By Nate Bloom
Contributing Columnist
The 90th Oscars ceremony takes place on Sunday, March 2. It begins at 7 p.m. on ABC. Conan O’Brien will host. The following is a list of confirmed Jewish Oscar nominees. My practice is not to include the technical categories (like costumes and makeup).
All the categories have five nominees, except for the Best Picture Oscar. There are ten nominated films. Below are the confirmed Jewish nominees.
Best Original Score: “The Brutalist,” composed by DANIEL BLUMBERG, 34, and “Wicked,” composed by John Powell and STEPHEN SCHWARTZ, 76. Blumberg, 33, is a Brit with a long popular music career, and he began writing film scores in 2018; Schwartz wrote the score for the original “Wicked,” a Broadway musical (2003). He is the composer of many famous stage and film musicals and he’s won three Oscars to date. Best Original Song: “The Journey” from “The Six Triple Eight” (film). The music and lyrics were written DIANE WARREN, 68. She has been Oscar-nominated 16 times for best song and has never won! They gave her an honorary Oscar in 2022. Warren has written nine #1 Billboard songs, and she’s penned 33 top-10 songs. Look her up! Best Cinematography: “Maria,” filmed by ED LACHMAN, 76. For decades, he has been a top director of photography in feature films and documentaries. He has been Oscar-nominated five times to date.
Best Original Screenplay: “A Real Pain,” written by JESSE EISENBERG, 41. He also directed the film. You probably already know that this film follows two Jewish cousins played by Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin who travel to Poland to join a group touring Holocaust-related sites. “A Real Pain” is a big step in Eisenberg’s multifaceted career. Eisenberg didn’t get an acting or directing Oscar nomination this year, but Kieran Culkin got a supporting actor nomination for his performance as Eisenberg’s cousin.
Best Adapted Screenplay: “A Complete Unknown,” co-written by JAMES MANGOLD, 63, and Jay Cocks (nominees). It covers BOB DYLAN from 1961-65. The film is based on the book “Dylan Goes Electric!” by ELIJAH WALD, 65.
Best Director: Mangold also directed “A Complete Unknown.” He’s the secular son of two artists: his mother is Jewish and his father isn’t — they are still alive. Almost every film he’s directed has received good reviews and almost all have made a lot of money.
Best Supporting Actor: JEREMY STRONG, 46, is nominated for playing ROY COHN, a notorious attorney in “The Apprentice” (a film about Donald Trump). Strong’s father was Jewish, his mother was not. My sense, from brief interview responses, is that Strong was raised secular. Strong acted steadily, but didn’t really break-out as an actor to watch until he got a juicy role as Kendall Roy in “Succession,” a hit HBO series.
Best Actress: MIKEY MADISON, 25, is nominated for playing Anora (her film’s title role). Madison, born Mikaela Madison Rosberg, wasn’t a major name before “Anora.” She played a teen daughter in “Better Things,” an FX/Hulu series (2016-22) and she had two significant film roles. Sean Baker, the “Anora” director and screenwriter, saw these films, sought her out, and cast her after a brief telephone audition.
The movies are “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (2019) and “Scream” (2022). In both films Madison played a dark, violent woman. Anora (the title character) was not evil, but she certainly was a tough woman.
“Anora” was a surprise hit: winning a major Cannes Film Festival award and, now, a best picture Oscar nomination.
Capsule Plot: Anora was born into a Russian-American family that lives in Brooklyn. She makes a living stripping in a New York club. Her boss sometimes pimps her out to customers. He sends Anora on a date with Vanya, the spoiled son of a rich Russian oligarch. Anora and Vanya quickly elope. His parents are not happy and try to end the marriage. Russian Jewish actor MARK EYDELSTEIN, 23, plays Vanya.
Best Actor: TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET, 29, for his performance as Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unknown.” In my December 26, 2024 column, I dove pretty deeply into this film and the background of Chalamet. I can add that he recently completed filming “Marty Supreme.” Chalamet plays the late MARTY REISER, a top table tennis player. More on this film soon.
Also, ADRIEN BRODY, 51, for his performance in “The Brutalist.” He played Laszlo Toth, a (fictional) Hungarian architect who survived the Holocaust and settled in America. Sadly, Toth struggles in America almost equal to concentration camps. Brody won the best actor Oscar for his performance (2003) as WLADYSLAW SZPILMAN, a (real) Polish Jewish pianist who survived the Holocaust.
Best Picture: The best picture Oscar goes to the film’s principal producers. Here are the confirmedJ Jewish producers.
“The Brutalist”: co-producer D.J. GUGGENHEIM, 47. “A Complete Unknown”: JAMES MANGOLD co-produced this film about BOB DYLAN. “Nickel Boys”: JEREMY KLEINER, 47, co-producer. “Substance”: co-produced by ERIC FELLNER, 65. An Englishman, he has co-produced five films nominated for best picture. Two have won. “Wicked”: produced “solo” by MARC PLATT, 67.