This morning's announcement of the 93rd annual Academy Award nominations by Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Nick Jonas saw the culmination of what's understandably been a fairly strange Oscar season that kicked off with confusion as to if or when the ceremony would take place. But it's happening, two months later than usual on April 25th, live from both the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and L.A's Union Station. The exact form the show will take remains somewhat of a mystery, but isn't it always? This unprecedented timetable has led to some unpredictability among voters who no longer have a marathon of industry awards and in-person events to rely on before casting their ballots. Now, with only the Golden Globes and a handful of critics awards to go on, what the voters will do is anyone's guess.
While it remains to be seen whether the theatergoing experience will become altogether extinct or irrelevant as we enter unchartered territory for movies, the availability of on-demand and streaming titles has made catching up on new releases easier than ever. So even if the circumstances causing that couldn't be worse, I'm still in the unique position of having my best shot yet at catching nearly all the contending films before the show. Whether this is of much help come prediction time remains to be seen, but as far as the nominations go, it's almost redundant to declare there were some snubs and suprises, albeit far fewer than usual. But more than ever, the diversity issue is sure to take center stage, though you could argue it never really went away, with the Academy continuously applying band-aids to the problem for the past few years. So, here we are with the full nominations list, along with my takes below. Let's see how they did.
-With six films earning six nominations, the field's more open than usual, but I'm still in the minority for thinking they should go back to five Best Picture nominees. It just makes those movies mean more. Every year you just know the films without a director nomination don't stand a chance and end up filling participation trophy slots. So, of course, AMPAS makes the decision to go back up to a mandated ten (!) nominees starting next year. It's easy to understand the desire to draw much needed attention to underseen films by giving them a nod, but they've watered down the category in the process.
-This year there were 8 Best Picture nominees, which has been about the average lately. The only three omissions that could be considered "snubs" are One Night in Miami, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and Da 5 Bloods but Miami's really the only one you could make a strong case for that designation applying in a big way. Bloods chances were always slim and Ma Rainey had much more support for Davis and Boseman's performances than the film itself.
-The Father, Judas and the Black Messiah and Minari are the category underdogs, but none go as far as to be considered "surprises." Same for Sound of Metal, which was continuously picking up steam. My favorite film of the year, Promising Young Woman, gets in. Despite lacking a director nod for Sorkin, Chicago 7 still strangely feels like it has a chance, if only due to its timeliness.
-David Fincher's Mank leads the pack with 10 nominations, including Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress and a handful of technical notices. Not bad considering there were worries this wouldn't do as well as expected. I'm glad it did, since it's been somewhat overlooked and underrated after coming out of the gate really strong a few months ago.
-Breathing a sigh of relief that Mank's Amanda Seyfried got in for Supporting Actress, as she recently lost some ground after starting the race a favorite to win. 8-time nominee Glenn Close now has a pair of Razzie and Oscar nods for the same semi-reviled performance in Hillbilly Elegy. Maria Bakalova's momentum continues for Borat while Minari's Yuh-Jung Youn seems like the outlier, as there was some doubt she'd break through. No Jodie Foster for The Mauritanian. Tenet's Elizabeth Debicki deserves to be here.
-Really wanted to see Bo Burnham get a surprise Supporting Actor nod for Promising Young Woman but knew his chances were slim to none. Chadwick Boseman would have joined James Dean in becoming the only other person to receive two posthumous acting nominations, but missed for Da 5 Bloods. Thankfully Paul Raci's in for Sound of Metal after unexpected exclusions at some industry precursors leading into this.
-Judas and the Black Messiah takes up two supporting slots for Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield (somewhat surprising) as Leslie Odom Jr. enjoys the sole acting nomination for One Night in Miami for his portrayal of Sam Cooke. No one expected Jared Leto to get in for The Little Things and he didn't. That was a Globes thing.
-I'm as perplexed as you that another Pinocchio film was released over the past year, much less that it was able to earn two nominations.
-Great to see Christopher Nolan's Tenet in the Sound and Production Design categories.Well-deserved, but you just couldn't be certain given how polarizing it was. If Sound of Metal wasn't recognized for sound that would be concerning.
-Did anyone expect Ramin Bahrani's script for The White Tiger to be competing for Best Adapted Screenplay?
-Jack Fincher is ironically shut out of a posthumous Original Screenplay nod for Mank, a movie about a screenwriter who wrote the most acclaimed movie of all-time.
-The two major acting categories went as expected, with Andra Day's Globe win likely cementing her presence, erasing whatever doubt there was she'd make it. Her toughest competition will be Viola Davis and my favorite, Carrie Mulligan, who may not be the frontrunner she was a month ago. Pieces of a Woman's Vanessa Kirby endured starring opposite Shia LeBeouf and that association apparently did little to dimish the merits of her performance in voters' eyes. Of course, two-time winner McDormand was a given for Nomadland, securing her sixth career nod.
-Both Mank's Gary Oldman and Sound of Metal's Riz Ahmed made it in for Best Actor, as did Anthony Hopkins for The Father (which did better than expected overall). Minari's Steven Yeun is the wildcard, displacing Da 5 Bloods' Delroy Lindo, whose chances dissipated when that movie fizzled out. Category confusion over Miami's Kingley Ben-Adir's placement probably cost him in both lead and supporting. They should have strongly pushed him in the latter. This is Boseman's to lose, and he won't.
-Aaron Sorkin and Regina King failing to earn Best Director nods is the story of the day, but no one thinks the former's skills as a director surpass that of his writing for Chicago 7 so King's omission is the full-blown snub. Shocking development that Another Round's Thomas Vinterburg was included ahead of her. Very few could have seen that coming. Also no Spike Lee, but many thought he would get shut out. David Fincher thankfully gets in for Mank, making it a career third for him.
-Recognition for Promising Young Woman's Emerald Fennell and Nomadland's Chloe Zhao mark the first time two women are competing in the Best Director category. But more intriguingly, both films collected all the important "check mark" nods for acting, editing, writing and directing that have historically signaled a Best Picture win.
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