‘The Power of the Dog’, Jane Campion’s neo-Western psychodrama, topped the list of nominees for the 94th Academy Awards as it has earned twelve nominations. Oscar
The nominations were announced live by actors Tracee Ellis Ross, and Leslie Jordan on several platforms, including Oscars.org and the film academy’s social media accounts. The ceremony will be held on March 27, 2021, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles and aired live on ABC.
Meanwhile, Will Smith scored his third lead actor Oscar nomination for ‘King Richard’, a portrayal of Serena and Venus Williams’ ambitious father. Will Smith was previously nominated for his roles in ‘Ali’ and ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’. He is widely favored to triumph this year.
The other performers recognized in Smith’s category are Javier Bardem, Benedict Cumberbatch, Andrew Garfield, and Denzel Washington.
The contenders for the best actress statuette are Jessica Chastain, Olivia Colman, Penélope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, and Kristen Stewart.
International Films make an Impression
Two years after Bong Joon Ho’s ‘Parasite’ became the first foreign-language film to win best picture, the film academy recognized a handful of celebrated projects imported from other countries.
‘Drive My Car’, a meditative three-hour drama about grief from Japanese director, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, earned a spot on the list of 10 best picture contenders as well as a nod for best international feature. Hamaguchi was nominated for best director, too.
The character study, ‘The Worst Person in the World’, a Norway submission, claimed an international feature nomination as well as a nod for best original screenplay.
‘Flee’, an animated docudrama from Denmark, earned recognition in the international feature and feature-length documentary races, as well as the animated feature category.
The multiple nominations for ‘Drive My Car’, ‘The Worst Person in the World’ and ‘Flee’ highlights the increasingly diverse and global composition of the film academy’s voting members.
Married Couples Earn Nominations
Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst were both honored for their poignant supporting turns in Campion’s ‘The Power of the Dog’. It is worth noting that they played a newly married couple in the film.
The other real-life husband-and-wife duo to land acting nominations were Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem.
First-time Nominees
The pop superstar, Beyoncé earned her first Oscar nomination: best original song for ‘Be Alive’, the theme from ‘King Richard’.
Kristen Stewart, who earned some of the finest reviews of her career for her turn as Princess Diana in the movie ‘Spencer’, also earned her first Oscar nomination, too.
However, Stewart’s nod was not a sure thing after she was previously overlooked at this year’s Screen Actors Guild Awards and British Academy Film Awards.
The other first-time contenders include Garfield, for ‘tick, tick…BOOM!’ and Ariana DeBose, for ‘West Side Story’.
‘House of Gucci,’ ‘The French Dispatch’ snubbed
Ridley Scott’s ‘House of Gucci’, a campy true-crime tale starring Lady Gaga and Adam Driver, secured just one nomination: best makeup and hairstyling.
Lady Gaga, Driver and supporting player Jared Leto were all shut out of the acting races, following casualties of the film’s negative reviews.
‘West Side Story’ breakout star, Rachel Zegler, who won a Golden Globe last month for her performance as María Vasquez, got locked out of the best actress category.
Cooper Hoffman and Alana Haim, the stars of Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘Licorice Pizza’, fell short of acting honors for their performances as two friends coming of age in 1970s San Fernando Valley.
‘Dune’ director, Denis Villeneuve, who was previously nominated for the sci-fi drama, ‘Arrival’, failed to pick up a best director nomination. However, ‘Dune’ racked up an impressive 10 nominations.
West Anderson’s ‘The French Dispatch’, Rebecca Hall’s ‘Passing’ and Asghar Farhadi’s ‘A Hero’ — three of the year’s most critically adored films — walked away without any nominations too.
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