NextGen Oscarwatcher: Materialists and does everything have to be an Oscar contender?

Before writing this article, I want to express that I have not seen Celine Song’s follow up to Past Lives yet, but intend on doing so very soon (either today or sometime this week), but considering how much discourse has been occurring online surrounding this film, it still feels more than acceptable to discuss about it from an outside perspective. I hope to write more about it and other news in the following week. Onto the article…

Film Twitter loves two things more than anything: films by directors who were nominated for Oscars already, and films that fit their zeitgeist of “hippy” and “cool.” Celine Song is an individual who can fall into both of those categories. Past Lives was a discovery of 2023, and she was someone so many people advocated for when it came to awards recognition, winning a first-time Directors Guild Award and landing a Best Picture Nomination (Plus Original Screenplay), in addition to critics and indie filmmaker awards.

Materialists represents two things that many indie filmmakers like Celine Song go for, wanting to shoot for the fences and make something that is bigger, far more ambitious in story and tone, while still retaining aspects of their previous project’s successes. Filmmakers like Greta Gerwig and Barry Jenkins have made it known that though their character-driven, smaller projects are what people love from them, they want something bigger (and more profitable). Gerwig, in particular, is perfectly comfortable making big-budget films like Barbie, and Celine Song, at least with what people have been saying about Materialists, seems to be headed down a more populist path, especially with the assistance of an all-star cast with Pedro Pascal, Dakota Johnson, and Chris Evans. 

The Audience Response

Despite aiming for a more populist appeal, the reactions have not been unanimous. A 7.0/10 on IMDB, plus a 73 on Metacritic, much lower than Past Lives, suggests not necessarily a sophomore slump, but a sophomore swing, and one that allows Song to expand her horizons and realize what might work and what does not. The B- on Cinemascore, as flawed as the metric might be, is often an accurate depiction of what generic people feel, and this week, I hope to find out why that might be the case.

A24’s hold on Film Discourse

Materialists, like Past Lives, is an A24 release, and alongside the upcoming film Sorry, Baby (by Eva Victor), plus the divisive Ari Aster film, Eddington, they (alongside Neon) are what is driving the conversation on filmmaking aesthetic. I mention it here because I haven’t elaborated on why I changed my prediction in BP from PTA’s upcoming film to that of Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme. In addition to the fact that I think One Battle After Another seems like a surefire frontrunner that will be divisive and cause much discourse (considering its political undertones), it felt best to change course and predict something else. In addition to Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine, it seems as if A24 really does have a set of projects by duo who, like Sean Baker (though Neon distributed Anora) and the Daniels, made a defining indie film of the 2010s that people still talk about to this day (2017’s Good Time and 2019’s Uncut Gems). It might be the right time to recognize one of these projects, potentially, and, because of its December release, plus its word of mouth, I am choosing Marty Supreme for now. 

Oscar Predictions

Not much has changed for this week, but for the sake of it, I have decided to include International, Animated, and Documentary, though what will be eligible/a contender overall is subject to change. 

Best Picture

1. Marty Supreme
2. Sentimental Value
3. Sinners
4. One Battle After Another
5. Wicked: For Good
6. Ann Lee
7. After the Hunt
8. Jay Kelly
9. Bugonia
10. It Was Just an Accident

Best Director

1. Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme
2. Joachim Trier, Sentimental Value
3. Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another
4. Mona Fastvold, Ann Lee
5. Jafar Panahi, It Was Just an Accident

Best Actress

1. Amanda Seyfried, Ann Lee
2. June Squibb, Eleanor the Great
3. Julia Roberts, After the Hunt
4. Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value
5. Cynthia Erivo, Wicked: For Good

Best Actor

1. Timothee Chalamet, Marty Supreme
2. Jeremy Allen White, Deliver Me from Nowhere
3. Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another
4. George Clooney, Jay Kelly
5. Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent

Best Supporting Actress

1. Gwyneth Paltrow, Marty Supreme
2. Ayo Edebri, After The Hunt
3. Ariana Grande, Wicked: For Good
4. Elle Fanning, Sentimental Value
5. Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value

Best Supporting Actor

1. Stellan Skarsgård, Sentimental Value
2. Adam Sandler, Jay Kelly
3. Sean Penn, One Battle After Another
4. Mark Hamill, The Life of Chuck
5. Stephen Graham, Deliver Me from Nowhere

Best Original Screenplay

1. Sentimental Value
2. Marty Supreme
3. Jay Kelly
4. Sinners
5. After the Hunt

Best Adapted Screenplay

1. One Battle After Another
2. Bugonia
3. The Life of Chuck
4. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
5. Hedda

Best Casting

1. Sinners
2. Marty Supreme
3. Wicked: For Good
4. Deliver Me From Nowhere
5. Wake Up Dead Man

Best Cinematography

1. Ann Lee
2. Frankenstein
3. Marty Supreme
4. One Battle After Another
5. Sound of Falling

Best Editing

1. Marty Supreme
2. Sentimental Value
3. Sinners
4. After the Hunt
5. One Battle After Another

Best Production Design

1. Wicked: For Good
2. Frankenstein
3. Ann Lee
4. Avatar: Fire and Ash
5. Sinners

Best Costume Design

1. Wicked: For Good
2. Frankenstein
3. Ann Lee
4. Sinners
5. Hamnet

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

1. Frankenstein
2. Wicked: For Good
3. The Smashing Machine
4. Sinners
5. 28 Years Later

Best Visual Effects

1. Avatar: Fire and Ash
2. Superman
3. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
4. The Fantastic Four: First Steps
5. Wicked: For Good

Best Sound

1. F1
2. Sinners
3. Avatar: Fire and Ash
4. Wicked: For Good
5. Warfare

Best Score

1. Sinners
2. One Battle After Another
3. Ann Lee
4. Frankenstein
5. F1

Best Original Song

1. Wicked: For Good
2. Ann Lee
3. Relentless (Diane Warren Biopic)
4. Wicked Song #2
5. Bruce Springsteen song for Deliver Me From Nowhere

Best International Feature

1. Sentimental Value
2. The Secret Agent
3. Sound Of Falling
4. Sirât
5. It Was Just an Accident (though if it is not submitted considering the director’s relationship with the country and no one picks it up, I would go with All That’s Left of you)

Best Animated Feature

1. A Magnificent Life
2. Elio
3. Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
4. Arco
5. Zootopia 2

Best Documentary Feature

1. The Perfect Neighbor
2. Mr. Nobody Againt Putin
3. Cutting Through Rocks
4. Seeds
5. André Is an Idiot

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