The Morning: An underrated Oscar nominee

Plus, news about a Morning transition.

View in browser|nytimes.com March 2, 2025 By David Leonhardt Good morning. Today, we're covering an under-the-radar Oscar nominee. But first, I have news about me and The Morning. A Morning transition My colleagues and I started this newsletter almost five years ago, in the early weeks of the Covid lockdowns. And running it has been one of the best jobs I've had. I'm grateful to all of you who make time in your day for The Morning. But I've learned during my 25 years at The Times that change is healthy, and I will be switching to a new job this week on the Opinion side, overseeing the writing and editing of Times editorials. You will be in great hands here at The Morning. This newsletter has always been a group project, produced by a spirited team of journalists in New York, Washington, London and elsewhere, and The Times will name a new lead writer soon. Starting tomorrow, I will join you as one of The Morning's many readers. Now onto the rest of today's newsletter. María Jesús Contreras Close encounters By Melissa Kirsch The Brazilian film "I'm Still Here" is up for three trophies at tonight's 97th Academy Awards. If I had my way, which the academy year after year for some reason sees fit to deny me, "I'm Still Here" would win best picture. It's the movie that thrilled me the most, the movie I can't stop thinking about and recommending and wanting to watch again. Our all-seeing awards season columnist Kyle Buchanan tells me best picture is probably going to "Anora," but he thinks the star of "I'm Still Here," Fernanda Torres, will win for best actress. The movie's a beautiful and harrowing tale of a family in Rio de Janeiro in the 1970s, a portrait of easy domestic happiness that's shattered when the father is disappeared by Brazil's military dictatorship. The woman sitting next to me in the theater was wholly overcome by the dramatic tension and repeatedly grabbed me during the most suspenseful moments. At the end, as the theatergoers wept quietly in the dark, I felt her body lean into mine, a meaningful hand placed on my shoulder, as if we'd been through a war together and were bonded forever. I should be clear: This was a stranger. I wrote recently about how movie audiences are laughing at inappropriate moments these days. Perhaps, I thought, this woman was just like those moviegoers, unsure how to behave in a theater after so many years growing accustomed to streaming alone at home. "Respect my personal space!" I thought to myself the first time she clutched me. I found her repeated contact startling, invasive, but, as it went on, also sort of funny and endearing. This is what good cinema does, right? It makes us react, emote, clutch strangers. "I'm sorry, my friends are sitting in the back of the theater, so you're going to be my friend, OK?" she whispered urgently during a scene in a dreary prison. I felt comforted that this was a person who ostensibly had friends on the premises, people who could vouch for her (and help her put herself back together emotionally when the lights came up). "Art can endure through life, even in difficult moments," Torres said in her Golden Globes acceptance speech in January, after she won for best actress in a drama, adding, "This is a film that helps us to think how to survive in tough times." This view of art as a means by which we make sense of our lives — this is what makes me feel excited rather than cynical about the Academy Awards. When I hear about a studio "mounting a campaign" for a film or actor to win an award, I am simultaneously fascinated by the machinery of the movie business and disappointed. I want awards to be solely about excellence. I want the films that are honored to be the ones that move the most people, that are exemplars of art at its most effective and affecting. I've been known occasionally to grab the person next to me — always someone I know! — during a thriller or horror movie, but for the most part, I tend to keep to myself in the movie theater. But I've been thinking about the woman next to me during "I'm Still Here," how her need to literally connect during the film transcended all notions of etiquette. I'm thinking about that surge of emotion each time she reached out. She understood the theater as a place where whoever is sitting next to you, friend or stranger, is going to be a person you make contact with when moved. Even while I don't endorse grabbing strangers in the dark, I could relate to her impulse. (Of course, I suspect I'd feel differently if my neighbor's behavior had felt in any way menacing.) If art is to help us think about how to survive, if it's to help us make sense of the world, then I want to lean into the deep emotional response. I want to regard a movie as a vehicle for connection with others, an opportunity — emotionally and psychologically — to get closer to other people. The movies that enable this kind of closeness are the ones that, once the academy inevitably decides to let me run things, will win all the awards. For more: I chatted with Kyle and The Times's chief film critic, Manohla Dargis, about who will, and should, win at the Oscars. More on the Oscars Conan O'Brien will host the show for the first time. Why did he agree to do it? "I need the money," he joked. Many of the best picture nominees this year are weird, Wesley Morris writes — audaciously weird, in fact, in the best way possible. Can you match Oscar-nominated films to their Times headlines? Play our game. THE LATEST NEWS Middle East In southern Gaza. Saher Alghorra for The New York Times The cease-fire between Israel and Hamas has expired. Israel halted the entry of aid into Gaza, hours after proposing a temporary extension to the truce. Israel and Hamas have struggled to move from the first phase of the cease-fire into a second, more comprehensive phase. Government Overhaul DOGE has claimed credit for canceling government contracts that ended under previous administrations, the latest in a string of public errors on its website. Thousands of people gathered in national parks to protest President Trump's firing of at least 1,000 National Park Service employees last month. Trump and Elon Musk's efforts to shrink the federal government challenge a decades-old effort to build a civil service stocked with experts. More on the Trump Administration A federal judge in Washington blocked Trump from firing the leader of a federal watchdog agency. Trump signed an order designating English as the official language of the U.S. The order ends a requirement for agencies to offer help for people who don't speak English, but allows current policies to continue. The Pentagon is sending about 3,000 additional troops to the southwestern border. Trump ordered an investigation into whether lumber imports threaten national security, a move that could lead to tariffs. Canada is the largest exporter of wood to the U.S. New York Andrew Cuomo Anna Rose Layden for The New York Times The former governor of New York Andrew Cuomo said he is running for mayor of New York City. Mayor Eric Adams, who has faced calls to resign over concerns that he is beholden to Trump, has still not hired a campaign manager and his fund-raising has slowed. Adams faces a large field of primary challengers. See a list. War in Ukraine The Oval Office blowup between Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky makes it more likely that Vladimir Putin will hold out for a peace deal on his terms. European leaders have been working to support Ukraine and strengthen their own defenses. That's now more urgent. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that Britain and France would work with Ukraine to present a peace plan to the U.S., The Guardian reports. Other Big Stories Pope Francis remains in a hospital with a complex lung infection and other serious ailments. Read about what would happen should he die. Wildfires broke out in North and South Carolina, fueled by winds and dry conditions. Several towns have evacuation orders, though some wider warnings expired last night. THE SUNDAY DEBATE Who provoked the Oval Office showdown between Trump and Zelensky? The Americans. Vice President JD Vance incited the altercation when he denigrated the Ukrainians, leaving Zelensky little choice but to defend his country. "As with the war, Mr. Zelensky didn't start this Oval Office exchange," The Wall Street Journal's editorial board writes. The Ukrainians. The only way to engage with Trump is to flatter him, and Zelensky should have known that. "In a strange way, I do feel like Zelensky should have studied this a bit more," Fareed Zakaria says on "Real Time with Bill Maher." FROM OPINION Illustration by Shoshana Schultz/The New York Times; Photograph by Ludovic Marin/Getty Images. Times Opinion asked 10 columnists and contributors to assess Trump's moves this month on several topics, including Ukraine, immigration and D.E.I. Here are columns by Ross Douthat and Maureen Dowd on Trump and Ukraine. Subscribe Today The Morning highlights a small portion of the journalism that The New York Times offers. To access all of it, become a subscriber with this introductory offer. MORNING READS At Rooftop Defense. Houston Cofield for The New York Times The new American gun store: A thriving crop of retailers offer lifestyle gear for women and have minority owners. Jacob Elordi bathed here: The tub from a steamy scene in the movie "Saltburn" is on display inside an Ohio home. Most clicked yesterday: Watch a video of Trump and Zelensky's heated Oval Office exchange. Vows: An engagement fib that came true. Lives Lived: Angie Stone was a hip-hop pioneer in the late 1970s who later switched gears as a solo R&B star with hits like "Wish I Didn't Miss You." She died at 63. BOOK OF THE WEEK By Elisabeth Egan "All or Nothing," by Michael Wolff: "Every presidency has its chronicler: McCullough on Truman, Schlesinger on Kennedy, Caro on Johnson," our reviewer wrote of "All or Nothing," which follows Trump's successful campaign for a second term. Most of these authors wrestle with their material for years, the review notes: "Not so Wolff, whose chronicles of the Trump years, like Trump's own rapidly announced and chaotically rolled out executive orders, are run off while events are still molten." As with Wolff's first three books about the president ("Fire and Fury," "Siege" and "Landslide") there's an air of instant gratification to "All or Nothing." Readers who want to know what was happening behind the scenes after the first debate or the vibe of the election night party at Mar-a-Lago will not be disappointed. More on Books Scorching-hot westerns, seafaring adventures and steamy romances are an ideal way to stay toasty as winter fades into spring. Here are 10 books to help you beat the cold. THE INTERVIEW Philip Montgomery for The New York Times By Lulu Garcia-Navarro This week's subject for The Interview is Gov. Maura Healey of Massachusetts. We spoke about how she thinks the Democratic Party can rebuild its brand, and how she views her role as the governor of a blue state in this new Trump era. President Trump has made rolling back D.E.I. — diversity, equity and inclusion — central to his political project. He has said that he's going to be cutting federal funding for schools that include it. You've said that Massachusetts schools are going to "stay true to themselves." What do you mean by that? We're going to keep doing what we're doing. I am the first woman in Massachusetts history to be elected governor. I happen to be the first gay person elected governor. I don't know where I would be if I didn't have support and legal protections against discrimination my entire life. I was born in 1971, so just around the time of Title IX. And I had a career as a professional basketball player before I went to law school. I think about all that was made possible for me, as a woman, because there were state and federal laws in place that said, you know what, we should treat everybody fairly. I'm not giving up on that. Even if it means pulling federal funding? I just think people need to speak to why that's such a bad thing. Talk to any C.E.O. of a major Fortune 500 company. They'll tell you that their bottom line, dollar wise, does better when there's more diversity in the room. Read more of the interview here. THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE Erik Madigan Heck for The New York Times Click the cover image above to read this week's magazine. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS … Fix your spotty internet. Find a truly nonstick pan. Try sleeping with socks. MEAL PLAN Linda Xiao for The New York Times Emily Weinstein has five weeknight dishes your kids will like. Her own can be picky, but they do like mojo chicken with pineapple, sesame salmon bowls and coconut ginger black beans. NOW TIME TO PLAY Here is today's Spelling Bee. Yesterday's pangram was hydrant. Can you put eight historical events — including the first kidney transplant, the creation of the Statue of Liberty, and the discovery of fractals — in chronological order? Take this week's Flashback quiz. And here are today's Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku, Connections and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your weekend with The Times. Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti Associate Editor: Lauren Jackson News Staff: Desiree Ibekwe, Brent Lewis, German Lopez, Ashley Wu News Assistant: Lyna Bentahar Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for the Morning newsletter from The New York Times, or as part of your New York Times account. To stop receiving The Morning, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018