Fewer surprises than usual were on tap when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) announced the Oscar nominations this morning. The same three films that have been widely praised by critics, guilds, and the Golden Globes — The Shape of Water, Three Billboards outside Ebbing Missouri, and Lady Bird — seem to have held up well under Academy scrutiny.

Who’s the Frontrunner?

Prognostications will naturally vary, but The Shape of Water is looking like the obvious Best Picture favorite. Not only did it score more nominations overall (13) than any other film, but it earned them in the widest variety of categories across the board, including nods for acting, writing, scoring, sound, cinematography, production design and more. No other film this year saw indications of such a broad base of support among Academy factions.

Sam Rockwell and Frances McDormand in Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri

Sam Rockwell and Frances McDormand in Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri
Photo by Merrick Morton. © 2017 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved

It’s hard to guess what would win if The Shape of Water doesn’t, but Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri has lots of visible support in the form of multiple acting nominations and a screenplay nod (though Martin McDonagh’s failure to be nominated for directing may signal some softness in its base). Don’t forget Lady Bird and Get Out, both of them favorites of critics and audiences alike, and both of them addressing a contemporary desire for diversity in the ranks of Oscar-winners. World War II drama may seem a bit fusty by comparison, but you can’t count quite Dunkirk out — consider that it earned Christopher Nolan his first-ever Best Director nomination. That leaves Call Me by Your Name, Darkest Hour, Phantom Thread and The Post as real longshots.

Oscar Firsts

Rachel Morrison, ASC

Rachel Morrison, ASC
www.rachelmorrison.com

Rachel Morrison, ASC, becomes the first woman ever nominated for Best Cinematography (for the Netflix release Mudbound) in the 90-year history of the Academy Awards.

Nominated for Best Documentary Feature at 89, Faces Places co-director Agnes Varda becomes the oldest Oscar nominee in history — narrowly beating out this year’s Best Adapted Screenplay nominee for Call Me by Your Name James Ivory, also 89, who is just one week younger. (Supporting Actor contender Christopher Plummer is a mere 88.) Also noteworthy: Timothée Chalamet, who just turned 22, is the youngest Best Actor nominee since 1940, when Mickey Rooney got the nod at 19 for his role in Babes in Arms.

Yance Ford

Yance Ford
Simon Luethi

Yance Ford, director of Best Documentary Feature nominee Strong Island, is the first out transgender man to be nominated for an Academy Award. (Angela Morley, an openly transgender woman, was twice nominated for Oscars for Best Music, Original Song Score/Adaptation in 1974.)

The Best Director line-up is apparently the most diverse in history — by our count, this is the first time only two of the five slots have been occupied by white men. Greta Gerwig is the fifth woman nominated in this category (after Jane Campion, Sofia Coppola, Ava DuVernay and Kathryn Bigelow), Jordan Peele is the fifth black director (following John Singleton, Lee Daniels, Steve McQueen and Barry Jenkins), and Guillermo del Toro is the third Mexican-born director (behind Alejandro González Iñárritu and Alfonso Cuarón).

Hugh Jackman and Dafne Keen in Logan

Hugh Jackman and Dafne Keen in Logan
20th Century Fox

In one of the clearest indicators yet that the Academy has been systematically expanding the definition of what genres qualify as “Oscar-worthy,” Logan became the first comic-book based superhero film to score a writing nomination, for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Christopher Plummer seems likely to have posted the quickest-ever turnaround time between putting in the work and getting the Oscar nod for Best Supporting Actor. The decision to remove Kevin Spacey from his role as J. Paul Getty in All the Money in the World was made in early November; the veteran actor turned up on location for a mere 10 shooting days and the film made its December 22 release date, coming in under the wire to earn Plummer the nomination for work he completed scarcely two months prior.

How Can I Learn More About the Nominated Work?

We’re glad you asked. Here are links to StudioDaily’s coverage of this year’s Oscar nominees. Look for more interviews to be posted between now and the 90th Academy Awards ceremony, scheduled for 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on March 4.

What About the #MeToo Movement?

Some contenders seem to have been eliminated thanks to continued scrutiny and heightened awareness of sexual predation in Hollywood. Harvey Weinstein, who had intended to hustle Benedict Cumberbatch vehicle The Current War into the Oscar race, was persona non grata this year, and that film’s planned November 24 release was canceled. Also suffering from allegations of misconduct was James Franco, who had been expected by some to earn plaudits for The Disaster Artist, which he directed and starred in. That film managed an Adapted Screenplay nod for Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber, but nothing for Franco.

How Did the VFX Shortlist Shake Out?

Ana de Armas (left) and Ryan Gosling (tiny) in Blade Runner 2049

Ana de Armas (left) and Ryan Gosling (tiny) in Blade Runner 2049
Courtesy of Alcon Entertainment

It was looking like a couple of relatively modestly budgeted creature features — The Shape of Water and South Korean director Bong Joon-Ho’s Netflix pic Okja — might nose their way into Best Visual Effects, but after the bake-off voters went with a selection of big-budget studio tentpole pictures instead — Blade Runner 2049, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Kong: Skull Island, Star Wars: The Last Jedi and War for the Planet of the Apes. The five films that almost made the cut were Alien: Covenant, Dunkirk, Okja, The Shape of Water, and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.

How Does That Sound?

Ansel Elgort

Ansel Elgort in Baby Driver
Sony Pictures/TriStar

The nominations for Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing generally track pretty closely together, but this year they were in lockstep, with the same five films (Baby Driver, Blade Runner 2049, Dunkirk, The Shape of Water and Star Wars: The Last Jedi) cited in both categories.

Who Are the Rest of the Nominees, Anyway?

A complete list follows, as provided by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Nominations for the 90th Academy Awards

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Timothée Chalamet in “Call Me by Your Name”
Daniel Day-Lewis in “Phantom Thread”
Daniel Kaluuya in “Get Out”
Gary Oldman in “Darkest Hour”
Denzel Washington in “Roman J. Israel, Esq.”

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Willem Dafoe in “The Florida Project”
Woody Harrelson in “Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Richard Jenkins in “The Shape of Water”
Christopher Plummer in “All the Money in the World”
Sam Rockwell in “Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri”

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Sally Hawkins in “The Shape of Water”
Frances McDormand in “Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Margot Robbie in “I, Tonya”
Saoirse Ronan in “Lady Bird”
Meryl Streep in “The Post”

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Mary J. Blige in “Mudbound”
Allison Janney in “I, Tonya”
Lesley Manville in “Phantom Thread”
Laurie Metcalf in “Lady Bird”
Octavia Spencer in “The Shape of Water”

Best animated feature film of the year
“The Boss Baby” Tom McGrath and Ramsey Naito
“The Breadwinner” Nora Twomey and Anthony Leo
“Coco” Lee Unkrich and Darla K. Anderson
“Ferdinand” Carlos Saldanha
“Loving Vincent” Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman and Ivan Mactaggart

Achievement in cinematography
“Blade Runner 2049” Roger A. Deakins
“Darkest Hour” Bruno Delbonnel
“Dunkirk” Hoyte van Hoytema
“Mudbound” Rachel Morrison
“The Shape of Water” Dan Laustsen

Achievement in costume design
“Beauty and the Beast” Jacqueline Durran
“Darkest Hour” Jacqueline Durran
“Phantom Thread” Mark Bridges
“The Shape of Water” Luis Sequeira
“Victoria & Abdul” Consolata Boyle

Achievement in directing
“Dunkirk” Christopher Nolan
“Get Out” Jordan Peele
“Lady Bird” Greta Gerwig
“Phantom Thread” Paul Thomas Anderson
“The Shape of Water” Guillermo del Toro

Best documentary feature
“Abacus: Small Enough to Jail” Steve James, Mark Mitten and Julie Goldman
“Faces Places” Agnès Varda, JR and Rosalie Varda
“Icarus” Bryan Fogel and Dan Cogan
“Last Men in Aleppo” Feras Fayyad, Kareem Abeed and Søren Steen Jespersen
“Strong Island” Yance Ford and Joslyn Barnes

Best documentary short subject
“Edith+Eddie” Laura Checkoway and Thomas Lee Wright
“Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405” Frank Stiefel
“Heroin(e)” Elaine McMillion Sheldon and Kerrin Sheldon
“Knife Skills” Thomas Lennon
“Traffic Stop” Kate Davis and David Heilbroner

Achievement in film editing
“Baby Driver” Paul Machliss and Jonathan Amos
“Dunkirk” Lee Smith
“I, Tonya” Tatiana S. Riegel
“The Shape of Water” Sidney Wolinsky
“Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri” Jon Gregory

Best foreign language film of the year
“A Fantastic Woman” Chile
“The Insult” Lebanon
“Loveless” Russia
“On Body and Soul” Hungary
“The Square” Sweden

Achievement in makeup and hairstyling
“Darkest Hour” Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski and Lucy Sibbick
“Victoria & Abdul” Daniel Phillips and Lou Sheppard
“Wonder” Arjen Tuiten

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“Dunkirk” Hans Zimmer
“Phantom Thread” Jonny Greenwood
“The Shape of Water” Alexandre Desplat
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” John Williams
“Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri” Carter Burwell

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“Mighty River” from “Mudbound”
Music and Lyric by Mary J. Blige, Raphael Saadiq and Taura Stinson
“Mystery Of Love” from “Call Me by Your Name”
Music and Lyric by Sufjan Stevens
“Remember Me” from “Coco”
Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
“Stand Up For Something” from “Marshall”
Music by Diane Warren; Lyric by Lonnie R. Lynn and Diane Warren
“This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman”
Music and Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul

Best motion picture of the year
“Call Me by Your Name” Peter Spears, Luca Guadagnino, Emilie Georges and Marco Morabito, Producers
“Darkest Hour” Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce, Anthony McCarten and Douglas Urbanski, Producers
“Dunkirk” Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers
“Get Out” Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Edward H. Hamm Jr. and Jordan Peele, Producers
“Lady Bird” Scott Rudin, Eli Bush and Evelyn O’Neill, Producers
“Phantom Thread” JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson, Megan Ellison and Daniel Lupi, Producers
“The Post” Amy Pascal, Steven Spielberg and Kristie Macosko Krieger, Producers
“The Shape of Water” Guillermo del Toro and J. Miles Dale, Producers
“Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri” Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin and Martin McDonagh, Producers

Achievement in production design
“Beauty and the Beast” Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
“Blade Runner 2049” Production Design: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Alessandra Querzola
“Darkest Hour” Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
“Dunkirk” Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
“The Shape of Water” Production Design: Paul Denham Austerberry; Set Decoration: Shane Vieau and Jeff Melvin

Best animated short film
“Dear Basketball” Glen Keane and Kobe Bryant
“Garden Party” Victor Caire and Gabriel Grapperon
“Lou” Dave Mullins and Dana Murray
“Negative Space” Max Porter and Ru Kuwahata
“Revolting Rhymes” Jakob Schuh and Jan Lachauer

Best live action short film
“DeKalb Elementary” Reed Van Dyk
“The Eleven O’Clock” Derin Seale and Josh Lawson
“My Nephew Emmett” Kevin Wilson, Jr.
“The Silent Child” Chris Overton and Rachel Shenton
“Watu Wote/All of Us” Katja Benrath and Tobias Rosen

Achievement in sound editing
“Baby Driver” Julian Slater
“Blade Runner 2049” Mark Mangini and Theo Green
“Dunkirk” Richard King and Alex Gibson
“The Shape of Water” Nathan Robitaille and Nelson Ferreira
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” Matthew Wood and Ren Klyce

Achievement in sound mixing
“Baby Driver” Julian Slater, Tim Cavagin and Mary H. Ellis
“Blade Runner 2049” Ron Bartlett, Doug Hemphill and Mac Ruth
“Dunkirk” Mark Weingarten, Gregg Landaker and Gary A. Rizzo
“The Shape of Water” Christian Cooke, Brad Zoern and Glen Gauthier
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Stuart Wilson

Achievement in visual effects
“Blade Runner 2049” John Nelson, Gerd Nefzer, Paul Lambert and Richard R. Hoover
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Jonathan Fawkner and Dan Sudick
“Kong: Skull Island” Stephen Rosenbaum, Jeff White, Scott Benza and Mike Meinardus
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” Ben Morris, Mike Mulholland, Neal Scanlan and Chris Corbould
“War for the Planet of the Apes” Joe Letteri, Daniel Barrett, Dan Lemmon and Joel Whist

Adapted screenplay
“Call Me by Your Name” Screenplay by James Ivory
“The Disaster Artist” Screenplay by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber
“Logan” Screenplay by Scott Frank & James Mangold and Michael Green; Story by James Mangold
“Molly’s Game” Written for the screen by Aaron Sorkin
“Mudbound” Screenplay by Virgil Williams and Dee Rees

Original screenplay
“The Big Sick” Written by Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani
“Get Out” Written by Jordan Peele
“Lady Bird” Written by Greta Gerwig
“The Shape of Water” Screenplay by Guillermo del Toro & Vanessa Taylor; Story by Guillermo del Toro
“Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri” Written by Martin McDonagh