OSCARS
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Rihanna, who is set to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show on Feb. 12, may well perform on a second mega-platform exactly one month later – the 95th annual Academy Awards. She received her first Oscar nomination for best original song on Tuesday (Jan. 24) for co-writing “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
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If, as expected, Rihanna performs on the Oscars, she would be the first person to perform on the Super Bowl halftime show and at the Oscars in the same calendar year since Phil Collins in 2000.
Lady Gaga received her fourth Oscar nomination – her third in the best original song category – for co-writing “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick. She was previously nominated for co-writing “Til It Happens to You” from The Hunting Ground (2015) and “Shallow” from A Star Is Born (2018), which won the award. “Take My Breath Away” from the original Top Gun won the 1986 award in this category.
Composer John Williams and songwriter Diane Warren added to their considerable Oscar legacies. Williams received his record-extending 48th nomination in a scoring category for The Fabelmans. Warren received her 14th nomination for best original song, a total matched by only seven songwriters in history – Sammy Cahn (26 nods), Johnny Mercer (18), Paul Francis Webster (16), Alan Bergman (15), Marilyn Bergman (15), Alan Menken (14) and James Van Heusen (14).
Williams has now received scoring nods in seven consecutive decades – each decade since the 1960s. Should he win, Williams, 90, would become the oldest winner, topping James Ivory who was 89 when he won best adapted screenplay for Call Me By Your Name. Williams’ overall total of 53 nominations (including five for best original song) is the most for any living person, and is second only to Walt Disney at 59.
Warren is nominated for best original song for “Applause” from Tell It Like a Woman. This is the sixth consecutive year that Warren has had a nominated song. She is the first songwriter or songwriting team to be nominated six years running since Marilyn & Alan Bergman’s 1968-1973 streak. Though Warren has yet to win an Oscar in competition, she received a Governor’s Award from the Academy on Nov. 19.
Ryan Lott is this year’s only double nominee for best original song and best original score. He is nominated for both awards for his work on Everything Everywhere All at Once. He is up for best song for co-writing “This Is a Life” with David Byrne and Mitski; and for best score along with his colleagues in Son Lux, Rafiq Bhatia and Ian Chang.
This is Byrne’s second Oscar nomination. He shared the award for best original score 35 years ago for The Last Emperor, on which he collaborated with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Cong Su.
Carter Burwell was nominated for scoring The Banshees of Inisherin. This is Burwell’s third nomination in this category, following Carol (2015) and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017).
“Naatu Naatu” from RRR is nominated for best original song. This Indian Telugu-language song is vying to become the first foreign-language tune to win this category since “Jai Ho,” the festive Hindi song from Slumdog Millionaire that took the prize 14 years ago.
Ryan Coogler, nominated for best original song for co-writing “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, was nominated four years ago as a producer of Black Panther. He joins a small group of individuals with nominations in both the best picture and best original song categories (not necessarily in the same year or for the same film). Others include Arthur Freed, Quincy Jones, Spike Jonze, James Schamus, Barbra Streisand, Fran Walsh and Pharrell Williams. To date, only Walsh has won in both categories.
THE NOMINEES
Here’s a closer look at the nominees in the two music categories. In both cases, the nominated works are listed alphabetically by film title.
Best Original Song
“Lift Me Up”; Music by Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Göransson, Rhianna, Tems; Lyric by Coogler and Tems; Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Marvel Studios
“This Is a Life”; Music by David Byrne, Ryan Lott, Mitski; Lyric by Lott and Byrne; Everything Everywhere All at Once, A24
“Naatu Naatu”; Lyric by Chandrabose, Music by M. M. Keeravani; RRR, Variance Films
“Applause”; Music and lyric by Diane Warren;Tell It Like a Woman, Samuel Goldwyn Films
“Hold My Hand”; Music and lyric by BloodPop (Michael Tucker) and Lady Gaga; Top Gun: Maverick, Paramount Pictures
Best Original Score
All Quiet on the Western Front, Netflix; Volker Bertelmann
Babylon, Paramount Pictures; Justin Hurwitz
The Banshees of Inisherin, Searchlight Pictures; Carter Burwell
Everything Everywhere All at Once, A24; Son Lux
The Fabelmans, Universal Pictures; John Williams
SHORTLISTED BUT NOT NOMINATED
On Dec. 21, 15 songs and 15 scores were shortlisted for Oscars.
Here are the 10 songs that were shortlisted but passed over for nominations.
“Time”; Drake, Giveon Evans, Jahaan Akil Sweet, Daniel Pemberton; Amsterdam, 20th Century Studios
“Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)”;The Weeknd, Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrosso, Axel Hedfors, Simon Franglen; Avatar: The Way of Water, 20th Century Studios
“Ciao Papa”;Alexandre Desplat, Roeban Katz, Guillermo del Toro; Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Netflix
“Til You’re Home”; Rita Wilson;A Man Called Otto, Sony Pictures
“My Mind & Me”; Amy Allen, Jonathan Bellion, Selena Gomez, Jordan K Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Michael Pollack;Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me, Apple Original Films
“Good Afternoon”; Khiyon Hursey, Sukari Jones, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, Mark Sonnenblick; Spirited, Apple Originals
“Stand Up”;Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II, Jazmine Sullivan; Till, Orion/United Artists Releasing
“Dust & Ash”;J. Ralph;The Voice of Dust and Ash, Matilda Productions
“Carolina”;Taylor Swift; Where the Crawdads Sing, Sony Pictures
“New Body Rhumba”; Pat Mahoney, James Murphy, Nancy Whang; White Noise, Netflix
“Vegas,” the biggest hit from Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, had previously been ruled ineligible because it borrows so heavily from “Hound Dog,” the 1950s classic co-written by Mike Stoller and the late Jerry Leiber.
Here are the 10 scores that were shortlisted but passed over for nominations.
Avatar: The Way of Water, 20th Century Studios; Simon Franglen
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Marvel Studios; Ludwig Göransson
Devotion, Sony Pictures; Chanda Dancy
Don’t Worry Darling, Warner Bros.; John Powell
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Netflix; Nathan Johnson
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Netflix; Alexandre Desplat
Nope, Universal Pictures; Michael Abels
She Said, Universal Pictures; Nicholas Britell
The Woman King, Sony Pictures; Terence Blanchard
Women Talking, MGM/United Artists Releasing; Hildur Guðnadóttir
Two high-profile scores – Tár (composed by Hildur Guðnadóttir) and Top Gun: Maverick (composed by Hans Zimmer, Harold Faltermeyer, Lorne Balfe and Lady Gaga) had earlier been ruled ineligible.
The telecast, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will take place on Sunday, March 12, 2023, airing live on ABC from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood.
NON-MUSIC NOMINATIONS
Austin Butler was nominated for best actor for his performance as Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis. It’s his first nomination. Remarkably, 16 of the 20 acting nominees are first-time nominees.
Elvis is nominated for best picture, giving Luhrmann his second nomination in that category (as a producer), following Moulin Rouge!. He has yet to be nominated for best director.
Steven Spielberg received his 12th nomination for best picture for The Fabelmans, a record for an individual producer since 1951 when producers were first named as nominees. He ties the late William Wyler, at 13 films each, as the director of the most films nominated for best picture.
Spielberg was nominated for best achievement in directing for the ninth time. That puts him in a tie for second place in this category with Martin Scorsese. Wyler is the long-time leader in this category, with 12 nods.
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert were nominated for best achievement in directing for Everything Everywhere All at Once. This marks the fifth time two directors have been nominated for the same film. The Daniels follow Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, who won for West Side Story (1961); Warren Beatty and Buck Henry, who were nominated for Heaven Can Wait (1978); and Joel and Ethan Coen, who won for No Country for Old Men (2007), and were nominated for True Grit (2010).
All Quiet on the Western Front (Germany) was nominated for both best picture and best international feature (formerly known as best foreign-language film). It’s the eighth film in Oscar history to be nominated in both categories. It follows Z (1969), The Emigrants (1971/72), Life is Beautiful (1998), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Amour (2012), Roma (2018) and Parasite (2019).
Want to be among the first to know if Rihanna, Lady Gaga and/or Taylor Swift are nominated for best original song at the 2023 Academy Awards? You’ll have to get up bright and early on Tuesday, Jan. 24 — especially if you’re on the West Coast. But if you’re willing, here’s what you need to know.
Nominations in all 23 categories will be announced in a global livestream beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET (yep, that translates to 5:30 a.m. PT).
The presentation will stream on Oscar.com, Oscars.org and the Academy’s digital platforms (TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook), as well as on broadcast and streaming news programs including ABC’s Good Morning America, ABC News Live and Disney+.
Actor-producer Riz Ahmed and actress Allison Williams will host the announcement in a live presentation from the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, Calif. Ahmed won an Oscar last year for short film (live action) for The Long Goodbye. He was nominated for best actor two years ago for Sound of Metal. Williams is best known for her roles in the 2017 film Get Out and the new viral horror hit M3GAN.
Here are the categories that will be announced starting at 5:30 a.m. ET, followed by those that will be announced starting at 5:41 a.m. ET. The Academy cautions that these are not listed in order of presentation and are subject to change.
8:30 a.m. ET
Actor in a supporting role
Actress in a supporting role
Animated feature film
Animated short film
Costume design
Live action short film
Makeup and hairstyling
Music (original score)
Sound
Writing (adapted screenplay)
Writing (original screenplay)
8:41 a.m. ET
Actor in a leading role
Actress in a leading role
Cinematography
Directing
Documentary feature film
Documentary short film
Film editing
International feature film
Music (original song)
Best picture
Production design
Visual effects
The 95th Oscars is set to air live on ABC on Sunday, March 12. Jimmy Kimmel will host for the third time. The show will be broadcast from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, the Oscars’ usual home since 2002. The ceremony will be produced by Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner, with Weiss also serving as director.
The Weeknd opened up about “Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength),” his theme song from Avatar: The Way of Water, being shortlisted for the 2022 Oscars race in a new interview on Monday (Jan. 9).
“I feel honored to be part of that list. Any kind of recognition for it feels like a blessing,” the R&B crooner told The Hollywood Reporter. Should his Na’vi-inspired ballad make the leap from the best original song shortlist to official nominee, it would mark the second time the artist otherwise known as Abel Tesfaye has earned a nod from the Academy following his nomination for “Earned It” from 2015’s Fifty Shades of Grey. “It’d be great,” he added of clinching another nomination. “But I’m just happy that I got to be part of such a historic film.”
However, The Weeknd clarified during the chat that the process behind crafting “Nothing Is Lost” was markedly different from writing the slow jam for the story of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey. “The song in the film for Fifty Shades of Grey is just so sexy and sexual,” he said. “Working on this song was fun as well, but that felt a little bit more fun and loose, while this one felt a little bit more scientific. I couldn’t veer away from what [director James Cameron wanted]. Because the song is so connected with the film, I had to make sure that it didn’t feel like we just plopped in a pop song at the end of the credits. I couldn’t be as vague as ‘Earned It.’”
Even with a more rigorous set of guidelines, the singer had nothing but good things to say about being enlisted by the Oscar-winning filmmaker for the soundtrack to the long-awaited sequel. “He is a genius, and I just felt honored that I got to collaborate with him,” he said. “The best part about writing the song was getting notes from James and making sure that all the lyrics and the tones fit the themes of the film. I think I rewrote the song maybe six times to make sure it was perfect.”
The Weeknd also notched his 16th career top 10 hit this week as his 2016 Starboy-era single “Die For You” surged to No. 8 on the Hot 100 (chart dated Jan. 14) and released the music video for “Is There Someone Else?” on the one-year anniversary of 2022’s Dawn FM.
Read The Weeknd’s complete chat with THR here.
Rihanna’s “Lift Me Up” and Alexandre Desplat’s score for Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio lived up to their front-runner status for the 2023 Academy Awards on Monday (Jan. 9) when they were chosen as the year’s best song and score, respectively, by The American Cinematheque. They will be among the honorees at the second annual Tribute to the Crafts, which will take place Thursday, Feb. 9, at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, Calif.
The event, co-hosted by American Cinematheque board members Stephanie Allain and Paula Wagner, will celebrate individuals in 15 categories. The honorees were selected by a jury of cinephiles, film historians and journalists.
“Honoring the wide array of talent from these extraordinary films is exactly in line with the AC’s mission,” Grant Moninger, American Cinematheque’s director of film programming & creative, said in a statement. “This event showcases the achievements of those behind the camera who bring these incredible films to life.”
In documentary awards, Terence Blanchard will be honored for his score for Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues.
Several of the American Cinematheque’s choices were shortlisted for Oscars on Dec. 21. In addition to “Lift Me Up” (shortlisted for best original song) and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (shortlisted for best original score), AC honorees that were shortlisted for Oscars are Top Gun: Maverick (sound), Avatar: The Way of Water (visual effects) and The Whale (makeup and hairstyling).
The AC event is being produced by Madelyn Hammond and Javier Infante of Madelyn Hammond & Associates. Event production will be handled by Gina Wade Creative.
Established in 1984, the American Cinematheque is a member-supported 501(c)(3) non-profit cultural arts organization dedicated to building an engaged film community through immersive film curation, conversation and presentation.
The announcement of the AC honorees may potentially impact Oscars voting. Nominations round voting for the 2023 Oscars extends from Jan. 12 to 17. Nominations will be announced on Jan. 24. Final round voting extends from March 2-7. The awards will be presented on March 12.
Here’s a full list of Tribute to the Crafts honorees:
FEATURE FILM
Song: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Ludwig Göransson, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler and Tems – “Lift Me Up”) – Marvel Studios
Score: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (Alexandre Desplat) – Netflix
Casting: Women Talking (John Buchan and Jason Knight) – UAR
Choreography: RRR (Prem Rakshith) – Variance Films/ Sarigama Cinemas
Cinematography: Nope (Hoyte van Hoytema) – Universal Pictures
Costume Design: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Ruth E. Carter) – Marvel Studios
Editing: Everything Everywhere All at Once (Paul Rogers) – A24
Hair and Makeup: The Whale (Adrien Morot, Annemarie Bradley and Judy Chin) – A24
Production Design/Set Decoration: Babylon (Anthony Carlino and Florencia Martin) – Paramount Pictures
Sound: Top Gun: Maverick (Al Nelson, Chris Burdon, James H. Mather, Mark Taylor and Mark Weingarten) – Paramount Pictures
Stunts: The Woman King (Danny Hernandez) – TriStar Pictures and Entertainment One
Visual & Special Effects: Avatar: The Way of Water (Daniel Barrett, Eric Saindon, Joe Letteri and Richard Baneham) – 20th Century Studios
DOCUMENTARY
Cinematography: Fire of Love (Katia and Maurice Krafft) – National Geographic Documentary Films
Editing: Good Night Oppy (Helen Kearns and Rejh Cabrera) – Amazon Studios
Score: Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues (Terence Blanchard) – Apple Original Films
As you already know, Rihanna is set to headline the Super Bowl Halftime Show on Feb. 12. And she’s likely to perform at the Academy Awards on March 12, assuming “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is nominated for best original song.
“Lift Me Up,” which Rihanna co-wrote with Ludwig Göransson, Ryan Coogler and Tems, was one of 15 songs shortlisted in that category last month. The song’s sheer quality, its success (it reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100), the film’s potency and Rihanna’s star-power all point to a nomination. “All the Stars,” from the initial Black Panther, was nominated for best original song four years ago.
Even if “Lift Me Up” is nominated, there’s no guarantee that Rihanna will perform it on the telecast. Two years ago, the Academy relegated the best original song nominees to a “pre-show,” a move that was roundly criticized.
And even if Rihanna is invited to perform the song on the telecast, there’s a chance she could decline. Kendrick Lamar and SZA did not perform “All the Stars” on the Oscar telecast four years ago, a move blamed on “logistics and timing.” But that was an outlier. When Oscar calls, even the biggest stars usually say yes. Beyoncé opened last year’s show with a memorable performance of “Be Alive” from King Richard. Such other superstars as Adele, U2, Lady Gaga, The Weeknd, Sam Smith, Justin Timberlake, Sting, Elton John, and Billie Eilish with Finneas have performed nominated songs on the Oscars in the past decade. Expect Rihanna to join that list.
Rihanna wouldn’t be the first person to perform on the Oscar telecast and at the Super Bowl Halftime Show in the same calendar year. Phil Collins played both high-profile gigs in 2000, though he wasn’t the headliner of the Super Bowl Halftime Show on Jan. 30, but part of a multi-artist package that also included Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias and Toni Braxton. Collins performed “Two Worlds” from Tarzan at the Disney-produced halftime show.
Two months later, on March 26, Collins performed “You’ll Be in My Heart,” also from Tarzan, at the 72nd Academy Awards. The song (which Collins wrote by himself) went on to win the Oscar.
Nominations round voting for the 2023 Oscars extends from Jan. 12 to 17. Nominations will be announced on Jan. 24. Final round voting extends from March 2-7.
Hugh Jackman rang in the new year on Wednesday (Jan. 4) with a very serious and important request for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences … and it has to do with Ryan Reynolds.
“Hey, everybody. It’s 2023 and I really, really wanted to send out a positive message at the beginning of the year, but, umm, recent events have made that impossible,” the actor said with mock seriousness straight to camera. “Don’t get me wrong, I loved Spirited. It’s a great movie, we had a blast, the entire family watched it. I love Will [Ferrell], I love Octavia [Spencer]. Obviously I did The Greatest Showman with Benj [Pasek] and Justin [Paul] — they’re incredible and I love their music … And ‘Good Afternoon,’ by the way, the song ‘Good Afternoon’? I laughed the entire way through, it is absolutely brilliant. However, I’ve just heard the Academy have shortlisted ‘Good Afternoon’ in the best song category.
“Now, Ryan Reynolds getting a nomination in the best song category would make the next year of my life insufferable,” The Music Man star continued. “It would … I mean, I have to spend a year with him shooting Wolverine and Deadpool and … trust me, it would be impossible. It’d be a problem. So, just to recap, love Spirited, love Will, love Octavia, love the song ‘Good Afternoon,’ love Benj and Justin. But please, please, from the bottom of my heart, do not validate Ryan Reynolds in this way. Please.”
Indeed, Jackman is set to step back into the role of Wolverine opposite Reynolds in the upcoming Deadpool 3. His character’s return was first teased in a post-credits scene in 2018’s Deadpool 2.
Other superstars on the Oscars shortlist for best original song this year include Taylor Swift (“Carolina” from Where the Crawdads Sing), Rihanna (“Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), Lady Gaga (“Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick), The Weeknd (“Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)” from Avatar: The Way of Water) and more.
Watch Jackman’s hilarious plea to the Academy below.
Taylor Swift probably has mixed emotions about the Oscar shortlists, which were announced on Wednesday (Dec. 21). She is shortlisted for best original song for “Carolina” from Where the Crawdads Sing. For a folk-style ballad that wasn’t a big hit, that’s great.
On the other hand, she was not shortlisted for best live action short film for “All Too Well,” which she directed. “All Too Well” won three MTV Video Music Awards on Aug. 28 — video of the year, best director and best long-form video.
Swift has had enough awards show experience to know that you win some and you lose some. But to not be shortlisted for a film that she cares deeply about and has worked hard to promote has to sting.
Swift’s pal Selena Gomez also got mixed news in the shortlists. “My Mind & Me,” which she co-wrote for Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me, was shortlisted for best original song, though the film itself was not shortlisted for best documentary feature.
M.M. Keeravaani also knows the feeling. He was shortlisted for best original song for co-writing “Naatu Naatu” from RRR, though his score for that film failed to make the best original score shortlist.
Of course, some people got a double dose of good news. Ludwig Göransson, Alexandre Desplat, Simon Franglen and Ryan Lott of Son Lux are each shortlisted for both best original song and best original score.
The Motion Picture Academy released shortlists of between 10 and 15 semifinalists in 10 categories. Our focus here will be on the music categories – best original song and best original score – and two other categories that sometimes include music artists – documentary feature and live action short film.
Nominations for the 95th Oscars will be announced on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023. Final round voting will be held March 2-7. The telecast, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will take place on Sunday, March 12, 2023, airing live on ABC from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood.
Here are some of the most notable snubs and surprises in the music shortlists.
Moonage Daydream, which explores David Bowie’s creative and musical journey, and Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, A Song, which looks at the life of Leonard Cohen through the prism of one of the most beloved songs of modern times, are among the 15 documentaries that were shortlisted for the Oscar for best documentary film on Wednesday (Dec. 21).
A total of 144 films were eligible in the category. Members of the documentary branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will vote to determine the shortlist and the nominees.
Here’s a complete list of the films that were shortlisted for best documentary film, listed alphabetically by title.
All That Breathes, HBO Documentary Films/Sideshow
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, Neon
Bad Axe, IFC Films
Children of the Mist, Varan Vietnam/CAT& Docs
Descendant, Netflix
Fire of Love, National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon
Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song, Sony Pictures Classics
Hidden Letters, Cargo Film & Releasing
A House Made of Splinters, Madman Entertainment
The Janes, HBO Documentary Films
Last Flight Home, MTV Documentary Films
Moonage Daydream, Neon
Navalny, CNN/Warner Bros.
Retrograde, National Geographic Films
The Territory, National Geographic
Eligible music docs that failed to make the shortlist (with capsule descriptions for films whose topic is not self-evident in the titles) include The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie; Fanny: The Right to Rock; Fiddler’s Journey to the Big Screen (about the stage-to-screen transfer of Fiddler on the Roof); Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story (about the annual music and cultural festival); Killing Me Softly With His Songs (a look at Grammy-winning songwriter Charles Fox); Look at Me: XXXtentacion; Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues; Nothing Compares (tracing Sinéad O’Connor’s turbulent career path); The Return of Tanya Tucker – Featuring Brandi Carlile; Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me; and ¡Viva Maestro! (a portrait of Los Angeles Philharmonic music and artistic director Gustavo Dudamel).
Nominations for the 95th Oscars will be announced on Tuesday Jan. 24, 2023. The telecast, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will take place on Sunday, March 12, 2023, airing live on ABC from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood.
He’s already a 14-time Grammy Award winner, and now Kendrick Lamar is hoping to extend his good fortune to the Oscars.
Leading up to the 2023 Academy Awards — whose shortlist voting takes place next month, Dec. 12-15 — Lamar spoke with Variety in an interview published Tuesday (Nov. 29) about his short film We Cry Together, in which he stars opposite Taylour Paige.
For the rapper, one of the most important things about his short film was to make sure that it felt real. We Cry Together sees Lamar and Paige exploring a relationship that’s equal parts vulnerable and toxic from the confines of a small space. The film, should it secure a nomination, would be up for a spot in the best live action short category at the Academy Awards.
“It challenged me to actually live in what I was writing, and really be there and be present with Taylour [Paige],” Lamar said. “And I remember us going back and forth and feeling like, damn, I understand this character even more because I’m evoking the energy from it and the passion from it because it’s alive, and it’s direct.”
Lamar directed the short alongside Dave Free and Jake Schreier; in the interview, Free noted that “when we went into this project, Kendrick was telling me about how he wanted the room to feel thick, and the room to feel intense … He wanted to really address topics that we, as a society, kind of shy away from.”
“The Heart Part 5” rapper added, “So in writing, I say, ‘OK, how can I make this feel personal, but also holding up a mirror as a collective concept, rather than just a personal concept.’ I wanted to bring that drama because, at the end of the day, whether we like it or not — the good, the bad and the ugly, the pros and cons — that’s what makes everything evolve.”
Of the filmmaking process, Lamar stated that it allowed him to have “more freedom, as a person. Being able to run toward my fear and say the things I want to say and do it in an artistic way — it allowed me to live my truth even deeper.”
Only 10 films will make the shortlist for the Oscars’ best live action short category, before being narrowed down to the final five nominees. Lamar — who was previously nominated alongside SZA, Mark “Sounwave” Spears and Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith for an Oscar in 2019 for the Black Panther track “All the Stars” in the best original song category — will learn if We Cry Together made the cut when the shortlist is revealed on Dec. 21.
Lamar and Free are nominated for a Grammy as directors of Lamar’s “The Heart Part 5,” which is up for best music video. Lamar and Free won in that category five years ago for “Humble.,” which they co-directed with Dave Meyers.
It’s been nine months since Will Smith‘s headline-making moment at the 2022 Oscars in March, when he stormed the stage and slapped Chris Rock across the face.
The incident occurred after Rock made an onstage joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, during the Academy Awards ceremony. “Jada, I love you. G.I Jane 2, can’t wait to see it,” the comedian said about her shaved head — which is caused by the actress’ struggles with alopecia.
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The King Richard actor then slapped Rock onstage, who attempted to continue his banter before Smith began shouting from his seat, “Keep my wife’s name out your f—ing mouth.”
While Smith has since issued an apology via Instagram, the actor also opened up about the situation during an appearance on The Daily Show With Trevor Noah this week, calling it a “horrific night.”
While he added that there was “nuances and complexities” to the moment, he “lost it” during the ceremony. “And I guess what I would say, you just never know what somebody is going through,” he continued. “I was going through something that night. Not that that justifies my behavior at all.”
Smith noted that there “was a rage that had been bottled for a really long time,” and that the most painful part of it all was that “I took my hard and made it hard for other people. I understood the idea where they say that hurt people hurt people.” Noah then pointed out how in Smith’s memoir, the actor shared that he grew up being afraid of conflict.
“It was a lot of things,” Smith said in response. “It was the little boy that watched his father beat up his mother, you know. All of that just bubbled up in that moment. That’s not who I want to be.”
Watch the full interview below.