The 2019 Oscar Nominations were announced by hosts Kumail Nanijiani and Tracee Ellis Ross on Tuesday morning at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. While the range of films nominated may be widespread, there were quite a few snubs and surprises in various categories this year — especially considering what an amazing year we’ve had in film.
Many critics and publications, including The New York Times, predicted Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s “A Star is Born” would lead the list of films with the most nominations, however, it turns out “Roma,” a highly personal Netflix film from director Alfonso Cuarón and “The Favourite,” a period drama film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, led the list with 10 nominations each. “Roma” is a historical nominee for Netflix because it’s the first Best Picture nominee that the streaming platform has received. However, not too far behind, “A Star is Born” and “Vice” each received eight nominations.
While the nominations in this year’s awards come from a range of diverse films and filmmakers, one particular film was snubbed entirely — “Crazy Rich Asians.” The film was not only the top-grossing romantic comedy in over 10 years, but it was also one of the first mainstream Hollywood films with a predominantly Asian cast in over 25 years. The efforts that the film community has made in the past year to make the industry more representative and diverse is all well and good until a film like this is blatantly ignored by the academy. It’s especially defeating that the film was left out entirely — many fans of the film were counting on a “best costume” nomination at the very least.
However, “Black Panther,” a monumental film in many ways, received a total of seven nominations, including one for Best Picture, so diverse mainstream hits did not go completely ignored. It is safe to say that #OscarsSoWhite won’t be trending this year, but there were some concerns on Twitter about the acting category nominees being predominantly white males. There were various other snubs that outraged fans, including two misses in best director: Ryan Coogler for “Black Panther” and Bradley Cooper for “A Star is Born.” A fan favorite film which didn’t receive as many nominations as initially predicted was “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Yet among its five nominations, it sits in the categories of Best Picture and Rami Malek for Best Actor.
Other notable films which were nominated for various awards include “Mary Poppins Returns,” “RBG,” “Incredibles 2,” “A Quiet Place,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” “BlackKkKlansman” and “Green Book.”
In the category of Best Picture, the nominees are “A Star is Born,” “BlacKkKlansman,” “Black Panther,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “The Favourite,” “Green Book,” “Roma” and “Vice”. Personally, I’m rooting for “Black Panther.”
The 91st Annual Academy Award will air Feb. 24, 2019.
What are your thoughts on this years nominations? Are you mad about any snubs like I am with “Crazy Rich Asians?” Let me hear your thoughts in the comments. Which film do you think will win “Best Picture” this year?