90th Oscar Nominations: Shape of Water Leads. Darkest Hour and Phantom Thread Surprise.
Tuesday, January 23, 2018 at 9:30AM by Nathaniel R
Guillermo del Toro's beauty & the beast style macabre fantasy romance cold war mystery monstery movie whatsit The Shape of Water led the nominations with 13. (The record for most nominations remains 14 held jointly by Titanic, All About Eve and La La Land). Darkest Hour and Phantom Thread were the overperformers this morning with 6 nominations each even though many pundits (including myself) didn't think they'd quite manage Best Picture nods even though we were predicting them in other categories. For the record I myself had Phantom Thread in 10th place and Darkest Hour in 12th place (oops). As expected Blade Runner 2049 was the most nominated film without a Best Picture nomination (5 nominations. The record in the new era of the expanded Best Picture field remains with Carol which had 6 nominations). And finally The Post ends its whiplashing inducing what-is-happening-with-this-movie precursor adventure by scoring just 2 nods but they're biggies: Picture and Actress.
TRIVIA AND COMMENTARY FOLLOWS...
90TH ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS
Nominations for the 2017 Oscars -- not the 2018 Oscar, bitches.
Oscars are for the film year, not the calendar year in which they take place.
Best Picture:
“Call Me by Your Name”
“Darkest Hour”
“Dunkirk”
“Get Out”
“Lady Bird”
“Phantom Thread”
“The Post”
“The Shape of Water”
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
The nearest miss was probably I Tonya which scored 3 nominations. The Big Sick, an early favorite for a nomination here and in Supporting Actress missed both. The Academy Awards are notoriously forgetful but at least they remembered two early birds: Get Out and Dunkirk. The Florida Project was also once thought likely to compete but Lady Bird stole its A24 backed thunder.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri won at both Globe and SAG but our suspicion is that The Shape of Water which took PGA and Critics Choice is a more likely winner come Oscar night. It's less divisive and has the most nominations.
Lead Actor:
Timothée Chalamet, “Call Me by Your Name”
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Phantom Thread”
Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out”
Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour”
Denzel Washington, “Roman J. Israel, Esq.”
Timothée just turned 22 and he now becomes the 3rd youngest man ever nominated for Best Actor following only Mickey Rooney who was nominated at age 19 and Jackie Cooper, the youngest, who was nominated at age 9. What's more Daniel Kaluuya at 28 joins him on that "youngest nominees" list.
Denzel Washington hits nomination #8 for acting which means he's tied with a few guys for fifth place of all time for male acting. The only men with more than 8 nominations for acting are Jack Nicholson, Laurence Olivier, Paul Newman, and Spencer Tracy.
James Franco who was going strong up until the Globes was left out at the last minute and Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Hanks fans now have yet another "when will they ever be nominated again?" round of grievances.
Lead Actress:
Sally Hawkins, “The Shape of Water”
Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Margot Robbie, “I, Tonya”
Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”
Meryl Streep, “The Post”
Though we suspect Jessica Chastain was close with a strong campaign for Molly's Game, in the end voters stuck with their perennial #1 Meryl Streep who just barely squeaked in for her 21st nomination. This is Meryl's first nomination from a Best Picture nominee since Out of Africa (1985). Thirty-two years since the last one! That's crazy since her career was essentially launched with three back to back Best Picture players, two of them winning (1977's Julia, 1978's Deer Hunter, and 1979's Kramer vs Kramer). Though she did have one Best Picture nominated film in the interim with The Hours (2002) though she wasn't nominated for that one.
I seem to be... unravelling"
Saoirse Ronan is the 20th youngest nominee ever for Best Actress but she didnt break the record for "quickest to 3 nominations" since Jennifer Lawrence did it a smidgeon quicker.
Supporting Actor:
Willem Dafoe, “The Florida Project”
Woody Harrelson, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Richard Jenkins, “The Shape of Water”
Christopher Plummer, “All the Money in the World”
Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
This is the first time two men have been nominated from the same film since Harvey Keitel and Ben Kingsley both made Oscar's list for Bugsy (1991).
Christopher Plummer already held the record for oldest acting winner in any category in history for Beginners (2011) and now he holds the record for oldest acting nominee in any category for All the Money in the World (2017)
Related article: Michael Stuhlbarg and the Oscar shut-outs
Supporting Actress:
Mary J. Blige, “Mudbound”
Allison Janney, “I, Tonya”
Lesley Manville, “Phantom Thread”
Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”
Octavia Spencer, “The Shape of Water”
Octavia Spencer and Denzel Washington just became the first black actors to ever get consecutive nominations so since they were up for Hidden Figures and Fences last year.
Barbra Streisand has won Oscars for both acting and songwriting. Now Mary J Blige is up for both (since she's also nominated for her Mudbound song "Mighty River")... but in the same year unlike Babs which we think is a first. Anyone?
This was a truly tumultous category all season. I predicted Manville to kick out Holly Hunter but Hunter was amazing in The Big Sick so it's sad to see her go (even though Manville has been Oscar worthy for many years with no recognition). Also sad for Hong Chau but Oscar almost never nominates Asian actors.
Director:
“Dunkirk,” Christopher Nolan
“Get Out,” Jordan Peele
“Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig
“Phantom Thread,” Paul Thomas Anderson
“The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro
A shocker. The internet kept hoping Martin McDonagh would get the boot. And he did... Enter Paul Thomas Anderson for his 2nd time in the Best Director field (can you believe it's only his second?). The rest of the nominees are first timers in this category, yes even Chris Nolan.
Animated Feature:
“The Boss Baby”
“The Breadwinner”
“Coco”
“Ferdinand”
“Loving Vincent”
Surprise. Ferdinand gave Despicable Me 3 the boot.
Best Live Action Short:
“DeKalb Elementary”
“The Eleven O’Clock”
“My Nephew Emmett”
“The Silent Child”
“Watu Wote/All of Us”
read brief descriptions of these films on their Oscar chart (but not yet updated to reflect who was nominate)
Adapted Screenplay:
“Call Me by Your Name,” James Ivory
“The Disaster Artist,” Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber
“Logan,” Scott Frank & James Mangold and Michael Green
“Molly’s Game,” Aaron Sorkin
“Mudbound,” Virgil Williams and Dee Rees
Logan did it. The first superhero movie ever recognized in writing. Dee Rees is the first black female nominated for adapted screenplay (though not the first black female nominated for writing)
Original Screenplay:
“The Big Sick,” Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani
“Get Out,” Jordan Peele
“Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig
“The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Martin McDonagh
Strange to see Phantom Thread not slip in here given its sudden heat in major categories. But then it was a major major competitive category this year. I suspect that Martin McDonagh has this win locked up but I wish it would go to either Gerwig or Peele.
Cinematography:
“Blade Runner 2049,” Roger Deakins
“Darkest Hour,” Bruno Delbonnel
“Dunkirk,” Hoyte van Hoytema
“Mudbound,” Rachel Morrison
“The Shape of Water,” Dan Laustsen
This is the exact list the guild nominated and exact transfers are rare. Rachel Morrison just became the first woman ever nominated in this category.
Meanwhile Roger Deakins has reached his 14th Oscar nomination. He has yet to win as discussed very recently. And again, his competition is mostly Best Picture nominees.
Best Documentary Feature:
Best Documentary Short Subject:
“Edith+Eddie”
“Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405”
“Heroin(e)”
“Knife Skills”
“Traffic Stop”
read brief descriptions of these films on their Oscar chart (but not yet updated to reflect who was nominate)
Best Animated Short Film:
“Dear Basketball”
“Garden Party”
“Lou”
“Negative Space”
“Revolting Rhymes”
read brief descriptions of these films on their Oscar chart (but not yet updated to reflect who was nominate)
Best Foreign Language Film:
“A Fantastic Woman” (Chile) - REVIEW
“The Insult” (Lebanon)
“Loveless” (Russia) - REVIEW
“On Body and Soul (Hungary) - REVIEW
“The Square” (Sweden)
On Body and Soul surprises though we predicted The Insult would rise. The big "snub" here is In the Fade which had been winning Foreign Film prizes. They unwisely waited to release it hoping to drop it for its Oscar glory but now they don't have that to work with.
Film Editing:
“Baby Driver,” Jonathan Amos, Paul Machliss [WRITE-UP]
“Dunkirk,” Lee Smith
“I, Tonya,” Tatiana S. Riegel
“The Shape of Water,” Sidney Wolinsky
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Jon Gregory
Very upset to see Get Out's taut clever thrilling zeitgeistiness displaced for what... mockumentary cross-cutting in I Tonya or the basics of editing in Three Billboards? I don't get it. The other nominees make much sense here though even if you might not put them on your personal ballots.
Sound Editing:
“Baby Driver,” Julian Slater
“Blade Runner 2049,” Mark Mangini, Theo Green
“Dunkirk,” Alex Gibson, Richard King
“The Shape of Water,” Nathan Robitaille
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Ren Klyce, Matthew Wood
Sound Mixing:
“Baby Driver,” Mary H. Ellis, Julian Slater, Tim Cavagin
“Blade Runner 2049,” Mac Ruth, Ron Bartlett, Doug Hephill
“Dunkirk,” Mark Weingarten, Gregg Landaker, Gary A. Rizzo
“The Shape of Water,” Glen Gauthier, Christian Cooke, Brad Zoern
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Stuart Wilson, Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick
The sound categories line up exactly. I don't have the stats for this but it doesn't seem common. My recall is that they're 4/5 usually and 3/5 more often than 5/5
Production Design:
“Beauty and the Beast”
“Blade Runner 2049″
“Darkest Hour”
“Dunkirk”
“The Shape of Water”
Sad for Downsizing. Even if you don't like the movie you have to admit that was a super-sized job for the designer.
Original Score:
“Dunkirk,” Hans Zimmer
“Phantom Thread,” Jonny Greenwood
“The Shape of Water,” Alexandre Desplat
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” John Williams
“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Carter Burwell
Williams was nominated for Star Wars (again) instead of The Post. And Carter Burwell got in for Three Billboards even though his score for Wonderstruck was RIGHT THERE and more impressive. Three Billboards has fine music but it's most memorable bit of scoring is from pre existing material.
Original Song:
“Mighty River” from “Mudbound,” Mary J. Blige
“Mystery of Love” from “Call Me by Your Name,” Sufjan Stevens [WRITE-UP]
“Remember Me” from “Coco,” Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez
“Stand Up for Something” from “Marshall,” Diane Warren, Common
“This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman,” Benj Pasek, Justin Paul
Benj Pasek & Justin Paul are on their second consecutive nomination. They won this category last year for "City of Stars" from La La Land. Interestingly this list has five previous winners since Common and the Lopezes also have Oscars in this category already for "Glory" from Selma and "Let it Go" from Frozen.
Related article: A special edition of Soundtracking on these nominees
Makeup and Hair:
“Darkest Hour”
“Victoria and Abdul”
“Wonder”
A perpetually surprising category. One of Darkest Hour's 3 nominees is on his third nomination. His name is Kazuhiro Tsuji
Costume Design:
“Beauty and the Beast”
“Darkest Hour
“Phantom Thread”
“The Shape of Water”
“Victoria and Abdul”
Jacqueline Durran is double nominated (Beauty & Beast and Dunkirk). But we suspect Mark Bridges wins Oscar #2 for Phantom Thread (he previously won for The Artist).
Visual Effects:
Reader Comments (162)
So happy that CMBYN & Lady Bird got in for BP and that Gerwig got a directing nod. Leslie Manville was a very happy surprise, as was McDonagh not getting a Director nom. Plummer getting in while Stuhlbarg was left out was not so happy (Plummer is good in a weird film, but Stuhlbarg's performance will be remembered in the years to come, IMHO). Good for Get Out also! All in all, a good nominations morning, with no real outrages and some real surprises - good for Denzel, though I haven't seen the film.
Wow. Surprised about Franco being left off, along with Martin for directing Billboards. Denzel?Happy for Streep and The Post, and the strong showing for Phantom Thread. Somewhere Armie Hammer is crying ... Big hug Armie.
Two thoughts. I don't know who the woman was announcing the nominations - but really, don't you think she may have had some to time review all the potential names and pronounce them correctly? For the hard-working & extraordinarily talented people receiving nominations, a major major event for them - to hear some flighty actress flubbing up their names for laughs, I just didn't care for that. Disrespectful. Eventually, i must say, I did forgive Cher who announced Marvin Hamlisch's name at "Hammel-schmit" at one of the 1970's Oscars. I think it was in '74 or '75. Point number 2. I'm not a prude and I have not seen "Call me by your name" - I will & look forward to it. In the age of the Kevin Spacey debacle, wasn't this about an adult man with an underage kid? There has been not one mention of that. Not to get anyone angry over this or rile people up - I was just wondering.
Very happy for the Phantom Thread nominations, especially Lesley Manville instead of Holly Hunter. So sad about the shortfalls for The Florida Project and The Post.
Remember that time a few weeks ago when I said that Denzel never missed an Oscar nod in the past for a performance for which he also was nominated for a Golden Globe and SAG [sips tea like Kermit]? The only people who held on to the hope of a Hanks or Gyllenhaal inclusion are those who ignored the past few years of the Academy ignoring them despite their "baity" projects. As for Franco, I assume that even before the #metoo/#timesup movement hit him he's the type who rubs people the wrong way.
Daniel Day-Lewis with his sixth Best Actor nomination, accompanying a Best Picture nomination for the film each time. He's like the anti-Meryl when it comes to acting nominations + BP nominations.
"He's like the anti-Meryl when it comes to acting nominations + BP nominations."
Well, not this year, as Meryl single-handedly dragged her movie to Best Picture.
If The Post was only going to get two nods, those are the ones to get. Congrats to all the nominees
LOL AMPAS basically just said The Post = The Blind Side. What a crazy year this has been, I love it.
I miss the old announcements.
I said it last year and I'll say it again: Octavia Spencer has had the most pleasantly unexpected post-Oscar career. Did anyone guess that two quick nominations would follow that win? So happy for her, even though I was hoping Chau would get in, too.
Tiffany, girl, I know you were nervous but you flubbed every name.
I do agree that the presenter murdered /mulitated a majority of the names - compared to Andy Serkis who easily said foreign names. It was cringe-worthy seeing nominee's with their names mispronounced. There was no practice time? This is the new-and-improved Oscar's with no mishaps?!? At one point at the start of the Best Picture announcement, a stagehand had to whisper the correct way to say the CMBYName Producer's last name. What an embarrassment.
I don’t like this attacking oldman shit. I’m not saying he does or doesn’t deserve it, just think the whole thing feels petty. The motivation of people coming after him has nothing to do with taking down a monster or helping the victim, but is all about trying to get Chalamet the oscar. MeToo is already being used as a weapon in close oscar races.
MERYL YES! I was so worried she wouldn't get in.
NO ARMIE AND STUHLBARG?! Dafoe better won this one cause I can't if they vote for the white racist cop.
They really love Phantom Thread I see.
Get Out is fucking overrated.
Hong Chau is snubbed. But of course they hate Asians.
Tiffany Haddish fucked up. Girl this is not BET.
Fun fact....Gary Oldman and Lesley Manville used to be married, and have a 29 year old son.
"Girl this is not BET."
Um, excuse me?...
I hear your Tiffany complaints but she gave us a forever gift with Kallelujah (and I loved how randomly excited she got for The Boss Baby).
"In the age of the Kevin Spacey debacle, wasn't this about an adult man with an underage kid? There has been not one mention of that."
Uh... that's all people were talking about after CMBYN came out. (for the record, as many people have pointed out, the movie itself handles the situation more delicately and tastefully than it would seem - not an issue in my book.)
That being said, it may not be a popular or PC sentiment, but I agree with you on Tiffany Haddish. The first couple of flubs could be forgiven for being amusing. When you can't pronounce anyone's name right - and don't even seem to bother trying - that's not a good look.
Nominations wise: wow Phantom Thread! I did NOT see that coming, so good on Nat for keeping it on the radar (even if he didn't necessarily predict it to do so well). We all must be so happy for Lesley Manville; such a well deserved nod. But how sad that The Big Sick only managed one nomination. Better than nothing, for sure, but what a sad miss for other categories. (I even predicted a shock nomination for Ray Romano - oops.)
The Hours was a best picture nominee!
"Fun fact....Gary Oldman and Lesley Manville used to be married, and have a 29 year old son."
Whoa, that *is* a fun fact! Wow. :O)
"This is Meryl's first time in a Best Picture nominee since Out of Africa (1985)."
The Hours was nominated for Best Picture.
Is BET known for flubbing names or were you just being racist?
So how many actors have been nominated for Paul Thomas Anderson movies?
Re: The Hours and Meryl Streep: Streep was not nominated for BA that year for The Hours. Nicole Kidman was, and Julianne Moore got a nod in BSA. Look it up.
@Cher Fan - um, there's actually been A LOT of mentions about that? Like, here on this very blog and elsewhere? You'd have to ignore a lot of Oscar/movie talk to think you're the first person to bring it up.
Is it weird that CMBYN is nominated for Picture and yet I wanted more for it? Like score and cinematography.
GREAT:
Call Me By Your Name gets the Picture nod denied poor Carol
Gerwig x 2
MANVILLE!
Baby Driver sound noms
McDonagh not in director
HUH:
Blige. I think she's fine, but I'm still stumped about who put her high enough on a ballot.
GROSS:
Plummer in lieu of either Hammer or especially Stuhlbarg
Dunkirk for Sound Mixing. Literally everyone upon leaving a screening: "...But I have no clue what anyone said at any point."
The crafts categories leave a lot to be desired, particularly Best Production Design. "Dunkirk"... really? And Burwell being nominated for "Three Billboards" instead of his much superior "Wonderstruck" is as clear a sign as any that voters cling to the film that is most talked about, not what is actually the best in a particular category.
@RobUK - totally agree on Blige. She's merely competent so how did she get so many #1 votes? When there are SO many great supporting actress performances to choose from this year?
Because the academy loves singers who are competent actors.
Re: Meryl Streep again - I thought y'all were talking about her being up *for* an award *in* a Best Pic nominee. Sorry about that...
Re: Mary J. Blige. I too am baffled that folks thought that she deserved a nom for her performance in Mudbound. I just do not see anything special about her work in it at all, esp. with so many other truly excellent actresses in the running. But sooo happy Leslie Manville got in.
Blige is simply the beneficiary of being in a strong ensemble that voters wanted to recognize in some capacity. It's like McAdams being nominated for "Spotlight."
Lesley Manville is now an Oscar nominee. All is right in the world.
Every year when the nominees come out I always have this sneaking suspicion that a lot of voters don't really watch a lot of movies.
It was RUDE AS HELL for the Academy to drag a supporting actress hopeful out of bed to be camera-ready for five in the morning, only to snub her live in the broadcast. Her name flubs were sweet justice. And she gave us the gift of Kalleluuya? Tiffany did her job and then some.
Perfectly fine group of nominees. The winners will be a different story. I switched on V&A with Orient Express in Costume at the last minute - should have gone with my gut. Surprised to see the Star Wars nod over The Post for Williams (we knew he would be nominated, I thought the prestige movie was a better bet).
Glad I stuck with my Darkest Hour prediction for BP as well. Sometimes the Academy is still the Academy.
I think Mudbound was 10th, not I Tonya or The Big Sick.
Happy for:
Manville, Kulaaya, Rachel Morrison, Sally Hawkins (I think she was #5, not Streep), PTA.
3B and Shape of Water still look like the front-runners, but there is a lot of maneuvering that can happen between now and voting, especially for Dunkirk, which traditionally still has everything it needs to win BP.
Octavia Spencer is always wonderful, but I must say that I find it a little redundant that she now has three nominations for playing sassy black women in the 1960s. I know it's all about what roles Hollywood has to offer her, but I can't think of any other multi-nominee whose nominations are for roles as similar as hers.
Hoping you are wrong about original screenplay. Unless it wins for “most” since McDonagh couldn’t decide which of ten different stories he was telling.
@Evan - I get what you're saying, that's really overly simplistic. Her character in Hidden Figures was all no-nonsense and business-like, with one kinda "sassy" retort to Kirsten Dunst at the end that was delivered in a very un-sassy way. And "sassy" is not the first word I'd use to describe her work in Shape of Water, either.
With Washington, Streep and Spencer's back-to-back nominations, 2017-2018's nominations are the first time since 2013-2014 that consecutive years have had three back to back nominees (the three recurrers then were Cooper, Jlaw and Amy Adams).
@Evan and @DJDeeJay I think Nathaniel was on the money when he described her as this generation's Thelma Ritter. Her specificity and general likability make it hard to begrudge her getting nominated for similar roles, even when they're so thin they verge on stock, as in this case.
Hammer is not a snub, it was never deserved, good to see it didn't happen. Chalamet was the only bright spot in that overrated movie, so congrats to him for the nom.
Sadly, it's another chance for the Chalamet tumblr fangirls to get their hearts broken again, don't see him winning.
Also happy the Academy stopped that Wonder Woman nonsense in its tracks. Best Picture, as if.
I gots to say as to the DARKEST HOUR love - if the Academy needed an outlet for its old-school Academy reflex, why couldn't it have been directed at THE POST (which was a much better movie) instead?
"Blige. I think she's fine, but I'm still stumped about who put her high enough on a ballot."
You and me both! :(
I'm sad that Michael Stuhlbarg got shut out! Very happy to see Gerwig and Peele though ❤️
There has not been a perfect match between Sound Mixing and Sound Editing since the latter category expanded to five nominees. This is the first 5/5.
On one hand, I think the (internet) backlash to 3B is a bit daft, considering the movie is a farce masquerading as a drama. Gotta check your sense of realism at the door to enjoy it. On the other hand, I don't know if it deserves to win BP as it has at the Globes and SAG either. Leaving McDonagh off the director list was probably a fair move. I really hope the (deserved) snub of I Tonya in BP means they'll strongly consider that Metcalf gave the supporting performance of the year and Janney (as wonderful as she always is) shouldn't win based on who she knows. I'd be fine with Rockwell over Defoe's overrated "nuance," though.
SUPER HAPPY
Logan adapted screenplay
all of Lady Bird's nominations
3BB director miss
I MEAN I LOVE YOU BUT HMM OK
Octavia
Rockwell
UGH
3BBs
Get Out editing miss
Phantom Thread love over I, Tonya, Big Sick and more Logan.
"Logan did it. The first superhero movie ever recognized in writing." - First LIVE-ACTION superhero movie, you mean! "The Incredibles" was up for Screenplay.
Your comment on Original Score says that Desplat was snubbed but he wasn't.