AirTalk’s FilmWeek: 2023 Oscar Preview

The 95th Academy Awards is upon us! It’s been another great year in film. “Top Gun: Maverick,” one of the Best Picture nominees, has been credited as the blockbuster that brought audiences back to theaters post pandemic. This year also saw the long awaited sequel to James Cameron’s technical achievement “Avatar” with “Avatar: The Way Of Water.” But possibly the biggest film of the year was small indie movie “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which has maintained a dedicated fanbase of everyday movie-goers and critics alike since its premiere in March 2022, and has dominated the award circuit leading up to this year's Oscar ceremony as the projected winner for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress among other categories. Other Best Picture nominees in addition to those three films: “The Banshees Of Inisherin,” “Women Talking,” “Triangle Of Sadness,” “The Fabelmans,” “All Quiet On The Western Front,” “Tár,” and “Elvis.” Other categories covered include Best Animated Feature, Best Documentary Feature, Best Supporting Actress, and more!

There’s so much to talk about! Larry Mantle and LAist film critics are live at the Orpheum Theater in DownTown Los Angeles to discuss the 95th Academy Award nominations from Best Screenplay to Best Picture. We’ll hear which films are the critics’ favorites and which ones they think will take home the top prizes. You can find the full list of nominees here.

Our critics for the 21th annual Film Week Academy Awards Preview are:

• Justin Chang – Los Angeles Times and NPR’s Fresh Air
• Tim Cogshell – Alt-Film Guide and CineGods.com
• Andy Klein – LAist & AV Club
• Christy Lemire – Roger Ebert.com & Breakfast All Day podcast
• Lael Loewenstein – LAist                                                           
• Wade Major – CineGods.com                                      
• Amy Nicholson – New York Times film writer & podcast Unspooled
• Claudia Puig – President/LA Film Critics Association  
• Peter Rainer – Christian Science Monitor
• Charles Solomon – Animation Scoop and Animation.com

Round One (0:15)

• Best Animated Feature:

• Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio – Directed by Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson, Gary Ungar and Alex Bulkley
• Marcel The Shell With Shoes On – Directed by Dean Fleischer Camp, Elisabeth Holm, Andrew Goldman, Caroline Kaplan and Paul Mezey
• Puss In Boots: The Last Wish – Directed by Joel Crawford and Mark Swift
• The Sea Beast – Directed by Chris Williams and Jed Schlanger
• Turning Red – Directed by Domee Shi and Lindsey Collins

• Best Documentary Feature:

• All That Breathes – Directed by Shaunak Sen, Aman Mann and Teddy Leifer
• All The Beauty And The Bloodshed – Directed by Laura Poitras, Howard Gertler, John Lyons, Nan Goldin and Yoni Golijov
• Fire Of Love – Directed by Sara Dosa, Shane Boris and Ina Fichman
• A House Made Of Splinters – Directed by Simon Lereng Wilmont and Monica Hellström
• Navalny – Directed by Daniel Roher, Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller and Shane Boris

Round Two (15:45)

• Best Supporting Actress:

• Angela Bassett – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
• Hong Chau – The Whale
• Kerry Condon – The Banshees Of Inisherin
• Jamie Lee Curtis – Everything Everywhere All At Once
• Stephanie Hsu – Everything Everywhere All At Once

• Best Adapted Screenplay:

• All Quiet On The Western Front – Screenplay - Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson & Ian Stokell
• Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery – Written by Rian Johnson
• Living – Written by Kazuo Ishiguro
• Top Gun: Maverick – Screenplay by Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie; Story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks
• Women Talking – Screenplay by Sarah Polley

• Best Original Screenplay:

• The Banshees Of Inisherin – Written by Martin McDonagh
• Everything Everywhere All At Once – Written by Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert
• The Fabelmans – Written by Steven Spielberg & Tony Kushner
• Tár – Written by Todd Field
• Triangle Of Sadness – Written by Ruben Östlund

• Best Supporting Actor:

• Brendan Gleeson – The Banshees of Inisherin
• Brian Tyree Henry – Causeway
• Judd Hirsch – The Fabelmans
• Barry Keoghan – The Banshees of Inisherin
• Ke Huy Quan – Everything Everywhere All at Once

• Best Actress:

• Cate Blanchett – Tár
• Ana De Armas – Blonde
• Andrea Riseborough – To Leslie
• Michelle Williams – The Fabelmans
• Michelle Yeoh – Everything Everywhere All at Once

Round 3 (34:47)

• Best Actor:

• Austin Butler – Elvis
• Colin Farrell – The Banshees of Inisherin
• Brendan Fraser – The Whale
• Paul Mescal – Aftersun
• Bill Nighy – Living

• Best Directing:

• The Banshees Of Inisherin – Directed by Martin McDonagh
• Everything Everywhere All At Once – Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
• The Fabelmans – Directed by Steven Spielberg
• Tár – Directed by Todd Field
• Triangle Of Sadness – Direcetd by Ruben Östlund

• Best Picture:
• All Quiet On The Western Front
• Avatar: The Way Of Water

• The Banshees Of Inisherin

• Elvis

• Everything Everywhere All At Once

• The Fabelmans

• Tár

• Top Gun: Maverick

• Triangle Of Sadness

• Women Talking