The countdown to the 98th Academy Awards began in earnest today with the announcement of this year\u2019s nominees. While the headlines are dominated by Ryan Coogler\u2019s Sinners picking up a record-breaking 16 nominations, there\u2019s good news for Austin as filmmakers with close links to the city get their invite to the big ceremony.<\/p>\n
Almost astoundingly, the announcement includes the first ever nomination for Austin native Ethan Hawke, who finally makes the Best Actor list for his performance as tragicomic musical genius Lorenz Hart in Richard Linklater\u2019s Blue Moon<\/a>. The biopic also picked up a nomination for Best Original Screenplay, going to Robert Kaplow who also wrote the book upon which Linklater\u2019s Me and Orson Welles was based.<\/p>\n Speaking of scripts, it\u2019s a second nomination for Greg Kwedar<\/a>. The Fort Worth native and Austin transplant already got a nomination for 2023\u2019s Sing Sing<\/a> for Best Adapted Screenplay along with his writing partner, fellow Texan Clint Bentley, and now they\u2019re back in contention in the same category for the Bentley-directed Train Dreams, their adaptation of Denis Johnson\u2019s 2011 novella. However, the duo can\u2019t duck out early during the ceremony, as Train Dreams was also nominated for Best Picture, as well as Best Cinematography for Adolpho Veloso, and Best Song for \u201cTrain Dreams\u201d going to Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s not the only Best Picture nomination on this year\u2019s list from a filmmaker that\u2019s held an Austin mailing address. In fact, former Austinite (and official Honorary Texan) Guillermo del Toro picks up two nominations for Frankenstein: a solo credit for Best Adapted Screenplay, while he splits that Best Picture selection with fellow producers J. Miles Dale and Scott Stuber,\u00a0<\/p>\n