The Stevens = my version of the Academy Awards, where the only member of the Academy choosing the nominees and winners for each of this hallowed — and, often, hollow — institution’s official feature-length categories (plus two, sans one; Best Picture will be tomorrow) is…me.
And since my name’s Steven, voila: The Stevens!
The qualitative-minded sentiments outlined previously also apply here, thus the reason certain category-names hyperlink back to thoughts on how to assess them.
Remember: more than one person per year, per category turn in “Oscar-caliber” work. Below are each and every one, ranked (if a nominee’s name is nowhere to be found in a technical category, blame IMDB’s incomplete records). Oh, and watch out for my joint nominations, be it for a single artist responsible for multiple “Oscar-caliber” work last year, or for multiple actors from the same movie; sometimes, performances can’t be evaluated on their own, indivisible from how they relate to each other.
LEAD ACTRESS
- Elisabeth Moss, Her Smell / Us
- Julianne Moore, Gloria Bell
- Honor Swinton Byrne, The Souvenir
- Mary Kay Place, Diane
- Molly Shannon, Wild Nights with Emily
- Natalia López, Our Time
- Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
- Camila Morrone, Mickey and the Bear
- Aisling Franciosi, The Nightingale
- Liron Ben-Shlush, Working Woman
- Jess Weixler, Chained for Life
- Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir, Woman at War
- Gabriela Cartol, The Chambermaid
- Florence Pugh, Midsommar / Little Women / Fighting with My Family
- Erika Karata, Asako I & II
- Julia Stockler & Carol Duarte, Invisible Life
- Awkwafina, The Farewell
- Juli Jakab, Sunset
- Tao Zhao, Ash Is Purest White
- Nguyen Phuong Tra My, The Third Wife
LEAD ACTOR
- Brad Pitt, Ad Astra / Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
- Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory / The Laundromat
- Matthew McConaughey, The Beach Bum / Serenity
- Franz Rogowski, Transit / In the Aisles
- Adam Driver, Marriage Story / The Dead Don’t Die / The Man Who Killed Don Quixote / The Report
- Robert De Niro, The Irishman
- Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
- Tom Mercier, Synonyms
- Marcello Fonte, Dogman
- Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems
- Jimmie Fails, The Last Black Man in San Francisco
- Carlos Reygadas, Our Time
- Carloto Cotta, Diamantino
- Robert Pattinson, The Lighthouse / High Life / The King
- Andrew Garfield, Under the Silver Lake
- Darío Grandinetti, Rojo
- Matthias Schoenaerts, The Mustang / The Laundromat / A Hidden Life
- Keanu Reeves, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum / Always Be My Maybe / Toy Story 4
- Jonas Dassler, The Golden Glove
- Masahiro Higashide, Asako I & II
- Jesse Eisenberg, The Art of Self-Defense
- Hasan Majuni, Pig
- Takumi Saitô, Ramen Shop
- Benjamin Berman, The Amazing Johnathan Documentary
- Tom Hanks, Toy Story 4
- A nomination for the whole tetralogy; Tom Hanks’ irreducible, inimitable Tom Hanksness has been central to the franchise’s endlessly endearing, emotionally-resonant, affable and appealing vibe.
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- Tilda Swinton, The Souvenir / The Dead Don’t Die
- Juliette Binoche, High Life / Non-Fiction
- Penelope Cruz, Pain and Glory
- Shuzhen Zhao, The Farewell
- Susan Ziegler, Wild Nights with Emily
- Sofia Boutella, Climax
- Laura Dern, Marriage Story / Little Women
- Cho Yeo Jeong, Parasite
- Anna Paquin, The Irishman
- Paula Beer, Transit
- Margot Robbie, Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
- Regina Hall, Little
- Adèle Haenel, Portrait of a Lady on Fire
- Fernanda Montenegro, Invisible Life
- Diana Lin, The Farewell
SUPPORTING ACTOR
- Willem Dafoe, The Lighthouse / Pasolini
- Jonathan Majors, The Last Black Man in San Francisco
- John Turturro, Gloria Bell
- Tom Burke, The Souvenir
- Adam Pearson, Chained for Life
- Joe Pesci, The Irishman
- James Badge Dale, Mickey and the Bear
- Asier Etxeandia & Leonardo Sbaraglia, Pain and Glory
- Al Pacino, The Irishman / Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
- Stephen Plunkett, Chained for Life
- Javier Bardem, Everybody Knows
- Shia LaBeouf, Honey Boy / The Peanut Butter Falcon
- Autobiographical metatextual commentary, Round 2: His rehabilitation permitting, imagine if Shia had played both his father AND his contemporary self (which, for the record, isn’t a knock against Lucas Hedges’s performance).
- Sam Claflin, The Nightingale
- Daniel Craig, Knives Out
- LaKeith Stanfield, Uncut Gems
- Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes
- Men of Midsommar
- Yongbo Jiang, The Farewell
- The Amazing Johnathan, The Amazing Johnathan Documentary
- Tony Hale, Toy Story 4
- Ian McShane / Laurence Fishburne / Mark Dacascos, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
- Bob Dylan, Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese
ANIMATED
- Toy Story 4
- Tito and the Birds
- Ruben Brandt, Collector
CINEMATOGRAPHY
- Hoyte Van Hoytema, Ad Astra
- Jarin Blaschke, The Lighthouse
- Benoît Debie, Climax
- Adrian Durazo & Diego García, Our Time
- Sean Price Williams, Her Smell
- José Luis Alcaine, Pain and Glory
- Adam Newport-Berra, The Last Black Man in San Francisco
- Yorick Le Saux, Little Women
- Black Mother
- David Raedeker, The Souvenir
- Adam J. Minnick, Chained for Life
- Darius Khondji, Uncut Gems
- Robbie Ryan, Marriage Story
- Robert Richardson, Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
- Mátyás Erdély, Sunset
- Waad Al-Khateab, For Sama
- Shai Goldman, Synonyms
- Rodrigo Prieto, The Irishman
- Kyung-pyo Hong, Parasite
- Chananun Chotrungroj, The Third Wife
- Adam Holender, Apollo 11
- Stefano Falivene, Pasolini
- Radek Ladczuk, The Nightingale
- Paul Faltz, Luz
- Pawel Pogorzelski, Midsommar
- Zac Nicholson, All Is True
- Phillip Youmans, Burning Cane
- Yorick Le Saux & Tomasz Naumiuk, High Life
- Dan Laustsen, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
- Wyatt Garfield, Diane
- Steven Soderbergh, The Laundromat
- Mike Gioulakis, Under the Silver Lake
- Pedro Sotero, Rojo
- Benoît Debie, The Beach Bum
- Conor Murphy, Mickey and the Bear
- Midnight Traveler
- Los Reyes
- Erick Stoll, América
- Asako I & II
- Anna Franquesa Solano, The Farewell
- Claire Mathon, Portrait of a Lady on Fire
- Bojan Bazelli, 6 Undergound
- Peter Matjasko, In the Aisles
- Roger Deakins, 1917
- Jörg Widmer, A Hidden Life
- Drew Daniels, Waves
- Benjamin Berman & Dan Adlerstein, The Amazing Johnathan Documentary
- Hyung-ku Kim, Grass
COSTUME DESIGN
- Katharina Ost, Transit
- World War II in the 21st century.
- Heidi Bivens, The Beach Bum
- Fred Cambier, Climax
- Caroline Eselin, Under the Silver Lake
- Paola Torres, Pain and Glory
- Arianne Phillips, Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
- Amanda Ramirez, The Last Black Man in San Francisco
- Miyako Bellizzi, Uncut Gems
- Grace Snell, The Souvenir
- Ellen Mirojnick, The Laundromat
- Amanda Ford, Her Smell
- Stacey Berman & Karen Boyer, Chained for Life
- Mark Bridges, Marriage Story
- Andrea Flesch, Midsommar
- Christopher Peterson & Sandy Powell, The Irishman
- Margot Wilson, The Nightingale
- Danielle Hollowell, Little
- Marina Franco, Invisible Life
- Jacqueline Durran, Little Women
- Györgyi Szakács, Sunset
- Massimo Cantini Parrini, Dogman
- Khadija Zeggaï, Synonyms
- Mitchell Travers, Hustlers
- Jam Monti, Rojo
- Wambui Thimba, Rafiki
- Luca Mosca, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
- Stacey Battat, Gloria Bell
- The Third Wife
- Rossano Marchi, Pasolini
- Catherine George, The Dead Don’t Die
- Ruth E. Carter, Dolemite Is My Name
- Amit Gajwani, Braid
- Amanda Ford, Poms
- Liza Bracey / Diane Keaton, Hampstead
DIRECTOR
- Martin Scorsese, The Irishman / Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese
- Gaspar Noé, Climax
- James Gray, Ad Astra
- Carlos Reygadas, Our Time
- Robert Eggers, The Lighthouse
- Pedro Almodóvar, Pain and Glory
- Alex Ross Perry, Her Smell
- Joanna Hogg, The Souvenir
- Benny Safdie & Josh Safdie, Uncut Gems
- Aaron Schimberg, Chained for Life
- Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story
- Nadav Lapid, Synonyms
- Joe Talbot, The Last Black Man in San Francisco
- Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
- Joon-ho Bong, Parasite
- Khalik Allah, Black Mother
- David Robert Mitchell, Under the Silver Lake
- Claire Denis, High Life
- Kent Jones, Diane
- Greta Gerwig, Little Women
- Jennifer Kent, The Nightingale
- Harmony Korine, The Beach Bum
- Steven Soderbergh, The Laundromat
- Madeleine Olnek, Wild Nights with Emily
- Iván Osnovikoff & Bettina Perut, Los Reyes
- Abel Ferrara, Pasolini
- László Nemes, Sunset
- Jean-Luc Godard, The Image Book
- Jim Jarmusch, The Dead Don’t Die
- Chad Stahelski, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
- Benjamin Berman, The Amazing Johnathan Documentary
- Erick Stoll & Chase Whiteside, América
- Tilman Singer, Luz
- Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Asako I & II
- Sebastián Lelio, Gloria Bell
- Ari Aster, Midsommar
- Ash Mayfair, The Third Wife
- Christian Petzold, Transit
- Thomas Stuber, In the Aisles
- Agnès Varda & Didier Rouget, Varda by Agnès
- Lauren Greenfield, The Kingmaker
- Lulu Wang, The Farewell
- Michael Bay, 6 Underground
EDITING (FICTION)
- Denis Bedlow & Gaspar Noé, Climax
- Ronald Bronstein & Benny Safdie, Uncut Gems
- Robert Greene, Her Smell
- John Axelrad & Lee Haugen, Ad Astra
- Jinmo Yang, Parasite
- Thelma Schoonmaker, The Irishman
- Helle le Fevre, The Souvenir
- Evan Schiff, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
- Neta Braun, François Gédigier & Era Lapid, Synonyms
- Fabio Nunziata, Pasolini
- Nick Houy, Little Women
- Our Time
- Fabian Podeszwa & Tilman Singer, Luz
- Steven Soderbergh, The Laundromat
- Sofi Marshall, Chained for Life
- Roger Barton, William Goldenberg & Calvin Wimmer, 6 Underground
- Douglas Crise, The Beach Bum
- Mike Selemon, Diane
- Soledad Salfate, Gloria Bell
EDITING (DOCUMENTARY)
(A category the Oscars should add, because voters basically refuse to nominate documentaries for any award besides their own)
- Black Mother
- Jean-Luc Godard, The Image Book
- Damian Rodriguez & David Tedeschi, Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese
- Todd Douglas Miller, Apollo 11
- Los Reyes
- Nicolas Longinotti & Agnès Varda — Varda by Agnès
- Per K. Kirkegaard & Andrew Nackman, The Kingmaker
- Scott Evans, The Amazing Johnathan Documentary
- Billy McMillin, Mike Wallace Is Here
- Erick Stoll & Chase Whiteside, América
- Emma Benestan, Luc Forveille, Léa Masson, Giorgia Villa — The Competition
- Pablo Proenza, Wrestle
DOCUMENTARY
NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE
- For my rankings of all my favorite non-English language movies of 2019: Click!
- For my rankings of the official Academy Awards submissions: Click!
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
- The Souvenir
- The Golden Glove
- Climax
- Uncut Gems
- The Irishman
- Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
- Her Smell
- Chained for Life
- Midsommar
- The Nightingale
- Pain and Glory
- The Laundromat
- Little Women
- The Dead Don’t Die
- End of the Century
- Naturalistic aging!
- Our Time
- Ash Is Purest White
- The subtle physical deterioration rooted in the visible accumulation of exhaustion with age.
PRODUCTION DESIGN
(Does location scouting qualify as production design?)
- Kade Gruber, Transit
- World War II in the 21st century.
- Barbara Ling, Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
- Kevin Thompson, Ad Astra
- Antxón Gómez, Pain and Glory
- Ha-jun Lee, Parasite
- Sam Lisenco, Uncut Gems
- Jona Tochet, The Last Black Man in San Francisco
- Michael Perry, Under the Silver Lake
- Jean Rabasse, Climax
- Stéphane Collonge, The Souvenir
- Elliott Hostetter, The Beach Bum
- Howard Cummings, The Laundromat
- Jade Healy, Marriage Story
- Alex Holmes, The Nightingale
- Fletcher Chancey, Her Smell
- Sia Balabanova, Chained for Life
- Craig Lathrop, The Lighthouse
- David Crank, Knives Out
- Dimitri Capuani, Dogman
- Henrik Svensson, Midsommar
- Jess Gonchor, Little Women
- Bob Shaw, The Irishman
- László Rajk, Sunset
- Kevin Kavanaugh, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
- Do Trong An, The Third Wife
- Rodrigo Martirena, Invisible Life
- Igor Gabriel, Pasolini
- Our Time
- Dario Mendez Acosta, Luz
- Julieta Dolinsky, Rojo
- Alex DiGerlando, The Dead Don’t Die
- Jagna Dobesz, Ólafur Eliasson, François-Renaud Labarthe & Mela Melak — High Life
- Suzie Davies, Peterloo
- Sharon Seymour, Isn’t It Romantic
- That Nancy Meyers aesthetic!
SCORE
- Max Richter, Ad Astra
- Mark Korven, The Lighthouse
- Daniel Lopatin, Uncut Gems
- Keegan DeWitt, Her Smell
- Randy Newman, Marriage Story / Toy Story 4
- Simon Waskow, Luz
- Davíð Þór Jónsson, Woman at War
- Extra credit points for the nomadic band surrealistically appearing onscreen to play the music “live”.
- Jaeil Jung, Parasite
- Emile Mosseri, The Last Black Man in San Francisco
- Alexandre Desplat, Little Women
- Stuart Staples & Tindersticks, High Life
- The Haxan Cloak, Midsommar
- Disasterpeace, Under the Silver Lake
- Tofubeats, Asako I & II
- Nathan Johnson, Knives Out
- Vincent van Warmerdam, Rojo
- Jeremiah Bornfield, Diane
- SQÜRL, The Dead Don’t Die
- Alex Weston, The Farewell
- Bear McCreary, Child’s Play
- Pino Donaggio, Domino
- Zai Lao, Shadow
SONG
During Movie
- “The Dead Don’t Die” — The Dead Don’t Die
- “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” — Toy Story 4
- “The Buddi Song” — Child’s Play
- “Glasgow (No Place Like Home)” — Wild Rose
- “Catchy Song” — The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part
- “Mere Gully Mein” — Gully Boy
End Credits
- “Moonfog” — The Beach Bum
- “Swan Song” — Alita: Battle Angel
- “Super Cool” — The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part
- “Do-Dilly-Do (A Friend Like You)” — Missing Link
- “NY Se Mumbai” — Gully Boy
- “Do You Remember” — Fighting with My Family
SCREENPLAY (ORIGINAL)
- Max Eggers & Robert Eggers, The Lighthouse
- Compiled from pre-existing texts, a thematic decision; how we arrange our sense of reality from what we have to work with describes the movie’s conception of reality, what the characters must do on the island, and what the movie demands of the audience.
- Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story
- Madeleine Olnek, Wild Nights with Emily
- Pedro Almodóvar, Pain and Glory
- Joanna Hogg, The Souvenir
- James Gray & Ethan Gross, Ad Astra
- David Robert Mitchell, Under the Silver Lake
- Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie & Benny Safdie, Uncut Gems
- Joon-ho Bong & Han Jin Won, Parasite
- Jim Jarmusch, The Dead Don’t Die
- Aaron Schimberg, Chained for Life
- Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
- Jimmie Fails, Joe Talbot & Rob Richert, The Last Black Man in San Francisco
- Harmony Korine, The Beach Bum
- Benjamin Berman, The Amazing Johnathan Documentary
- Nadav Lapid & Haim Lapid, Synonyms
- Jennifer Kent, The Nightingale
- Asghar Farhadi, Everybody Knows
- Gaspar Noé, Climax
- Gabriel Abrantes & Daniel Schmidt, Diamantino
- Olivier Assayas, Non-Fiction
- Ugo Chiti, Matteo Garrone & Massimo Gaudioso, Dogman
- Benjamín Naishtat, Rojo
- Alex Ross Perry, Her Smell
- Kent Jones, Diane
- Claire Denis, Jean-Pol Fargeau, Geoff Cox & Nick Laird, High Life
- Agnès Varda & Didier Rouget, Varda by Agnès
- Riley Stearns, The Art of Self-Defense
- Lulu Wang, The Farewell
- Stéphane Brizé & Olivier Gorce, At War
- Rian Johnson, Knives Out
SCREENPLAY (ADAPTED)
- Greta Gerwig, Little Women
- Steven Zaillian, The Irishman
- Scott Z. Burns, The Laundromat
- Christian Petzold, Transit
- Alice Johnson Boher & Sebastián Lelio, Gloria Bell
- Sachiko Tanaka & Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Asako I & II
- Clemens Meyer & Thomas Stuber, In the Aisles
- Pella Kågerman & Hugo Lilja, Aniara
- Jean-Luc Godard, The Image Book
- Andrew Stanton & Stephany Folsom, Toy Story 4
SOUND EDITING
- Her Smell
- Luz
- The Lighthouse
- Climax
- Ad Astra
- High Life
- They Shall Not Grow Old
- The Nightingale
- Midsommar
- Uncut Gems
- John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
- Ip Man 4: The Finale
- 6 Underground
- Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
SOUND MIXING
- Ad Astra
- Her Smell
- Uncut Gems
- Los Reyes
- The Lighthouse
- The Image Book
- Black Mother
- Chained for Life
- Luz
- Climax
- They Shall Not Grow Old
- Aquarela
- Queen & Slim
- Our Time
- The Nightingale
- Midsommar
- John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
- High Life
- Apollo 11
- Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
- 6 Underground
VISUAL EFFECTS
- Ad Astra
- The Irishman
- They Shall Not Grow Old
- The Image Book
- High Life
- John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
- Midsommar
- Aniara
- Makes so much out of so little (moolah).
- Black Mother
- Apollo 11
- Pristine restoration is a visual effect!
- 6 Underground
- Alita: Battle Angel
- Tigers Are Not Afraid
- The Wandering Earth
- Diamantino
- Fantastic Fungi