It’s been a day since the 92nd Academy Award nominees have been revealed and it would be a lie to call them anything but predictable.
Closely mirroring the likes of The Golden Globes, BAFTA’s and SAG Awards, the nominees are largely male — despite overall female nominations increasing — and largely whitewashed in the acting categories.
Rounding out the nominees Todd Phillips’ Joker received the most nods from the Academy, including Best Actor, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Film Editing and Best Picture, to name a few. The divisive film topped the list, while other favorites such as Hustlers, The Farewell, Frozen II, Uncut Gems, Dolemite Is My Name and Rocketman received little to no nominations.
Nonetheless, only time will tell if the actual ceremony is as predictable as the nominees, but for now, here’s five major takeaways from the 2020 Oscar nominees:
The Farewell received zero nominations
In a year where films blew both expectations and box offices away, there are sure to be snubs and favorites that receive little to no nominations.
With that in mind, the Academy granting Lulu Wang’s The Farewell with a whopping zero nominations is a bit absurd. In the least, Awkwafina deserved a nod for her leading role in the film.
The running for Best Actress this year includes Renee Zellweger (Judy), Charlize Theron (Bombshell), Saoirse Ronan (Little Women), Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story) and Cynthia Erivo (Harriet), so in the Academy’s defense it was most likely a hard decision.
Despite Awkwafina’s Golden Globe win, the comedian and actress should have been included in the nominees for her career-defining role.
No women were nominated for Best Director
For the second year in a row, the Best Director category is filled with testosterone.
Fitted with Martin Scorsese (The Irishman), Todd Phillips (Joker), Sam Mendes (1917), Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood) and Bong Joon-ho (Parasite), the category hasn’t included a female director since 2018 when Greta Gerwig was nominated for Lady Bird.
Among some of the women that could have been nominated in the category include Gerwig for Little Women, Wang for The Farewell, Lorene Scafaria for Hustlers or Celine Sciamma for Portrait Of A Lady On Fire, to name a few.
If Gerwig was to be nominated for Little Women, she would have made history as the first woman to be nominated twice for Best Director — but no.
Furthermore, in the 92 years of the Academy Awards, only five women have been nominated for Best Director, and a decade ago, Kathryn Bigelow took home the award for The Hurt Locker.
Actress and nominee presenter Issa Rae got it right when she ended the list of nods with, “Congratulations to those men.” Let’s appreciate the subtle shade.
Tom Hanks received first nomination in 19 years
Bringing a bit of joy to the nominations, Tom Hanks received his first Oscar nod in 19 years.
Hanks received the nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his scarily accurate portrayal of Fred Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Telling the tale of a journalist profiling Mr. Rogers, the film is nostalgic and Hanks’ portrayal is touching and pinpoints the person Rogers was.
Up against Anthony Hopkins (The Two Popes), Al Pacino (The Irishman), Joe Pesci (The Irishman) and Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood), Hanks has tough competition. Though Pitt won the Golden Globe for his role, Hanks is still in the running for the BAFTA and SAG award, as well.
Parasite makes history
Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite has been blowing away fans and critics alike, and now it’s blowing records away at the 2020 Oscars.
Nominated for Best Director, Film Editing, International Feature Film, Best Picture, Production Design and Original Screenplay, the film is the first from South Korea to receive nods for Best Picture and Best International Feature Film.
The acclaimed thriller has been making waves since it’s Palme d’Or win at Cannes this past year, where it became the first South Korean film to win the festival’s highest prize.
The acting categories lack diversity
Though Parasite has broken records, it should be noted that the film received no acting nominations despite its ensemble giving exquisite performances.
Furthermore, the only two people of color — Cynthia Erivo (Harriet) and Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory) — were nominated in all four acting categories. On the coattails of #OscarsSoWhite, the slim lack of diversity in the acting nominees is a bad look for the Academy, especially with so many people of color giving deserving performances.
Other than the Parasite cast, some notable snubs include Awkwafina (The Farewell), Eddie Murphy (Dolemite Is My Name), Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers), Jamie Foxx (Just Mercy) and Lupita Nyong’o for dual role in Us.
The 92nd Academy Awards air Sunday, Feb. 9 on ABC.
