The dark comic-book origins drama Joker has continued to dominate the nominations stage of Awards Season, being in the running in 11 categories – including Best Actor, for Joaquin Phoenix, who’s already won the Best Actor in a Drama prize at the Golden Globes.
But Taron Egerton, who won the corresponding Comedy or Musical award for his portrayal of Sir Elton John in Rocketman, has been overlooked in the race for the bigger prize, with the other leading actor Oscar nominees being fellow Briton Jonathan Pryce for playing Pope Francis in Netflix’s The Two Popes, Adam Driver in another Netflix drama Marriage Story, Antonio Banderas for the Spanish drama Pain and Glory and Leonardo DiCaprio for Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is one of three films nominated for 10 awards – alongside Netflix’s The Irishman and 1917. The four most nominated films are all up for Best Picture, as well as being recognised for their directors, screenplays and cinematography.
DiCaprio’s co-star in Quentin Tarantino’s homage to 1960s Hollywood, Brad Pitt, is nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category, alongside The Irishman’s Al Pacino and Joe Pesci, Pryce’s Two Popes co-star Sir Anthony Hopkins and Oscar favourite Tom Hanks for A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.
Many of the nominated actresses also feature in Best Picture nominees; Marriage Story’s Scarlett Johansson will be up against Little Women’s Saoirse Ronan, while Scarlett Johansson – again – is up for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Jojo Rabbit, against Marriage Story’s Laura Dern and Florence Pugh, from Little Women.
The remaining Best Picture nominees, like 1917, don’t have any acting nominees, which will weaken their chances or winning in the most coveted prize on the night. They’re Ford v Ferrari – or Le Mans ’66 at it was known in the UK – perhaps the most unexpected entry on the list, and the South Korean social satire Parasite, whose 6 nominations include one for its director Bong Joon-ho.
There’s been some criticism from diversity campaigners that there are no women on the Best Director list, but Bong’s inclusion ensures that the list is not all white and America’s Academy has managed to avoid a repeat of the #OscarsSoWhite – and more immediately the #BAFTAsSoWhite – controversy by including a black, interestingly British, woman in the race for Best Actress; Cynthia Erivo, best known for her roles on Broadway, is recognised for playing a slave-turned-abolitionist in Harriet.
She’ll have a second chance at an Oscar as she also wrote one of the Best Original Song nominees, but she’ll be in the running against Sir Elton John, who’s original song I’m Gonna Love Me Again was, unexpectedly, Rocketman’s only Oscar nomination.
While most audiences will be interested in the race between Joker, 1917, The Irishman and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, much of the talk has been about the ongoing controversy surrounding the extent to which the nominees should reflect the ethnic and gender make-up of the film industry – or indeed the wider population. It’s a particularly complicated consideration, because the industry is dominated by the US but the UK has a substantial presence – from its own industry to its facilities being used by major US productions. But then you have to consider that in the US, the wider population is about 61% white, while in the UK, that figure is about 85%, raising the question of what proportion of film-makers – or award nominees – should be expected to be from minority communities.
But another major talking point – when considering the changing shape of the industry – is that the streaming giant Netflix – until recently best known for its small-screen output – has beaten all of the major studios to 24 nominations across the categories. Some of the major American cinema chains have boycotted Netflix’s nominees, to protest against the shorter time between their theatrical release and their streaming online – but as Netflix continues to make more films that are challenging for the industry’s highest awards, such protests could soon become financially untenable.
The winners will be selected from the following full list of nominees:
Best picture
- Le Mans ’66
- The Irishman
- Jojo Rabbit
- Joker
- Little Women
- Marriage Story
- 1917
- Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
- Parasite
Best actor
- 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
- Cynthia Erivo – Harriet
- Scarlett Johansson – Marriage Story
- Saoirse Ronan – Little Women
- Charlize Theron – Bombshell
- Renee Zellweger – Judy
Best director
- The Irishman – Martin Scorsese
- Joker – Todd Phillips
- 1917 – Sam Mendes
- Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood – Quentin Tarantino
- Parasite – Bong Joon-ho
Best supporting actor
- 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 supporting actress
- Kathy Bates – Richard Jewell
- Laura Dern – Marriage Story
- Scarlett Johansson – Jojo Rabbit
- Florence Pugh – Little Women
- Margot Robbie – Bombshell
Best adapted screenplay
- The Irishman
- Jojo Rabbit
- Joker
- Little Women
- The Two Popes
Best original screenplay
- Knives Out
- Marriage Story
- 1917
- Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
- Parasite
Best animated feature
- How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
- I Lost My Body
- Klaus
- Missing Link
- Toy Story 4
Best cinematography
- The Irishman
- Joker
- The Lighthouse
- 1917
- Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
Best costume design
- The Irishman
- Jojo Rabbit
- Joker
- Little Women
- Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
Best documentary feature
- American Factory
- The Cave
- The Edge of Democracy
- For Sama
- Honeyland
Best editing
- Le Mans ’66
- The Irishman
- Jojo Rabbit
- Joker
- Parasite
Best international feature film
- Corpus Christi – Poland
- Honeyland – North Macedonia
- Les Miserables – France
- Pain and Glory – Spain
- Parasite – South Korea
Best make-up and hairstyling
- Bombshell
- Joker
- Judy
- Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
- 1917
Best original score
- Joker
- Little Women
- Marriage Story
- 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 2
- Stand Up – Harriet
Best production design
- The Irishman
- Jojo Rabbit
- 1917
- Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
- Parasite
Best sound editing
- Le Mans ’66
- Joker
- 1917
- Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Best sound mixing
- Ad Astra
- Le Mans ’66
- Joker
- 1917
- Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
Best visual effects
- Avengers: Endgame
- The Irishman
- The Lion King
- 1917
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Best animated short
- Dcera (Daughter)
- Hair Love
- Kitbull
- Memorable
- Sister
Best documentary short
- 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 live action short
- Brotherhood
- Nefta Football Club
- The Neighbors’ Window
- Saria
- A Sister