On Thursday, Jan. 23, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) announced the nominees for its 97th annual Academy Awards, recognizing excellence in the film industry. As in years past, CalArtian-helmed films are in the running across the ceremony’s 23 categories.
James Mangold (Film/Video BFA 85) earned several nods for his work on the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, including Best Picture with fellow producers Fred Berger and Alex Heineman. The film is based on Elijah Wald’s 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric!, following the singer-songwriter’s (played by Timothée Chalamet) early foray into the world of American folk music. More about the film from Searchlight Pictures:
New York, 1961. Against the backdrop of a vibrant music scene and tumultuous cultural upheaval, an enigmatic 19-year-old from Minnesota arrives with his guitar and revolutionary talent, destined to change the course of American music. He forges intimate relationships with music icons of Greenwich Village on his meteoric rise, culminating in a groundbreaking and controversial performance that reverberates worldwide. Timothée Chalamet stars and sings as Bob Dylan in James Mangold’s A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, the electric true story behind the rise of one of the most iconic singer-songwriters in history.
Mangold was also nominated in the Directing and Writing (Adapted Screenplay) categories, sharing the latter with Jay Cocks.
Chris Sanders (Film/Video BFA 84) earned his fourth Academy Award nomination with The Wild Robot, which competes in the Animated Feature Film category (Sanders shares the nomination with fellow producer Jeff Hermann). The Universal Pictures feature, which Sanders directed and co-wrote with Peter Brown, relates a tale of a mechanical outsider forging unlikely relationships in the wild:
The cinematic adaptation of Peter Brown’s beloved, award-winning, #1 New York Times bestseller, the epic adventure follows the journey of a robot — ROZZUM unit 7134, “Roz” for short — that is shipwrecked on an uninhabited island and must learn to adapt to the harsh surroundings, gradually building relationships with the animals on the island and becoming the adoptive parent of an orphaned gosling.
The Wild Robot was recently nominated for Best Motion Picture – Animated at the 82nd annual Golden Globes. Read more about the film at 24700.
Find the full list of nominees at Oscars.org.
The 97th annual Academy Awards will be televised live on ABC-TV and streamed on Hulu on Sunday, March 2 at 7 pm EST/4 pm PST.
