2019 Oscar Delights and Disses

Some diets just got a lot stricter. Hollywood Dawn Patrol rained down equal measures of delight and bitter tears upon the landscape this morning. It’s not shaping up to be a particularly historic year, but natch’, there are many raised eyebrows to unravel as the dust settles. First, the good stuff:

Black Panther nabs the first-ever Best Picture nomination for a comicbook movie, while curiously snubbing the entire cast. Particularly surprising given the attention Michael B. Jordan received for his Shakespearean turn as the villain.

After a 30-year career, Spike Lee was finally nominated for Best Director and Best Picture for BlacKkKlansman. I was also thrilled to see Sam Elliott garner his first nomination, for his Supporting role in A Star is Born. Go, Sam!

There are of course a few things that didn’t sit well. How in the hell did Won’t You Be My Neighbor? fail to get nominated for Best Documentary? That’s what we call a travesty. I also thought Toni Collette would have been recognized for her incredible work in Hereditary, but I guess thoughts of “That’s a horror movie!” prevented her from even being considered. 

I’m still amazed that First Man never found the audience it deserved – failing to connect with voters as well, despite the film’s four nominations in technical categories. Damien Chazelle, Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy were all overlooked, as were cinematographer Linus Sandgren and editor Tom Cross, both of whom delivered superlative work. It’s one of the year’s most amazing films.

Many expected Nicole Kidman to be nominated, either for Destroyer or Boy Erased, but she didn’t get a mention. Likewise, John David Washington didn’t break through for his BlacKkKlansman work, and Emily Blunt has still never been nominated. I didn’t expect it for Mary Poppins Returns, but for A Quiet Place, I had hopes. But again, the horror label must have scared folks away from taking her amazing work seriously.

But probably the biggest overlook was Bradley Cooper for directing A Star is Born, opting instead to nominate him for actor – which is nice, but his work as director was fantastic, and was truly the galvanizing force that made the picture soar. The academy doesn’t always ignore actors-turned-directors (Mel Gibson), but sometimes they do (Ben Affleck). This one was a truly surprising omission. 

Those are my “morning-of” reactions – what did you think?

The (supposedly, for now) hostless broadcast of the 91^st Academy Awards will be on Sunday, February 24th. 

Here’s the complete list of nominees:

Best Picture

Black Panther

BlacKkKlansman (also nominated for Best Director)

Bohemian Rhapsody

The Favourite (also nominated for Best Director)

Green Book

Roma (also nominated for Best Director)

A Star is Born

Vice (also nominated for Best Director)

Best Actress

Yalitza Aparicio, Roma

Glenn Close, The Wife

Olivia Colman, The Favourite

Lady Gaga, A Star is Born

Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Amy Adams, Vice

Marina de Tavira, Roma

Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk

Emma Stone, The Favourite

Rachel Weisz, The Favourite

Best Actor

Christian Bale, Vice

Bradley Cooper, A Star is Born

Willem Dafoe, At Eternity’s Gate

Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody

Viggo Mortensen, Green Book

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Mahershala Ali, Green Book

Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman

Sam Elliott, A Star is Born

Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Sam Rockwell, Vice

Best Director

Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman

Pawel Pawlikowski, Cold War (the only Director not also nominated for Best Picture – it’s nominated for Best Foreign-Language Film)

Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite

Alfonso Cuarón, Roma 

Adam McKay, Vice

Best Original Screenplay

The Favourite (Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara)

First Reformed (Paul Schrader)

Green Book (Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly)

Roma (Alfonso Cuarón)

Vice (Adam McKay)

Best Adapted Screenplay

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (Joel Coen & Ethan Coen)

BlacKkKlansman (Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee)

Can You Ever Forgive Me? (Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty)

If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins)

A Star Is Born (Eric Roth and Bradley Cooper & Will Fetters)

Best Cinematography

Łukasz Żal, Cold War

Robbie Ryan, The Favourite

Caleb Deschanel, Never Look Away

Alfonso Cuarón, Roma

Matthew Libatique, A Star Is Born

Best Production Design

Black Panther

The Favourite

First Man

Mary Poppins Returns

Roma

Best Costume Design

Mary Zophres, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

Ruth Carter, Black Panther

Sandy Powell, The Favourite

Sandy Powell, Mary Poppins Returns

Alexandra Byrne, Mary Queen of Scots

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Border (Göran Lundström and Pamela Goldammer)

Mary Queen of Scots (Jenny Shircore, Marc Pilcher and Jessica Brooks)

Vice (Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia DeHaney)

Best Original Score

Ludwig Goransson, Black Panther

Terence Blanchard, BlacKkKlansman

Nicholas Britell, If Beale Street Could Talk

Alexandre Desplat, Isle of Dogs

Marc Shaiman, Mary Poppins Returns

Best Original Song

“All the Stars,” Black Panther

“I’ll Fight,” RBG

“The Place Where Lost Things Go,” Mary Poppins Returns

“Shallow,” A Star Is Born

“When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings,” The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

Best Film Editing

BlacKkKlansman

Bohemian Rhapsody

The Favourite

Green Book

Vice

Best Sound Editing

Black Panther

Bohemian Rhapsody

First Man

A Quiet Place

Roma

Best Sound Mixing

Black Panther

Bohemian Rhapsody

First Man

Roma

A Star Is Born

Best Visual Effects

Avengers: Infinity War

Christopher Robin

First Man

Ready Player One

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Best Animated Feature Film

Incredibles 2

Isle of Dogs

Mirai

Ralph Breaks the Internet

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Best Foreign-Language Film

Capernaum

Cold War

Never Look Away

Roma

Shoplifters

Best Documentary Feature

Free Solo

Hale County This Morning, This Evening

Minding the Gap

Of Fathers and Sons

RBG

Best Documentary Short Subject

Black Sheep

End Game

Lifeboat

A Night at the Garden

Period. End of Sentence.

Best Animated Short Film

Animal Behaviour

Bao

Late Afternoon

One Small Step

Weekends

Best Live-Action Short Film

Detainment

Fauve

Marguerite

Mother

Skin