HARTFORD, Conn. — And the Oscar nominees are…
Christopher Nolan's epic about the creator of the atomic bomb, "Oppenheimer," leads the nominees with 13. "Barbie," released on the same day as part of the cultural phenomenon known as Barbenheimer, nabbed eight noms.
Among all the nominees, there are some with a connection to the Nutmeg State.
Best Actor
Paul Giamatti is not foreign to the Academy Awards after getting a nomination for best support actor for his work in 2005’s “Cinderella Man.” He will return to the coveted awards show with a best actor nomination for his work in “The Holdovers.”
Giamatti was born in New Haven in June 1967. His father, A. Bartlett Giamatti, was a Yale University professor who later became president of the university and later commissioner of Major League Baseball. His mother, Toni Giamatti, was an English teacher who taught at Hopkins School in New Haven.
Giamatti graduated from Choate Rosemary Hall before attending Yale University. He graduated with a master's of fine arts from the Yale School of Drama. In 2023, he was honored with an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Yale.
The other nominees for best actor are Cillian Murphy (“Oppenheimer), Jeffrey Wright ("American Fiction"), Bradley Cooper ("Maestro") and Colman Domingo ("Rustin"). Domingo's nomination, for his performance as civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, made him just the second openly gay man to be nominated for playing a gay character, following Ian McKellen for the 1998 film “Gods and Monsters.”
Best Supporting Actress
There are two actresses up for the Oscar with a connection to Connecticut.
Da’Vine Joy Randolph looks to follow up her Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of a grieving mother in the film “The Holdovers.” Randolph, who grew up in a suburb of Philadelphia, attended Yale School of Drama after graduating from Temple University. She graduated from Yale in 2011 with a master's of fine arts degree.
She is considered the frontrunner to nab her very first Oscar.
Jodie Foster, who has two Academy Awards to her name, is up for another statue for her work in “Nyad.”
She attended Yale University. There she majored in African American literature, wrote her thesis on singer Toni Morrison under the guidance of Henry Louis Gates Jr., and graduated magna cum laude in 1985. She received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Yale in 1997. In 2018, she was awarded the Yale Undergraduate Lifetime Achievement Award.
The other nominees are Emily Blunt (“Oppenheimer”), Danielle Brooks ("The Color Purple"), and America Ferrera ("Barbie").
Best Original Screenplay
Giamatti’s work in “The Holdovers” was only possible by the script that he was given. David Hemingson was the mastermind behind the movie’s words.
Also a Connecticut native, Hemingson was born in New Haven and attended Watkinson School, a boarding school in Hartford. He has said his experiences in boarding school, along with the life lessons from his until, inspired his screenplay for “The Holdovers.”
Hemingson earned a bachelor's degree at Yale University.
Hemingson faces a challenge for the Academy Award from Josh Singer, who is nominated alongside actor and writer Bradley Cooper for “Maestro.” A Philadelphia native, Singer attended Yale University, where he graduated magna cum laude with distinction in mathematics and economics. While at Yale, he was a member and business manager of both The Whiffenpoofs and The Yale Alley Cats.
The other nominees in this category are Justine Triet and Arthur Harari (“Anatomy of a Fall”), Samy Burch and Alex Mechanik (“May December”) and Celine Song (“Past Lives”).
Best Documentary Short
Sheila Nevin’s “The ABCs of Book Banning” was nominated for Best Documentary Short. This short documentary weaves together a lyrical montage of young readers that gives voice to those most impacted by the recent eaves of book banning.
Nevin, like others on this list, attended Yale University. In 1963 she received a master's in fine arts in directing from the Yale School of Drama, where she was one of two women in the directing program.
The other nominees are “The Barber of Little Rock”, “Island in Between”, “The Last Repair Shop”, and “Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó.”
The telecast of the Academy Awards is on March 10 at 7 p.m. EST on ABC.
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