February 08, 2022
When the 94th Academy Awards ceremony takes place next month, the Philadelphia region will be well-represented with some of its best homegrown talent up for the most prestigious awards in film.
The 2022 Oscar nominations were unveiled Tuesday, and among this year's nominees are Will Smith, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, Adam McKay and Bradley Cooper.
Smith was nominated for best actor in a leading role for his portrayal of Richard Williams in "King Richard." It's the West Philly native's third nomination for best actor in his career. Smith was previously nominated in 2002 for "Ali" and in 2007 for "The Pursuit of Happyness."
"King Richard" tells the story of Serena and Venus Williams' father, who served as a driving force for their success in professional tennis.
Smith's performance in the film earned him the first Golden Globe Award of his career and an AAFCA Award last month. He's also been nominated this year for an NAACP Image Award, a SAG Award and a BAFTA Award.
"King Richard" received six Oscar nominations, including for best picture and best original screenplay. Smith also served as a producer on the film.
Questlove's directorial debut with "Summer of Soul" earned the Philly native his first Academy Award nomination. The film detailing the musical, historical and societal impact of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival was nominated for best feature documentary.
The Harlem Cultural Festival was graced by over 30 performances from music legends like Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly and the Family Stone, B.B. King and Gladys Knight and The Pips, from late June through August 1969. About 300,000 people attended the festival, but its place in history had been obscured by a lack of exposure in subsequent decades.
One of the event's producers filmed over 40 hours of footage from the summer series. Most of it never saw the light of day due to a lack of interest in the festival. It sat in boxes inside his basement for 50 years – until The Roots drummer was tapped to direct the documentary.
"Summer of Soul" won both the Grand Jury and Audience prizes in the nonfiction category at last year's Sundance Film Festival. Questlove's directorial work on the film earned the musician the 2021 Vanguard Award in October.
The film swept the Critics Choice Documentary Awards in November, winning all six honors it was nominated for, including best documentary and best director. "Summer of Soul" also won best documentary at this year's AAFCA Awards.
"Summer of Soul" has been nominated for best music film at this year's Grammy Awards, as well as a pair of NAACP Image Award nominations and a BAFTA nomination.
McKay's dark comedy film "Don't Look Up" earned four Oscar nominations, including for best picture and best original screenplay. The satire film was also nominated for best original score and best film editing.
The Chester County native's lone Academy Award came in 2016 when he won best adapted screenplay for "The Big Short." McKay was previously nominated for best picture and best original screenplay in 2019 for "Vice."
Considered an allegory for the battle against climate change, "Don't Look Up" tells the story of how two astronomers must warn an unconcerned society about a looming apocalyptic threat heading towards Earth. The film's ensemble cast stars Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep and Jonah Hill.
"Don't Look Up" received the AAFCA Award for best screenplay last month. The film was also nominated for six Critics Choice Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, four BAFTA Awards and a SAG Award.
Cooper's production work on "Nightmare Alley" earned the Montgomery County native his ninth Oscar nomination. The psychological thriller earned four nominations, including for best picture.
This marks Cooper's third best picture nomination as a producer. He was previously nominated in 2015 for "American Sniper," in 2019 for "A Star Is Born" and in 2020 for "Joker." However, Cooper has yet to win an Oscar in his career.
Cooper also stars in "Nightmare Alley" as carnival worker Stanton Carlisle. The film was adapted from William Lindsay Gresham's 1946 novel.
Directed by Guillermo Del Toro, "Nightmare Alley" takes place in a traveling carnival in 1940s New York. The cast also stars Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Toni Collette, Willem Dafoe and Richard Jenkins.
"Nightmare Alley" has also been nominated for eight Critics Choice Awards, three BAFTA Awards and a SAG Award.
The 2022 Academy Awards will be held on March 27 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California. The awards show will air on ABC. The most nominations this year went to "The Power of the Dog" which earned 12 nods, including for best picture.
Below is a complete list of this year's nominations.
• "Belfast"
• "CODA"
• "Don't Look Up"
• "Drive My Car"
• "Dune"
• "King Richard"
• "Licorice Pizza"
• "Nightmare Alley"
• "The Power of the Dog"
• "West Side Story"
• Kenneth Branagh, "Belfast"
• Ryusuke Hamaguchi, "Drive My Car"
• Paul Thomas Anderson, "Licorice Pizza"
• Jane Campion, "The Power of the Dog"
• Steven Spielberg, "West Side Story"
• Javier Bardem, "Being the Ricardos"
• Benedict Cumberbatch, "The Power of the Dog"
• Andrew Garfield, "Tick, Tick... Boom!"
• Will Smith, "King Richard"
• Denzel Washington, "The Tragedy of Macbeth"
• Jessica Chastain, "The Eyes of Tammy Faye"
• Olivia Colman, "The Lost Daughter"
• Penelope Cruz, "Parallel Mothers"
• Nicole Kidman, "Being the Ricardos"
• Kristen Stewart, "Spencer"
• Ciaran Hinds, "Belfast"
• Troy Kotsur, "CODA"
• Jesse Plemons, "The Power of the Dog"
• J.K. Simmons, "Being the Ricardos"
• Kodi Smit-McPhee, "The Power of the Dog"
• Jessie Buckley, "The Lost Daughter"
• Ariana DeBose, "West Side Story"
• Judi Dench, "Belfast"
• Kirsten Dunst, "The Power of the Dog"
• Aunjanue Ellis, "King Richard"
• "CODA"
• "Drive My Car"
• "Dune"
• "The Lost Daughter"
• "The Power of the Dog"
• "Belfast"
• "Don't Look Up"
• "King Richard"
• "Licorice Pizza"
• "The Worst Person in the World"
• "Audible"
• "Lead Me Home"
• "The Queen of Basketball"
• "Three Songs for Benazir"
• "When We Were Bullies"
• "Ascension"
• "Attica"
• "Flee"
• "Summer of Soul"
• "Riding with Fire"
• "King Richard"
• "Encanto"
• "Belfast"
• "No Time to Die"
• "Four Good Days"
• "Drive My Car"
• "Flee"
• "The Hand of God"
• "Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom"
• "The Worst Person in the World"
• "Encanto"
• "Flee"
• "Luca"
• "The Mitchells vs. The Machine"
• "Raya and the Last Dragon"
• "Dune"
• "Nightmare Alley"
• "The Power of the Dog"
• "The Tragedy of Macbeth"
• "West Side Story"
• "Dune"
• "Nightmare Alley"
• "The Power of the Dog"
• "The Tragedy of Macbeth"
• "West Side Story"
• "Cruella"
• "Cyrano"
• "Dune"
• "Nightmare Alley"
• "Westside Story"
• "Belfast"
• "Dune"
• "No Time to Die"
• "The Power of the Dog"
• "Westside Story"
• "Affairs of the Art"
• "Bestia"
• "Boxballet"
• "Robin Robin"
• "The Windshield Wiper"
• "Ala Kachuu — Take and Run"
• "The Dress"
• "The Long Goodbye"
• "On My Mind"
• "Please Hold"
• "Don't Look Up"
• "Dune"
• "Encanto"
• "Parallel Mothers"
• "The Power of the Dog"
• "Dune"
• "Free Guy"
• "No Time to Die"
• "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings"
• "Spider-Man: No Way Home"
• "Don't Look Up"
• "Dune"
• "King Richard"
• "The Power of the Dog"
• "Tick, Tick... Boom!"
• "Coming 2 America"
• "Cruella"
• "Dune"
• "The Eyes of Tammy Faye"
• "House of Gucci"
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