2025 Oscars: Do the Gothams Move the Needle in Any Way?

The Gothams were announced this morning and I’d say there were a few surprises. The biggest one to me is the complete and total shut out of Netflix’s Emilia Perez. I’m not sure why. But it wasn’t in International Feature or Breakthrough Performance or anything. That was a shock. What to make of it?

Nothing, really. These awards are decided by a tiny handful of film critics. Like five people make their choices. So it’s not anything that will hurt Emilia Perez. It’s just surprising.

Angelina Jolie also out for Maria – again, very surprising. What’s that about? Who knows. It seems that this is the Pablo Larrain crowd so it seems odd. Luca Guadagnino’s Queer is out too, oddly, along with Daniel Craig. Zendaya is not nominated, even though Challengers is — also weird.

Anora was expected to do well, and they did – Picture, Directing, Lead Actress, and Supporting Actor.

I will use this moment to bitch yet again about the acting categories. There is no benefit to piling them all together in a pile of ten, especially when the other categories have only five. They do this because they can’t bear the thought that any non-binary person might be in the race. But it is the single dumbest thing in the awards industry. It is as dumb as the BAFTA choice to bring in a committee to hand-select “nominees.”

The idea that they have gender-inclusive acting awards is enough to disregard them entirely. But just for the sake of it, let’s divide up how it shook out:

Best Actor

Adrien Brody, The Brutalist (A24)
Colman Domingo, Sing Sing (A24)
Keith Kupferer, Ghostlight (IFC Films)

Best Actress

Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Hard Truths (Bleecker Street)
Nicole Kidman, Babygirl (A24)
Mikey Madison, Anora (NEON)
Demi Moore, The Substance (MUBI)
Saoirse Ronan, Outrun (Sony Pictures Classics)
Justice Smith, I Saw the TV Glow (A24)
Pamela Anderson, The Last Showgirl (Roadside Attractions)

That means voters have to choose between Mikey Madison and Adrien Brody. There is nothing more dumb than this.

Let’s look at Supporting:

Best Supporting Actor

Yura Borisov, Anora (NEON)
Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain (Searchlight Pictures)
Clarence Maclin, Sing Sing (A24)
Guy Pearce, The Brutalist (A24)
Adam Pearson, A Different Man (A24)
Brian Tyree Henry, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios)

Best Supporting Actress

Danielle Deadwyler, The Piano Lesson (Netflix)
Brigette Lundy-Paine, I Saw the TV Glow (A24)
Natasha Lyonne, His Three Daughters (Netflix)
Katy O’Brian, Love Lies Bleeding (A24)

So like what’s the point? Was Emilia Perez not eligible because it’s an “international feature”? Because otherwise, Zoe Saldana would be here.

As far as the Oscars go, none of this matters. Will they have a fun night? Absolutely. The “everybody gets a certificate” way of handling what should be merit-based film awards makes everyone feel included. That’s the goal here. So they’ll have a fun night where Pamela Anderson and Demi Moore get dressed up and party.

Speaking of Demi Moore, I think this nomination does kind of give her a boost, even if they did not include Margaret Qualley, which they should have. They seemed to me more interested in checking the boxes to make sure every type of person was represented than they were interested in finding the “best.” The idea that awards represent the “best” is a ship that has sailed.

Even though Kieran Culkin has a clear shot at victory, there is a chance that Adam Pearson from A Different Man might win instead.

I’m not sure voters can not choose him, considering how brave he is to act in a movie, do interviews. I don’t know how you vote for, say, Kieran Culkin over him. So I expect he’ll likely win that award. Then again, maybe it’s enough to be nominated. Either way, it makes me think he’ll get an Oscar nomination too.

I also think this give a nice bounce to Payal Kapadia and All We Imagine as Light. I go back and forth on whether she’ll make it in for Best Director. But this nomination and the prominence of the film is good publicity.

Those are my thoughts. Make of them what you will.