The Alternative 2022 Oscar Nominations

By Kayleigh Donaldson | Film | March 10, 2022 |

By Kayleigh Donaldson | Film | March 10, 2022 |

The 2022 Oscars are just around the corner, unless ABC and the Academy find even more ways to screw up the ceremony in the name of chasing non-existent ratings boosts. That means we’re in for a whole new round of petty arguing over the winners, losers, and outright nonsense the show reliably provides us year after year. Each awards season, we deal with the expected slew of discourse: why did that get nominated? Why are the frontrunners typically so bland when the competition is far superior? Why did Crash win Best Picture over Brokeback Mountain and are we still mad about it (yes, we are.) One line of reasoning I always get sick of hearing is the insistence that certain categories are ‘weak’ and that’s why we just have to let obvious mediocrity get shortlisted.

There’s no such thing as a weak year or lacking area of film: Just because the Academy is hilariously lazy and unimaginative, that doesn’t mean we have to be. So, with that in mind, we’ve put together an alternative slate of Oscar nominees, made up entirely of omissions, snubs, and the kinds of movies that AMPAS probably didn’t even know existed. This is not to say that any of the current nominees are undeserving. The Power of the Dog is the best film of 2021 and it’s truly thrilling to see Drive My Car break out as it has. What this post intends to do is act as a reminder that there was plenty of cinematic excellence outside of the handful of titles that hogged up all of the ‘For Your Consideration’ attention. Yes, some categories are six spaces instead of five because I felt generous. And yes, this list is biased because I wrote it and had my favorites of 2021 so feel free to share your own alternatives (and I couldn’t fill out every category.) Remember, there’s so much to choose from that isn’t Don’t Look Up.

BEST PICTURE

C’mon C’mon
Mass
Parallel Mothers
Petite Maman
Pig
Spencer
The Green Knight
The Last Duel
Titane
Zola

BEST DIRECTOR

Pedro Almodovar — Parallel Mothers
Julia Ducournau — Titane
Rebecca Hall — Passing
David Lowry — The Green Knight
Ridley Scott — The Last Duel
Janicza Bravo — Zola

BEST ACTOR

Adeel Ahktar — Ali and Ava
Nicolas Cage — Pig
Peter Dinklage — Cyrano
Dev Patel — The Green Knight
Joaquin Phoenix — C’mon C’mon
Hidetoshi Nishijima — Drive My Car

BEST ACTRESS

Jodie Comer — The Last Duel
Alana Haim — Licorice Pizza
Renate Reinsve — The Worst Person in the World
Agathe Rousselle — Titane
Joanna Scanlan — After Love
Tessa Thompson — Passing

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Ben Affleck — The Last Duel
Colman Domingo — Zola
Mike Faist — West Side Story
Vincent Lindon — Titane
Woody Norman — C’mon C’mon
Masaki Okada — Drive My Car

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Ann Dowd — Mass
Gaby Hoffman — C’mon C’mon
Rita Moreno — West Side Story
Ruth Negga — Passing
Martha Plimpton — Mass
Suzanne Son — Red Rocket

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

The Green Knight
The Last Duel
Nightmare Alley
Passing
West Side Story
Zola

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

C’mon C’mon
Mass
Pig
Shiva Baby
Titane
Undine

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

House of Gucci
Passing
Spencer
The Last Duel
Zola