Despite all the brouhaha about Kevin Hart being invited to host, and then being uninvited to host, and then maybe being reconsidered for an invite, and so forth, there will in fact still be an Oscar Award show this year. The nominations were announced this morning. Does anyone still care at this point?
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At the moment, it looks like the ceremony will have no host, just a series of presenters. Frankly, if that means fewer lame comedy skits and some remote possibility of the show ending on schedule rather than two hours over as it usually does, I’m all for it. <\/p>\n
Kumail Nanjiani and Tracee Ellis Ross announced the nominations this morning. Alfonso Cuar\u00f3n’s Roma<\/em> and Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favourite<\/em> lead the nominations with ten each. This is a big coup for Netflix, which shoved Roma<\/em> into a couple of theaters prior to its streaming premiere specifically to qualify for awards. The Favourite<\/em> may pick up some technical awards in categories like Costume Design or Production Design, but is extremely unlikely to take the top prize.<\/p>\n Both Golden Globe winners, Green Book<\/em> and Bohemian Rhapsody<\/em>, nabbed Best Picture nominations. Green Book<\/em> seems like a strong contender to win. The film is safe, middlebrow Oscar fare with an inspirational story and a (at least superficially) socially conscious message. It’s the kind of thing Oscar voters traditionally eat up. <\/p>\n Despite its Golden Globe win, I’m surprised that Bohemian Rhapsody<\/em> made it into the Best Picture circle, given its lukewarm critical reception and director Bryan Singer’s ostracization. Likewise, I’ve hardly seen anyone say anything nice about Adam McKay’s Vice<\/em>, which somehow scored eight nominations including Best Picture.<\/p>\n After the Academy backed off its plans to create a “Best Popcorn Movie” prize specifically to reward Black Panther<\/em>, that movie was gifted a token Best Picture nomination that it stands very little chance of winning (and, in my opinion, doesn’t deserve to). <\/p>\n First-time director Bradley Cooper was notably snubbed for a Best Director nomination, but don’t feel too bad for him; he got a nomination for Best Actor (his fourth acting nom) and shares the recognition for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture. For a guy whose first notable job was playing third fiddle on Alias<\/em>, he’s doing fine. <\/p>\n Polish filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowski made the Best Director cut for a movie (Cold War<\/em>) that has very little mainstream recognition, but did claim the same prize at Cannes.<\/p>\n In typical Oscar fashion, the white supporting actor from BlacKkKlansman<\/em> was nominated while the black lead was not.<\/p>\n Barry Jenkins’ critically-praised If Beale Street Could Talk<\/em> collected three nominations, but only supporting actress Regina King cracked the Top 5 categories. <\/p>\n Also surprising, Ethan Hawke failed to land a Best Actor nomination for First Reformed<\/em>. The movie’s only presence on the list is for Paul Schrader’s original screenplay. <\/p>\n As always, I am terrible at predicting Oscar winners, but I’ll throw out my initial, off-the-cuff with no time to think about them impressions anyway.<\/p>\n Josh’s Prediction:<\/strong> Green Book<\/em><\/p>\n Josh’s Prediction:<\/strong> Alfonso Cuar\u00f3n<\/p>\n Josh’s Prediction:<\/strong> Rami Malek<\/p>\n Josh’s Prediction:<\/strong> Glenn Close<\/p>\n Josh’s Prediction:<\/strong> Mahershala Ali<\/p>\n Josh’s Prediction:<\/strong> Rachel Weisz<\/p>\n Josh’s Prediction:<\/strong> Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse<\/em><\/p>\n Josh’s Prediction:<\/strong> Roma<\/em><\/p>\n Josh’s Prediction:<\/strong> The Favourite<\/em><\/p>\n Josh’s Prediction:<\/strong> BlacKkKlansman<\/em><\/p>\n Josh’s Prediction:<\/strong> First Man<\/em><\/p>\n Josh’s Prediction:<\/strong> Roma<\/em><\/p>\n Josh’s Prediction:<\/strong> If Beale Street Could Talk<\/em><\/p>\nBest Picture<\/h2>\n
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Best Director<\/h2>\n
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Best Actor<\/h2>\n
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Best Actress<\/h2>\n
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Best Supporting Actor<\/h2>\n
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Best Supporting Actress<\/h2>\n
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Best Animated Feature<\/h2>\n
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Best Foreign-Language Film<\/h2>\n
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Best Original Screenplay<\/h2>\n
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Best Adapted Screenplay<\/h2>\n
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Best Visual Effects<\/h2>\n
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Best Cinematography<\/h2>\n
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Best Original Score<\/h2>\n
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Best Original Song<\/h2>\n
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