Hello to the middle of the week! As my twin sister says, Tuesdays are hard, so let’s get into some meaningless stuff to lift our Tuesday. This week I’m trying out Substack’s brand-new, still-in-beta VIDEO FEATURE!!!
For my first video, we’re exploring my mixed feelings about the lovely and talented Dakota Johnson and investigating if we actually KNEW all ALONG she was the EXACT kind of person who would lock people up in a coffee shop and walk away!! All I’m saying is THE SIGNS WERE THERE.
Enjoy my very lightly edited three-minute video and please give me your impassioned reactions and/or defenses of Dakota [“a pure original!” “a stone-cold queen!” I can hear them say] in the comments!
Oscar Nominations Announced
Well well well, if it isn’t Beyoncé winning her first Oscar nomination!!!! [Although how is this only her first??] Today, an Oscar, tomorrow, an EGOT???
The Oscar nominations were announced this morning and we’ve got all the usual lineup of snubs, thrills, and shrugs.
Here are a few of the headlines most interesting to me — or scroll to the bottom to see a few of the top nomination lists.
Beyoncé pulled a nom for Best Original Song with “Be Alive” from the movie King Richard.
Listen to the funky, powerful, amazing song here.
Billie Eilish was also nominated in this category for her song “No Time to Die” from James Bond. [I’m just gonna say that a song about the beauty and strength of the Black experience should probably win over a song about a womanizing globe-trotter who kills people.]
Kristen Stewart got her first Oscar nomination!
WE LOVE TO SEE IT, KSTEW!!!!!!!! Twilight is but an ancient memory, you are the future!!!
She’s nominated for Best Actress for her utterly breathtaking portrayal of Princess Diana in Spencer. I saw Spencer and while the movie itself wasn’t perfect [and basically felt like a fever dream], she was literally stunning in every way.
Lady Gaga got snubbed.
More like Father, Son, and House of Disappointment, amirite!???
Lady Gaga did NOT get a nomination for her role as Patrizia Reggiani in House of Gucci, though it was certainly not for lack of dramatically expounding upon her “acting process” every chance she got.
Kirsten Dunst is finally an Oscar nominee!
Millennials rejoice! Our cheerleading, upside-down kissing, Marie Antoinette is finally getting what she deserves!!
I am super happy about this, I love Kirsten Dunst. She really pulled through from slightly annoying young starlet to absolute powerhouse actress living her own best life.
Her spouse, Jesse Plemons — aka Landry from Friday Night Lights [who Nat, Laura, and I once named a betta fish after] — also bagged a nomination for the same film, The Power of the Dog. Both were nominated for supporting roles.
FINE. FIIIINE. I’ll watch West Side Story.
I have been informed that the new film — despite STILL being helmed by an old, white male, who received a Best Director nom for it [good for him!] — repairs some of the racist/sexist issues of its past and is actually far less problematic and quite stunning.
It received a Best Picture Nomination, and the positively unmatched Ariana DeBose snagged a Best Support Actress Nom!!!
Troy Kotsur, from CODA, became the first deaf actor to be nominated.
Representation matters!! This is so amazing and so emotional!
List of Top Nominations
If you just want a quick and dirty rundown.
Best Picture Noms
“Belfast”
“CODA”
“Don’t Look Up”
“Drive My Car”
“Dune”
“King Richard”
“Licorice Pizza”
“Nightmare Alley”
“The Power of the Dog”
“West Side Story”
Best Director Noms
Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog”
Paul Thomas Anderson, “Licorice Pizza”
Steven Spielberg, “West Side Story”
Ryusuke Hamaguchi, “Drive My Car”
Kenneth Branagh, “Belfast”
Best Actress Noms
Nicole Kidman, “Being the Ricardos”
Olivia Colman, “The Lost Daughter”
Kristen Stewart, “Spencer”
Jessica Chastain, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”
Penélope Cruz, “Parallel Mothers”
Best Supporting Actress Noms
Ariana DeBose, “West Side Story”
Kirsten Dunst, “The Power of the Dog”
Aunjanue Ellis, “King Richard”
Jessie Buckley, “The Lost Daughter”
Judi Dench, “Belfast”
Best Actor Noms
Andrew Garfield, “Tick, Tick … Boom!”
Will Smith, “King Richard”
Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Power of the Dog”
Denzel Washington, “The Tragedy of Macbeth”
Javier Bardem, “Being the Ricardos”
Best Supporting Actor Noms
Kodi Smit-McPhee, “The Power of the Dog”
Troy Kotsur, “CODA”
Ciaran Hinds, “Belfast”
Jesse Plemons, “The Power of the Dog”
J.K. Simmons, “Being the Ricardos”
Oscar Noms + Can I Just Talk About Dakota Johnson for a Sec?