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)
Haddish had fun; I don't blame her for striking while the iron is hot. I don't think she cares about projecting versatility—she has a book, stand-up specials and more (namely, "herself") to promote. And who knows when another year like 2017 will come along.
Rebel Wilson has a similar, unserious public persona; It's not everyone's cup of tea but she's never stopped working.
So, Pfeiffer can't get a surprise nod for any of her two movies even though she was clearly the MVP in both (and surrounded by Oscar winners in both, too), but Plummer can as some sort of "thank you Christopher for just being available for reshooting scenes so that we can pretend Spacey was never in this movie"?
Pfieffer may have deserved a nomination but there was so much more competition in her category this year. Plummer only had to worry about Armie or Michael getting ahead of him. Plus Pfieffer may have had votes split on both her performances. Maybe she will get the consolation prize of presenting best picture.
Yup. It's the strangest awards year I've seen thus far.
Hot damn, Phantom Thread! Saw it last weekend and loved it, so nice to see it here. CMBYN got the exact nominations I saw it getting, so there's that I suppose; would it have killed them to nominate it for production or costume design, though? Below the line, both were what impressed me most about Guadagnino's adaptation.
Anyway, the really exciting part was LOGAN. Holy moly! I am 100% rooting for that to take the golden boy and shut everyone up who's said comic book films can't say anything meaningful about anything.
Oh, and congrats, Miss Manville on your first nomination, even if you weren't as awesome as everyone says in PT! :)
The rest was pretty dire, overall. Ugh indeed.
Plummer was great in the kind of role Oscar always recognizes. Even without the extenuating circumstance, he might have slid in for this performance.
POOR PFEIFFER snubbed again what a joke :(
Jason Copper, also shouldn't Gil Birmingham be a two time Oscar nominee by now?
Who cares about Tiffany flubbing names? It was a morning program announcing nominations, her and Serkis had fun. I would see if it was a serious event, but come on.
Also, Lego Batman, wow
Can someon explain the 3B hatred to me. I saw the movie and though i probably wouldn't vote for it in Best Picture (although i do think Frances does nuanced work in a part someone else would overact and Sam was hilarious) i don't understand the hatred it begets. Is it like last year with LLL where the oscar frontrunner must be lynched if we don't like the film?
Is it like last year with LLL where the oscar frontrunner must be lynched if we don't like the film?
Evagr
No. It's because it's a mess of tones and it's manipulative to a fault. Plus, has strings attached to dialogues and plotting like it's all in McDonagh's hands.Not their characters. Commonly known as a mouthpiece.
Can I add its stupidity it's offensive to some groups, too? Or missrepresentation? But that's the least of its problems to me. Like, I don't even live in Missour-A!
Jessica Chastain was robbed. Sigh.
brookesboy
No more than Michael Stuhlbarg.
One can't help thinking that The Shape of Water did deserve to be nominated for another 3 Oscars (Make Up, Visual Effects and Michael Shannon as Supporting Actor as well), so it had a chance to be nominated to 16 Oscars, an all time record.
I think it's the frontrunner for the win, specially after 3Billboards missing Best Director
Sad that Tiffany Haddish didn't get nominated but I'm more upset that The Beguiled nor Wonder Woman got a single nomination. I'm happy for Queen Mary. Maybe this is the first step for her to get something far more prestigious.... the EGOT.
By my count, MJB is the 9th performer with a #1 hit on the Billboard chart to also recieve an Oscar nomination. She joins Cher, Jamie Foxx, Debbie Reynolds, Diana Ross, Frank Sinatra, Will Smith, Barbra Streisand, and John Travolta.
If they really wanted to honor Phantom Thread, they should have also nominated it for Sound Mixing. Those scenes where Alma makes too much noise at breakfast are priceless.
Matty-Also Bobby Darin.
I just realized Steven Spielberg was nominated, as a producer for The Post. There is something nice about these nominations that recognizes so many great films, and omitted certain people (JF). It restores my faith in movies (especially after the horrible SAG Awards, where they just went for two films). Now I look forward to the Oscars, and it should be a big celebration, assuming they don't have another giant shoe drop.
Sorry, the SAGs went for 3 films (Billboards, Tonya and Darkest Hour). These nods are more broad by virtue of all the categories, and hopefully will bring some upsets with a March broadcast date.
Yay, great, but WHERE. ARE. THE. FILM. BITCH. NOMINEES?!?!?!?!
^ This.
But I came to say: remember how the point has been made that Best Picture has a much greater alignment with the Best Actor category rather than Best Actress? This year, 4 out of the 5 nominees in each category are from BP-nominated films. More importantly, assuming that the winner is Three Billboards, The Shape of Water, Lady Bird, or The Post -- which, I'd say the chances of that are about 90% --, this will be the first year since 2004 where the Best Picture has a female lead.
How do you know "Meryl just barely squeaked in with her 21st nomination." How ridiculous. Did you see the ballots?
Congrats to Meryl Streep for her 21st acting nomination. And well deserved!
Early prediction: Lesley Manville will Marcia Gay Harden her way to that Oscar.
Just a thought here. Someone pointed out that Streep has been nominated 7 out of the last 10 years - true & good for her. However, she's offered & takes all the plumb roles. No one ever has an opportunity in that age range to get a chance at the good movie roles....Jane Fonda, Angelica, Sarandon, Spacek, Field, Lange, Glenn Close, Holly Hunter, even Faye Dunaway. The majority of them have moved on to TV. The list goes on & on. Devil Wears Prada....lots of actresses could have done a fantastic job in that....same with "Doubt" or "Ausage County." I get bored with Meryl Streep. Sorry. Cher, Lange or Angelica would have been fantastic in "Devil Wears Prada." Give someone else a chance.
I really don't get the acclaim for "Phantom Thread"?!
jimmy--you speak truth!
It's one thing to begrudge Streep for receiving undeserving nominations, it's another to sound like a broken record saying she steals all the good roles from others. I can accept the former but as for the latter, I say Get Over It!
"By my count, MJB is the 9th performer with a #1 hit on the Billboard chart to also recieve an Oscar nomination. She joins Cher, Jamie Foxx, Debbie Reynolds, Diana Ross, Frank Sinatra, Will Smith, Barbra Streisand, and John Travolta. -- Matty"
Add Bette Midler (#1 single with Wind Beneath My Wings); Julie Andrews (#1 album with "Sound of Music" soundtrack); Jennifer Hudson (#1 R&B chart with Spotlight) -- all had Oscar acting nominations.
The list is longer if we look beyond the acting nominations (e.g., Madonna, Dolly Parton, and Prince have had #1 hits on Billboard charts and Oscar nominations in non-acting categories).
Jimmy, I too would love more variety, but I think you are asking Meryl Streep to sit at home and not work, which is not really fair. If any of the studios wanted those actresses, then they would have offered them the part. Streep only works once or twice a year. They just don't make very many movies that are built around a women over 60, and if they do, the part will often go to a Streep, Mirren or Dench, because they can still can draw movie audiences in. It is a giant gamble for a movie studio to put out a $25 million film and then hope for the best with an actress who has not had a hit movie in decades. Maybe there will be more variety now moving forward, now that Kidman, Roberts, Bullock, Davis, Witherspoon, Oprah etc. are all over 50 and have some clout. Hollywood still has a long way to go to put out varied movies built around women, and actually mirror the full age and race spectrum of movie audiences.
The onus should be on directors and producers to offer great roles to other older actresses beyond Streep. Why should Streep turn down a plum role that is being offered to her?
I think what jimmy means is that these Oscar nominations would be going to other talented actresses if they won these juicy parts. And that's certainly true.
I can't even imagine Cher in TDWP. Her face is kind of ... not realistic. Lange may have been too dark and not funny. Angelica, maybe, but she too would maybe not work, and it could have flopped, Part of why MS gets hired is that she makes the movie work, and brings an audience, whether it's drama, comedy, or musical. If she is not interested, sometimes the movie gets shelved and then we would not have nice things. In any event, congrats to the nominees. This is supposed to be their day.
There are a lot of great things to talk about like Timothee, the two Daniel, Woody, Lesley, Paul Thomas, Logan-Mudbound-The Big Sick's Screenplay, cinematographer Rachel Morrison, and someone still finds something to bitch about Meryl Streep? Give someone else a chance? Of course she did, otherwise she would have taken Sally, Frances, Margot ahd Saoirse's roles and get nominated all by herself.
They cast Streep because they want to make money. And she is a living legend that many adore. She is a safe bet for movie producers that are still getting use to be 60 year old female lead. I don’t necessarily think she steals opportunities.
That being said- Think Streep’s next project is The Nix with JJ Abrams directing and both of them producing..... 9 episodes........for TV. And then I am assuming Little Women with Greta Gerwig directing?
Haddish: Say what? I haven't seen her on the screen, but is she this adept at delivering her lines?
Happy for Streep, Lady Bird, Timothée, Saoirse
Sad for Stuhlbarg, Hunter and McDonagh
Glad Franco didn't get in
One suggestion to all producers. Could you please find a vehicle for Meryl and Saoirse to star in?
One wish: I hope Saoirse is glowing in On Chesil Beach this year so she can win next year.
Finally, go Octavia go!!!! I think I was the first one here to call you the black Thelma Ritter! Keep going, woman! Don't stop until nomination 6! And, along the way, an additional win wouldn't hurt!
Brookesboy - it's hard to guarantee that roles played by Streep (or any plum roles) going to other talented actresses would get them nominated. Some juicy roles simply don't translate to accolades in the end for factors that have been discussed to death on this site such as AMPAS' whims, marketing strategies, etc. Look, I want other actresses like S Weaver, Glenn Close, H Hunter, Lange, and more importantly a host of other lesser known ones to receive the wealth of opportunities. That's the ideal world. Some fantastic actresses don't even get work in Hollywood anymore. But it's so easy to lynch Streep for all the woes which is pretty unfair.
Danny Crave: I hate to break it to you, but Sam Rockwell is not a white racist cop.
What I worry about in this outrage culture is what some people here are claiming: they don't want Rockwell to win because they don't like his character.
Is that really where we're going? Cause that's a dangerous pathway for the arts.Simply not honoring or acknowledging a performance just because the character isn't noble or righteous in your eyes. Yeesh people get a grip.
I have to say I'm thrilled for that supporting actress lineup: I'm not crazy about all of their performances, but that is a character actress lineup to the max with not one leading lady frauding up the place. Great job, Academy!
Also, The Post absolutely has to be one of the strangest awards cases in recent memory. It's a highly acclaimed, socially and politically relevant drama with one of the world's greatest directors starring two of Oscar's favorite actors. It's also doing really, really well at the box-office and connecting with audiences (A cinemascore grade). And yet....two nominations??? I know people are saying the Academy is changing and what we perceive as Oscar-bait...but I don't think that's the case here. I mean, Darkest Hour did much better than expected (a surprise Best Picture nod + a slew of technical nods. I would venture to say screenplay and directing weren't far behind) - and it was definitely the type of standard, Oscar-fare movie that does well every year. Anyways, I just really don't know what happened with The Post this year.
In regard to Harden, it wasn’t McDormand who was in second, but Dench (who took the SAG). MGH snuck in because there was some chagrin about a “Hollywood Princess” getting it the year after that had just happened (Jolie/Hudson), and a Chocolat backlash. McDormand & Walters couldn’t gain heat, and buzz for Harris was growing at the time. That all added up to a close MGH victory.
One could argue that CZJ (whom you could argue she replaced) also could have won in a surprise victory due to the same circumstances, though that could have set off a chain reaction with Meryl/Viola/2016 Victor?.
Guess there is no Streep-fatigue!
Sad in a heartbeat wasn't nominated.
3B is trite, ridiculous, and offensive. If people see that reflected in Rockwell’s character, all the better for Dafoe.
My argument is Meryl Streep completely upstaged everything about the Post, she upstaged The Movie, the direction, the screenplay, the cast and all the techniques, I can't believe it myself but that what it is for me. So it's completely merit that Meryl was nominated and the movie just barely and nothing else. About the cast, I still can't believe no one was able to steal a scene from her, not even Tom Hanks which is why he wasn't supposed to be nominated. If it wasn't for Streep, The Post might just be a fairly good thriller with an important message. Unfortunately its important message was already outshined by other important messages by the time it opened.
This year is driving me nearly as nuts as Sandra Bullock winning for THE BLIND SIDE in 2010 - or any year Annette Bening loses Lead Actress! I’ll be the first to admit I’m taking it way too personally. (This is why I’ve sought solace here with Nathaniel since ‘02/‘03 when I needed emotional support through Julianne Moore’s FAR FROM HEAVEN loss.)
I say this as a die-hard Mary J. stan who has devoured every album of hers since MY LIFE dropped my 5th grade year and who purchases tickets every time she performs in Los Angeles: it is incomprehensible to me that she has been Academy Award-nominated for her performance in MUDBOUND. She tossed each of her lines into thin air and never managed to convincingly listen to her scene partners. I was legitimately uncomfortable
every time she spoke. It’s as if she’s been nominated for not completely embarrassing herself and going without glamorous hair/make-up.
Frances McDormand is a frontrunner for a synthesis of recycled performances where she plays an unkempt, depressed person who explodes with profanity at nearly everyone she encounters (FRIENDS WITH MONEY) and uses a regional accent to solve a mystery/hunt a killer (FARGO) - and I still think she’s the brightest spot in the movie. (Sam Rockwell’s hammy acting is unbearable; he can’t be blamed for his character’s entirely implausible character arc, however. I felt violated by the 3 BILLBOARDS screenplay, and I believe Martin McDonagh owes me a direct amends.)
Historically, I often complain of Oscar voters awarding attractive 20-somethings In Best Actress over more deserving elders, but Margot Robbie was phenomenal to me, and I would so much rather see her win - or the very much owed Sally Hawkins (who I believe should be the reason the great Kate Winslet should still be Oscarless)!
I adore Allison Janney, but if my favorite performance of the year (Laurie Metcalf) can’t win, I hope Lesley Manville sneaks in and takes it.
Apologies for any typo.
I am solely speaking my own opinions whoch have been formulated as a result of my own limited experience.
Ryan Crowe,
Lady Bird/Del Toro/Chalamet/Robbie/Dafoe/Metcalf
I have to disagree because every actor in The Post - no matter how small the part - is great. I personally would have put Tom Hanks in instead of Denzel, because Hanks is so sly as Ben Bradlee and great with Streep, but I don’t get to vote. Every other part is too small for a nomination. It fits the profile of other Spielberg films where it gets a best picture nod but he does not get director. I am frankly just grateful it was made in this era and is doing well with audiences. It will continue to have an impact, IMHO.
3BB is stopped from its track fr winning BP w tt dir's snub, The race is back to between The Shape of Water & Dunkirk
I dun tink 3BB is gonna win Screenplay which is its most problematic area, Org Screenplay is a race btw Get Out & Lady Bird now.
Overall, Thr's quite a few nice surprises and satisfying snubs (Yes, I'm referrrin to u, McDonagh)
The Happy News!! :)
1) Phantom Thread over-performs w add nods for Best Pic, Dir & Manville (Yessssssssss!!!)
2) Get Out & Lady Bird get into BOTH director & screenplay!!! For a while, both Gerwig & Peele look kinda on the bubble.
3) I'm actually glad tt Harrelson is nom & praying tt it will be him instead of Rockwell who gets the Gold....If not Dafoe, then let it be Harrelson!!!......plzzzz
4) I dun wanna sound bitchy, but I guess many o us incl the pundits all over-estimated I, Tonya, it din crack best pic or screenplay, it din even get into Make-Up & Costume which many thot it wld've easily done.....It probably shows tt the Academy luvs I Tonya but not as much as Lady Bird & Metcafe's chance suddenly seems so much brighter now!!! :)
5) Although it din get as much noms as we wld hav like, Call Me manage to snag all the impt noms...for a while, it too seems so vulnerable due to the pedophilia criticism...
The WTF??!! :(
1) The Florida Project fails to crack into any other cat except Supp Actor...I was so hoping tt it wld sneak into either Pic or Dir
2) I knew Franco is gonna get snubbed, but why do they have to go w Washington AGAIN! when Hanks & Gyllenhaal r right thr waiting at the wing!! Is Denzel really the male Meryl??
3) Speaking of The Queen, I guess I cant really complain since she has been in the top 5 since like the longest time...But lets say a prayer for Chastain,,,she was THIS CLOSE to making the cut...
4) A prayer too for Hammer & Stuhlbarg, their Oscar chance derailed by....no, not Plummer, but Kevin Spacey!! Hammer, esp is soooo close
5) Why is Jane missing fr Documentary!!??? this is really the most WTF moment for me! Face Places shld have a clear path to the Gold now
6) They really dun like Asian huh, Hong Chau's snub reminded me of Ziyi Zhang's snub 12 yrs ago for Memoirs o a Geisha, where she was nom everywhr BUT the Oscar...
Its ironic tt Franco & Hammer's Oscar chance are hugely affected by the current #metoo movement while a year ago, Affleck managed to wiggle his way to a win...If the movement happens just one yr earlier, you can b sure Affleck wld nev hav won...
Armie Hammer didn't miss the nomination because of the "#metoo" movement. That is ridiculous. I hope we're not dumb and blind enough to miss the nuance of that beautiful relationship between him and Timothee Chalamet. The Academy obviously wasn't crazy about Call Me By Your Name - it also should've been a slam-dunk nominee for Cinematography. And, of course, the extraordinary Michael Stuhlbarg who unceremoniously went missing this whole awards season.
Can someone tell me why Chastain has been overlooked not just this time but on other occasions (Miss Sloane, Violent Year) yet Ronan, whom I adore - so don't get me wrong - has already been nominated 3 times and JLaw multiple times too? Sure, Chastain is horrible at comedy - SNL anyone? but she's sheer dynamite in dramas. Is it because AMPAS simply hasn't quite embraced her talent yet? What does it take for them to do so? Sorry, just ranting!
I like her, but I think Jessica is often the same in every movie (except The Help), and is not entirely relatable as a person (Italian count husband, sure Jess), or transcendent on the big screen. Plus this year the competition was fierce, and people said for weeks those five women would be the nominees. She is only 40 and can break in another year.