Speaking of jokes and jokers, did you hear the one about the comic book movie with a clownish, homicidal leading character that unexpectedly landed at the top of the Oscar nominations list this morning with 11 mentions?
Joker, which scored nominations for best picture, director, actor, adapted screenplay and in seven other categories, becomes only the second comic book movie – after Black Panther – to land in the race for the top Academy Award. And it represents the first time a comic book movie hauled in the largest nomination total of the year. So much for comics being a stigma that Oscar voters were expected to turn their noses up at.
And as stigmas go, the concern among theater exhibitors and the film industry in general over streaming services movies seems to be disappearing as Netflix led all studios with 24 nominations, led by a pair of its prestige original releases – The Irishman (10 nominations) and Marriage Story (6).
The Irishman tied with two other films with 10 nods, 1917 and Once Upon a Time in … Hollywood, both of which performed well as the recent Golden Globes. This marks the first time that four films received double-digit nomination totals, assuring a competitive evening when the statuettes are handed out on Sunday, Feb. 9. As previously announced, there will be no host for this year’s ceremony.
Nine films made the field for Best Picture in the complex system of the Academy that could have between five and 10 nominees. In addition to the four previously mentioned, the category includes Ford v. Ferrari, Jojo Rabbit, Little Women, Marriage Story and Parasite.
Parasite, from South Korea, in also nominated in the newly renamed International Feature Film category, and becomes the front runner to win there, It will compete against Corpus Christi (Poland), Honeyland (North Macedonia), Les Miserables (France) and Pain and Glory (Spain).
Pain and Glory star Antonio Banderas will be in the running for the Best Actor Oscar. He will be vying against Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon a Time in … Hollywood), Adam Driver (Marriage Story), Joaquin Phoenix (Joker) and Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes). Only DiCaprio has won previously, four years ago for The Revenant.
Driver’s co-star in Marriage Story, Scarlett Johansson, had a very good morning, picking up two nominations – Best Actress (Marriage Story) and Best Supporting Actress (Jojo Rabbit). Her competitors for the former category include Cynthia Erivo (Harriet), Saoirse Ronan (Little Women), Charlize Theron (Bombshell) and Renee Zelleweger (Judy). Erivo, who plays Underground Railroad pioneer Harriet Tubman in the biopic, is the only performer of color to be nominated.
Among the non-white performers who were talked about as possible nominees, but who walked away empty-handed this morning were: Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers), Eddie Murphy (My Name is Dolomite) and Jamie Foxx (Just Mercy). Two Golden Globe winners – Awkwafina (The Farewell) and Taron Egerton (Rocketman) – will have to settle with that foreign press award. And the Best Director category was again an all-male club, leaving out the much-touted Greta Gerwig (Little Women) and Lulu Wang (The Farewell).
Here is the complete list of nominees:
Best Picture
Ford v Ferrari
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
Marriage Story
1917
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
Parasite
Best Director
Martin Scorsese, The Irishman
Todd Phillips, Joker
Sam Mendes, 1917
Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
Bong Joon-ho, Parasite
Best Cinematography
Rodrigo Prieto, The Irishman
Lawrence Sher, Joker
Jarin Blaschke, The Lighthouse
Roger Deakins, 1917
Robert Richardson, Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
Best Original Screenplay
Rian Johnson, Knives Out
Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story
Sam Mendes, Krysty Wilson-Cairns, 1917
Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
Bong Joon-ho, Han Jin Won, Parasite
Best Adapted Screenplay
Steven Zaillian, The Irishman
Taika Waititi, Jojo Rabbit
Todd Phillips, Scott Silver, Joker
Greta Gerwig, Little Women
Anthony McCarten, The Two Popes
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
Saoirse Ronan, Little Women
Charlize Theron, Bombshell
Renée Zellweger, Judy
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory
Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell
Laura Dern, Marriage Story
Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit
Florence Pugh, Little Women
Margot Robbie, Bombshell
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes
Al Pacino, The Irishman
Joe Pesci, The Irishman
Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
Best International Feature Film
Corpus Christi (Poland)
Honeyland (North Macedonia)
Les Misérables (France)
Pain and Glory (Spain)
Parasite (South Korea)
Best Animated Feature Film
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
I Lost My Body
Klaus
Missing Link
Toy Story 4
Best Animated Short Film
“Dcera”
“Hair Love”
“Kitbull”
“Memorable”
“Sister”
Best Live-Action Short Film
“Brotherhood”
“Nefta Football Club”
“The Neighbors’ Window”
“Saria”
“A Sister”
Best Documentary Feature
American Factory
The Cave
The Edge of Democracy
For Sama
Honeyland
Best Documentary Short Subject
“In the Absence”
“Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)”
“Life Overtakes Me”
“St. Louis Superman”
“Walk, Run, Cha-Cha”
Best Costume Design
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Bombshell
Joker
Judy
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
1917
Best Production Design
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
1917
Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
Parasite
Best Visual Effects
Avengers: Endgame
The Irishman
The Lion King
1917
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Best Original Song
“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” Toy Story 4
“(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again,” Rocketman
“I’m Standing With You,” Breakthrough
“Into The Unknown,” Frozen II
“Stand Up,” Harriet
Best Original Score
Hildur Guðnadóttir, Joker
Alexandre Desplat, Little Women
Randy Newman, Marriage Story
Thomas Newman, 1917
John Williams, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Best Sound Editing
Ford v Ferrari
Joker
1917
Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Best Sound Mixing
Ad Astra
Ford v Ferrari
Joker
1917
Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood
Best Film Editing
Ford v Ferrari
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Parasite