ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED

By John H. Foote

No Spike Lee or Da Five Bloods, no Tom Hanks or News of the World, no Best Picture for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. The big news of the nominations for me are who and what was NOT nominated.

And Netflix, expected to dominate the Best Picture race ended up with just two films in the running for Best Picture. You see, we have all been writing about the Oscar possibilities for months and truly no one knows anything. We might think we do, but until the nominations are announced, we know nothing.

Leading the pack was the Netflix produced Mank with a whopping 10 nominations including Best Picture, Best Actor (Gary Oldman), Best Director (David Fincher) and Best Supporting Actress (Amanda Seyfried). Shockingly the film did not receive a Best Screenplay nomination for Jack Fincher, David’s father, which was highly expected.

Six films received six nominations each, all Best Picture nominees: Nomadland, The Trial of the Chicago 7, Minari, Sound of Metal, The Father and Judas and the Black Messiah. Promising Young Woman received five.

For the first time in Academy history two women have been nominated for Best Director in the same year: Chloe Zhao for Nomadland and Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman.

The late Chadwick Boseman, who passed away last fall of cancer was nominated for Best Actor for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

Nine actors and actresses of color received nominations, making clear diversity is sweeping through the Academy Awards, but sentiment is alive and well, with Glenn Close nominated for Supporting Actress in the critically slammed Hillbilly Elegy.

Sacha Baron Cohen had a big morning with nods for Best Supporting Actor in The Trail of the Chicago 7 and a Screenplay nomination for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.

Here are the nominations, leaving out the Shorts and Docs.

More criticism of the nominees to come once I have fully analyzed them. Lots of omissions.

BEST PICTURE

• THE FATHER
• JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
• MANK
• MINARI
• PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
• SOUND OF METAL
• NOMADLAND
• THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

BEST DIRECTOR

• THOMAS VINTERBERG FOR ANOTHER ROUND
• DAVID FINCHER FOR MANK
• CHLOE ZHAO FOR NOMADLAND
• LEE ISAAC CHUNG FOR MINARI
• EMERALD FENNELL FOR PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

BEST ACTOR

• RIZ AHMED FOR SOUND OF METAL
• GARY OLDMAN FOR MANK
• ANTHONY HOPKINS FOR THE FATHER
• STEVEN YEUN FOR MINARI
• CHADWICK BOSEMAN IN MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

BEST ACTRESS

• VIOLA DAVIS IN MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
• CAREY MULLIGAN IN PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
• FRANCES McDORMAND IN NOMADLAND
• ANDRA DAY IN THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLLIDAY
• VANESSA KIRBY IN PIECES OF A WOMAN

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• DANIEL KALUUYA IN JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
• LAKEITH STANFIELD IN JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
• PAUL RACI IN SOUND OF METAL
• LESLIE ODOM JR. IN ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
• SACHA BARON COHEN IN THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• MARIA BAKALOVA IN BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM
• GLENN CLOSE IN HILLBILLY ELEGY
• OLIVIA COLMAN IN THE FATHER
• AMANDA SEYFRIED IN MANK
• YUH-JUNG YOUN IN MINARI

BESTANIMATED FEATURE FILM

• ONWARD
• SOUL
• WOLFWALKERS
• FARMAGEDDON
• OVER THE MOON

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• THE FATHER
• BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIE FILM
• NOMADLAND
• THE WHITE TIGER
• ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
• MINARI
• PRMISING YOUNG WOMAN
• SOUND OF METAL
• THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

• DA FIVE BLOODS
• MANK
• MINARI
• NEWS OF THE WORLD
• SOUL

BEST SOUND

• GREYHOUND
• MANK
• NEWS OF THE WORLD
• SOUL
• SOUND OF METAL

BEST COSTUMES

• EMMA
• MANK
• MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
• MULAN
• PINOCCHIO

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
• MANK
• NEWS OF THE WORLD
• NOMADLAND
• THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

BEST FILM EDITING

• THE FATHER
• NOMADLAND
• PROMOSING YOUNG WOMAN
• SOUND OF METAL
• THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

• THE FATHER
• MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
• MANK
• NEWS OF THE WORLD
• TENET

BEST MAKE-UP/ HAIRSTYLING

• EMMA
• HILLBILLY ELEGY
• MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
• MANK
• PINOCCHIO

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

• LOVE AND MONSTERS
• THE MIDNIGHT SKY
• MULAN
• THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN
• TENET

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE

• ANOTHER ROUND (DENMARK)
• BETTER DAYS (HONG KONG)
• COLLECTIVE (ROMANIA)
• THE MAN WHO SOLD HIS SKIN (TUNISIA)
• QUO VADIS AIDA? (BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA)