Universal

The nominations for the 91st Academy Awards have been revealed, and the countdown to Oscars night is now well and truly underway.

A lot of the nominees went as expected, including Best Picture, where the Academy members ended up nominating eight films in total, including: BlackKklansman, Black Panther, Bohemian Rhapsody, Green Book, The Favourite Roma, A Star Is Born, and Vice.

Black Panther becomes the first superhero movie to get a Best Picture nomination, the icing on the cake that saw it earn seven nods in total. Roma and The Favourite, meanwhile, lead the way with 10 nominations apiece, with both picking up Best Director (for Alfonso Cuaron and Yorgos Lanthimos respectively) and some acting nominations, followed by A Star Is Born and Vice with eight each.

While many of the categories went as expected, the Oscars does like to keep us on our toes with a few curveballs sure to delight and enrage fans of certain films, and the 2019 nominations was no different in that regard. Lots went to form, but there was still room for some major shocks, snubs, and surprises as Hollywood prepped for its biggest night of the year.[/nextpage][nextpage]

13. Surprise: Never Look Away – Best Cinematography

Disney

While it was expected that two foreign language movies would make their way into the Cinematography category – Roma was a cert, and Cold War had been picking up steam – it looked like that’s where it would end. It’s not a category where foreign language films are typically recognised, with Ida the only one to pick up a nomination this decade before now.

And yet, despite that, somehow there are three movies not in the English language nominated in the category, with German drama Never Look Away getting a nod too. It helps that it was shot by Caleb Deschanel, who earns his sixth Academy nomination here. Its art-centric storyline works in its favour too, allowing Deschanel a great canvas to play with. Nonetheless, it’s still a surprise to see it beat out the likes of First Man and If Beale Street Could Talk to get the nomination.[/nextpage][nextpage]

12. Surprise: Willem Dafoe – Best Actor

CBS Films

Most of the Best Actor category went as expected, with Christian Bale (Vice), Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born), Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody), and Viggo Mortensen (Green Book) securing nominations.

The fifth was the one where there was some stiff competition, but even with that Willem Dafoe looked like something of an outsider. It did have a Golden Globe nomination, but apart from that had been ignored by most of the big awarding bodies, which suggested his turn as Vincent Van Gogh was going to be ignored here.

It’s the second year in a row, though, that Dafoe has pulled off a nomination for his performance in a film that doesn’t get a look in elsewhere, after his nod for The Florida Project last year. That one had more going for it in the build-up though, whereas this seems more out of the blue, but it’s hard to complain about Dafoe getting recognition.[/nextpage][nextpage]

11. Snub: Ethan Hawke And John David Washington – Best Actor

A24

With Willem Dafoe sneaking into the Best Actor category, that also means there’s been a snub or, in this case, two.

The fifth spot had looked like going to either Ethan Hawke for First Reformed, or John David Washington for BlackKklansman. Washington was nominated in this category at the SAG Awards, while Hawke had a multitude of critics circles pulling for him, and both were likely to get recognition in at least one other category.

For neither of them to be nominated in the end, despite their previous showings and plenty of momentum (as opposed to Dafoe), is a reasonable snub even if neither of them would’ve been the favourite to win.[/nextpage][nextpage]

10. Snub: Bradley Cooper – Best Director

Warner Bros.

A Star Is Born has been perhaps the frontrunner of this awards season, with an early start on the festival scene, but it’s beginning to lose legs coming into the home straight, and nothing exemplifies that more than Bradley Cooper’s shock omission from the Best Director category.

Cooper had been nominated by most of the big pre-cursors to the Oscars, including Golden Globes, BAFTAs, the Director’s Guild, and multiple critics awards too, which should’ve ensured his name on the list here.

Instead, this feels like a big dent to A Star Is Born’s chances, although it’s not entirely undeserved. Cooper’s directorial debut is solidly handled, but isn’t anything really special in that regard, which might explain why it’s been overlooked.

(Excerpt) Read More at: WhatCulture.com[/nextpage]