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The nominees for the 92nd Academy Awards were announced Monday morning, and this Oscar season sure has some shockers! Of no surprise was “Joker” dominating the awards; the film earned a whopping 11 nominations across the 24 categories, including for Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Original Score, and with leading man Joaquin Phoenix up for Best Actor for his performance in the titular role.
While “Joker” may have nabbed the most nominations out of any movie, three other films weren’t far behind. “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood,” “The Irishman,” and “1917” each earned ten Oscar nods, and will compete alongside “Joker” for Best Picture. The Academy elected only nine films to compete for this year’s Best Picture award as opposed to the usual ten.
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And although Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women” was announced as a contender for Best Picture—and also picked up five other nominations—Greta herself was not recognized with a nomination for Best Director.
In fact, for the second year in a row, not a single woman was nominated in the Best Director category. Only five women have ever been nominated for Best Director in Oscar history: Kathryn Bigelow (“The Hurt Locker”), Lina Wertmüller (“Seven Beauties”), Jane Campion (“The Piano”), Sofia Coppola (“Lost in Translation”) and Greta herself for the 2017 movie “Lady Bird.” Kathryn Bigelow is the only female director to ever win.
While women were snubbed for the directing category, a few women received especially notable nominations this year. Scarlett Johansson was nominated for her first-ever Oscar awards in not one but two categories as she received nods for best actress for “Marriage Story” and best supporting actress for “Jojo Rabbit.” Being nominated in two categories in the same year is extremely rare— it hasn’t happened since 2017 and only 11 actors before ScarJo have earned double nominations.
Another woman who may make history this year is Cynthia Erivo, with her two nominations for Best Actress and Original Song for the movie “Harriet.” If she wins, the 33-year-old will become the world’s youngest EGOT winner. She has already won a daytime Emmy, a Grammy, and a Tony Award for her Broadway performance in “The Color Purple.” Cynthia was also the only person of color who was recognized in a top acting category.
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In a surprising twist, Jennifer Lopez was snubbed for her role as a supporting actress in “Hustlers,” a role which has earned the 50-year-old actress nods from the SAG Awards, Critics’ Choice Awards, and Golden Globes. Fans were also shocked to see that neither “Uncut Gems” nor Adam Sandler’s acclaimed performance in the movie snagged a spot in a top acting or picture category.
Other critically-acclaimed performances going unrecognized at the Oscars is Beyoncé’s song “Spirit” from “The Lion King,” which nabbed a nomination at the Golden Globes. Awkwafina, whose role in “The Farewell” earned her a Golden Globe, was similarly not nominated in the Best Actress category. “Frozen II,” a fan favorite at the box office, was similarly snubbed for Best Animated Feature.
Tune in on Feb. 9 to see which of your favorite actors, films, and songs take home an Oscar!