Just this week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed their list of nominees for the 91st Academy Awards to be held February 24. In a way, the titles of the selected films, actors and actresses, directors, score composers and so on, were something of a retread from the earlier-presented 76th Golden Globes this January.
And, much like the earlier awards ceremony, there was a trend on which films got more substantial nominations for actors and directors. This meant that, while some Movies got multiple Oscar nods, none of their categories are for acting, for instance.
‘Black Panther’ nominations are both inspiring and disappointing
The trending of films that were in a way snubbed on the list of nominees for this year’s Academy Awards has been somewhat predictable to observers. For example, Disney’s super long-delayed (and unexpected) sequel “Mary Poppins Returns” had its two lead stars nominated for Best Performance in Motion Picture – Musical/Comedy at the Golden Globes. With the Oscars nominations, aside from the Best Picture and music-related categories, it was bumped off the acting list.
The same can be said about its fellow Disney-related production, Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther” according to Entertainment Weekly. In this case, the Oscars almost mirrored the earlier Golden Globes nominations: film and technical categories, but no acting nods for the cast.
While much can be said about “Black Panther” becoming the first superhero film to get a chance to win an Academy Award Best Picture, it seems a bit hollow when the stars and director involved are not acknowledged with even a single nomination. At least their composer, costume and set designers were more fortunate, and even stand a good chance of winning their own categories.
Other snubs, and the multi-category nominees
More notable absences at the Oscars include the Neil Armstrong biopic “First Man,” which only has four tech category nominations similar to “Mary Poppins Returns.” Bradley Cooper is content enough to see his project with Lady Gaga, “A Star is Born,” be on the running for Best Picture with themselves nominated for Best Actor and Actress.
The fact that he gets no nods for directing his movie leaves a sour note.
Meanwhile, Netflix is surely celebrating its Academy Awards outing after “Roma,” directed by Alfonso Cuaron, was nominated for both Best Picture and Best Foreign Language Film. The New York Times notes that Cuaron too got a directorial nod. It also has 10 Oscar nominations in total, tied with the US-UK-Ireland co-production period film “The Favourite.” Its three main actresses also got in for Best Actress and Supporting Actress, two for the latter.
