SNUB: CHASE INFINITI, ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

Hudson’s inclusion meant that Chase Infiniti did not get her first Oscar nomination for One Battle After Another. Her performance as the teen Willa, wrapped up in a life-or-death situation of her parents’ making, was the heart of Paul Thomas Anderson’s masterpiece, and an arrestingly great screen debut.

SNUB: AMANDA SEYFRIED, THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE 

Amanda Seyfried was not as widely expected to get a leading actress nomination as Infiniti was, but she deserved one for her visceral, ecstatic turn as Shakers founder Ann Lee. With only one nomination to her name, for playing Marion Davies in Mank, Seyfried is becoming one of our most underappreciated talents, at least as far as awards are concerned.

SURPRISE: AMY MADIGAN, WEAPONS 

Oscar voters hate to be boxed in, and apparently this year they heard the cries about biases against horror movies. Zach Cregger’s Weapons was certainly one of the most talked about films of the year, but that doesn’t always translate at awards time. But Amy Madigan, who seemed like the rebellious, out-of-the-box pick for critics groups, made it into the hypercompetitive supporting actress category. Not included, however, were the women of Marty Supreme, Gwyneth Paltrow and Odessa A’zion, or Regina Hall for One Battle After Another.

SNUB: JAFAR PANAHI AND IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT 

Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi did get nominations for the Palme d’Or-winning revenge drama It Was Just an Accident (original screenplay and international feature), but it seems like a wild oversight that one of our most vital and persecuted filmmakers wasn’t also recognised for best picture and best director. Panahi filmed It Was Just an Accident clandestinely in Iran following a seven-month stint in prison that only ended in 2023 once he went on a hunger strike. A Tehran court in December sentenced him to a year in prison in absentia and imposed a two-year travel ban on him leaving Iran.