A total of nine actors of colour received Best Actor nomination, an improvement from last year’s one POC nominee (Cynthia Erivo, Best Actress), and Chinese director Chloe Zhao became the first woman of colour nominated for Best Director.
For the first time ever, the Academy has nominated two female directors at the same time. Chloe Zhao (Nomadland) and Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman) were also nominated at the Globes in the same category, with the former becoming the first Asian woman to win.
Zhao and Fennell’s nominations bring the total number of women nominated in the category to a whopping seven. If either of them wins, they will be the second woman to win the award in the entire history of the Oscars. It’s hard to believe that it has taken 93 years for this to happen (better late than never, I guess?).
Many people, fans and critics alike, were shocked when they learnt of Regina King’s Best Director snub. Her directorial debut One Night in Miami received great reviews after its release at Venice Film Festival and had been slated as a definite nomination.
Steven Yeun and Riz Ahmed also made history, becoming the first Asian American and Pakistani Best Actor nominees, respectively. Alongside the late Chadwick Boseman, this is the first year the category is not majority white.
Confusingly, Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield have been nominated in the Supporting Actor category for their roles in Judas and the Black Messiah. It begs the question, if neither of them was the lead, then who was? Both their performances have been praised since its release, but Kaluuya is expected to win.
The nominations in the Best Picture category were, mostly, expected. Nomadland is still the frontrunner after winning the award at the Globes, but who knows what will happen on the night.
A sigh of relief came for fans of Minari as the film is (rightfully) nominated in the Best Picture category. The Globes faced criticism when they put it in the foreign film category despite it being made up of mostly American cast and crew.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Da 5 Bloods and One Night in Miami all nabbed nominations for best ensemble at the SAG awards but were shockingly snubbed for Best Picture.
Mank has come out on top with ten nominations in total. The Father, Judas and the Black Messiah, Minari, Nomadland, Sound of Metal and The Trial of the Chicago 7 all have 6.
Eight Brit’s received acting nominations this year. Olivia Coleman will likely be looking to repeat her 2019 win for Supporting Actress. At 83, her The Father co-star Anthony Hopkins is the oldest person to be nominated for Best Actor.
Best Picture
The Father
Judas and the Black Messiah
Mank
Minari
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Best Director
Thomas Vinterberg, Another Round
Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman
David Fincher, Mank
Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
Chloé Zhao, Nomadland
Best actress in a leading role
Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Andra Day, The United States vs Billie Holiday
Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman
Frances McDormand, Nomadland
Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman
Best actress in a supporting role
Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy
Olivia Colman, The Father
Amanda Seyfried, Mank
Yuh-Jung Youn, Minari
Best actor in a leading role
Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Anthony Hopkins, The Father
Gary Oldman, Mank
Best actor in a supporting role
Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7
Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah
Leslie Odom, Jr, One Night in Miami
Paul Raci, Sound of Metal
Lakeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah
Best screenplay
Judas and the Black Messiah
Minari
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Best adapted screenplay
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
The Father
Nomadland
One Night in Miami
The White Tiger
Best international feature film
Another Round
Better Days
Collective
The Man Who Sold His Skin
Quo Vadis, Aida?
Best documentary
Collective
Crip Camp
The Mole Agent
My Octopus Teacher
Best animated feature film
Time
Onward
Over the Moon
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
Soul
Wolfwalkers
Best animated short film
Burrow
Genius Loci
If Anything Happens I Love You
Opera
Yes-People
Best live-action short film
Feeling Through
The Letter Room
The Present
Two Distant Strangers
White Eye
Colette
A Concerto Is a Conversation
Do Not Split
Hunger Ward
A Love Song for Latasha
Best cinematography
Judas and the Black Messiah
Mank
News of the World
Nomadland
The Trial of the Chicago 17
Best costume design
Emma
Mank
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mulan
Pinocchio
Best makeup and hairstyling
Emma
Hillbilly Elegy
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank
Best production design
The Father
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Mank
News of the World
Tenet
Best original score
Da 5 Bloods
Mank
Minari
News of the World
Soul
Best sound
Greyhound
Mank
News of the World
Sound of Metal
Soul
Best film editing
The Father
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
Sound of Metal
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Best visual effects
Love and Monsters
The Midnight Sky
Mulan
The One and Only Ivan
Tenet
Best original song
Husavik, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
Fight For You, Judas and the Black Messiah
Io Sì (Seen), The Life Ahead
Speak Now, One Night in Miami
Hear My Voice, The Trial of the Chicago 7
Featured image credit: Vanity Fair.
3rd year Journalism student | Film and Television Editor @ Brig Newspaper
