I'm nominated for three Oscars and this is what it's REALLY like
by Kate Dennett For Mailonline · Mail OnlineSpecial effects supervisor Neil Corbould has rubbed shoulders with the Hollywood elite during his almost 50-year long career in the film industry.
Neil, 61, is best known for his work on huge blockbusters including Gladiator, Saving Private Ryan, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Black Hawk Down, and won an Oscar for his efforts on 2013 thriller Gravity.
He has now impressively been nominated for three Oscars at the 2024 Academy Awards for Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, Napoleon and The Creator.
Neil is up against himself in the Visual Effects category, taking over three out of the five nominations, while he is also competing against Godzilla Minus One and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Ahead of the esteemed awards ceremony, Neil spoke exclusively to MailOnline about how it really feels to be up for an Academy Award and gave an insight into the glitzy Hollywood affair.
Reacting to his three nominations, Neil gushed: 'I'm a bit shell-shocked, I've won a couple before, but never been nominated three times in the same category in one year.'
'I feel very honoured to be nominated three times, I'm quite speechless, it's still all sinking in. I just want to thank the Academy and the members for voting, it's amazing,' he added.
Neil said he will be taking his wife Maria along to the Oscars, shared his excitement about rubbing shoulders with all the A-list stars on the epic night.
'Me and my wife Maria are really looking forward to it, probably won't win, because I've got three - sods law! But we're going to go out there and enjoy ourselves and absorb the atmosphere,' he said.
'It's amazing, you're there with all your peers and the who's who of Hollywood! Every time I've been it's always been a very surreal moment because you walk the red carpet and there are all these people who you know - because they are stars or celebrities - but you don't know them! I've been lucky enough to win two, because when you win one, everyone wants to talk to you, which is great!'
Neil also gave an insight into what the Academy Awards are really like behind the scenes and shared his own plans for the big night.
He said of the ceremony: 'It seems like a long time on the TV, but it's pretty slick the way they do it. They get you in there, they get you seated. My secret is to have a few glasses of champagne to calm the nerves down a little bit!'
'[I'm looking forward to] soaking up the atmosphere and spending time with all the other nominees really,' he went on.
'There's a big luncheon that goes on in LA probably about three weeks before, which is very informal and relaxed. So I'm looking forward to that and just doing a bit of jet-setting.
'I've got to fly out for the luncheon, then I fly back for an awards, then I fly back out for the Visual Effects Society awards, as I've also got three nominations in that for different films in different categories, and then back for the BAFTAs, so it's here, there and everywhere. Then back out for the Oscar night!'
Neil also revealed how films are selected for the prestigious Academy Award nominations, revealing he had to pitch his movies to a panel after the visual effects category was narrowed down from around 350 films.
He explained: 'The Academy vote it down to a long list, I think it started off with 350 odd films. The visual effects branch then vote it down to 20 and then to 10.
'Then they have a thing in LA called the bake off, which happened just over a week ago, where you get the 10 films and each film goes up on to the stage and explains what we did on each movie, and you sort of sell yourself.
'Then the visual effects community vote on the five films. I flew out to LA last week and I was playing musical chairs, jumping up and down because I was up three times, which was quite funny.
'We were all seated in our own little movies, and because I was in three, there was a chair for me in each one, so basically I had to jump between the three!'
Neil memorably picked up an Oscar for his ground-breaking visual effects work on 2013 sci-fi movie Gravity, which starred George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, and is hoping to take home another gong at the 2024 Academy Awards.
He shared his hopes that one of his nominated movies wins an Oscar as he gushed over all three of the blockbusters, but admitted it is always nerve-racking going on stage to accept an award.
He said of taking to the stage in front of an audience full of Hollywood stars: 'I have to say, my brain goes a bit numb. There is so much talent in the audience that I gloss over a little bit.
'Then all of a sudden, I find myself walking off the stage, thinking "what just happened?"'
'I've been on the other end when I haven't won as well, and that's not as nice, I'm a bit of a sore loser,' he jokingly added.
Oscar nominations 2024 full list - see who received nods for this year's Academy Awards
Best Picture
American Fiction
Anatomy of a Fall
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things
The Zone of Interest
Best Director
Justine Triet, Anatomy of a Fall
Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon
Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer
Yorgos Lanthimos, Poor Things
Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest
Actress in a Leading Role
Annette Bening, Nyad
Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon
Sandra Huller, Anatomy of a Fall
Carey Mulligan, Maestro
Emma Stone, Poor Things
Actor in a Leading Role
Bradley Cooper, Maestro
Colman Domingo, Rustin
Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers
Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer
Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction
Actress in a Supporting Role
Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer
Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple
America Ferrera, Barbie
Jodie Foster, Nyad
Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers
Actor in a Supporting Role
Sterling K. Brown, American Fiction
Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon
Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer
Ryan Gosling, Barbie
Mark Ruffalo, Poor Things
Animated Feature Film
The Boy and the Heron
Elemental
Nimona
Robot Dreams
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Cinematography
El Conde
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Original Screenplay
Anatomy of a Fall
The Holdovers
Maestro
May December
Past Lives
Adapted Screenplay
American Fiction
Barbie
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
The Zone of Interest
Achievement in Production Design
Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Achievement in Sound
The Creator
Maestro
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
Oppenheimer
The Zone of Interest
Original Song
'The Fire Inside' from Flamin' Hot
'I'm Just Ken' from Barbie
'It Never Went Away' from American Symphony
'Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)' from Killers of the Flower Moon
'What Was I Made For?' from Barbie
Original Score
American Fiction
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Live Action Short Film
The After
Invincible
Knight of Fortune
Red, White and Blue
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
Animated Short Film
Letter to a Pig
95 Senses
Our Uniform
Pachyderme
WAR IS OVER! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko
Documentary Feature Film
Bobi Wine: The People's President
The Eternal Memory
Four Daughters
To Kill a Tiger
20 Days in Mariupol
Documentary Short Film
The ABCs of Book Banning
The Barber of Little Rock
Island in Between
The Last Repair Shop
Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó
International Feature Film
Io Capitano, Italy
Perfect Days, Japan
Society of the Snow, Spain
The Teachers' Lounge, Germany
The Zone of Interest, United Kingdom
Makeup and Hairstyling
Golda
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Society of the Snow
Achievement in Costume Design
Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Achievement in Film Editing
Anatomy of a Fall
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Visual Effects
The Creator
Godzilla Minus One
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
Napoleon