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)
I think it is unfair to compare Ronan to J Law because Ronan"s first nom came as a child actress.
I loved how they spread the wealth this year. Thank you for this post and the commentariat -- I am loving to see all these facts and statistics I would not have previously known.
I haven't even seen LOGAN, but I think its nom is really cool.
Chastain has two nominations herself, it's not like she gets ignored every year
People need to quit it with the undeserved Wonder Woman entitlement. There's nothing WW deserved to be nominated for over the current nominees, and yes that includes Best Director
Significant=/=award worthy.
Also, not to sound insensitive, but Asians will need to mobilize themselves like black people if they want recognition. Black people didn't have other races fighting for them, they sparked the conversation, didn't let go, then it went mainstream and a movement started. Asians will have to do the same.
I also think it's unfair to compare Ronan to Jlaw... because Saoirse is an infinitely better actress than Jlaw.
Add Doris Day to the list of nominated performers with a #1 Billboard hit, as once she had a secret love at the top of the charts.
@aaron, Hammer is an indirect casualty o the movement.
Plummer is nom due to Spacek's controversy, which is of cos, due to the movement sparked off by downfall of HW.
Had the studio stick w Plummer as their first choice. Plummer might not hav tt extra edge to edge off Hammer to the last slot.
I believe vote splitting between Hammer n Stuhlbarg oso contribute to his not making the cut
Of all nominees, one got his first nod in the '60s: composer John Williams.
Two in the 1970s: director/producer Steven Spielberg and actress Meryl Streep.
And a small handful in the '80s: sound technicians Gregg Landaker and David Parker, actor Willem Dafoe, director/writer James Ivory, sound technician Mark A. Mangini, actor Denzel Washington, songwriter Diane Warren, actress Frances McDormand and composer Hans Zimmer.
I appreciate The Film Experience very much - for allowing opinions & thoughts. I thought it was awful when IMDB dropped that opinion section. Anytime I would watch an old great movie like "Now, Voyager" - I'd go to IMDB, read about it, then read peoples varying opinions. Some had behind-the-scenes stories to tell. But - I appreciate this site very much. Thanks for the forum. I'm a little worried Allison Janney is not going to win....I met her last month. Very nice, quite stately - at least 6 feet tall. Perhaps the academy might want to shake it up a bit and there could be some surprise winners. We'll see. Best Picture seems totally up for grabs. Peace! Thanks again.
Best song nominated people who have been nominated in non-music categories too:
Irving Berlin (writing Holiday Inn and Alexander's Ragtime Band) - Leo McCarey (directing The Bells of St. Mary's, Going My Way and The Awful Truth, writing My Son John, Going My Way, My Favorute Wife and Love Affair) - Alan Jay Lerner (Writing An American in Paris, Gigi, and My Fair Lady) - Jacques Demy (writing The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) - Barbra Streisand (Actress Funny Girl and The Way We Were, best picture The Prince of Tides) - Mel Brooks (writing The Producers and Young Frankenstein) - Fran Walsh (writing The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Heavenly Creatures and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, best picture The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King) - Sylvain Chomet (short animated The Old Lady and the Pigeons, animated feature The Triplets of Belleville and The Illusionist) - Spike Jonze (writing Her, directing Being John Malkovich) - James Schamus (writing Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, best picture Brokeback Mountain) - Mary J Blige (acting Mudbound)
It's a quite exclusive club.
Phantom Thread - just saw it and boy did it hurl. That absurd 2nd half Lars Von Trier wannabe nonlinear narrative about a OC dysfunctional marriage was a sad mess. The first half was little better: empty, shallow repressed sex freaks psychoing about structure. Hopeless. Casting is dreadful. There's thirty years between the Romeo & Juliet. Romeo needs a beard & Juliet really doesn't want to go back busing tables on the Moors. Not that she's very good at that job anyway. And the sister! Talk about a thankless part. She just gets dropped anyway after the schrooms kick in. Swill.
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