美国国家公共电台 NPR--What movies are in the mix to receive an Oscar nomination?

What movies are in the mix to receive an Oscar nomination¹?

Transcript²

This year's Academy Award nominations³ will be announced Tuesday. Top Gun: Maverick⁴, Avatar: The Way of Water and The Fabelmans are likely to be among the top contenders for best picture.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The Oscar nominations are announced today. There's a variety of movies that could win, from big-budget blockbusters to the more indie arthouse fare. And NPR Culture Desk reporter Andrew Limbong has been following it all. Good morning.

ANDREW LIMBONG, BYLINE⁶: Hey, Steve.

INSKEEP: OK, so who might get nominated for best picture?

LIMBONG: OK, so you know there are 10 slots in this category, right? And in this year's crop of movies, like you said, it's like the mega blockbusters up against the usual Oscar baity-type stuff. So some of the titles being tossed around include two sequels, right? One, we've got "Top Gun: Maverick" and "Avatar: The Way Of Water." "Top Gun" dominated the box office last year, and "Avatar" just spent this past weekend breaking 2 billion at the box office.

INSKEEP: Wow.

LIMBONG: And then on the relatively⁷ smaller scale, other titles include the mind-bending, universe-hopping movie "Everything Everywhere All At Once." There's "Tar⁵." That's the Cate Blanchett movie about the controlling orchestra conductor. And for my money, the frontrunner is "The Fabelmans." That's the semi-autobiographical movie directed by Steven Spielberg about a young boy who's coming of age and learns a love of movies. Here's a clip of the boy's mom, Mitzi, played by Michelle Williams, helping⁸ him film his train set crashing.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE FABELMANS")

MICHELLE WILLIAMS: (As Mitzi Fabelman) We're going to use Daddy's camera to film it. Only crash the train once, OK? Then after we get the film developed, you can watch it crash over and over till it's not so scary anymore.

INSKEEP: (Laughter) That's great. I missed a chance at the theater the other day to see "The Fabelmans," watched something else. Would I regret that then?

LIMBONG: Well, according to the Golden Globes, you know, you did because the "The Fabelmans" won for best drama movie. And speaking of the Globes, it's helpful to look at them to get a sense of who's in the running for the actor awards. You know, Michelle Williams is probably in the mix, as is Cate Blanchett. Michelle Yeoh won a Golden Globe for best actress in a musical or comedy for "Everything Everywhere." In it, she plays Evelyn, a frustrated⁹ mother who has a hard time connecting with her gay daughter. Here's a clip of the two of them talking while they're cooking.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE, ALL AT ONCE")

MICHELLE YEOH: (As Evelyn Wang) You know, he doesn't have to stay.

STEPHANIE HSU: (As Joy Wang) Who's he?

YEOH: (As Evelyn Wang) Becky.

HSU: (As Joy Wang) Becky's a she.

YEOH: (As Evelyn Wang) You know me, I always mix up he, she. In Chinese, just one word, ta. So easy. And the way you two are dressed, I'm sure I'm not the only one calling him he. I mean her him. Anyways....

LIMBONG: Anyone who's seen the movie knows I'm, like, slightly underplaying the plot a bit because the movie gets a little out there. But if Yeoh does get nominated, this'll actually be her first Oscars nod in her decades-long career.

INSKEEP: What did Brendan Fraser do to get into the mix here?

LIMBONG: Yeah, a lot of people are talking about him and his role in Darren Aronofsky's "The Whale." In it, he plays an obese¹⁰ writing teacher who also has a hard time connecting with his daughter.

INSKEEP: It's a theme here, but go on.

LIMBONG: Yeah, yeah. Exactly. The movie itself has gotten kind of mixed reviews for its portrayal¹¹ of fat people. But, like, even in the most brutal¹² takedowns of the movie that I've read, critics have made sure to mention that Fraser's performance is as tender and humane¹³ as the script allows him to be.

HSU: What about another big award, best director?

LIMBONG: Yeah. A lot of the movies we've talked about have their directors in the running. You know, you've got Spielberg, Todd Field for "Tar," the Daniels, Kwan and Scheinert, for "Everything Everywhere." There's also Baz Luhrmann for the "Elvis" movie. But I'm actually interested in seeing if women get boxed out of this category at the Oscars like they did at the Golden Globes. And, you know, it isn't as if there wasn't a solid bench of movies directed by women this year, right? Both Sarah Polley's "Women Talking" and Gina Prince-Bythewood's "The Woman King" got good reviews this year, but they don't seem to be in, like, the discourse¹⁴ as much as, say, Jane Campion was when she was nominated and won for "Power Of The Dog" last year.

INSKEEP: Well, we'll see what the nominations bring. Andrew, thanks so much.

LIMBONG: Thanks, Steve.

(SOUNDBITE OF YIN YIN'S "THE RABBIT THAT HUNTS TIGERS")

1 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

4 maverick   

adj.特立独行的；不遵守传统的；n.持异议者，自行其是者

参考例句：

• He's a maverick.He has his own way of thinking about things.他是个特异独行的人。对事情有自己的看法。
• You're a maverick and you'll try anything.你是个爱自行其是的人，样样事情都要尝试一下。

5 tar   

n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于

参考例句：

• The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
• We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 obese   

adj.过度肥胖的，肥大的

参考例句：

• The old man is really obese,it can't be healthy.那位老人确实过于肥胖了，不能算是健康。
• Being obese and lazy is dangerous to health.又胖又懒危害健康。

11 portrayal   

n.饰演；描画

参考例句：

• His novel is a vivid portrayal of life in a mining community.他的小说生动地描绘了矿区的生活。
• The portrayal of the characters in the novel is lifelike.该书中的人物写得有血有肉。

12 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

13 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

14 discourse   

n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述

参考例句：

• We'll discourse on the subject tonight.我们今晚要谈论这个问题。
• He fell into discourse with the customers who were drinking at the counter.他和站在柜台旁的酒客谈了起来。