Usually the trade papers wait until the very last minute to publish their “Oscar voter ballot” pieces, but this has been an especially weird awards season, and the timelines have gotten all messed up. So here we are: the first anonymous Oscar ballot(s) of the season. I’m just putting some highlights in this post, but you can read Variety’s piece here.
The Best Director race: Brady Corbet’s BAFTA win cannot be ignored. The last time a BAFTA-winning director (who was also Oscar-nominated) lost the Oscar? Sam Mendes for “1917” (2019). Corbet’s meticulous direction has drawn voter praise, with one anonymous Academy member saying: “If RaMell Ross [Nickel Boys’ director] was nominated for director, and I don’t know how he wasn’t, this would be an insanely tough choice. But since he wasn’t, Brady was the clear pick.”
Voter Ballot #1: “It was a fine year for movies… it is accurate to say, ‘Emilia Perez’ was the worst of the best picture nominees.”
Voter #2: “Adrien Brody is a remarkably gifted actor, and I’m very happy for him.”
Voter #3: “We don’t see movies like ‘A Complete Unknown’ made in Hollywood anymore… Studios are scared of them.”
Voter #4: “It took me five days to watch ‘The Brutalist’ and another two days to wake up from it.”
Voter #5: “I don’t know how ‘Dune’ wasn’t nominated for every category… and I hate sci-fi.”
The messy Best Actress race: Mikey Madison received a massive boost after winning the BAFTA for “Anora,” mainly because the film lost best picture, director, and screenplay, and she still won. Her performance has been hailed as a “pure and genuine acting showcase” by one voter and “the arrival of a star” by another. It feels very Brie Larson in “Room.”
Some voters despised ‘The Substance’: One voter stated unequivocally, “I despise ‘The Substance.’ It was gross, over the top, and I didn’t think Demi was anything special.” It is worth noting that a few voters also state their disdain for the film but are voting for Moore anyway. “What a remarkable career she’s had, and she deserves this moment,” one voter says gleefully.
I think the conversations around Demi and The Substance are fascinating – The Substance was awful, and yet I think many people want to give Demi the Oscar for her body of work, for her decades as a movie star and producer. But if people are judging the Best Actress race solely on the nominees’ performances? I really don’t understand how Demi is even in the conversation.
What else? It’s also insane to me that Dune 2 isn’t a bigger part of the Best Picture race – what Denis Villeneuve is doing with these Dune films is really something special. After looking at the ballots Variety provided, I predict that there will be at least two surprises in the major categories. My prediction is a surprise in Supporting Actress for sure, but I’m going back and forth on whether I think Demi will pull it out or whether Mikey Madison or Fernanda Torres have made a late surge.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- Actor Adrien Brody (l) and director Brady Corbet (r) attend to “The Brutalist” photocall. January 17, 2025.,Image: 954674660, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Not to be resold by any non direct partner of ALTERPHOTOS, Model Release: no, Credit line: Acero/Alter Photos/Avalon
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- SANTA MONICA, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – FEBRUARY 07: Demi Moore wearing Schiaparelli arrives at the 30th Annual Critics’ Choice Awards held at The Barker Hangar on February 7, 2025 in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 961245689, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Demi Moore, Credit line: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon
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- BEVERLY HILLS, CA – FEBRUARY 8: Sean Baker and Mikey Madison at the 77th annual Directors Guild of America Awards at The Beverly Hilton on February 8, 2025 in Beverly Hills, California. Copyright: xJeffreyxMayerx,Image: 961494321, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/Jeffrey Mayer/Avalon/Avalon
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- SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA, USA – FEBRUARY 09: Ariana Grande Butera wearing a Giorgio Armani Prive gown and Swarovski jewelry arrives at the 40th Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival – Virtuosos Award – Honoring Ariana Grande, Clarence Maclin, Fernanda Torres, John Magaro, Mikey Madison, Monica Barbaro, Sebastian Stan, and Selena Gomez held at The Arlington Theatre on February 9, 2025 in Santa Barbara, California, United States.,Image: 961822428, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Ariana Grande Butera, Credit line: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon
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- Mikey Madison attends the 2025 EE BAFTA Film Awards at The Royal Festival Hall in London, England. UK. Sunday 16th February 2025.,Image: 964898429, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NORESTRICTIONS, Model Release: no, Pictured: 2025 EE BAFTA Film Awards, Credit line: James Warren/Bang Showbiz/Avalon
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- LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 16: Demi Moore attends the EE BAFTA Film Awards 2025 at The Royal Festival Hall on February 16, 2025 in London, England.,Image: 964973625, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Lounis Tiar/Avalon
I also despised The Substance. June Squibb was robbed. So was Natasha Lyonne. The best picture of the year is Flow. It’s available for streaming now but really deserves to be seen in a theater
Flow is my top priority to see when I next have time to sit and watch a movie. Hopefully soon!
I thought The Substance had nothing new or interesting to say. I also think that Demi was nominated because she’s an older actress that was willing to go both nude and gross with the prosthetics, but I don’t think there was a single thing interesting about her performance. it was fine. which is genuinely how I’ve felt about every performance of hers I’ve seen – she’s fine.
I would like Mikey to win, personally. she was fantastic in Anora.
Anytime I see someone on here praise Flow, I always have to jump in with “Yes! Flow was great!” Its also streaming on Max right now, for those who have it.
I am a big fan of June Squibb. I remember she was in the daytime drama the Young and the Restless, as Mrs. Chancellor’s friend, Pearl. She’s always great.
I really liked the Substance….thought it was great commentary on men, actually. And a lot of other things. I found it very thought provoking. The OTT blood/gore is just the directors personal style, which I give her credit for being consistent with.
I agree! I really liked The Substance, even though I had to cover my eyes for a couple of scenes. It was original, stylish, and thought-provoking. Lots to say about aging women, the price of external beauty, and the value of youthfulness vs experience. Give me something new and fresh over another biography of a white man any day of the week. I’m a midwestern white woman in my early 40’s and I’m sick of the old ways and stories.
I think about The Substance regularly, which is more than I can say for most entertainment. I watched her previous movie, Revenge, a couple of weeks ago, and initially, I really liked it, but thinking about it more, nope, I loved it. The director makes very interesting and intentional visual choices. There’s a shot of an ant in Revenge that had me completely absorbed.
Both of these movies are low on dialogue and big on visuals. I really hope she has a lot of opportunities right now. I’m very interesting in what she has to say and how she says it.
Same. You literally couldn’t drag me to the theater to see yet another biopic of some famous old guy singer. More films written and directed by women or about women in an empowering way, plz! Thelma was a really fun movie and I’m sorry June Squibb did not get nominated.
I loved it too. I thought it was extraordinary. I’m not into the blood and gore so I could have done without the last 20 minutes, but as you said, it’s the director’s style, so she ran with it! While of course we don’t all have to like the same thing (that is the beauty of art after all), I am sure most of the people that hated it were men
I liked it – it was very arty-kitschy-over-the-top-creepy, definitely a style film and I can understand it hitting people wrong. I was baffled by it until I stopped taking it seriously. It IS an angry film with a serious message but the creator/director took it so far over the top that I finally got that she was also just having total fun with it. I would not recommend it to anyone who really hates the horror genre (which is usually me – but I really appreciated the message of this film! F* all the things we’re supposed to suffer to pretend to be young! ).
I think, for me, the best description would be ‘gleeful rage’. Like, I am pissed off well beyond my breaking point and I am going to have a HELL of a lot of fun making this EVERYBODY ELSE’S problem!
I hope Fernanda Torres wins
I’m curious how all this will
play out. It HAS been / is a strange year.
Hope someone else far more deserving than Demi wins
I liked The Substance. Few films have leads as famous as Demi who are willing to bare all at her age — she had no vanity. It was beautifully styled. It was too violent for my taste, but the body horror stuff didn’t turn me off. No woman’s psyche in our civilization is untouched by the marketing of the female body to sell virtually everything’. And this was a film about women’s bodies that wasn’t trying to sell perfection or aspiration or anything. I thought it was refreshing.
I’m confused why voter#3 said studios don’t make movies like a complete unknown anymore. Isn’t it a music biopic? Haven’t they been doing that with Elton John, Freddy Mercury, heck even Maria. Which I’m still annoyed by the lack of a nom for AJ but oh well. I haven’t seen it so I’m confused by what they meant about HW being scared to do those films.
Came here to say the same – a biopic of a big (male) musical artist is still one of the safest investments you can make in Hollywood.
“It took me five days to watch ‘The Brutalist’ and another two days to wake up from it.”
I’m screaming! I can’t stand Adrian Brody so this is hilarious.
I agree, Dune should have been nominated for everything.
I haven’t seen “The Substance” because horror isn’t my thing anymore. But the trailer for “Anora” sparked my interest, despite initially being turned off by the lead actress, who seemed like she was trying to be a “cool girl” with her comments on intimacy coordinators.
I’m not into horror AT ALL, and I loved The Substance. I’d classify it more like sci-fi with some gore. There were two scenes that I covered my eyes for. The horror, in my opinion, is its exploration of the relationship between aging women and society.
I can’t stand Adrien Brody either. Can’t stand him. I will watch the Brutalist, though when it streams because it sounds interesting and 3 1/2 hours is too long to sit in a movie theater. I loved Conclave, A Complete Unknown, Dune and A Real Pain. I don’t do horrors movies, so no Substance for me.
I thought The Brutalist was a towering achievement and Adrien Brody was fabulous in it. I guess some people don’t have much of an attention span. I really liked A Complete Unknown and Conclave and Timmy and Ralph are excellent. But The Brutalist and Brody were better. I enjoyed The Substance and Demi was very good. Unlike many commentators I like a horror film and a bit of (totally fantastical) gore doesn’t bother me. I think Marianne Jean-Baptiste should be in the actress mix, and a nod to grumpy Mr Grant for The Heretic would have been defensible.
Agree about Marianne Jean-Baptiste.
That last quote about how the voter disliked the substance was wanting to celebrate Demi Moore’s career.
This is how Samuel L Jackson lost failed to win for Pulp Fiction because every supporting actor award that year went to Martin Landau in a stupid tim burton/junkie depp movie.
Yeah, i’m still mad.
Jules Winfield was an oscar winning performance.
I absolutely HATE the ‘it’s their time’ Oscars. The Oscar should be awarded to the person who gave the best performance in that year and that should be the only consideration. If you think someone has had an amazing career, give them a lifetime achievement award, don’t rob someone more deserving – just because someone is young, it doesn’t follow that they’ll be nominated again, and just because someone is old, it doesn’t follow that they won’t be. If someone is nominated in both actor and supporting actor categories and deserves them both, so be it. And you shouldn’t be able to vote on a category if you haven’t seen all the films nominated.
Agree. I mean, if we’re going to give “body of work” Oscars, at least give it to Ralph Fiennes who truly does have a distinguished career and a wide range as an actor (about the only thing I haven’t seen him do is a musical!). Demi has never provided more than a mediocre performance in a film IMO; she’s just famous for having been around a while and for her own “body of work.” As to that, the doctor who did her cheeks should have his license removed. Her face is a tragedy but I guess that’s the point of the movie…
But as a general principle, I agree awards should be for an individual performance and not used as a career appreciation vehicle
I hope Ralph Fiennes wins. I was shocked to learn he hadn’t won before. And, dammit, Glenn Close at some point better win an Oscar because she’s been robbed more than once
Ralph is amazingly versatile, with underrated comic chops (as demonstrated in Hail, Caesar and Grand Budapest Hotel).
Nice to see Nickel Boys and its director RaMell Ross mentioned.
Lol, I bet the director of the Substance is proud that she got that reaction. The whole movie is designed to provoke a response. It wouldnt have so much gore and body horror if she didnt want that. I will be surprised if The Substance wins best picture.
I really liked the Substance. I thought Demi was wonderful, especially in that mirror scene where she’s getting ready for the date. But my Lord, it went off the rails in the third act IMO.
I loved The Substance! I saw it before a lot of the film nominations came out and was a little surprised it received so many nods. I loved it because it was a unique take on aging/women/men/fame. Add the gore and, I don’t know, it was a great metaphor? Demi was fine and was the perfect actress for this role. I wouldn’t say it was Oscar-worthy, but I enjoyed it all the same.
Some characters were “cartoons”. Demi did well considering the script.
Substance is a weird film. The script went astray about halfway through. The premise was interesting but it was botched. I fast forwarded a lot of the end of the film. It is like a modern day “Faust” story but came out badly. Lots of plot holes too. It could have been a lot more “subtle” if it wanted to make a statement. Moore did what she could with the material.
Lady Esther – I agree with you about Feinnes!
I can’t really say why North Americans wouldn’t even bother to watch the outstanding performance given by Fernanda Torres in I’m still Here and just assume Mikey has done better in Anora, or Demi in The Substance. Her acting in this movie is so superior that makes me wonder why the predictors are just so short sighted!
I admit I’m not familiar with I’m Still Here. Maybe it didn’t get sufficient word of mouth and/or publicity for more people to see it?
The Substance was uneven. It felt like two different movies stitched together. Demi was just okay.
In general, I’m sure it’s amazing to be nominated. But when truly brilliant films and performances continue to go completely ignored by the Academy, i really don’t give much weight to Oscars as an indication of real artistry and quality.
It is a really bad precedent to award actors for past bodies of work if they wouldn’t vote for the actor is actually nominated for. It makes it all meaningless.
Touted as a monumental film, The Brutalist was a total disappointment for me. I had excellent expectations, also because they had the audacity to compare it to “The Fountainhead”. It has nothing of that masterpiece. 10 Oscar nominations? Including photography?? Really??
I don’t understand these comments, Demi was great. I think, the genre of the Substance is also throwing people off. She and the director did something different, took risks and even though it wasn’t for everyone, I loved it. There are lots of Oscar winners / nominees you would forget in a few months. That was an unforgettable movie and performance by Demi. I would also like to see Margaret nominated as the supporting actress, because she was also great.
Just because some voters are talking about Demi finally getting her moment doesn’t mean all the voters voting for her think the same. She was great and gave an unforgettable performance for me. I didn’t watch Anora (from the trailers, it looked more like p0rn than a movie 🤷♂️ ), so I can’t comment on Mikey’s performance, but I hope the best one wins.
For me, as just said, the 10 Oscar nominations for The Brutalist are inexplicable, especially the one for best cinematography! A film about an architect and a well-defined architectural movement and the only worthy scene: the library?? If you see it as a film-feuilleton ok, because as the minutes go by this movie becomes that type of film, but epic!! Not at all!! In “The Fountainhead” the integrity of the architect is very different from that of the character in this film (which I haven’t clearly identified what it would consist of…)
I mean, the runtime is certainly epic…
Queer was completely overlooked and that’s a shame. First of all, the author, William Burroughs is an important American writer Junky and Naked Lunch both were excellent. Also Daniel Craig was brilliant. It’s a bit messy in the 2nd half, but that’s how Burrough’s wrote it. Seems to me it should be established as to whether or not these awards are based on past work, have they never been acknowledged, etc or whether they are based upon the current work that it nominated.
I thought that the best actress was Karla Sofia Gascon, but then basically she destroyed everything, and Demi Moore now is a safer option.
I’d rather see Mikey win because it would make a bigger difference in her life and career. Demi Moore became a movie star at a time when it was a little easier to do so. People used to go to the movies. “Ghost” and “A Few Good Men” came out before cable was big, before streaming. Mikey has a harder row to hoe, in part because she has a more off-beat beauty but mostly because of the industry itself.
I respect Demi as an actress but I don’t think I’ve ever seen her give a great performance. If she deserves it for The Substance, fair enough, but I don’t see how her body of work merits it. She’s had a long successful career without being a great actress.
I didn’t like The Substance. It was plenty weird, but it stopped being intriguing. It became predictable, repetitive and over the top gross in ways that just seemed gratuitous, not really moving the message forward. Demi was fine, I don’t think her performance was anything groundbreaking. Wish Oscar voters would vote on the performance at hand, not the actors body of work.
Not going to happen, but I would give Cynthia Erivo the Oscar.