The 2024 Academy Award Nominations are here! While there were some disappointments (as usual), we do have much to be excited about! At Offscreen Central, we wanted to highlight some of our favorite Oscar nominations for the upcoming Academy Awards. From Godzilla Minus One to Past Lives, we really did see some incredible nominations!

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar – Live ACtion Short

Although it was praised at Cannes, Asteroid City went completely under the radar by the Academy. Thankfully, 2023 was the gift that kept on giving with more Wes Anderson projects, including his short film, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar. Meticulously shot, designed, and performed, Anderson breathes to life another Roald Dahl tale that he makes distinctly his own. In a world of grift culture and trying to make a quick buck, Henry Sugar is a poignant story of the transformation of a man’s greed into altruism. Like The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Henry Sugar is evidence that Anderson adapting Dahl is a perfect match. The Academy may have disappointed me with certain snubs, but this nomination for Anderson is one of my personal highlights. Plus, Henry Sugar could actually be Wes Anderson’s ticket to his first Oscar win, which has been long overdue for one of the great auteurs. – Meredith

The Zone of Interest – Sound

The use of sound in Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest is not only some of the best of 2023 but may be some of the best use of sound in a film ever. The sound work in the film creates an experience for the audience so the opposite of what the characters in the film are experience. The Höss family ignores the sounds of mass murder outside their family home, but the audience can do nothing except hear it. Sound designer Johnnie Burn submerses the audience in the violence their eyes never see. While many films about the Holocaust show us the atrocities committed in the camps, Glazer never does and his vision only works with the impeccable sound work created by the sound team. The constant humming of machinery is joined by screams, gun shots, dogs barking, and eventual, the absence of screams. What Burn and the sound team create is unlike anything I’ve ever heard and The Zone of Interest is a masterpiece because of its incredible, haunting use of sound. – Kenzie

Cillian Murphy – Lead Actor

It was 2007’s Sunshine when I first saw those big blue eyes and immediately became hooked. I was so struck by the landscape of his face that simply pulled me into every character he has played since our initial meeting. Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer feels like it was years in the making to finally broadcast his talent to the world and the world certainly took note with the film almost bringing in close to 1 Billion dollars as well as allowing people to connect with Christopher Nolan in a way that they have not before. What makes his performance so fascinating is that he doesn’t fall into the tropes we often see with actors portraying real life people, he is embodying the essence of Oppenheimer and it takes him a long way. Many of his best moments of the film are when he is simply still and thinking but able to move swiftly through the public and private life of Oppenheimer.  He is left to command the screen for a three hour run time and simply through his eyes, he traps you into the psyche of Oppie and his complicity. He never tries to redeem the character or rewrite history, he understands his role is to portray an icon and he steps up to the task.  An Oscar nomination for the ages and the start of so much to come for our favorite 5’7″ Irish man. – Jillian

Past Lives – Original Screenplay

Past Lives was my favorite film of 2023.  It may not have been the flashiest with visual effects or out-there costumes, but it was one of the best stories I have ever seen.  Following the lives of two childhood friends over the course of 20 years, Celine Song is able to capture the feelings of love and loss and the what ifs that come with life that nearly anyone can relate to.  You feel for each of the characters as they are struggling with trying to come to terms with their feelings, not knowing how the story is going to go.  There is a recognition of sadness that comes with the impactful ending that has been talked about since its release at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, and that is all thanks to the beauty that is the screenplay.  This nomination has made me happier than any other nomination this awards season. – Jessa

May December – Original Screenplay

May December in Original Screenplay was one of my favorite Oscar nominations announced this morning. Somehow, Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik managed to balance an uncomfortable premise and a darkly comedic tone to create one of the best screenplays of the year. There is no such thing as a throwaway line; every action and every word uttered tells the audience so much about these complicated characters. They are fully dedicated to their own delusions to keep themselves going, and every rewatch reveals something new. It takes a talented group of actors to understand the unique tone, but they brought the screenplay to life beautifully. The film demonstrates how morality can be a slippery slope and that abusers can come in all shapes, sizes, and personalities. Natalie Portman’s final line punctuated the film perfectly and left my skin crawling. Although it was inspired by a real-life situation, Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik were able to borrow from it to help create something so singular and campy with May December. It is well-deserving of its Oscar nomination.  – Eva

America Ferrera – Supporting Actress

2023’s Barbie is a “who’s who” of women in Hollywood, and America Ferrera was the glue that held together a roster of actresses loaded with talent. There was no doubt in my mind that her nomination would be divisive, and the discourse over THAT monologue will no doubt continue moving forward into Awards Season and beyond. Her performance won me over from day one, and her passionate delivery spoke to so many people. Many of them were young people who needed to hear that womanhood is a veritable Russian Doll of good, bad, and everything in between. America’s monologue wasn’t made for people looking to pick it apart. It was made for the woman at work who I overheard talking about how meaningful it was to her. It was made for my 14-year-old niece, who proudly told her dad that she can be anything she dreams of after seeing the film. America’s Best Supporting Actress nomination is for every woman who saw herself in her sweet, relatable performance. – Cassie

Sterling K Brown – Supporting Actor

I first remember watching Sterling K. Brown when I was a junior in high school. It must have been one of those classes that had a lot of substitute teachers, because I remember watching This Is Us on constant repeat whenever our teacher was gone. I remember during one of the first opening scenes of the show, Brown introduces himself as determined and unafraid to confront his biological father, but yet somehow pulling our heartstrings at wanting to see what would happen next. So, it’s no shock to me that Brown is nominated for his role in American Fiction. In his role as Clifford Ellison, Brown is able to show us what a delayed coming-of-age looks like as we find out that Cliff recently came out as being gay. Cliff, just having been divorced by his wife, begins to do the things he’s always wanted to do in his life. He starts doing drugs, hooking up with attractive men, and also realizing that this is the person he’s always wanted to be. In a moment where Monk and Cliff are sitting outside after a wedding, Cliff tells Monk that people just simply want to be able to love him. If Monk is hard to get through, Cliff is carefree and easy but trying to figure out how to get through his new life on his own terms. Brown is able to play off Cliff’s charisma and charm, while also making him a character that the audience is able to love. – Leia