Joker leaped to the front of the Oscar race this morning, receiving 11 Academy Award nominations, including best picture, best director and, for Joaquin Phoenix, best actor. Lapping at Joker‘s heels were 1917, The Irishman, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which earned 10 nominations each.
South Korean director Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite performed well, snagging nominations in six categories, including both best picture and best international feature film. Other films receiving six nominations were Jojo Rabbit, Little Women and Marriage Story.
Greta Gerwig (left) directing Meryl Streep in Little Women.
Wilson Webb; © 2019 CTMG
Proponents of Oscar diversity cheered the nominations for Parasite, the first-ever South Korean film to compete for an Academy Award, but lamented the lack of any nominations for performances in the film. In fact, only one slot out of all four acting categories — Cynthia Erivo, who played Harriet Tubman in Harriet — went to a person of color. Additionally, no women were nominated for directing. Best picture contender Little Women earned nominations for performances, screenplay, costume design and score but not for director Greta Gerwig.
Willem Dafoe (left) and Robert Pattinson in The Lighthouse
A24
There were some surprises, starting with a cinematography nomination for Jarin Blaschke’s black-and-white, 1.19:1 aspect-ratio work on The Lighthouse. Writer-director Rian Johnson got a nod for his Knives Out screenplay. Poland’s relatively unheralded Corpus Christi made it into the international feature film category, and sound mixers Gary Rydstrom, Tom Johnson and Mark Ulano squeaked into the running with their work on Ad Astra. (Ulano will be competing with his own work on Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood with Michael Minkler and Christian P. Minkler.)
The Academy’s VFX branch gave The Irishman‘s de-aging effects and 1917‘s unbroken-shot conceit a stamp of approval, nominating those film’s effects alongside more traditional “VFX films” like Avengers: Endgame, the photoreal The Lion King and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. That’s not really a surprise; nominating Cats (which made it onto the 10-film shortlist!) would have been a surprise.
Were there snubs? Sure — maybe too many to count, depending on your preferences. Many were unhappy to see Lulu Wang’s The Farewell and/or the Safdie Brothers’ Uncut Gems get shut out completely, to name just two fan favorites. Perhaps the most startling was the absence of Apollo 11, one of the year’s most widely distributed and well-reviewed nonfiction films, from the documentary feature category. Maybe the documentary branch rejected director Todd Douglas Miller’s found-footage approach, or maybe it found the historical subject matter less compelling than the contemporary concerns of titles like American Factory, The Cave and For Sama.
Voting for the winners in all 24 Academy Award categories starts January 30 and continues through February 4. The Oscars ceremony is set to take place on Sunday, February 9, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood.
Here’s a complete list of today’s nominations:
Performance by an actor in a leading role
Antonio Banderas in “Pain and Glory” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Leonardo DiCaprio in “Once upon a Time…in Hollywood” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Adam Driver in “Marriage Story” (Netflix)
Joaquin Phoenix in “Joker” (Warner Bros.)
Jonathan Pryce in “The Two Popes” (Netflix)
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Tom Hanks in “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Anthony Hopkins in “The Two Popes” (Netflix)
Al Pacino in “The Irishman” (Netflix)
Joe Pesci in “The Irishman” (Netflix)
Brad Pitt in “Once upon a Time…in Hollywood” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Performance by an actress in a leading role
Cynthia Erivo in “Harriet” (Focus Features)
Scarlett Johansson in “Marriage Story” (Netflix)
Saoirse Ronan in “Little Women” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Charlize Theron in “Bombshell” (Lionsgate)
Renée Zellweger in “Judy” (LD Entertainment and Roadside Attractions)
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Kathy Bates in “Richard Jewell” (Warner Bros.)
Laura Dern in “Marriage Story” (Netflix)
Scarlett Johansson in “Jojo Rabbit” (Fox Searchlight)
Florence Pugh in “Little Women” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Margot Robbie in “Bombshell” (Lionsgate)
Best animated feature film of the year
“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” (Universal) Dean DeBlois, Bradford Lewis and Bonnie Arnold
“I Lost My Body” (Netflix) Jérémy Clapin and Marc du Pontavice
“Klaus” (Netflix) Sergio Pablos, Jinko Gotoh and Marisa Román
“Missing Link” (United Artists Releasing) Chris Butler, Arianne Sutner and Travis Knight
“Toy Story 4” (Walt Disney) Josh Cooley, Mark Nielsen and Jonas Rivera
Achievement in cinematography
“The Irishman” (Netflix) Rodrigo Prieto
“Joker” (Warner Bros.) Lawrence Sher
“The Lighthouse” (A24) Jarin Blaschke
“1917” (Universal/Amblin Partners) Roger Deakins
“Once upon a Time…in Hollywood” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Robert Richardson
Achievement in costume design
“The Irishman” (Netflix) Sandy Powell and Christopher Peterson
“Jojo Rabbit” (Fox Searchlight) Mayes C. Rubeo
“Joker” (Warner Bros.) Mark Bridges
“Little Women” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Jacqueline Durran
“Once upon a Time…in Hollywood” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Arianne Phillips
Achievement in directing
“The Irishman” (Netflix) Martin Scorsese
“Joker” (Warner Bros.) Todd Phillips
“1917” (Universal/Amblin Partners) Sam Mendes
“Once upon a Time…in Hollywood” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Quentin Tarantino
“Parasite” (Neon) Bong Joon Ho
Best documentary feature
“American Factory” (Netflix) A Higher Ground Productions and Participant Media Production, Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert and Jeff Reichert
“The Cave” (National Geographic) A National Geographic Documentary Films/Danish Documentary Production in co-production with Ma.Ja.De/Hecat Studio Paris/Madam Films Production, Feras Fayyad, Kirstine Barfod and Sigrid Dyekjær
“The Edge of Democracy” (Netflix) A Busca Vida Filmes in association with Violet Films Production, Petra Costa, Joanna Natasegara, Shane Boris and Tiago Pavan
“For Sama” (PBS Distribution/Channel 4/Frontline) A Channel 4 News/ITN Productions/Channel 4/Frontline/PBS Production, Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts
“Honeyland” (Neon) A Pharmachem/Apolo Media/Trice Films Production, Ljubo Stefanov, Tamara Kotevska and Atanas Georgiev
Best documentary short subject
“In the Absence” A Field of Vision Production, Yi Seung-Jun and Gary Byung-Seok Kam
“Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)” (A+E Networks) A Grain Media Production, Carol Dysinger and Elena Andreicheva
“Life Overtakes Me” (Netflix) A Stylo Films Production, John Haptas and Kristine Samuelson
“St. Louis Superman” (MTV Documentary Films/AJE Witness) An AJE Witness and Meralta Films Production, Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan
“Walk Run Cha-Cha” (The New York Times Op-Docs) A Concordia Studio Production, Laura Nix and Colette Sandstedt
Achievement in film editing
“Ford v Ferrari” (Walt Disney) Michael McCusker and Andrew Buckland
“The Irishman” (Netflix) Thelma Schoonmaker
“Jojo Rabbit” (Fox Searchlight) Tom Eagles
“Joker” (Warner Bros.) Jeff Groth
“Parasite” (Neon) Yang Jinmo
Best international feature film of the year
“Corpus Christi” An Aurum Film Production Poland
“Honeyland” A Pharmachem/Apolo Media/Trice Films Production North Macedonia
“Les Misérables” An SRAB Films Production France
“Pain and Glory” An El Primer Deseo/El Deseo Production Spain
“Parasite” A Barunson E&A Production South Korea
Achievement in makeup and hairstyling
“Bombshell” (Lionsgate) Kazu Hiro, Anne Morgan and Vivian Baker
“Joker” (Warner Bros.) Nicki Ledermann and Kay Georgiou
“Judy” (LD Entertainment and Roadside Attractions) Jeremy Woodhead
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” (Walt Disney) Paul Gooch, Arjen Tuiten and David White
“1917” (Universal/Amblin Partners) Naomi Donne, Tristan Versluis and Rebecca Cole
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“Joker” (Warner Bros.) Hildur Guðnadóttir
“Little Women” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Alexandre Desplat
“Marriage Story” (Netflix) Randy Newman
“1917” (Universal/Amblin Partners) Thomas Newman
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” (Walt Disney) John Williams
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” from “Toy Story 4” (Walt Disney), Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
“(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from “Rocketman” (Paramount), Music by Elton John Lyric by Bernie Taupin
“I’m Standing With You” from “Breakthrough” (Walt Disney), Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
“Into The Unknown” from “Frozen II” (Walt Disney), Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez
“Stand Up” from “Harriet” (Focus Features), Music and Lyric by Joshuah Brian Campbell and Cynthia Erivo
Best motion picture of the year
“Ford v Ferrari” (Walt Disney) A 20th Century Fox Production, Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping and James Mangold, Producers
“The Irishman” (Netflix) A Netflix/Tribeca Productions/Sikelia Productions/Winkler Films Production, Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Producers
“Jojo Rabbit” (Fox Searchlight) A Defender Films/Piki Films Production, Carthew Neal and Taika Waititi, Producers
“Joker” (Warner Bros.) A Joint Effort Production, Todd Phillips, Bradley Cooper and Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Producers
“Little Women” (Sony Pictures Releasing) A Columbia Pictures/Regency Enterprises Production, Amy Pascal, Producer
“Marriage Story” (Netflix) A Netflix/HeyDay Films Production, Noah Baumbach and David Heyman, Producers
“1917” (Universal/Amblin Partners) A DreamWorks Pictures Production, Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris, Jayne-Ann Tenggren and Callum McDougall, Producers
“Once upon a Time…in Hollywood” (Sony Pictures Releasing) A Columbia Pictures Production, David Heyman, Shannon McIntosh and Quentin Tarantino, Producers
“Parasite” (Neon) A Barunson E&A Production, Kwak Sin Ae and Bong Joon Ho, Producers
Achievement in production design
“The Irishman” (Netflix) Production Design: Bob Shaw Set Decoration: Regina Graves
“Jojo Rabbit” (Fox Searchlight) Production Design: Ra Vincent Set Decoration: Nora Sopková
“1917” (Universal/Amblin Partners) Production Design: Dennis Gassner Set Decoration: Lee Sandales
“Once upon a Time…in Hollywood” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Production Design: Barbara Ling Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh
“Parasite” (Neon) Production Design: Lee Ha Jun Set Decoration: Cho Won Woo
Best animated short film
“Dcera (Daughter)” (Miyu Distribution) A FAMU/MAUR Film Production, Daria Kashcheeva
“Hair Love” (Sony Pictures Releasing) A Matthew A. Cherry Entertainment/Lion Forge Animation/Blue Key Entertainment Production, Matthew A. Cherry and Karen Rupert Toliver
“Kitbull” (Walt Disney) A Pixar Animation Studios Production, Rosana Sullivan and Kathryn Hendrickson
“Memorable” A Vivement Lundi ! Production, Bruno Collet and Jean-François Le Corre
“Sister” A California Institute of the Arts Production, Siqi Song
Best live action short film
“Brotherhood” (Travelling, les films qui voyagent) A Midi La Nuit/Cinetelefilms/Laika Film & Television Production, Meryam Joobeur and Maria Gracia Turgeon
“Nefta Football Club” A Les Valseurs Production, Yves Piat and Damien Megherbi
“The Neighbors’ Window” A Marshall Curry Production, Marshall Curry
“Saria” A Hungry Man Inc. Production, Bryan Buckley and Matt Lefebvre
“A Sister” A Versus Production, Delphine Girard
Achievement in sound editing
“Ford v Ferrari” (Walt Disney) Donald Sylvester
“Joker” (Warner Bros.) Alan Robert Murray
“1917” (Universal/Amblin Partners) Oliver Tarney and Rachael Tate
“Once upon a Time…in Hollywood” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Wylie Stateman
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” (Walt Disney) Matthew Wood and David Acord
Achievement in sound mixing
“Ad Astra” (Walt Disney) Gary Rydstrom, Tom Johnson and Mark Ulano
“Ford v Ferrari” (Walt Disney) Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Steven A. Morrow
“Joker” (Warner Bros.) Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic and Tod Maitland
“1917” (Universal/Amblin Partners) Mark Taylor and Stuart Wilson
“Once upon a Time…in Hollywood” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Michael Minkler, Christian P. Minkler and Mark Ulano
Achievement in visual effects
“Avengers: Endgame” (Walt Disney) Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Matt Aitken and Dan Sudick
“The Irishman” (Netflix) Pablo Helman, Leandro Estebecorena, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser and Stephane Grabli
“The Lion King” (Walt Disney) Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones and Elliot Newman
“1917” (Universal/Amblin Partners) Guillaume Rocheron, Greg Butler and Dominic Tuohy
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” (Walt Disney) Roger Guyett, Neal Scanlan, Patrick Tubach and Dominic Tuohy
Adapted screenplay
“The Irishman” (Netflix) Screenplay by Steven Zaillian
“Jojo Rabbit” (Fox Searchlight) Screenplay by Taika Waititi
“Joker” (Warner Bros.) Written by Todd Phillips & Scott Silver
“Little Women” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Written for the screen by Greta Gerwig
“The Two Popes” (Netflix) Written by Anthony McCarten
Original screenplay
“Knives Out” (Lionsgate) Written by Rian Johnson
“Marriage Story” (Netflix) Written by Noah Baumbach
“1917” (Universal/Amblin Partners) Written by Sam Mendes & Krysty Wilson-Cairns
“Once upon a Time…in Hollywood” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Written by Quentin Tarantino
“Parasite” (Neon) Screenplay by Bong Joon Ho, Han Jin Won Story by Bong Joon Ho
