This Could Be Philadelphia’s Year at the Oscars
The nominations are in!
Bradley Cooper, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and Colman Domingo, all of whom appear on the 2024 Oscars nominations list / Photos via Getty Images/ Photo-illustration by Jamie Leary
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Philly Shows Up Strong In Oscar Nominations List, with Bradley Cooper, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Colman Domingo
On Tuesday morning, the Academy of whatever released its full list of Oscar nominations. And it’s hard to remember when Philadelphia had better representation than on this year’s Oscars list.
Maestro, the creation of Pride of Jenkintown/cheesesteak entrepreneur Bradley Cooper, made off with seven Oscar nominations, including Cooper himself for Best Actor as well as Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.
But for Best Actor, Bradley Cooper has some strong competition, with Overbrook High School alum Colman Domingo landing a Best Actor nomination for Rustin, the biopic about Bayard Rustin, the civil rights leader who hailed from West Chester.
Of course, both Bradley Cooper and Colman Domingo have some major competition. Paul Giamatti is also nominated for Best Actor for his work in The Holdovers. And then there’s Cillian Murphy from Oppenheimer. But don’t count out Jeffrey Wright, who has a lot of people talking about American Fiction, which you should definitely watch ASAP.
And getting back to The Holdovers for a second, Philly’s own Da’Vine Joy Randolph received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress in that film. She’s already won the Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice award for the role. And now she’s staring down at the Oscars. So who is her Oscars competition? Emily Blunt in Oppenheimer, Danielle Brooks in The Color Purple, America Ferrera in Barbie, and Jodie Foster in Nyad.
If you’re going to place one and only one wager on the 2024 Oscars, lay that money down on Da’Vine Joy Randolph.
We’ll find out who wins when the Oscars air live on March 10th.
Go Philly!
Not Everybody Loves Jason Kelce
Lots of people seemed to love my story from Monday about Jason Kelce at the Kansas City Chiefs game. Yes, the game that Taylor Swift also showed up for. But not my friend Christine Flowers, the noted conservative columnist. Here’s what she had to say on the socials:
A lot of Philadelphians love Jason Kelce and think he’s the second coming. Whatever. My thought is that neither Bill Bergey, Howard Carmichael, Wilbert Montgomery, Tommy McDonald, Randall Cunningham or Reggie White would have celebrated the team who beat us in last year’s Super Bowl only a week after they disgraced themselves before our city. Who care’s if it’s his brother’s team. Show some respect. Just a thought.
She does have a point. But I’m more upset that Jason Kelce was seen chugging Bud Light. At least do a PBR, man.
By the Numbers
3rd: Ranking of Philadelphia on Orkin’s annual list of the cities with the worst bedbug problems. Ew.
35: Approximate number of still-operating pay phones in Philadelphia.
8 a.m.: Just in time for Dry January, the new time of day when you can order an alcoholic beverage at a bar or restaurant in Delaware thanks to a new law. It used to be 9 a.m. And if you’re wondering what time you can get a drink in Pennsylvania, that would be 7 a.m. If you’ve never been to Ray’s Happy Birthday Bar in the Italian Market when the legendary dive bar opens at 7 a.m., it’s definitely a scene!
And from the MVP Sports Desk …
It was a Showdown in the Land of Giants last night at the Wells Fargo Center, as 29-year-old MVP Joel Embiid and 20-year-old Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama faced off against each other for the first time ever. Wemby is seven-foot-four, people! Nick Nurse went with Nic Batum, Tobias Harris, Joel, Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre Jr. to start. Young Stud made two straight threes in the first three minutes, and San Antonio got out to a wild 14-5 lead. But we caught up quick with an 11-2 run of our own to tie it up at 16, and from there on, it was neck-and-neck.
Through one quarter:
Embiid – 24 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST
Wemby – 10 PTS, 2/2 3PT, 5 MINThe #Sixers star had his most points in a quarter this season #BrotherlyLove pic.twitter.com/LUi844eVxB
— Philly Sports (@PhillyGameDay) January 23, 2024
In the second quarter, we reestablished dominance early, going up six with Paul Reed crashing the boards. Joel hit 30 points with almost four minutes left in the half! At the break? He already had his double-double. Um. The Spurs, who came into the game at 8-34, are not that good. All the same, Joel was having a game for the ages. The Sixers pulled ahead by 13 midway through the third.
https://twitter.com/Fanimal_/status/1749608060455141836
Embiid tied his career-high 59 with seconds left … before the fourth! He sat for the start of it — I mean, what did he have to prove? But he came back in halfway through for the chance to join A.I. and Wilt the Stilt as the only Sixers ever to score 60 in a game. That brought on the MVP chants as he stood at the foul line and did so. Could he beat Wilt’s all-time 68? And then, amid all the joy, the fucking refs reviewed him for a flop call. Lucky for them, they didn’t find he’d flopped, and he sank number 66 at the line — and missed 67. Then he tied the record – but the refs waved it off, saying he’d been fouled first. So he tied it at the foul line after all — and with a layup, became the team’s top scorer of all time.
70-PIECE FOR EMBIID 😱
Spurs-Sixers | Live on NBA TV
📲 https://t.co/TJ4nCPRIJL pic.twitter.com/SR00f4VhHe— NBA (@NBA) January 23, 2024
Did we mention his 18 rebounds? You gotta love the man. Fittingly, all this took place on the anniversary of Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game.
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) January 23, 2024
Any College Hoops News?
Just tonight’s schedule. We’ve got 16th-ranked Dayton — they’ve won 20 games in a row — visiting La Salle at 6:30, and St. Joe’s at UMass with a 7 p.m. start.
The Flyers also play.
All Philly Today sports coverage is provided by Sandy Hingston.
