Oscars 2022: “The Power of the Dog” and “Dune” lead the nominations

Europe 1 with AFP 4:37 p.m., February 8, 2022

Jane Campion's 'The Power of the Dog', starring Benedict Cumberbatch as a tormented cowboy, leads the race for the 94th Academy Awards with 12 nominations in total, the Academy announced on Tuesday. Academy which awards the prestigious prizes.

Jane Campion, first woman to earn two Best Director Oscar nominations

A dark and psychological western, "The Power of the Dog" is notably in the running in the categories of best film, best director, best actor, best supporting female roles (Kirsten Dunst) and male, where it manages to align two candidates out of five at the total (Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee).

Even more remarkable, its director, the New Zealander Jane Campion, makes history as the first woman to win two nominations for the Oscar for best director, 28 years after "The Piano Lesson".

Seven nominations for the remake of "West Side Story"

"The Power of the Dog" is closely followed by the big-budget space opera "Dune" (ten nominations) by Denis Villeneuve, snubbed this year as a director by the Academy of Oscars.

This adaptation of Frank Herbert's science fiction novel was a hit in the technical categories, but its star, Timothée Chalamet, was not selected.

This is followed by seven nominations for "Belfast", a black and white dive into Kenneth Branagh's childhood at the heart of the violence in Northern Ireland at the end of the 1960s, on a par with the remake of the musical film "West Side Story" by the Master Steven Spielberg.

The two directors are in the running in their category.

Unsurprisingly, the ever-popular Will Smith was selected for his role in "The Williams Method", where he plays the coaching father of champions Serena and Venus Williams.

He will face him Benedict Cumberbatch, Denzel Washington ("The Tragedy of Macbeth"), Andrew Garfield (the musical film "Tick, Tick... Boom!") and Javier Bardem ("Being the Ricardos").

Lady Gaga disappointed, Jessica Chastain and Penelope Cruz in the running

Disappointment among the actresses for Lady Gaga whose film "House of Gucci" has only one nomination, for makeup.

The lucky winners are Jessica Chastain ("In the eyes of Tammy Faye"), Olivia Colman ("The Lost Daughter"), Kristen Stewart ("Spencer"), Penelope Cruz ("Madres Paralelas") and Nicole Kidman ("Being the Ricardos").

With the resumption of filming and the reopening of cinemas in the United States after the health restrictions, the candidates of weight jostled this year for the 94th edition of the Oscars.

"Last year, we had very independent Oscars ... This year, it's the return of great cinema, great studio films", analyzed before the nominations a member of the Academy of Oscars, who requested anonymity.

“The race is very open,” adds Pete Hammond, editorial writer for the specialized site Deadline.

The awards ceremony is scheduled for Hollywood on March 27 at the traditional Dolby Theater located on Hollywood Boulevard.