'25 Oscars Nominations, Discussion and Red Carpet

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Oscars 2025: See the full list of nominees
By Sandra Gonzalez, CNN

(CNN)
—
The nominations for the 97th Academy Awards were announced Thursday and it was a big morning for “Emilia Pérez,” “The Brutalist” and “Wicked.”

After acknowledgement of the impact of ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles by Academy leadership, Bowen Yang and Rachel Sennott revealed the nominees for the film industry’s top prize, previewing the race that will play out in the weeks to come, culminating at the March ceremony.

“Emilia Pérez” led with 13 nominations, followed by “The Brutalist” and “Wicked” with 10 each.

Musical “Emilia Pérez” has seen success in spite of some controversy. The movie’s four Golden Globe wins did some to calm the criticism over many aspects of the film, including Selena Gomez’s perceived struggles with her character’s Spanish dialogue and various issues with the movie’s representation of the transgender community. Despite all this, it topped “Roma” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” ever for a non-English language film.

“The Brutalist,” from director Brady Corbet, stars Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones as Hungarian refugees who come to the US after WWII. The film, which won big at the Golden Globes, was recently embroiled in controversy over its use of artificial intelligence in dialect, with Corbet giving an assertive defense of his performers amid the debate.

“Wicked,” meanwhile, certainly had the blockbuster audience vote, and this time that also translated into awards recognition. The musical from director Jon M. Chu scored a nomination for best picture as well as individual honors for stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, the latter of whom was a first-time nominee. Erivo was previously nominated for “Harriet.” (If she adds an Oscar to her awards collection, she will achieve EGOT status, joining fewer than 30 artists who have each won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Awards.)

With “Wicked” and “Emilia Pérez,” this year marks the first time two musicals have been nominated in the best picture category since 1968 when “Oliver!” and “Funny Girl” both scored nominations, according to the Academy.

The acting categories were largely dominated by first-time nominees, with 13 individuals scoring their first Oscar nods, including Kieran Culkin, Demi Moore, Isabella Rossellini and Zoe Saldaña.

Conan O’Brien is set to host the ceremony, taking place on March 2 and airing on ABC.

A list of nominees follows below. (Next Post)

https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/23/entertai ... index.html

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Best picture

“Anora”
“The Brutalist”
“A Complete Unknown”
“Conclave”
“Dune: Part Two”
“Emilia Pérez”
“I’m Still Here”
“Nickel Boys”
“The Substance”
“Wicked”

Best actor in a leading role

Adrien Brody, “The Brutalist”
Timothée Chalamet, “A Complete Unknown”
Colman Domingo, “Sing Sing”
Ralph Fiennes, “Conclave”
Sebastian Stan, “The Apprentice”

Best actress in a leading role

Cynthia Erivo, “Wicked”
Karla Sofía Gascón, “Emilia Pérez”
Mikey Madison, “Anora”
Demi Moore, “The Substance”
Fernanda Torres, “I’m Still Here”

Best actor in a supporting role

Yura Borisov, “Anora”
Kieran Culkin, “A Real Pain”
Edward Norton, “A Complete Unknown”
Guy Pearce, “The Brutalist”
Jeremy Strong, “The Apprentice”

Best actress in a supporting role

Monica Barbaro, “A Complete Unknown”
Ariana Grande, “Wicked”
Felicity Jones, “The Brutalist”
Isabella Rossellini, “Conclave”
Zoe Saldaña, “Emilia Pérez”

Best director

Sean Baker, “Anora”
Brady Corbet, “The Brutalist”
James Mangold, “A Complete Unknown”
Jacques Audiard, “Emilia Pérez”
Coralie Fargeat, “The Substance”

Best cinematography

“The Brutalist”
“Dune: Part Two”
“Emilia Pérez”
“Maria”
“Nosferatu”

Best international feature film

“I’m Still Here”
“The Girl with the Needle”
“Emilia Pérez”
“The Seed of the Sacred Fig”
“Flow”

Best adapted screenplay

“A Complete Unknown”
“Conclave”
“Emilia Pérez”
“Nickel Boys”
“Sing Sing”

Best original screenplay

“Anora”
“The Brutalist”
“A Real Pain”
“September 5”
“The Substance”

Best live action short film

“A Lien”
“Anuja”
“I’m Not a Robot”
“The Last Ranger”
“A Man Who Could Not Remain Silent”

Best animated short film

“Beautiful Men”
“In the Shadow of the Cypress”
“Magic Candies”
“Wander to Wonder”
“Yuck!”

Best animated feature film

“Flow”
“Inside Out 2”
“Memoir of a Snail”
“Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl”
“The Wild Robot”

Best documentary short

“Death By Numbers”
“I Am Ready, Warden”
“Incident”
“Instruments of a Beating Heart”
“The Only Girl in the Orchestra”

Best documentary feature film

“Black Box Diaries”
“No Other Land”
“Porcelain War”
“Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat”
“Sugarcane”

Best original song

“El Mal,” from “Emilia Pérez”
“The Journey,” from “The Six Triple Eight”
“Like a Bird,” from “Sing Sing”
“Mi Camino,” from “Emilia Pérez”
“Never Too Late,” from “Elton John: Never Too Late”

Best original score

“The Brutalist”
“Conclave”
“Emilia Pérez”
“Wicked”
“The Wild Robot”

Best makeup and hairstyling

“A Different Man”
“Emilia Pérez”
“Nosferatu”
“The Substance”
“Wicked”

Best costume design

“A Complete Unknown”
“Conclave”
“Gladiator II”
“Nosferatu”
“Wicked”

Best editing

“Anora”
“The Brutalist”
“Conclave”
“Emilia Pérez”
“Wicked”

Best sound

“A Complete Unknown”
“Dune: Part Two”
“Emilia Pérez”
“Wicked”
“The Wild Robot”

Best production design

“The Brutalist”
“Conclave”
“Dune: Part Two”
“Nosferatu”
“Wicked”

Best visual effects

“Alien: Romulus”
“Better Man”
“Dune: Part Two”
“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes”
“Wicked”

[Owendonovan]

With continued declining relevance/interest, how long until it's just a small sideshow?

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Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón faces backlash over offensive tweets
The Oscar-nominated star of Netflix’s musical made racist and Islamophobic remarks in several tweets from 2020


Karla Sofia Gascón in Mexico City, on 15 January. Photograph: Eduardo Verdugo/AP

Benjamin Lee
Thu 30 Jan 2025 20.09 GMT

Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón is under fire after old tweets uncovered a range of troubling opinions on subjects including Islam and George Floyd.

The Spanish actor, who recently became the first ever openly transgender person to receive an acting nomination at the Oscars, has since deleted a number of tweets after users, including writer Sarah Hagi, uncovered them. Variety and the Hollywood Reporter have since reported the news and translated older posts.

Gascón, originally in Spanish, called Floyd “a martyr hero” weeks after his death and wrote: “I truly believe that very few people ever cared about George Floyd, a drug addict and a hustler, but his death has served to highlight once again that there are those who still consider Black people to be monkeys without rights and those who consider the police to be murderers. All wrong.”

She followed up by writing that it “is no longer a question of racism but social classes that feel threatened by each other”.

In November 2020, she also wrote about “more and more Muslims in Spain” before adding: “Every time I go to pick up my daughter from school there are more women with their hair covered and their skirts down to their heels. Maybe next year instead of English we’ll have to teach Arabic.”

In another post, she wrote: “Until we ban religions that go against European values and violate human rights, such as Islam, under the protection of freedom of worship, we will not end part of the huge problem we face. Faith manipulates those who cling to faith.”

In a tweet from 2016, she also wrote: “Islam is becoming a hotbed for infection for humanity that urgently need to be cured.”

In a post about the Oscars after the 2021 ceremony where Nomadland took home best picture, she wrote: “More and more the #Oscars are looking like a ceremony for independent and protest films, I didn’t know if I was watching an Afro-Korean festival, a Black Lives Matter demonstration or the 8M. Apart from that, an ugly, ugly gala.”

Gascón, who shared the best actress prize at last year’s Cannes film festival with her co-stars, has since released a statement. “I want to acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts that have caused hurt,” she said. “As someone in a marginalized community, I know this suffering all too well and I am deeply sorry to those I have caused pain. All my life I have fought for a better world. I believe light will always triumph over darkness.” She has since deactivated her account.

“I’m sorry, but I can no longer allow this campaign of hate and misinformation to affect me and my family, so at their request I am closing my account on X,” she wrote. “I have been threatened with death, insulted, abused and harassed to the point of exhaustion. I have a wonderful daughter to protect, whom I love madly and who supports me in everything.”

Netflix purchased the film at Cannes and has yet to comment.

Gascón recently made headlines for criticising the social media team involved with her fellow best actress Oscar nominee, I’m Still Here star Fernanda Torres. “I have never, at any point, said anything bad about Fernanda Torres or her movie,” she said in an interview. “However, there are people working with Fernanda Torres tearing me and Emilia Pérez down. That speaks more about their movie than mine.”

She later clarified that it wasn’t meant to be an attack on Torres but on “toxicity and violent hate speech on social media”.

Emilia Pérez has been nominated for 13 Oscars, a record for a film not in the English language, yet has faced criticism from both the LGBTQ+ community and in Mexico, where it is set. It tells the story of a cartel boss transitioning into a woman.

Advocacy group Glaad called it “a profoundly retrograde portrayal of a trans woman” and that it represented “a step backward” for representation while the film has been accused of perpetuating Mexican stereotypes.

French director Jacques Audiard has since apologised: “If there are things that seem shocking in Emilia Pérez then I am sorry … Cinema doesn’t provide answers, it only asks questions. But maybe the questions in Emilia Pérez are incorrect.”

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/j ... ory-tweets

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Make sure to scroll for her complete statement.

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There are questions as to whether she will attend the event now.

[Owendonovan]

How many social media cautionary tales will it take before folks stop putting it all out there?

[JTContinental]

Demi Moore's stock is skyrocketing

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Demi Moore's stock is skyrocketing

I actually watched her acceptance speech at the GG I think it was. She would be a good choice.

[JTContinental]

That movie is bananas and gross af, but it’s so good and easily her best performance of her career.

[ponchi101]

Demi Moore, Oscar winner.
Words you never even dreamed of hearing without a considerable number of other words in between (such as "she will never be").

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Netflix Distances Itself From Karla Sofía Gascón as Controversy Forces ‘Emilia Pérez’ Oscar Campaign Changes


By Clayton Davis

Netflix is distancing itself from “Emilia Pérez” star Karla Sofía Gascón in an effort to salvage the film’s Oscar prospects. And as the Spanish actress tries to defuse the blowback for her past social media posts, in which she shared offensive views that were seen as Islamophobic and racist, she’s doing it on her own, without the guidance of the streaming giant or her PR team.

Gascón, who made history as the first openly transgender performer to be nominated for Best Actress at the Academy Awards, was expected to travel from her home in Spain to Los Angeles for the critical second phase of the Oscars campaign. Her planned itinerary included major entertainment industry events such as the AFI Awards luncheon on Thursday, the Critics Choice Awards on Friday, the Directors Guild of America Awards and the Producers Guild of America Awards on Saturday, and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Sunday. However, Gascón is no longer expected to attend any of them.

Her absence has further complicated the campaign efforts for Netflix and the film’s awards team. Adding to the tension, Gascón and her co-star Zoe Saldaña share the same public relations firm, The Lede Company. Sources tell Variety that Netflix and the PR agency have stopped talking directly with Gascón and are only communicating through her United Talent Agency representative, Jeremy Barber. Sources also said the streamer is no longer covering expenses for her travel to the various awards shows or her styling for any appearances at these events.

If she intends to make these stops, it would fall to Gascón to pay for everything from her airfare to her accommodations. The actress was a relative unknown when she got the life-changing title role in “Emilia Pérez,” which meant that she was paid roughly 100,000 Euros ($104,000) for her role in the film, according to a source with knowledge of her deal. Gascón did not respond to requests for comment.

A new For Your Consideration advertisement that debuted Monday highlights “Emilia Pérez’s” 13 Oscar nominations, including its nods for best picture, international feature, director (Jacques Audiard), supporting actress (Saldaña), and original song (“El Mal”). However, the film’s title as well as any images of Gascón have been scrubbed from much of the campaign material. Instead, the marketing prominently features Saldaña and co-stars Selena Gomez and Adriana Paz, neither of whom were nominated. The shift suggests Netflix is trying to minimize Gascón’s contributions so that the controversy around her remarks won’t overshadow the film or the work of her co-stars and collaborators. The film’s official FYC page features a prominent photo of Saldaña but no images of Gascón.

The Oscar race has now entered its post-nominations phase. It’s a period that often sees marketing become more targeted on the categories that campaigns think have the best chance of leading to actual wins. Saldaña and the film were seen as stronger candidates for top prizes than Gascón, who was expected to lose best actress to Demi Moore (“The Substance”) even before the scandal erupted. However, omitting the film’s lead actress and the title of the film from promotional materials has raised eyebrows.

“It’s hard to imagine a campaign focus that excludes the titular character while still aiming to bring home the gold,” one awards consultant tells Variety.

Gascón, who issued an apology hours after news of her posts broke and then did an interview with CNN en Español over the weekend that she booked without Netflix’s involvement, addressed the situation (once again) in an Instagram post. In it, she tagged multiple publications, including Variety, saying in part: “They want to subject me to ‘cancel culture,’” she wrote. “I ask the Hollywood experts, the journalists who know me and have followed my career — How can I move forward?”

But some Oscar voters, who asked to remain anonymous, said that despite Gascón’s apologies and pleas, they are moving on from her and the film that put her on their radar.

“Damn, I almost felt sorry for her at first, but now I’m like, ‘(expletive) that,’” one Academy member said.

Another veteran Oscar voter dismissed the impact of the controversy, saying, “I don’t think it affects anything. I judge the film on its merits. I can’t judge what others do outside of it.”

However, a third voter predicted there would be repercussions for the film and expressed sympathy for Saldaña. “I think it’s going to have a huge effect. It left a bad taste in people’s mouths,” the voter said. “People are allowed to have their opinions, but I don’t want to live in a world where a racist and bigot is highlighted and rewarded. I was going to vote for her because I really did think she was extraordinary, but how could I now? I hope it doesn’t affect Zoe. It really shouldn’t. I don’t think people are that stupid.”

How will the Oscars deal with Gascón if she attends the ceremony?

Certain changes have been made to the broadcast that could make things less awkward. The Oscars recently announced the return of the “Fab 5” moments, a segment where previous winners recognize nominees in their respective categories. The tradition, introduced in recent years, resonated with audiences celebrating artistry across generations, which has brought memorable moments such as past Oscar winner Rita Moreno (“West Side Story”) paying tribute to supporting actress nominee America Ferrera (“Barbie”), or Kevin Kline (“A Fish Called Wanda”) memorializing Heath Ledger (“The Dark Knight”) when he earned a posthumous supporting actor statue.

Sources tell Variety the “Fab 5” moments were not going to be executed in the acting categories this year, and the decision came before the official nominations were announced. It will happen in the director’s category and for some of the artisans awards. One issue that the Oscars were grappling with was that the broadcast would have run out of past winners if it became an annual tradition, forcing it to recycle the same presenters. Major A-listers are still expected to be part of the format, but the Oscars won’t have the tough task of finding a previous victor willing to laud Gascón’s performance from the stage, were she to win.

The Netflix team has not yet begun discussions about bringing Gascón to L.A. for the telecast. As a nominee, she is invited to the ceremony, but there are concerns that her presence might overshadow the other nominees across all 23 categories or that Gascón could give unpredictable interviews on the red carpet that would distract from the celebratory nature of the event.

So is it over for “Emilia Pérez”? Many Oscar campaigns have nearly been derailed over the years only to overcome the controversy. Take Universal Pictures’ “Green Book.” In the run up to the 2019 Oscars, director Peter Farrelly had to apologize after newspaper articles from the ’90s suggested he revealed his genitals to actors, while co-writer Nick Vallelonga was criticized after a past tweet endorsing a false Donald Trump accusation about New Jersey Muslims cheering on 9/11 was resurfaced, and lead actor Viggo Mortensen used the N-word at a screening of the film. And yet “Green Book” still won best picture, original screenplay and supporting actor.

Whether “Emilia Pérez” can withstand the fallout from Gascón’s social media messages remains to be seen. But with only a few weeks to go before Oscar voting ends, the film’s fate — and Gascón’s awards prospects — hang in the balance.

Elsa Keslassy and Marc Malkin contributed to this report.

https://variety.com/2025/film/news/netf ... 236296776/

Netflix execs right now

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Karla Sofía Gascón to Attend Oscars, Netflix Agrees to Pay Expenses After Tweet Controversy
By Marc Malkin

Karla Sofia Gascón plans to be at the Oscars. Sources confirm that Netflix will pay for the “Emilia Pérez” star to attend the ceremony on March 2 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Gascón is nominated for best actress for her work in the Spanish-language musical.

Details about her plans are still being finalized, including whether she will walk the carpet, stop for interviews or sit near her co-stars Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez and director Jacques Audiard.

Gascón is also planning to attend the César Awards in Paris ahead of the Oscars on Feb. 28, according to sources.

Gascón’s awards season campaign imploded when she came under fire for social media posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, in which she expressed controversial views on Muslims, George Floyd and diversity at the Oscars. In the aftermath, Gascón skipped the Critics Choice Awards, the BAFTA Film Awards and SAG Awards despite nominations at all three ceremonies.

In the days following the initial reports about the tweets. Gascón issued an apology. “I want to acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts that have caused hurt,” she said in a statement to Variety. “As someone in a marginalized community, I know this suffering all too well and I am deeply sorry to those I have caused pain. All my life I have fought for a better world. I believe light will always triumph over darkness.”

After sitting for a nearly hour-long interview with CNN en Español on Feb. 1, Gascón said she would no longer be making any public statements about the issue.

Gascón became the first openly trans actor to be nominated for an Oscar. She previously became the first transgender woman to win the best actress award at the Cannes Film Festival (an honor which she shared with Saldaña, Selena Gomez and Adriana Paz) and was the first trans woman nominated for film acting at the Golden Globes. She is represented by UTA.

Reps for Gascón and Netflix did not comment for this story. The New York Post first reported on the story.

Additional reporting by Clayton Davis and Elsa Keslassy.

From Variety US

https://au.variety.com/2025/awards/news ... ses-20578/

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Starting the red carpet with Cori Gauff who looks ah-mazing.

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I usually prefer her in darker colors but this is close to perfection. Even the girls don't look like they're being strangled.