© AMPAS |
by Chuck Duncan
Probably the least interesting thing about this year's Oscars ceremony will be that for the second year in a row, there will be no traditional host. What should be of great interest is the completely open races there are in several categories, including Best Picture. The reason: this is the first time in Oscars history that FOUR films have earned ten or more nominations. That means four films will be duking it out for Best Picture with a possible fifth as a real spoiler. Among the Best Picture nominees, Joker scored 11 nominations while The Irishman, Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood and 1917 racked up 10 each. Of course, nominations don't always matter. In 1977, Star Wars had 10 nominations including Best Picture, and Julia and The Turning Point scored 11 noms plus Best Picture. The winner was Annie Hall with just five nominations ... and four wins.
But in the Best Picture race, the nominees in the Editing category seem to predict what film will win Best Picture. Only ten films since 1934 have won Best Picture without winning in the Editing category, the most recent being 2014's Birdman, but that was promoted as a 'single-shot' movie so no Editing nomination was expected. The same holds for 1917, also billed as one continuous take. Before Birdman, Ordinary People in 1980 was the last Best Picture winner with no Editing nomination. And of the four top nominees, Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood joins 1917 without an Editing nomination. The spoiler here could be Parasite, which is also up for Director, Original Screenplay and International Film as well as Editing. That film has been a critical darling, scooping up awards left and right, so it very well could go on to win both Best Picture and International Foreign Film and upset everyone. 1917's Golden Globe win for Best Picture - Drama is not a guarantee of an Oscar.
Where it gets a little less crazy is in the acting categories. You can almost bet on DiCaprio, Zellweger and Pitt to take their categories, and Laura Dern may have a lock on Supporting Actress.
Like it or not, Netflix is a major player this year with three Best Picture nominees -- The Irishman, Marriage Story and The Two Popes -- as well as two of the Animated Feature nominations for I Lost My Body and Klaus, icing out Disney's expected Frozen II nomination. The Mouse House scored just one in the category with Toy Story 4, only one of two sequels in the category.
Where the Academy stumbled this year was in its representation of women and diversity, at least in the major categories. Everyone held their breath during the Directing nominations, hoping to hear the name of at least one of the three women directors eligible in the category -- Greta Gerwig (Little Women), Lulu Wang (The Farewell) and Melina Matsoukas (Queen & Slim). Gerwig did get notice with an Adapted Screenplay nomination as well as Best Picture, but the directing omission that was carried over from the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs is causing some uproar. Cynthia Erivo represents the only real diversity in the major nominations with her Best Actress nod (as well as Best Song), while many expected and hoped Awkwafina would score for The Farewell, and Eddie Murphy would have seen a nomination for Dolemite Is My Name. One may think the Academy is still congratulating itself for egregiously awarding Green Book the Best Picture Oscar last year.
Say what you will, it should all make for a very interesting ceremony come February 9. Below is a complete list of this year's Oscar nominees. Did your favorites score or get snubbed?
BEST PICTURE
- Ford v Ferrari
- The Irishman
- Jojo Rabbit
- Joker
- Little Women
- Marriage Story
- 1917
- Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood
- Parasite
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
- Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory
- Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood
- Adam Drive, Marriage Story
- Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
- Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
- Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
- Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
- Saoirse Ronan, Little Women
- Charlize Theron, Bombshell
- Renée Zellweger, Judy
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
- Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
- Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes
- Al Pacino, The Irishman
- Joe Pesci, The Irishman
- Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
- Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell
- Laura Dern, Marriage Story
- Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit
- Florence Pugh, Little Women
- Margot Robbie, Bombshell
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
- How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
- I Lost My Body
- Klaus
- Missing Link
- Toy Story 4
CINEMATOGRAPHY
- The Irishman
- Joker
- The Lighthouse
- 1917
- Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood
COSTUME DESIGN
- The Irishman
- Jojo Rabbit
- Joker
- Little Women
- Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood
DIRECTING
- Martin Scorses, The Irishman
- Todd Phillips, Joker
- Sam Mendes, 1917
- Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood
- Bong Joon Ho, Parasite
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
- American Factory
- The Cave
- The Edge of Democracy
- For Sama
- Honeyland
DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
- In the Absence
- Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone
- Life Overtakes Me
- St. Louis Superman
- Walk Run Cha-Cha
FILM EDITING
- Ford v Ferrari
- The Irishman
- Jojo Rabbit
- Joker
- Parasite
INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
- Corpus Christi
- Honeyland
- Les Misérables
- Pain and Glory
- Parasite
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
- Bombshell
- Joker
- Judy
- Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
- 1917
ORIGINAL SCORE
- Hildur Guðnadóttir, Joker
- Alexandre Desplat, Little Women
- Randy Newman, Marriage Story
- Thomas Newman, 1917
- John Williams, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
ORIGINAL SONG
- 'I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away', Toy Story 4
- '(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again', Rocketman
- 'I'm Standing With You', Breakthrough
- 'Into the Unknown', Frozen II
- 'Stand Up', Harriet
PRODUCTION DESIGN
- The Irishman
- Jojo Rabbit
- 1917
- Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood
- Parasite
ANIMATED SHORT FILM
- Dcera (Daughter)
- Hair Love
- Kitbull
- Memorable
- Sister
LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
- Brotherhood
- Nefta Football Club
- The Neighbors' Window
- Saria
- A Sister
SOUND EDITING
- Ford v Ferrari
- Joker
- 1917
- Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
SOUND MIXING
- Ad Astra
- Ford v Ferrari
- Joker
- 1917
- Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood
VISUAL EFFECTS
- Avengers: Endgame
- The Irishman
- The Lion King
- 1917
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
- The Irishman
- Jojo Rabbit
- Joker
- Little Women
- The Two Popes
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
- Knives Out
- Marriage Story
- 1917
- Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood
- Parasite
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