97th Oscar nominations: ‘Emilia Perez’ leads the pack with 13 nominations

Los Angeles, Jan 23 The Spanish-language musical crime film ‘Emilia Perez’ is a top contender for the recently announced Oscar nominations.

‘Emilia Perez’ follows the story of a drug lord who undergoes gender affirming surgery, reports ‘Variety’.

The film has registered 13 nominations for the upcoming edition of the Academy Awards. It was followed closely behind by ‘The Brutalist’, which is a historical epic that examines the immigrant experience, and ‘Wicked’, the hit screen version of a long-running Broadway sensation, which both nabbed 10 nominations.

The Indian film ‘Anuja’ backed by Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Guneet Monga Kapoor has also been nominated in Best Live Action Short Film category.

As per ‘Variety’, ‘Conclave’, a thriller about the election of a new pope, and ‘A Complete Unknown’, a look at Bob Dylan’s early, freewheelin’ years, each had eight nominations. All five of those films are up for best picture, the ceremony’s top prize, alongside indies like ‘Anora’, ‘Nickel Boys’, and ‘I’m Still Here’ as well as the body horror film, ‘The Substance’, and ‘Dune: Part Two’, one of the rare studio blockbusters to garner Oscar attention.

The Academy Awards nominations were unveiled on Thursday after voting had been extended twice because of the wildfires that have devastated Los Angeles, resulting in the deaths of at least 28 people and catastrophic property damage.

This week, the Oscars announced that its March telecast will “acknowledge those who fought so bravely against the wildfires”.

Timothee Chalamet, who has proved his box office drawing power with ‘Dune’ and ‘Wonka’, was nominated for best actor for his chameleonic performance as Dylan in ‘A Complete Unknown’. He will face off against ‘The Brutalist’ star Adrien Brody, who became the youngest best actor winner in history at 29 for 2003’s ‘The Pianist’.

Other best actor nominees include Colman Domingo, Ralph Fiennes, and Sebastian Stan. Stan’s recognition came after ‘The Apprentice’, a Donald Trump biopic in which he plays the real estate mogul, struggled to get distribution, companies were concerned about getting on the bad side of the 47th president. His co-star Jeremy Strong, who plays Trump mentor Roy Cohn, was also nominated for best supporting actor.

Source: IANS