We’re nearing the end of our below-the-line Oscar overviews with Best Sound, the category that was once separated into Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing (confusing both academy members and audiences alike). Like Best Visual Effects, this category isn’t usually closely correlated with Best Picture, although there are three Best Picture nominees in the group this year.
There’s a relatively small pool of sound professionals working in Hollywood, with creatives often doing multiple projects a year, which is why you’ll frequently see some of the same names repeated among the nominees. Sadly, this is one of those categories where there are very few women represented, Tara Webb being a rare exception for “The Power of the Dog” two years back.
“The Creator”
Ian Voigt, Erik Aadahl, Ethan Van der Ryn, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic
Gareth Edwards’s science fiction epic may have been a surprise nominee in this category, but this film about a future war between humans and AI does feature a terrific amount of sound design on top of its visual effects, which received a much more obvious nomination for the film. It’s surprising that production sound mixer Ian Voigt is a first-time Oscar nominee with his career dating back to the ’80s, although sound designer Ethan Van der Ryan is a two-time Oscar winner, having prevailed for Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” and “King Kong.”
Re-recording mixers Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic are on their fourth and fifth nominations, respectively; both of them have two nominations this very year. Both were also previously nominated for Bradley Cooper’s “A Star is Born” and Todd Phillips’s “Joker,” and now they’ve brought their A-game to this very different film, but one whose impressive sound work is deserving of this nomination.
“Maestro”
Steven A. Morrow, Richard King, Jason Ruder, Tom Ozanich and Dean Zupancic
For his second feature as a director, Bradley Cooper continued exploring the world of music — in this case, the amazing life and career of one of America’s top composers and conductors, Leonard Bernstein. To properly convey the scope of Bernstein’s musical achievements, Cooper needed a team that could create the sound and feel of being right there in a concert hall with Bernstein conducting a live orchestra.
Cooper reassembled his “Star is Born” sound team with sound mixer Steven A. Morrow now on his fourth nomination, joined by two-time Oscar winner Richard King, who also is nominated this year (and probably will win) for “Oppenheimer.” Aforementioned re-recording mixers Ozanich and Zupancic received nominations here too, showing their creative range since “Maestro” is such a different movie sound-wise from “The Creator.” Musicals have frequently been nominated in the sound categories over the years with “Bohemian Rhapsody” being the last one to win.
“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”
Chris Munro, James H. Mather, Chris Burdon, and Mark Taylor
It’s not uncommon for big blockbuster tentpole films like this one to get into Best Sound, although this is the first ever “Mission: Impossible” to receive any Oscar nomination; even this film’s better-reviewed predecessor, “Mission: Impossible – Fallout,” didn’t make the cut. As with its more surprising Best Visual Effects nomination, this feels more like recognition for the previous Oscar winners on its team, including production sound mixer Chris Munro (“Gravity,” “Black Hawk Down”), as well as last year’s Oscar winners in this category for “Top Gun: Maverick,” supervising sound editor James H. Mather and re-recording mixers Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor (who also won an Oscar for “1917.”) In poker, this would be called a “continuation bet” where the sound branch of the academy liked the work on “Top Gun: Maverick” so much that they want to let the sound team know they’re still doing solid work.
“Oppenheimer”
Willie Burton, Richard King, Gary A. Rizzo and Kevin O’Connell
Christopher Nolan’s epic biopic has received a lot of love for its crafts, but the work done by his sound team is especially exemplary, and you only need to watch the Trinity Test segment of the movie to fully appreciate how sound is used to create tension, in both the silences and the inevitable explosions. Three previous Nolan movies have won in this category: “The Dark Knight,” “Inception,” and “Dunkirk.”
This team is made up of previous Oscar-winners, but not just for Nolan movies. For example, production sound mixer Willie Burton won his Oscars for “Dreamgirls” and “Bird.” Sound designer Richard King (also nominated for “Maestro”) has won four Oscars, three for Nolan movies – and look for him to get another nomination next year for “Dune: Part Two.” Re-recording mixer Gary Rizzo won his two Oscars for Nolan’s “Inception” and “Dunkirk” as well. Kevin O’Connell previously won for Mel Gibson’s “Hacksaw Ridge,” but it’s hard to look at that line-up and not realize how many academy members will have worked with these sound pros.
“The Zone of Interest”
Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burn
It’s not often that a Best International Feature nominee gets a nomination for sound. The last was Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma” in 2018. Like that movie, Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” also received a Best Picture nomination, but it’s hard not to think of this as an underdog with its two first-time Oscar nominees. Even so, the sound palette that Tarn Willers (“Fury”) and Johnnie Burn (“Nope”) have created in the background to up the tension and unease in the Holocaust drama is undeniable, which is why BAFTA honored the film over “Oppenheimer.” “Sound of Metal” is a good example of a smaller-scale past film to win this category, but will academy voters go with this quieter film over something far louder and more bombastic?
Before BAFTA presented its Sound category to “The Zone of Interest,” this seemed very likely to go to “Oppenheimer,” and maybe that will still be the case, even with the disconnect between this category and Best Picture – Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker” was the last Best Picture to win in the sound categories. On the other hand, Nolan’s movies are regular Sound winners, and there’s a good reason for that, so we may just be in for another win by “Oppenheimer” here.
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