marty Supreme has been impossible to ignore: the method anecdotes, the self-mythologising interviews, the supposed “sacrifice” of wearing contacts and glasses to inhabit the role. It all feels meticulously engineered. However, his potential success is not something I am particularly excited about. If he does win, it will be for his least emotionally affecting performance to date. We’ve seen this ambitious, morally dubious character in films before, and we’ve certainly seen it rewarded time and time again throughout the history of the award ceremony. What’s more exhausting is the discourse orbiting the nominee and the endless certainty from people who haven’t even seen the entire category list.
Nevertheless, the craft categories feel far more daring to me than the headline races we seem to be cyclically arguing around. I need to see Ludwig Goransson sweep in Sound and Music Design for the atmospheric soundtrack and original songs in Sinners. Costuming, especially, feels genuinely competitive this year with the potential toss-up between Ruth E. Carter (Sinners) and Kate Hawley (Frankenstein), not to mention the textured work in Hamnet, Marty Supreme, and even Avatar. These craft races still offer the possibility of surprise and cinema that isn’t campaigning quite so loudly for its own importance.
Looking for more?
From Amanda’s institutional apathy to Hilary’s Bugonia-invective to Daniella’s craft focus, hopefully these varied takes have helped to stimulate your own thoughts. The Academy Awards will be hosted on the 15th of March at 11:00 pm GMT. Keep an eye out for CUFA’s annual Oscars Watchparty (@cufa.cam on Instagram) - and get ready, if you can, for the barrage of thinkpieces coming your way.
