
When “CODA” director Sian Heder first cast Marlee Matlin, the film’s financiers opposed casting deaf actors for the remaining deaf characters. Matlin threatened to quit if this were to happen, and the financiers ultimately relented.
The 2022 Oscar nominations are here. You’ll have to wait until March 27 to find out who will come out on top at the 94th Academy Awards, but until then, you can predict the winners below. Select your pick for each category and see how you voted compared to other readers.
Best picture
Best director
2 of 23Best actor in a leading role
When “CODA” director Sian Heder first cast Marlee Matlin, the film’s financiers opposed casting deaf actors for the remaining deaf characters. Matlin threatened to quit if this were to happen, and the financiers ultimately relented.
Best actress in a leading role
Best actor in a supporting role
5 of 23Even after “Licorice Pizza” started filming, it was a secret to the younger cast members that Bradley Cooper had been cast. The final take where his character comes charging at Cooper Hoffman and Alana Haim was the first time that they saw him.
Best actress in a supporting role
Best original screenplay
The shoot for the “West Side Story” song “America” spanned 10 days at locations across Harlem, Queens and Paterson. Because of the hot temperatures and fierce choreography, Ariana DeBose’s dance shoes melted and had to be replaced multiple times.
Best adapted screenplay
8 of 23Best animated feature film
In “Don’t Look Up,” it was Jonah Hill’s idea for his character, the president’s chief of staff, to carry the nuclear codes around in a Hermès Birkin bag.
Best documentary feature
10 of 23Best international feature film
One of the reasons that the story of cruel grifters and psychics drew in “Nightmare Alley” director Guillermo del Toro was his own childhood experiences. When his father was kidnapped in 1998, psychics called his family, offering false hope and fake information about where he was being held. He was eventually released after his family paid a huge ransom.
Best original score
12 of 23Best original song
13 of 23Singer-songwriter and Belfast native Van Morrison composed the score for “Belfast,” which contains eight of his classic songs as well as a new one. In the film, a character places a bet on a horse named Moondance, the title of one of Van Morrison’s most famous songs.
Best sound
14 of 23Best makeup and hairstyling
15 of 23In “Drive My Car,” Tôko Miura plays the chauffeur who expertly drives around a manual Saab 900 Turbo. However, she did not know how to drive when she first auditioned for the part.
Best cinematography
16 of 23Best production design
17 of 23To prepare for his part in “The Power of the Dog,” Benedict Cumberbatch attended a three-week boot camp on a cattle ranch in Montana and learned how to ride a horse, throw rope, castrate bulls and play the banjo. Throughout production, Cumberbatch and Kirsten Dunst agreed not to speak to each other on set in order to stay in character.
Best film editing
18 of 23Best visual effects
19 of 23Saniyya Sidney is left-handed and had never played tennis before getting the part of Venus Williams in “King Richard.” She not only learned how to play but also how to do it right-handed like Williams for the film.
Best animated short film
20 of 23Best documentary short subject
21 of 23The first full trailer for “Dune” featured composer Hans Zimmer’s arrangement of “Eclipse,” a Pink Floyd song from “The Dark Side of the Moon.” The trailer was viewed more than 22 million times in its first week, and digital sales of the 47-year-old song from one of the most popular rock albums in history skyrocketed.
Best costume design
22 of 23Best live-action short film
23 of 23