There’s always an ebb and flow from year to year as to how much people are really paying attention to the awards season. Last year saw a lot of interest and engagement with what was happening because of Oppenheimer and Barbie, and then the prominent (and nonsensical) Oscar snubs for Barbie. Plus, those were the two biggest movies in 2023, so people once again cared about awards when they had actually seen the movies. This year is different – a bunch of smaller movies have gotten awards hype, a bunch of downer movies are getting awards, and the California wildfires have changed the award-show timelines. All of which means that it’s a really wacky year and people aren’t paying attention because there’s no consensus film which everyone has seen. Still, I’m enjoying the wackiness, even if I’m afraid that a bunch of terrible films are about to win Oscars. Speaking of, here’s the Hollywood Reporter’s first “Brutally Honest Oscar Ballot” of the season. This Oscar voter is a man in the short-films branch of AMPAS. Some highlights:

Emilia Perez wasn’t in his top ten: “I liked Emilia Pérez when I watched it but, even before all the sh-t that happened [involving lead actress Karla Sofía Gascón], it wasn’t in my top 10. I’d have preferred to see its spot go to Sing Sing, which was underappreciated; or Juror #2, which I really liked; or The Wild Robot or No Other Land, but you know how most of the Academy treats animated and documentary films — no respect. I do like musicals, and Wicked was tight.

He loves Anora, The Substance & A Complete Unknown: “I really liked the performances in A Complete Unknown — the fact that Timmy [Chalamet] and Monica [Barbaro] were both really singing and playing the guitar was incredible. Anora was great — the story and the performances were really fun, Sean [Baker] directed the sh-t out of it — but the others did more for me. The Substance was what I love about cinema at its best. It’s so bold — the story, the sound design, the makeup. They gave the audience an experience. And it’s so rare for the Academy to recognize a horror film, but the fact that this one is kind of about what it’s like to be a woman in Hollywood probably helped more people to connect with it.”

Thoughts on The Brutalist & Conclave: “Going in to The Brutalist, I’d never heard of Brady Corbet and was dreading the [three-and-a-half-hour] runtime, but the way people who had seen it at the festivals were talking about it convinced me to go to a screening really early in the season, and by the end I really appreciated why he did it the way he did it. It’s just an incredible film — beautifully shot, amazing performances, and such a powerful story. But Conclave was so interesting and exciting in a completely different way — and fun, with a little mystery involved. I thought the ending was great — it wasn’t trying to make a point, it was just a perfect reveal. Edward Berger is an incredible director. His votes for Best Picture: (1) Conclave, (2) The Brutalist, (3) Nickel Boys, (4) Dune: Part Two, (5) The Substance, (6) Anora, (7) A Complete Unknown, (8) I’m Still Here, (9) Wicked, (10) Emilia Pérez

His thoughts on Best Director: “I judge this category like one judges an Olympic sport: the degree of difficulty, plus the execution — did you stick the landing? I think this category needs to be expanded to at least eight. Edward Berger, RaMell Ross and Denis Villeneuve should’ve been nominated. How many other directors could’ve done what they did? And why is [A Complete Unknown’s] James Mangold in here but they aren’t? He’s a really good director — he told the story well — but there was nothing special about the way he directed that film. You want to tell me that directing Timmy Chalamet in New York was harder than directing an epic in the desert? Come on. I was torn between Brady and [The Substance’s] Coralie Fargeat, and I ended up going with Coralie. If she wasn’t there, I’d have picked Brady, because the fact that he made his movie look that good with only $10 million is unbelievable. But I just thought about historical absence [only three women have ever won this category’s Oscar] and high degree of execution — she nailed it with that film.

Best Actor: “I had a hard time with this one. Timmy was probably the easiest one for me to let go. Ralph [Fiennes of Conclave], [The Brutalist’s Adrien] Brody and Colman’s [Domingo of Sing Sing] performances were just so good. I got to hear a lot from the Sing Sing guys, and really liked them, and I think that what Colman did for that movie, on and off screen, was just remarkable. VOTE: Colman Domingo, Sing Sing

Best actress: “I was very strongly considering voting for Karla, but when her tweets started coming out I was flabbergasted — I was like, “I can’t believe this person said these things.” And it kept getting worse every day. It quickly became obvious, “I’m not voting for this person. No way.” After that, it was between Mikey [Madison of Anora] and Demi [Moore of The Substance]. Both of them are at the heart of their films, and I loved both of their films. I’m not opposed to voting for new, younger people, when they are amazing. But Demi has been around for a long time, and she absolutely crushed it. VOTE: Demi Moore, The Substance

Best supporting actor: I thought it was insane that the one guy from Anora [Yura Borisov] got nominated over the other two [Mark Eydelshteyn and Karren Karagulian]. I seriously considered [The Apprentice’s] Jeremy Strong and [The Brutalist’s] Guy Pearce, but at the end of the day I just loved Kieran [Culkin] in A Real Pain.

Best supporting actress: I was never as high on Zoe [Saldaña of Emilia Pérez] as everyone else was. I definitely considered [Conclave’s Isabella] Rossellini. But I was just so impressed with Monica in A Complete Unknown. The only other thing I’d ever seen her in was Top Gun [Maverick], and this was like another person. VOTE: Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown

[From THR]

It’s interesting that he chose Colman Domingo. I love Colman and Colman is a wonderful actor who deserves the world… but Sing Sing felt like a poorly-made student film and Colman couldn’t save it. Still, it’s nice to know that Brody isn’t a sure thing in that category! I also enjoy this guy’s vote for Barbaro, who is absolutely wonderful in A Complete Unknown, but she hasn’t won anything this season. As for Demi and The Substance… I hated the film, as I’ve said before, and I do not understand why Hollywood is so enamored with it. Is it *just* because of the very obvious and superficial send-up of ageing in LA? But I do think a lot of people are just going to vote for Demi because she’s been around forever and she’ll probably never get another shot at this. There is that sense that Mikey Madison will get another “chance” at all of this. Still, I don’t get the vote for Coralie Fargeat. He really thought The Substance was the best-directed film of the year??

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, ‘Conclave’ stills.