And just like that – some might say at the snap of a (galactic tyrant’s) finger – awards season is again upon us, bringing with it all those weeks of glorious, debate-inducing goodness to fill our Twitter timelines and Facebook feeds.
And, invariably, nothing gets cinephiles’ awards season juices flowing (for good or bad) quite like the Academy dropping their nominations for the industry’s best pictures, performances, craftmanship, make-up and music of the last year.
But even after 90 years since its inaugural ceremony, the Academy Awards, and the films they celebrate, continue to cause huge divide within the watching world. This year proved to be no different.
The Favourite and Roma will have enjoyed things, though, leading the way with 10 nominations apiece; proving that not only can surreal, unconventional takes on the period drama – racing ducks and all – get the Academy’s stamp of approval, but Netflix titles too. Closely following behind are A Star is Born and Vice (both with 8 nominations), suggesting that if you want to get the attention of the Oscar lot, either cast a world-renowned, meat-dress-wearing pop superstar or get some British bloke to put on a helluva lot of weight.
But, as is the case every year, there are a handful of surprises that grab the headlines. There are some welcome ones – Marina de Tavira’s Best Supporting Actress nomination; Sam Elliott and his moustache; Paul Schrader and his long-overdue screenplay nomination for First Reformed – some strange ones – Sam Rockwell’s Supporting Actor nomination; Willem Dafoe’s inclusion in the Best Actor category – and some down right scandalous ones – no Best Picture nomination for First Man or Best Director for Chazelle; and little directorial adoration for Bradley Cooper.
But of all the surprises, perhaps none come quite as big as the success enjoyed by Black Panther (*does cross-armed chest thing*). Landing 7 nominations across the board, Wakanda is certainly getting a lot of love, with both Marvel and Disney rubbing their hands with glee at Black Panther becoming the first film to break the Oscar comic book ceiling and earn a Best Picture nod.
Elsewhere, the true-life stories, as they always seem to, crop up in a fair few of the big-hitting categories, with the likes of Vice, Green Book, Bohemian Rhapsody and Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman all getting Best Picture nominations, and at least one actor from each featuring in the performance categories.
However, what would the Academy Awards be without a few snubs and some controversy, eh? Among the most glaring omissions this time round are If Beale Street Could Talk not making the Best Picture list, Claire Foy’s absence in any of the acting categories for her turn in First Man, and Steve McQueen’s Widows in its entirety. Equally, many a horror aficionado will be left baffled (and angry) at Toni Collette being left off the Best Actress list for her wonderfully unhinged performance in Hereditary.
Easily the most controversial of all, however, is the noticeable scarcity of female-directed films in nearly all of the major categories – a fact made all the more shocking by the fact the last year has seen the release of impressive features like Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace and Lynne Ramsay’s You Were Never Really Here.
The push for diversity, it seems, goes on.
The 91st Academy Awards take place on 24th (US)/25th (UK) February.
Here are the list of nominations in full:
Best picture
BlacKkKlansman
Black Panther
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite
Green Book
Roma
A Star Is Born
Vice
Best Actor
Christian Bale – Vice
Bradley Cooper – A Star Is Born
Willem Dafoe – At Eternity’s Gate
Rami Malek – Bohemian Rhapsody
Viggo Mortensen – Green Book
Best Actress
Yalitza Aparicio – Roma
Glenn Close – The Wife
Olivia Colman – The Favourite
Lady Gaga – A Star Is Born
Melissa McCarthy – Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Best Supporting Actor
Mahershala Ali – Green Book
Adam Driver – BlacKkKlansman
Sam Elliott – A Star Is Born
Richard E Grant – Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Sam Rockwell – Vice
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams – Vice
Marina de Tavira – Roma
Regina King – If Beale Street Could Talk
Emma Stone – The Favourite
Rachel Weisz – The Favourite
Best Director
Alfonso Cuaron – Roma
Yorgos Lanthimos – The Favourite
Spike Lee – BlacKkKlansman
Adam McKay – Vice
Pawel Pawlikowski – Cold War
Best Adapted Screenplay
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
BlacKkKlansman
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
If Beale Street Could Talk
A Star Is Born
Best Original Screenplay
The Favourite
First Reformed
Green Book
Roma
Vice
Best Foreign Language Film
Capernaum – Lebanon
Cold War – Poland
Never Look Away – Germany
Roma – Mexico
Shoplifters – Japan
Best Original Song
All The Stars – Black Panther
I’ll Fight – RGB
The Place Where Lost Things Go – Mary Poppins Returns
Shallow – A Star Is Born
When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings – The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Best Original Score
BlacKkKlansman – Terence Blanchard
Black Panther – Ludwig Goransson
If Beale Street Could Talk – Nicholas Britell
Isle of Dogs – Alexandre Desplat
Mary Poppins Returns – Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman
Best Animated Feature
Incredibles 2
Isle of Dogs
Mirai
Ralph Breaks the Internet
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Best Documentary Feature
Free Solo
Hale County This Morning, This Evening
Minding the Gap
Of Fathers and Sons
RBG
Best Cinematography
Cold War
The Favourite
Never Look Away
Roma
A Star Is Born
Best Costume Design
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs – Mary Zophres
Black Panther – Ruth E Carter
The Favourite – Sandy Powell
Mary Poppins Returns – Sandy Powell
Mary Queen of Scots – Alexandra Byrne
Best Make-up and Hairstyling
Border
Mary Queen of Scots
Vice
Best Production Design
Black Panther
The Favourite
First Man
Mary Poppins Returns
Roma
Best Visual Effects
Avengers: Infinity War
Christopher Robin
First Man
Ready Player One
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Best Film Editing
BlacKkKlansman
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite
Green Book
Vice
Best Sound Editing
Black Panther
Bohemian Rhapsody
First Man
A Quiet Place
Roma
Best Sound Mixing
Black Panther
Bohemian Rhapsody
First Man
Roma
A Star Is Born
Best Animated Short
Animal Behaviour
Bao
Late Afternoon
One Small Step
Weekends
Best Live Action Short
Detainment
Fauve
Marguerite
Mother
Skin
Best Documentary Short
Black Sheep
End Game
Lifeboat
A Night at the Garden
Period. End of Sentence.
What's the Motive? 