| December 19, 2025 
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Hi, movie fans! Awards season picked up steam this week with the release of the academy’s shortlists in 12 categories. “Sinners” and “Wicked: For Good” led the way, appearing in eight of the races, including the new best casting competition. The shortlists — the lineups that voters will winnow down for the actual nominations — largely cover what we call below-the-line contests, like score or makeup and hairstyling. So this week’s news may not be an indication of what will lead the major categories at the Oscars. Indeed, the fact that “One Battle After Another,” which many see as the front-runner, landed only in five categories may not be indicative of anything. (And wow, “Sirat,” the indescribable thriller set in the Moroccan desert, tied with “One Battle.”) Speaking of what the voters will choose — or not! — our resident Oscars expert, Kyle Buchanan, a.k.a. The Projectionist, wrote about his concern that a few major performances might be overlooked this season simply because the characters are women who buck convention. Rose Byrne (in “If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You”), Jennifer Lawrence (“Die My Love”) and Amanda Seyfried (“The Testament of Ann Lee”) “delivered some of their strongest ever work this year playing difficult women, yet remain on the bubble in most best-actress predictions,” he writes, adding, “Too often during awards season, I find that likability is a metric applied against female leads far more often than to men, who manage to get away with just about anything.” It’s something to keep an eye on next month when the nominations are released. And we haven’t even talked about the academy’s decision to move the Oscars to YouTube starting in 2029, ending after more than 50 years on ABC. It’s not unprecedented. Other movie-related ceremonies, like the SAG Awards — er, now they’re the Actor Awards — have jumped to streaming and, to my mind, the loss of commercials has improved the entertainment value. There’s also something to be said for showing the biggest awards in Hollywood on the biggest streaming service. But three years is a long time to wait given the pace of technological change, and the landscape may look a lot different when the academy actually makes the leap. Until then, enjoy the movies! |
