ORWAV Oscars 2017 – The Nominations

Just like the real Oscars are more useful as a barometer of Hollywood’s taste than as a marker of quality, the ORWAV Oscars 2017 are a fascinating insight into what makes us tick.

Most interestingly of all, without Academy politics pushing certain films and performances, we’ve ended up with a remarkably wide field of contenders.

Like last year, each writer could nominate three unranked entries for each category, and we’ve combined the Original and Adapted Screenplay and the Lead and Supporting performance categories. Just to keep it interesting.

Without further ado, head on down and check out our nominations… and why not vote for your favourites while you’re there?

Best Actor

L-R: Michael Shannon in Nocturnal Animals (Courtesy of Focus Features); Viggo Mortensen in Captain Fantastic (Courtesy of Bleecker Street); Peter Simonischek in Toni Erdmann (Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics)

• Casey Affleck – Manchester by the Sea
• Mahershala Ali – Moonlight
• Adam Driver – Paterson
• Ryan Gosling – La La Land
• Lucas Hedges – Manchester by the Sea
• Viggo Mortensen – Captain Fantastic
• Michael Shannon – Nocturnal Animals
• Peter Simonischek – Toni Erdmann

We won’t go into details of the votes, but Academy favourite Denzel Washington received not a single nomination. Maybe he was a victim of delayed UK release dates, or maybe (and whisper it) he just wasn’t that good.

Other Academy nominees Viggo Mortensen and Casey Affleck retain their spots, as does Ryan Gosling, narrowly missing out on a double nomination for his work on The Nice Guys. Michael Shannon nearly split his vote too, but made our top spots with his memorable performance in Nocturnal Animals. He’s rightly joined by the unlikely figures of Simonischek, Driver and Hedges, alongside Supporting Actor frontrunner Mahershala Ali.

Best Actress

L-R: Amy Adams in Arrival (Courtesy of Paramount Pictures); Naomie Harris in Moonlight (Courtesy of A24); Natalie Portman in Jackie (Courtesy of Fox Searchlight)

• Amy Adams – Arrival
• Rebecca Hall – Christine
• Naomie Harris – Moonlight
• Sandra Hüller – Toni Erdmann
• Natalie Portman – Jackie
• Emma Stone – La La Land
• Michelle Williams – Manchester by the Sea

Ruth Negga and Isabelle Huppert have likely also fallen victim to UK release dates, missing out on the nominations they earned in real life. Elsewhere the two-horse race between Stone and Portman has been blown wide open by #JusticeForAdams and the arrival of Rebecca Hall and Sandra Hüller.

Even better, by combining the Lead and Supporting categories Naomie Harris and Michelle Williams have entered the fray as well, making for an incredibly tight competition. This category could be anyone’s.

Best Screenplay

L-R: Kenneth Lonergan (Courtesy of Gregory Costanzo); Eric Heisserer (Courtesy of Talkhouse); Shane Black (Courtesy of Bourgeois Magazine)

• Shane Black and Anthony Bagarozzi – The Nice Guys
• Eric Heisserer (screenplay) – Arrival (based on the short story ‘Story of Your Life’ by Ted Chiang)
• Jim Jarmusch – Paterson
• Kenneth Lonergan – Manchester by the Sea
• Taika Waititi (screenplay), Tearepa Kahi (additional writing) – Hunt for the Wilderpeople (based on the novel by Barry Crump)

Only two of the 10 Academy nominees (Arrival and Manchester by the Sea) have made it through to our shortlist in one of the biggest shakeups so far. We continue our Paterson love-in with a nod for its script, as well as recognising the tragicomic brilliance of Taika Waititi & co.’s work on Hunt for the Wilderpeople. Our relatively light-hearted selection is rounded out by Shane Black and Anthony Bagarozzi’s classic buddy cop comedy, The Nice Guys.

Best Cinematography

L-R: Natasha Braier (Courtesy of Musicbed Blog); Rodrigo Prieto (Courtesy of Kodak); Bradford Young (Courtesy of No Film School)

• Natasha Braier – The Neon Demon
• James Laxton – Moonlight
• Giles Nuttgens – Hell or High Water
• Rodrigo Prieto – Silence
• Linus Sandgren – La La Land
• Bradford Young – Arrival

Exact numbers will remain under wraps, but we can reveal that Bradford Young earned the most votes out of any nominee in this year’s ORWAV Oscars. If anyone is a favourite to go home with a tiny gold statuette (modelled on our Editor) then it’s him.

Natasha Braier’s incandescent cinematography for The Neon Demon was one of the most memorable things about sitting in a cinema last year, so consider justice done with her appearance here. She’s joined by a host of Academy favourites, with only Lion’s Greig Fraser missing out, to be replaced by Giles Nuttgen’s saturated shots on neo-Western Hell or High Water.

Best Director

L-R: Jim Jarmusch (Courtesy of Time); Taika Waititi (Courtesy of Vimeo); Damien Chazelle (Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter)

• Damien Chazelle – La La Land
• Ezra Edelman – O.J.: Made in America
• Jim Jarmusch – Paterson
• Barry Jenkins – Moonlight
• Denis Villeneuve – Arrival
• Taika Waititi – Hunt for the Wilderpeople

Ezra Edelman has a semi-official ORWAV trip to O.J.: Made in America to thank for his inclusion in our Best Director shortlist, with nearly every writer who’s seen it giving him a vote. Elsewhere the relaxed beauty of Jarmusch’s direction in Paterson couldn’t be more different from the mania of La La Land, but both find themselves nominated.

Villeneuve and Jenkins are recognised by both ORWAV and the Academy, but Taika Waititi sneaks in as well, with the underrated Hunt for the Wilderpeople. He deserves his spot for this shot alone.

Best Film

L-R: Moonlight (Courtesy of A24); La La Land (Courtesy of Lionsgate); Manchester by the Sea (Courtesy of Roadside Attractions)

• Arrival
• La La Land
• Manchester by the Sea
• Moonlight
• Paterson
• Toni Erdmann

A ridiculous total of 29 different films received nominations for Best Film, showing just how diverse the tastes are among the ORWAV team. The final results aren’t too different to the Academy’s shortlist, but with only six films making it in, the competition was even tougher.

La La Land, Manchester by the Sea, Arrival and Moonlight keep their tickets to the race, while Paterson and Toni Erdmann join them. Neither is the kind of film the Academy normally nominates for Best Picture, so it’s great to see them breaking in here and across our other categories.