We voted, and we voted for the five we thought were best," he finishes.
They’re really not, they’re making an effort.
Viola Davis and the lady director need to sit down, shut up, and relax.
4 anonymous 2023 Oscars voters reveal their secret ballot picks for the Academy Awards.Alex Sandoval
You didn’t get a nomination a lot of movies don’t get nominations.
Viola, you have one or two Oscars, you’re doing fine."
I thoughtTop Gun: Maverickwas an incredibly well-made, fun, popcorn movie.
Oscars statuette.ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images
I feel like they bought [TAR] hook, line, and sinker.
What are we doing?
I really struggled to get through that thing.
(L to R): Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, Michelle Yeoh, and James Hong in ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’.A24
Director:I did something very weird this year.
I putEverything Everywhere All at Onceas No.
1, and then I putWomen Talkingat No.
The Daniels directing ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’.Allyson Riggs/A24
2 becauseSarah Polleydidn’t get a directing nomination.
I putBanshees of Inisherinas No.
I was so afraid that even a No.
Austin Butler in ‘Elvis’.Warner Bros. Pictures
4 vote for something would knockEverything Everywhereout of No.
1, that I didn’t give anything else any juice.
I even thought about takingBansheesoff because I wantEverythingto win so much.
Michelle Yeoh in ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’.David Bornfriend/A24
It was negative voting for the other ones, only to ensure thatEverything Everywherewill win.
I didn’t know what to expect walking into it; whatMartin McDonaghdid is such an accomplishment.
Don’t we all just want to move there right now?
Andrea Riseborough in ‘To Leslie’.Everett Collection
Even in the darker times, that movie made me feel fantastic.
Costume designer:I’m voting forEverything Everywhere All at Once.
It was just a really f—ing great movie.
Colin Farrell and Barry Keoghan in ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’.Photo by Jonathan Hession. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures
I’m a hugeBaz Luhrmannfan, I love the film and character study and visuals.
Avatar: The Way of Water[is ranked at No.
I just don’t think I’m the audience for it.
Stephanie Hsu in ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’.Allyson Riggs/A24
It just felt like, okay, another war movie.
I feel like that’s a subject we’ve investigated as an art form over and over again.
Oscars secret ballot picks for Best Director
Actor:I voted forEverything Everywhere All at Once.
Paul Dano and Michelle Williams in ‘The Fabelmans’.Universal
It’s such a big swing.
They did it impeccably.
They manifested their vision perfectly.
The cast of ‘Women Talking,’ including Jessie Buckley (left center), Claire Foy (top center), and Rooney Mara (right center).Michael Gibson/United Artists Releasing
[Steven Spielberg’s direction] was bad.
He was working something out, clearly.
I don’t know what it was.
The story wasn’t that interesting.
Alright, you made movies?
Whodoesn’tmake movies when they’re a kid?
I thought it was not well cast, people were just playing types.
I thoughtMichelle [Williams]was trying to be “Jewish Mama.
“Paul Danoseemed really lost to me I don’t know if he was intimidated by Spielberg.
I thought he was great inBatman, but to play a regular guy was painful.
They [got my vote], 100 percent.
I guess I’m going to sayTodd Fieldis the least deserving.
Marketer:I went with an up-and-comer by the name ofSteven Spielberg.
TARdidn’t work for me.
Talking to various members at Academy screenings, a lot of people felt the same way.
Costume designer:I’m doingEverything Everywhere All at Once, simply because it has so much heart.
A scene in this movie was two rocks and subtitles.
That’s the emotional crux of the movie.
It’s incredibly directed.
Oscars secret ballot picks for Best Actor
Actor:I voted forAustin Butler.
I thought it was a real accomplishment and a beautiful achievement.
He worked hard and it paid off, it all showed up on screen.
I didn’t feel like he was begging for an Oscar.
I felt like he wanted to be Elvis Presley.
There didn’t seem to be a lot of ego around it.
[The Whale] is so pandering for an Oscar.
I think he’s a very talented guy, but I didn’t buy a second of that movie.
I’m a fervent liberal, but wokeness, I think we all agree, has taken over.
I thought he was fine casting, I just wish the movie had been better.
Director:This is such a hard one, too.
I thoughtBrendan Fraserwas so moving and beautifully vulnerable.
First I was like, do I want to watch Brendan Fraser in a fat suit?
And Bill Nighy, is that an Oscar movie or performance?
I don’t think so.
Marketer:I think it’s a three-way race.
I just had a tough time watchingThe Whale….
I did find it grotesque.
I was really disappointed inThe Whale.
I put my vote forColin Farrell.
There are moments that are outstanding.
Oscars secret ballot picks for Best Actress
Actor:I voted forMichelle Yeoh.
I said a little prayer duringTARthat I would never have to watch Cate Blanchett act again.
I thought, this has got to be the end of this, this can’t go on.
The person I wanted to be in there wasJudy DavisinNitram.
She captured it so fantastically, I just hated that movie so much that I couldn’t revisit it.
She was tortured and raped and victimized in every single scene.
She couldn’t walk through a door without somebody raping her.
[Laughs]
[Michelle Williams was] tragic.
The whole thing, her running around going, “Dahlink!
It’s like, oh, come on.
I think she’s a wonderful actress in the right thing, but she was struggling in this.
Director:DefinitelyMichelle Yeoh, of course, just for her years of stunning work and her unexpected delivery.
The woman does stunts what can Michelle Yeoh not do?
I want her to get all the awards all of the time.
Marketer:I’m pickingMichelle Yeoh.
She inhabited that character in a strong way, and didn’t let the effects or multi-universes take over.
She’s the heart and soul of the film….
I thoughtTARwas absolutely pretentious.
I wanted to love it.
Cate Blanchett can do no wrong.
She’s phenomenal inTAR, but I did not care for the film.
The credits thing in the beginning was pretentious, I don’t understand it.
That was a major disconnect.
Costume designer:Michelle Yeoh.
Again, she’s one of these people, like, how have we not done this already?
This is a moment where we need to recognize a person’s body of work.
I’m not a fan ofBlonde.
It didn’t spark conversation that was thought-provoking, pleasant, or necessary.
I thought she gave a great performance.
It was very much “for your consideration” like, what’s going to win me an Oscar?
The ending was terrible.
Good for them, they went about it and got her a nomination.
The Academy has bent over backwards to be inclusive.
Last year, there were more Black people presenting.
It’s like, come on.
I’m over all of that.
I’m willing to believe that Andrea Riseborough gave a better performance.
[Danielle Deadwyler] was so pandering [inTill] for an Academy Award nomination.She was good.
I mean, who wouldn’t be good in a part like that?
The strong, wronged mother.
I thought it was a confusing message.
The ego behind this pushing her to be a movie star was too blatant for me.
It’s the first time, frankly, I’ve seen a white person have to do it.
That’s the real thing underneath it all.
It felt like white women over 40 were rallying behind getting Andrea the nomination.
Marketer:I did not find an issue with [the campaign tactics].
It was a great representation of the possibility of what can be done without $8 trillion behind you.
I do feel that Danielle Deadwyler should’ve been in the category.
I think it’s the first time, I don’t think it’s the last time.
I don’t have an issue with it.
I can’t imagine it was.
I do miss Viola in [Best Actress], I thought that performance deserved to be here.
I didn’t need Ana [there], I needed Viola.
I wasn’t quite as convinced.
It’s very hard to play somebody dim, and it always veers into, “Look, Ma!
Director:Ke Huy Quan, like!
He did so much in that movie, I was shocked he was Supporting and not Leading.
Marketer:I went withBarry Keoghan.
I think he gives a masterclass in acting in an incredibly competitive field.
I enjoyed Ke Huy Quan’s work, and his awards season moments were incredible and powerful to watch.
It speaks volumes about this industry and the universality of second chances.
But, in terms of performance alone, I voted for Barry.
Costume designer:Ke Huy Quan.
I feel like Hollywood loves the story of the underdog getting it.
No one like Ke has had this campaign.
You have to recognize a campaign that’s been played the whole time, and his has been brilliant.
He was up against Michelle Yeoh, and that’s a difficult place to hold a candle against.
Oscars secret ballot picks for Best Supporting Actress
Actor:Kerry Condon.
They dove into the story and put their egos aside.
Angela Bassett, you know, it’s a comic book, andshe was a comic book character.
She sort of over-articulates everything in this weird, fake English way.
I didn’t buy it.Jamie Lee Curtisjust seemed like a stunt.
Director:I wish all of them could get an Oscar.
They’re all outstanding.
She’s lifting everyone up around her.
I thought Stephanie had a chance a little more thanHong Chau.
Marketer:I was disappointed that [Triangle of Sadness']Dolly de Leondidn’t get in….
I probably would’ve swapped her out for Stephanie Hsu.
I was impressed, but I think what Dolly did in those eyes was incredibly powerful.
I was blown away by Hong Chau she redeemedThe Whale, which I was not a fan of.
I found it grotesque and hard to watch.
I voted forAngela Bassett.
This is one of the harder categories of the season.
But, ultimately, Angela got my vote.
Costume designer:My answer is pretty clear:Angela Bassett.
It’s embarrassing that this is the first time Anglea Bassett is getting an Oscar.
Oscars secret ballot picks for Best Original Screenplay
Actor:Banshees of Inisherin.
I don’t always love Martin McDonagh.
Director:I’m going to vote forEverything Everywhere All at Oncewherever I can.
Would I have been Spielberg if somebody handed me that?
[The Fabelmans] was a beautiful science fiction film about straight white male privilege.
Marketer:I voted forMartin McDonagh.
He created a world and characters that come to life fully realized in a beautiful way.
It starts with the page, and the proof is in the pudding.
Costume designer:Everything Everywhere All at Once, because I was completely bowled over watching that movie.
They were able to weave all the stories together in a way that totally made sense.
If there was an award for script supervisors, I’d vote for it.
No, I did not.
It would’ve been cool to see something else succeed.
Bansheeswas fine…. you know how, like, there are movies for dads?
It’s a dad movie, and it’s a good one.
It just didn’t land for me.
They really didn’t do the book….
I liked the Japanese version ofLivingbetter [but] I did vote for it in Adapted Screenplay.
Yeah, it was the best of the worst.
Again, it’s a very simple character-driven story that I appreciate.
[Women Talking] seemed awfully ham-fisted to me.
It didn’t seem authentic.
It seemed like it was the writer’s mouthpiece.
I didn’t believe the women in that community would be able to get away with all of that.
Director:This was the hardest, most disappointing category.
Although I lovedGlass Onion, is it an Oscar movie?
It made me go into crisis about what is an Academy Award [movie.]
What is that, other than misogyny keeping her out?
We’ve only been here for two years!
Why in the worldTop Gun: Maverick?
It looks like a big beer commercial, like a Bud Light commercial!
I do think [Top Gun] is deserving.
If we’re to dissect it,Top Gunis a red-state movie.
It truly is in every way.
However, these are some fleshed-out characters, and, watching iton the big screen, I felt it.
Costume designer:I voted forTop Gun: Maverick, one of my favorite movies of the year.
I think it deserves recognition.
It felt like a great movie…. it felt self-aware, from someone who understood moviemaking.
Interviews have been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
