Anonymous Oscar Ballot: Producer Votes the ‘Sinners’ Ticket, Was ‘Not That High’ on ‘Marty Supreme’

With final Oscar balloting closed on March 5,  we’re running our ninth annual series of interviews with Academy voters from different branches for their unfiltered takes on what got picked, overlooked, and overvalued in the 2026 award season. Voters’ picks are in bold. Interview edited for brevity.

This producer didn’t vote for “Sinners” in all 16 categories, but they got close. And they were honest with the Academy about what they had and had not seen.

Best Picture: “Sinners”

I trust my gut. I see all the movies and read some interviews, but there’s so much information now. And when I’m getting daily alerts from The Hollywood Reporter or Deadline, you can get so you know immediately, if you’re on social media, who’s just won what award at what event. And I’ve tried not to let that affect my votes. And I voted the first day [the Oscar balloting] opened, because I wanted to vote before the SAG Awards and the PGA. I wanted not to be persuaded by anything. When it comes to actually voting, I don’t want to vote for something because it’s expected to win.

I’ve been in the Academy for over 20 years. Some years it feels like there’s more of a consensus, both among the voters and my colleagues and peers and among the critics and journalists. This year, it feels like there’s a bit more of a shift.

What [The Academy does] now — they’ve never done this — you get an email every week telling you what categories you qualified to vote in, and what categories you still have to get through. And it started a few weeks ago. And every week I’m like, “Oh my God.” So it reminds you about how you have to see every film, but honestly, you can just click “watched.” Like, who’s monitoring? It’s not real.

Best Picture was easy. I voted for “Sinners.” I love it. I’ve seen it three times in the movie theaters. I love Ryan Coogler. I’ve been a fan since “Fruitvale.” That film was undeniable in the themes and the way it was constructed.

Best Director: Ryan Coogler, “Sinners.” I’m a huge Paul Thomas Anderson fan: “There Will Be Blood” is another North Star for me, and “One Battle” was extraordinary on so many levels. But Ryan Coogler, what he did with “Sinners,” that is an original screenplay. How did he do that? How did he just weave in those characters and the music? That’s my director.

Best Actress: Jessie Buckley, “Hamnet.” When I saw “Hamnet” in September, I went to the first screening in L.A., when I was so taken with the film, and felt instinctively that this is the performance of the year. And there were extraordinary performances. Rose Byrne was amazing, but it’s Jessie Buckley for me, and I’ve known this for months and months. I don’t understand the “Hamnet” backlash. It did win the Audience Award at TIFF, and there was so much anticipation. I don’t understand why there’s been such a resistance to it. But I loved it.

Joe Alwyn, Noah Jupe, Chloé Zhao, Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, and Jacobi Jupe win the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Drama for ‘Hamnet’Gilbert Flores/2026GG/Penske Media

Best Actor: Michael B. Jordan, “Sinners.” I loved what he did, but I have to tell you, I was torn with him and Leo DiCaprio, who was genius in “One Battle After Another.” It was one of the two categories that I actually struggled with. But what [Jordan] did was amazing, OK? Chalamet is talented. I was not that high on [“Marty Supreme”]. I got a little turned off by the whole publicity thing. He’s young, and he has time.

Supporting Actress: Wunmi Mosaku, “Sinners.”

Supporting Actor: Sean Penn, “One Battle After Another.” What he did in that role was genius and fantastic in so many ways.

Adapted Screenplay: “Hamnet.” It is a great book. It is a very different adaptation. It was really accomplished to pull that off with that material and that story and make it fresh and interesting and engaging. And I love the structural shifts.

Original Screenplay: “Sinners.”

Casting: “Sinners.”

Cinematography: “Sinners.”

Costume Design: “Frankenstein.” That was undeniable, that craft and level of achievement. And I went to a number of Academy screenings, listening to Guillermo del Toro talk about the craft of the production design.

‘Frankenstein’©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection

Editing: “Sinners.”

Hair & Makeup: “Frankenstein.”

Production Design: “Frankenstein.”

Original Score: “Sinners.”

Original Song: “Sinners.” But it was hard. I listened to all of them.

Sound: “Sinners.” But I was torn between “Sinners” and “Sirāt.”

Visual Effects: “Sinners.” I saw most of “Avatar: Fire and Ash.” And I watched “Jurassic World Rebirth” and “The Lost Bus” on the portal.

Animated Feature: “KPop Demon Hunters.”

‘The Perfect Neighbor’Courtesy Netflix

Documentary Feature: “The Perfect Neighbor.” That was hard for me to pick. I was torn. I love “Mr. Nobody Against Putin” and “The Alabama Solution,” but I did vote for “The Perfect Neighbor” because of gun control issues, and it’s actually about editing: It was masterful the way that film was put together.

International Feature: “Sirāt.” I opted in for the first year to do the international. You’re assigned to a group, it’s either 12 or 15, and that is painful. It was a lot of movies. I loved “Sirāt.” I was taken with the performances and the themes and the sound. I know I’m an outlier. It probably won’t win.

Animated Short: I skipped them for the first time. I didn’t have time.

Documentary Short: “Children No More: Were and Gone.” It was a good year for the short docs, but that was the one that popped for me.

Live Action Short: “Butcher’s Stain.” It had some political juice to it. I found that category to be tedious this year. I didn’t respond to the films. I didn’t get them. I didn’t understand the highly stylized [“Two People Exchanging Saliva”]. “Singers” was a conceit that just repeated itself. It was a one-note thing. “Friends of Dorothy” was quaint. Because of the world that we’re in right now, I’m looking for a little bit more.