The Academy Award nominees were announced this morning, and it turned out to be a surprisingly big year for science fiction and fantasy films – especially if you’re talking about Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian or Ex Machina. That may be a record for number of years between first and second nominations for acting.
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Leading the Australian contingent is George Miller, nominated for directing and best picture for “Mad Max: Fury Road”.
The F. Gary Gray-directed Straight Outta Compton, which charts the rise and fall of the California hip-hop group and features an all-black cast, did land a nomination in the Original Screenplay category. He’s now one of just a handful of performers who have been nominated twice for the same role, and the distance between his movies is far and away the longest.
Looking at this year’s nomination with seasoned eyes I can clearly see the obvious picks for some categories, however others look to have some competition. Their respective directors also were among five nominated for prizes from the Directors Guild of America, whose winners often align with the Oscars.
Blanchett will vie for the best actress gong for her portrayal of an older lesbian lover in the critically acclaimed drama Carol after winning her seventh career nomination.
There are always snubs, and this year the talk is about racial bias. We couldn’t have gotten along better. The film’s nomination for best picture is Spielberg’s ninth in that category, the most for any individual producer.
In the acting categories, I predict history will be made a few times. But Michael Keaton, who got a best actor nod past year for “Birdman”, was not recognized for his supporting work in “Spotlight”.
Best-actress nominees include Cate Blanchett for “Carol”, Brie Larson for “Room”, Jennifer Lawrence for “Joy”, Charlotte Rampling for “45 Years” and Saoirse Ronan for “Brooklyn”.
“The Academy people don’t vote by race or gender but it’s the studios that need to fix this by better reflecting the population”, Gray told AFP.
One of the most controversial announcements was Sylvester Stallone’s Oscar nod for his supporting role in Creed; lead actor Michael B. Jordan received no recognition from the Academy. What does director Todd Haynes have to do to get arrested in this town, anyway?
Now that we’re done complaining about the Golden Globes, it’s time to move on.
Winners will be announced at the star-studded Oscars in Los Angeles on February 28.
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Along with Miller, the nominees for best director are Adam McKay for “The Big Short”, Lenny Abrahamson for “Room”, Alejandro G. Iñárritu for “The Revenant” and Tom McCarthy for “Spotlight”.
