Tuesday, January 22 saw the announcement of the nominations for the 91st Academy Awards. There are 24 categories. Each person listed is vying for the ultimate, golden statue, nicknamed Oscar. Roma and The Favourite received the most nominations. Both are up for Best Picture and both got 10 nominations. Roma is by acclaimed, Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón who has been nominated multiple times before. However, Roma was a film from Netflix, making it the first time Netflix has been nominated for Best Picture.
The other major nominees include A Star Is Born, which got eight nominations, Vice, which also got eight nominations, Black Panther, which got seven, BlacKkKlansman, which got six, Bohemian Rhapsody, which got five, and Green Book, which also got five. On a side note, BlacKkKlansman was directed by Spike Lee who was also nominated for Best Director. This is the first time that Lee has been up for Best Picture and Best Director, even though he is one of the most celebrated and well-known directors in the industry.
Similarly, Black Panther was nominated for Best Picture. This marks the first time a comic-book movie, particularly one from Disney/Marvel Studios, has been up for this category. It was the most successful film of the year in the box office, making $700 million domestically.
There have been a lot of controversy surrounding the Academy this year, as there has been for the past few years. First was the spat over a new category called the “Popular Film” award. It was seen for what it was, which was a desperate attempt for the Academy to try to boost ratings for its telecast, which has seen a decline over the past decade or so.
The Popular Film award wasn’t really defined, but most saw it as a way of rewarding blockbusters, which normally don’t get major recognition at the Oscars. Many thought that it would be a token award for something like Black Panther, or a way of ghettoizing such a film. However, other awards groups have categories like “Best Action Film,” which aren’t seen as ghettoizing. Yet, the backlash caused the Academy to shelve the new category for now.
The controversy didn’t stop there. The Academy decided to choose black comedian Kevin Hart as the host for the Oscars. Unfortunately, Hart had made homophobic comments in his comedy act and on social media nearly a decade ago that people thought were really offensive. He was asked to apologize for those comments. He instead decided to step down, leaving the telecast without a host. Today’s announcement didn’t come with any replacements officially. Instead, we just got the nominees, which are:
Best Picture
Black Panther
BlacKkKlansman
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite
Green Book
Roma
A Star Is Born
Vice
Best Director
Alfonso Cuarón – Roma
Yorgos Lanthimos – The Favourite
Spike Lee – BlacKkKlansman
Adam McKay – Vice
Pawel Pawlikowski – Cold War
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 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 Foreign Language Film
Germany – Never Look Away
Japan – Shoplifters
Lebanon – Capernaum
Mexico – Roma
Poland – Cold War
Best Writing, Original Screenplay
The Favourite
First Reformed
Green Book
Roma
Vice
Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
BlacKkKlansman
Can You Ever Forgive Me
If Beale Street Could Talk
A Star Is Born
Best Cinematography
Alfonso Cuarón – Roma
Caleb Deschnael – Never Look Away
Matthew Libatique – A Star Is Born
Robbie Ryan – The Favourite
Lukasz Zal – Cold War
Best Production Design
Black Panther
The Favourite
First Man
Mary Poppins Returns
Roma
Best Costume Design
Alexandra Byrne – Mary Queen of Scots
Ruth Carter – Black Panther
Sandy Powell –The Favourite
Sandy Powell – Mary Poppins Returns
Mary Zophres – The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Border
Mary Queen of Scots
Vice
Best Visual Effects
Avengers: Infinity War
Black Panther
Christopher Robin
First Man
Ready Player One
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Best Film Editing
BlacKkKlansman
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite
Green Book
Vice
Best Music, Original Song
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs – “When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings”
Black Panther – “All Stars”
Mary Poppins Returns – “The Place Where Lost Things Go”
RBG – “I’ll Fight”
A Star Is Born – “Shallow”
Best Music, Original Score
Black Panther
BlacKkKlansman
If Beale Street Could Talk
Isle of Dogs
Mary Poppins Returns
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 Live Action Short
Detainment
Fauve
Marguerite
Mother
Skin
Best Animated Short
Animal Behaviour
Bao
Late Afternoon
One Small Step
Weekends
Best Documentary Short Subject
Black Sheep
End Game
Lifeboat
A Night at the Garden
Period. End of Sentence.
For my list of the Top Ten Movies of 2018, click here.
