“The (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science) membership is made up mainly of white males and the average age is in the 60s, so it’s not surprising that the nominees released are reflective of that membership”, said Ana-Christina Ramon, assistant director of the Bunche Center, which produces an annual report on diversity in the entertainment industry. “I was actually at a town hall meeting on diversity last night, and I think it’s an exciting time to be having this conversation in Hollywood”, said writer Andrea Berloff. “Champagne and Mezcal will run tonight!” Worth noting: Academy members opted for eight best picture nominees – and they could have gone for 10.
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While diversity was lacking in the acting race, the films nominated reflect a variety of genres. “A lesbian love story, a brutal story of survival and everything in between”.
It’s hard to look at a film with six major nominations, including best actress (Cate Blanchett), best supporting actress (Rooney Mara), best cinematography (Ed Lachman) and best adapted screenplay (Phyllis Nagy), as a failure by any means, but it should sting that the incredibly well-received film did not earn a best picture nomination or a best director nomination for Todd Haynes.
This year, she was recognized for playing the Miracle Mop inventor in “Joy”.
The best actress field also includes rising star Brie Larson for “Room”; veteran Charlotte Rampling, who is hoping British drama “45 Years” will bring her first Oscar; and Saoirse Ronan for Irish immigrant tale “Brooklyn”. Her 2016 best actress nomination makes her the youngest actor ever at age 25 to have four Oscar nominations to her name. Many consider Rocky spinoff Creed a snub, with Michael B. Jordan absence from the best actor list sparking controversy over the Oscar’s lack of black actors. “I was not expecting it … especially at this time in my life”. Instead, Lenny Abrahamson for “Room” was the unexpected addition along with Adam McKay, known best for his broader Will Ferrell comedies, for “The Big Short”.
Sometimes the market responds to awards nominations due to the infamous “post Oscar bump”.
But the most disappointing outcome is that, for the second consecutive year, all 20 of the acting nominees are white. In acting categories, omissions included Idris Elba in “Beasts of No Nation” and Will Smith in “Concussion”. (“Bridge of Spies”), Paramount Pictures (“The Big Short”), Universal (“Straight Outta Compton“) and Warner Bros. There’s no doubt that yet another year of an all-white Oscars, which is being widely criticized on Twitter, will be addressed by host Chris Rock at the Febt 28 telecast.
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A year after Alejandro Inarritu’s “Birdman” swept top honours at last year’s Academy Awards, Inarritu will again play a leading role at the Academy Awards with his 1820s revenge thriller “The Revenant”, which landed a leading 12 nominations Thursday. “Star Wars” may have set a domestic box office record with $822 million and counting, but “Room”, with a minuscule $5.2 million to its name, was the bigger Oscar force. But like Ben Affleck for “Argo”, the director’s branch of the Academy overlooked him. As a producer of “The Martian”, he does have a shot at walking away with that golden statuette if it wins best picture, though.
