The nominations for the 94th annual Academy Awards have now been announced with Aussie director Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog leading the way with an impressive 12 nods and Denis Villeneuve’s Dune coming in a close second with a total of 10.
Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci was a notable snub from the Best Picture category, while the star-studded Netflix satire Don’t Look Up managed to snag a spot on the list.
The annual awards show will take place this year on March 27, marking not only a return to its traditional home of the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, but the first time the ceremony will have had a host since 2018.
If you are an Oscars buff, or just like to stay on top of the films deemed to be the most worthy by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, then here are all the details on the films up for Best Picture and where you can watch them.
Belfast
What’s it about?
Directed by the legendary Kenneth Branagh, Belfast is a semi-autobiographical film that chronicles the life of a working-class family and their young son’s childhood during the tumult of the late 1960s in the Northern Ireland capital.
How many Oscars is it up for?
Seven, including Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.
Where can I watch it?
Belfast is now showing at HOYTS cinemas.
CODA
What’s it about?
Ruby is the only hearing member of a deaf family from Gloucester, Massachusetts (Child of Deaf Adults, i.e. CODA). At 17, she works mornings before school to help her parents and brother keep their fishing business afloat. But in joining her high school’s choir club, Ruby finds herself drawn to both her duet partner and her latent passion for singing.
How many Oscars is it up for?
Three, including Best Adapted Screenplay.
Where can I watch it?
Don’t Look Up
What’s it about?
In a nutshell, the film is satirising the way the world, and its leaders, are approaching climate change, but Adam McKay — who also directed Vice and The Big Short — has said that after COVID-19 hit, he actually went back and made the film even wilder than it was originally.
Billed as a satirical, sci-fi dark comedy, the movie centres on two low-level astronomers who discover an asteroid hurtling toward Earth that could wipe out humanity. When faced with ridicule and indifferent response from the White House, they go on a media tour to warn humankind of the impending apocalypse.
How many Oscars is it up for?
Four, including Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing.
Where can I watch it?
Drive My Car
What’s it about?
An aging, widowed actor seeks a chauffeur. The actor turns to his go-to mechanic, who ends up recommending a 20-year-old girl. Despite their initial misgivings, a very special relationship develops between the two.
How many Oscars is it up for?
Four, including Best International Feature Film.
Where can I watch it?
Showing in select cinemas around Australia.
Dune
What’s it about?
Based on Frank Herbert’s 1959 novel, the story is set in a fictional space empire far in the future and focuses on Atreides who, after his father is killed, is entrusted with the protection of the most valuable asset and most vital element in the galaxy.
How many Oscars is it up for?
10, including Best Visual Effects and Best Editing.
Where can I watch it?
Dune is now showing at HOYTS cinemas.
King Richard
What’s it about?
Driven by a clear vision of their future and using unconventional methods, Richard (Will Smith) has a plan that will take Venus and Serena Williams from the streets of Compton, California to the global stage as legendary icons. The profoundly moving film shows the power of family, perseverance and unwavering belief as a means to achieve the impossible and impact the world.
How many Oscars is it up for?
Five, including Best Actor for Smith and Best Original Screenplay.
Where can I watch it?
King Richard is now showing at HOYTS Cinemas.
Licorice Pizza
What’s it about?
A young girl named June with a big imagination makes an incredible discovery: the amusement park of her dreams has come to life. Filled with the world’s wildest rides and operated by fun-loving animals, the excitement never ends. But when trouble hits, June and her misfit team of furry friends begin an unforgettable journey to save the park.
How many Oscars is it up for?
Three, including Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.
Where can I watch it?
Showing in select cinemas around Australia.
Nightmare Alley
What’s it about?
Bradley Cooper stars as Stanton Carlisle — an ambitious former carnival worker with a gift for manipulating people, a talent he now uses as a famous nightclub performer who convinces rich people that he is a powerful mind reader.
Meanwhile, Cate Blanchett stars as Dr Lilith Ritter, a psychiatrist who might just prove to be even more dangerous than Stan and who becomes entangled in his nefarious ways after first attempting to expose him as a fraud.
How many Oscars is it up for?
Four, including Best Cinematography.
Where can I watch it?
Nightmare Alley is now showing at HOYTS Cinemas.
The Power of the Dog
What’s it about?
In 1925, charismatic rancher Phil Burbank inspires fear and awe in those around him. When his brother brings home a new wife and her son, Phil torments them until he finds himself exposed to the possibility of love.
How many Oscars is it up for?
12, including Best Cinematography and Best Director for Jane Campion.
Where can I watch it?
West Side Story
What’s it about?
Originating as a Broadway musical in 1957, West Side Story first became a movie in 1961 — which went on to win ten Oscars.
Loosely based on Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story is the tale of two rival street gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, on New York’s Upper West Side in the 1950s.
Tony, a member of the Jets, and Maria, from the Sharks, fall in love and, like Shakespeare’s tragic starred crossed lovers, pursue an ill-fated romance. Placing a modern twist on the dynamic, West Side Story is a commentary on the racism and prejudice experienced by immigrants.
How many Oscars is it up for?
Seven, including Best Costume Design and Best Director (for Steven Spielberg).
Where can I watch it?
The film will hopefully be streaming on Disney Plus soon.
The 94th Academy Awards will air exclusively on Channel 7 and 7plus, LIVE AEDT on Monday, March 28 which works out to be around noon. This means you can see all of the glitz and glamour at exactly the same time as the US.
And, while you wait for the actual ceremony, why not brush up on all of your Oscars trivia by reading up on the greatest (and occasionally awkward) moments in the history of the Academy Awards?
You can also check out all our Oscars coverage here.
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