“There’s a lot to digest; a lot of good and a lot of bad,” declares Gold Derby editor Rob Licuria in our exciting good/bad/ugly contributor slugfest about the 2019 Oscar nominations announced Tuesday morning. “I do like it how the Oscars go their own way, as I hate the ad nauseam repetition of Oscar season. I like it how the Oscars sometimes say ‘screw that, this is what we actually like,'” he says. Licuria is joined by contributing writers Riley Chow, Luca Giliberti and Zach Laws. Watch their lively discussion in the video above.
“There’s a lot of things to be positive about. There are a lot of international filmmakers nominated this year,” Laws adds. “Alfonso Cuaron, who we all knew was getting in, but also Pawel Pawlikowski and Yorgos Lanthimos, who were both cited at BAFTA, they both managed to get in, alongside Spike Lee, Brooklyn represent, and Adam McKay, so it was really nice to see them reach out a little bit.”
“My favorite nominations were for Yalitza Aparicio and Marina de Tavira,” Giliberti proclaims. “I’ve been a ‘Roma’ skeptic for a very long time, but I am no longer a ‘Roma’ skeptic,” Licuria agrees. “I firmly believe now that we all need to be mindful that it is the front-runner.”
As for some negatives, the guys were quick to point out that there were some unfortunate snubs. “I’m most disappointed for Bradley Cooper,” Licuria says. “The one I am most mad about is Timothee Chalamet, because he gave an amazing performance in a so-so movie and elevated his material” Giliberti argues. “I am most disappointed for Emily Blunt,” Laws says, asking “what more does she have to do to get nominated?” Riley points out that “A Star is Born” also missed out in Best Film Editing. “It was very showy work and I thought it would have been deserving of a win even, and it also missed sound editing, while ‘Bohemian Rhapsody got in, so ‘A Star is Born’ is really over in this race.”
PREDICT the Oscar winners now; change them until February 24
Be sure to check out how our experts rank this year’s Oscar contenders. Then take a look at the most up-to-date combined odds before you make your own 2019 Oscar predictions. Don’t be afraid to jump in now since you can keep changing your predictions until just before winners are announced on February 24.
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