The 2024 Oscars: ‘Emilia Perez’ Dominates with 13 Nominations
The 2024 Oscar nominations were announced on Thursday, January 23rd, following a year of ups and downs for Hollywood. The nominations were originally scheduled for January 17th, but were postponed twice due to wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles, leaving behind historic levels of destruction.
In the wake of the devastating wildfires, Hollywood came together to support the Netflix narco-musical about trans identity, ‘Emilia Perez,’ which dominated the nominations with a leading 13, including best picture and best actress for Karla Sofía Gascón, making her the first openly trans actor ever nominated for an Oscar.
A Wide-Open Race
With so many highly-anticipated films in contention, the 2024 Oscar race is wide open. ‘Emilia Perez,’ ‘Wicked,’ ‘The Brutalist,’ ‘Anora,’ ‘Conclave,’ and ‘A Complete Unknown’ all received multiple nominations and are considered frontrunners for best picture.
‘Emilia Perez,’ a Spanish language, French-made film, became the most nominated non-English language film ever, surpassing Netflix’s own ‘Roma,’ which landed 10 nominations. Only three films — ‘All About Eve,’ ‘Titanic,’ and ‘La La Land’ — have scored more nominations in Academy Awards history.
Other Notable Nominations
Another musical, ‘Wicked,’ the smash Broadway adaptation, came away with nearly as many nominations as ‘Emilia Perez,’ collecting 10, including best picture and acting nods for its stars, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.
‘The Brutalist,’ Brady Corbet’s postwar epic filmed in VistaVision and released by A24, also received a commanding 10 nominations, including best picture, best director, and nominations for actors Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce, and Felicity Jones.
In the best actor category, Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong received nominations for their roles in ‘The Apprentice,’ which dramatizes the formative years of President Donald Trump’s emergence in New York real estate under the tutelage of attorney Roy Cohn.
Demi Moore is considered the frontrunner for best actress for her performance in ‘The Substance,’ but the category also includes nominations for Karla Sofía Gascón, Fernanda Torres, Cynthia Erivo, and Mikey Madison.
Hollywood Responds to the Wildfires
The nominations were announced during a time of great uncertainty for Los Angeles and the film industry. The wildfires had caused widespread devastation, and many in the industry called for the Oscars to be canceled altogether.
However, academy leaders argued that the March 2nd ceremony must go ahead, for its economic impact on Los Angeles and as a symbol of resilience for the industry. Organizers have vowed this year’s awards will ‘celebrate the work that unites us as a global film community and acknowledge those who fought so bravely against the wildfires.’
Despite the challenges, Hollywood is coming together to celebrate film and recognize the extraordinary talent on display in this year’s Oscar nominations.