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Song of the Day #5,705: ‘The Way We Were’ – Barbra Streisand

Throwing back to the week of February 16, 1974, we find Barbra Streisand atop the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘The Way We Were,’ the theme song from her movie of the same name.

In addition to topping the charts for three non-consecutive weeks that year, ‘The Way We Were’ took home an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and the Grammy for Song of the Year. Streisand was also nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Actress, the last time the Best Song winner was performed by a nominated actress until Lady Gaga repeated the feat with 2018’s A Star is Born.

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Song of the Day #5,704: “Pink’ – Lizzo

Concluding my rundown of personal 2023 Oscar nominations, today I’ll look at the Best Director category.

Great movie direction is even harder to assess than great movie acting. How do you weigh the wide range of skill sets needed to successfully helm a movie, whether it’s working with the actors, deciding where to put the camera and when to move it, or setting the overall tone of the piece?

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Song of the Day #5703: ‘Prelude No 4 in E minor, Op 28’ – Chopin (performed by Khatia Buniatishvili)

Continuing my rundown of personal 2023 Oscar nominations, today I’ll look at the Best Actress category.

This year’s Oscar race is shaping up to be an exciting showdown between three very different but equally strong performances. All three made it into my lineup as well.

My honorable mentions include Julia Louis Dreyfus’s meaty turn in Nicole Holofcener’s You Hurt My Feelings and Natalie Portman’s mesmerizing performance in Todd Haynes’ May/December. I also have to mention the duo of Ayo Edibri and Rachel Sennot in Emma Seligman’s hilarious Bottoms.

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Song of the Day #5,702: ‘Can You Hear The Music’ – Ludwig Göransson

Continuing my rundown of personal 2023 Oscar nominations, today I’ll look at the Best Actor category.

I found this group had less depth than most of the others, so I have only two honorable mentions to call out. One is Michael Fassbender, who brought an icy cool — but also a dash of parody — to the titular role in David Fincher’s The Killer. The other is Jason Schwartzman, who had an excellent year overall and did some of his best work yet in Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City.

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Song of the Day #5,701: ‘Baby, I Love Your Way (Live)’ – Peter Frampton

Continuing my rundown of personal 2023 Oscar nominations, today I’ll look at the Best Supporting Actress category.

First, a few honorable mentions.

It’s criminal that no actor has ever been nominated for a performance in a Wes Anderson movie. Among those who seemed to have a decent shot based on precursors are Bill Murray (Rushmore), Gene Hackman (The Royal Tenenbaums), Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel), and Jeffrey Wright (The French Dispatch). This year, I wish Scarlett Johansson had received some love for her work in Asteroid City.

Also… Niecy Nash did a lot with limited screen time in Origin, as did Maura Tierney as the stoic mother in The Iron Claw.

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