Oscar History
Film Bitch History
Welcome

The Film Experience™ was created by Nathaniel R. All material herein is written by our team. (This site is not for profit but for an expression of love for cinema & adjacent artforms.)

Follow TFE on Substackd

Powered by Squarespace
COMMENTS

 

Keep TFE Strong

We're looking for 500... no 390 SubscribersIf you read us daily, please be one.  

I ♥ The Film Experience

THANKS IN ADVANCE

What'cha Looking For?
Subscribe
« Soundtracking: 2017's Original Song Nominees | Main | Live Nomination Announcement »
Tuesday
Jan232018

90th Oscar Nominations: Shape of Water Leads. Darkest Hour and Phantom Thread Surprise.

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:

PrintView Printer Friendly Version

EmailEmail Article to Friend

Reader Comments (162)

Asian actors are constantly snubbed and there's no outrage at all. No one is in their corner.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterPeggy Sue

Desplat is not snubbed

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterRicopolo

The Bd

Serkis and Haddish flubbing names and generally treating an important time as a time for poor jokes

Washington being miserbale again at the show

Janney and Robbie in that film

Spencer what was she doing that was so specific in TSOW to be singled out

The song choices

Darkest Hour in BP


Rockwell for delivering one of his worst performances after being so good for many years and stopping Dafoe from winning after 2 previous tries

Good

No Franco he rubs me up the wrong way and I don't know him,was it the GG shove.

DDL and esp the Manville snub apology nomination.

Hunter and Haddish missing in supporting I was dreading Haddish reading out her own name and being crass.

Gerwig

Plummer

Blige - if the scene of her washing her son';s body doesn't convince you of this nom nothing will

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered Commentermarkgordonuk

Dan Laustsen will probably steal the cinematography Oscar this year, but "Proud Mary" may be his "Norbit." That film was terribly shot. It's hard to believe it's the same DP.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterRaul

I am all Manville 4TW in Supporting Actress, of course, because only horrible people would not be Manville 4TW.

But, I don't get the lack of love for Octavia Spencer's nomination here. In the scene where Michael Shannon barges into her home looking for Sally, Octavia is genius. Shannon has a colossal scene chewing role, and goodness knows he has swallowed other actors in past roles. But Octavia more than holds her own in that particular scene and is, in some ways, the focus. For that scene alone she deserves the nomination.

But again, Manville 4TW. Because there can be no other acceptable result.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterCharlieG

Li Gong, Michelle Yeoh, Ziyi Zhang, and now Hong Chau. Black & white doesn't mean diversity AMPAS! And Hollywood hardly give them roles. So pissed.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterJorge

I'll never object to an Octavia Spencer nomination. She comes across as one of the coolest, smartest, most gracious people in Hollywood.

And she's best friends with Allison Janney from way back! It's nice that they get to share this moment.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterHayden

Octavia (fun and funny and adorable as she was in her role) spoils what would've been a PERFECT "Never nominated" Best Supporting Actress line-up.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterYavor

I liked Spencer a lot in The Shape of Water. I'm happy for her success and liked her better here than in Hidden Figures.

I was hoping Wonder Woman would get nominated for SOMETHING, as I loved it. It would at the very least be deserving of a Best Costume nod over most of the actual nominees.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterJJM

I love that Octavia Spencer always has a friend nominated along her: Chastain and McCarthy in 2011; Viola Davis last year and Allison Janney this year

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterVictor S

I'm happy for Octavia Spencer. She's a welcome presence in all of her nominated roles, but she also benefits from starring in best picture contenders. Good for her.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterRaul

All of Octavia's nominated performances have been worthy.

Thrilled for her, her three nominations and Oscar records (First time a black actress was nominated again after a win last year and joint first black actor or actress to be nominated consecutively this year).

Octavia forever.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterKeegan

Asian actors are constantly snubbed and there's no outrage at all. No one is in their corner.

They can stand up for themselves. White people and non-black people assume black people complain all the time to get shit. But no marginalized group in America gets it like black people.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered Commenter/3rtful

Beating a dead horse, but again, TFE overestimated Jake Gyllenhaal and Annette Bening love affair (Especially the first one, what did you thinking? Gyllenhaal was DOA after the SAG noms and the lack of critics mentions).
Anyway, considering everything, the noms came with pleasant surprises mixed with few disappointments.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterLeon

I wouldn't be surprised if Krieps was running 6th instead of Chastain, based off the Phantom Thread love.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterArlo

@Peggy Sue - Asian actors are constantly snubbed? Constantly? I realize that the acting snubs for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and, to a lesser extent, Memoirs of a Geisha still smart, but since then Ken Watanabe and Rinko Kikuchi have been nominated for Oscars, and Dev Patel was nominated for Lion just last year. The bigger problem is that Hollywood seldom casts Asian actors *at all*, let alone gives them great roles in good films like Babel. (Hong Chau, talented though she is, was not served by Downsizing in any form or fashion.)

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterMareko

Can everyone calm down about Haddish already, I suspect they were given the names not long before they announced or they were reading them from a teleprompter. Also its the Oscar nominations not an address to the UN about war violations! Some perspective please :)

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterRami

Considering that Annette Being and Tom Hanks are on the Academy's Board of Governors, it is interesting that they can't seem to catch a break since their last nominations in 2010 and 2000, respectively. (This despite giving career-best performances.) Maybe the Academy at large considers them, being Hollywood royalty and all, rewarded enough? Film stars don't die on nomination morning.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterMareko

markgordonuk totally agree with you about Blige, a very deserved nomination and one I was worried won't come to fruition.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterRami

Meryl has been nominated seven of the last ten years. An incredible achievement. She also achieved this incredible feat with her first seven nominations (1978 - 1987)

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterBede NZ

Me too but the nods in the right categories made me happy for it and Blige is always super cool,I just felt she really delivered she's not my pick that's Pfeiffer but good on her.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered Commentermarkgordonuk

Agreed with Rami. Y'all are acting crazy about the mispronounced names. It's really not a big deal.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterTim

Can we talk about how one of the ugliest movies of the year (Beauty and the Beast) was nominated for Production Design? Lazy!

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterBD

FUN FACT: The 1938 animated short film based on FERDINAND won the Oscar way back then.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterCorey

In defense of Spencer, I thought she was so powerful in her scene with her husband and Michael Shannon. She conveyed her character's rage and powerlessness beautifully.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterMichael R

Never, NEVER complain about octavia spencer being praised or singled out. A masterful, subtle generous character actress (same applies to Manville) rewarded where it belongs

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterJ.

We can now add James Franco, Steve Carrell, Judi Dench, and Hong Chau to the list of performers who received *both* Golden Globe and SAG noms, but didn't get an Oscar nom.

Lesley Manville can be added to the list of actors who received neither a Golden Globe nor SAG nom, but *got* an Oscar nom. But doesn't look like she will be the first such actor to win since Marcia Gay Harden in 2000's Pollock.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterParanoid Android

In the Fade HAS been released. Came out 12/27 according to box office mojo

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterChris

I think, in supporting actor, Armie and Michael were competing for votes with each other AND with themselves (Armie in lead, where I bet a few votes were thrown his way, and Michael for his other films); this level of multi-pronged vote splitting was just too much. Plummer, on the other hand, had a good narrative and was a sentimental favorite with no competition.

3 Billboards’ editing nom really should’ve gone to Get Out. 3 Billboards’ editing was just messy - even the basics were not always aell handled. Frustrating.

But overall, quite nice nominations, no? Best Director was lovely.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterAdam K

YES

Noms for genius-but-underrated actresses Sally Hawkins, Laurie Metcalf, and Lesley Manville!

NO

I have to watch them all lose on the same night. :(

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterMike M.

The MGH win from 2000 is rarely discussed but how did she win it,the biggest shock of my Oscar watching life.

Any1 know anything or have any insight on why a MGH could happen to Manville.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered Commentermarkgordonuk

"Darkest Hour" was probably this year's "Hacksaw Ridge," the film the Academy's conservative bloc coalesced for. One of its producers is Douglas Urbanski, Gary Oldman's manager, a conservative who has guest-hosted for Bill O'Reilly on his show.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterRaul

Could James Ivory be the oldest Oscar winner (in a competitive category) if he wins? I love his nomination so much because it's not just a career nod (though it damn well could be) but absolutely worthy work.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterTom M

<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.>

Thank you, Adrian S-G!

Manville is my fave nomination. How awesome would it be for the "beloved television character actresses" to cancel each other out and hand her the win.

So glad the directors left McDonagh out of the final five. 3B is an obnoxious, condescending, choppy, tonally messy picture.

And speaking of 3B: I hope the Academy does not reward its mediocre screenplay over the unsentimental brilliance of Lady Bird or the genre-bending originality of Get Out.

Also, no editing nod for Get Out? They're insane.

Pulling for a Nolan "upset" in Best Director, he really deserves it.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterNewMoonSon

This is the first year where I saw all the Foreign Language submissions before the Oscars. I personally thought Foxtrot was the best of the lot, so I'm sad to see it having missed out. I would have picked Israel, Sweden, Russia, Germany, and Chile in that order. Hungary's film is interesting. Lebanon's, however, is pretty standard Foreign Language Oscar fare.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterEvan

Does it really requires a scandal for voters to favor living legend Daniel Day Lewis creating a fully realized character out of nothing over Franco's Tommy Wiseau impression.

Phantom's late break was probably the main reason Franco got the SAG over DDL.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterMichael C.

While we’re on the subject of diversity indignation re: Asian and Asian-American actors and actresses, what about Native Americans? Wes Studi should’ve won for The Last of the Mohicans, and critic Mark Kermode has said he believes Studi should win this year for Hostiles. Never nominated.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterJason Cooper

"The MGH win from 2000 is rarely discussed but how did she win it,the biggest shock of my Oscar watching life."

She was awesome. I don't think I breathed anytime she was on-screen during Pollock. (I also don't know if she could have won if a Metcalf or Janney were nominated that year, sadly. I think the vote was fairly divided and enough voters watched their screeners and felt like I did.)

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterSuzanne

A couple of things I thought about this morning:
Since her Oscar nomination run in the 80’s - Streep’s Oscar nominations have been capped at 4 per decade- the 2010 decade has now broken that to earn 5.
SAG and BAFTA snub more than likely due to screener issues or lack of Brits
The critics awards do not mean everything in terms of Oscar nomination morning
Streep fatigue was overcome by her strongest performance in years
The nomination this morning also overcame the worst vitriol on this site and others towards her - including some that wanted to push the “she knew” movement to take her down
Last year everyone said that she had just slipped in but than it was later revealed Negga was on the bubble- who really knows this year if hat was indeed the case
Lastly- Streep remains to defy the rules of award predictions. Have been visiting the site since 2006 and every year arguments ensue of why she should not be nominated and here we are 7 nominations later

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterJamie

markgordonuk - What I remember from 2000 was that Marcia Gay Harden and Ed Harris were critical favorites (she won NYFCC) and were being championed as underdog choices. Neither had been nominated for the Globe or SAG Awards, so it's not too different from Lesley Manville in that respect. Her role was pretty substantial and she was great in it. The favorite that year was Kate Hudson followed by Frances McDormand, both for "Almost Famous," so the two of them may have split the votes, but I think the more likely reason for Harden's win was that once she was nominated, it forced voters to watch "Pollock" and see how great she was. Hudson was not a strong frontrunner--she lost the SAG Award to Judi Dench--and she was coasting on her "It" girl promise. Harden's role was a better fit for supporting actress (supportive but put-upon wife).

I think Manville getting nominated actually boosts her to third place in the category. The film's nominations will get the film seen and I'm sure many voters will appreciate her performance even if they don't like the film. With that said, I think most of the votes will go to Janney and Metcalf, but Manville would be my dark horse.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterRaul

If Janney wins, it will be the 3rd actress from The Help to win an Oscar since Octavia won in 2011. Add Chastain in a year or two and that cast is charmed!

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterMatty

I have to say that I don't hate these nominations, and I am glad they spread the wealth.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterTom Ford

I'm tempted to agree that the Academy was at fault in putting an actress (Tiffany Haddish) in the uncomfortable position of announcing the nominees in a category where she herself was a legitimate contender. Then having to react live and publicly to the disappointment of not being one of the five. But Haddish knew this going in and still accepted the gig. So I have no problem criticizing her for the long litany of garbled and mispronounced names. She seemed to treat the whole thing as an off the cuff comedy routine. Her careless incompetence undercut what was a special moment for those nominated.

Several commenters here are unenthusiastic about Octavia Spencer's nomination. Not me. This woman's artistry is a constant joy. I've loved all three of her nominated performances - but I think what she does in "The Shape of Water" represents her best work yet. Warm and funny, richly detailed and ultimately moving. Bravo!

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterKen

The reason Phantom Thread (and Leslie Manville, yeah!) got nominations is because PT is a really good, interesting, beautifully directed and acted film. You just never knew where it was going. I loved the dark, twisted turn it took.

I'm really happy Meryl Streep got nominated this year. I think she's great, but she occasionally gets nominated for less than her best work (Into The Woods or August: Osage County are the 2 recent examples). She's great in The Post, well-deserved kudos to her.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterRob

I wonder how Jessica Chastain feels this morning,what does she have to do?

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered Commentermarkgordonuk

@Ken: agree with you 100% on Tiffany Haddish. It was an unfortunate performance. I think people are minimizing it b/c she's obviously a fun & fun-loving gal, and who doesn't feel for her being omitted from the list of nominees so publicly? But come on, folks, no one's saying she's a terrible person. She just didn't do so well this AM.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterRob

I remember when Oldman first emerged in films like "Prick Up Your Ears" and was considered a hot young genius. Now he's just considered an old establishment figure. Get over your boy-crushes, people and stop attacking a great actor. It might help to think of him as the Timothée Chalamet of the 80s.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterDanniella

Can we get a trendy hashtag to get the academy to nominate some asians? Like, Hong Chau had one of the best performances this year and fails to get nominated over Octavia Spencer who was easily the worst thing in The Shape of Things. Nothing against her personally, but I really wanted the nomination for Chau :(

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterRina

Beyond thrilled for CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, Gerwig and Manville!!!
Overall, AMPAS did good this year.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterRyan

So happy Lesley Manville has finally been rewarded with an Oscar nomination. She is sublime on stage and one of our finest. High time for Lesley to be awarded a Damehood methinks. Easily the best news from today's nominations by far.

January 23, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterMatthew UK
Member Account Required
You must have a member account to comment. It's free so register here.. IF YOU ARE ALREADY REGISTERED, JUST LOGIN.