The Annual Academy Awards - General Discussion

[SuprSuprElevated]

12 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

First, let me preface this by saying that I did love the Lady GaGa and Cooper performance this year.  On Kimmel, she described how Cooper totally produced, directed the whole thing. I'm impressed. 

So, while I have no issue with Lady GaGa taking her Oscar for the song Shallow I do have a question about her comment on working hard in her acceptance speech.  I realize that she trained in music, has written many songs, performed, acted, etc., but, I'm just trying to figure out what she's describing as so hard.  She stressed her point AGAIN on Kimmel the other night, saying this was HARD!  She took out her Oscar for Jimmy.  That was fine, but, once again she talked about how it was HARD WORK.  I'm not being sarcastic, but, just trying to figure out what she means by that. I mean, I'm an attorney and law school and practicing law is hard work, but, not as hard as cleaning hotel rooms, loading trash into a garbage truck, or operating on a person's brain.  You know what I mean? 

You mean a professional singer playing the part of a professional singer is hard?  Okay okay, don't kill me, but Streisand she ain't.

 

8 hours ago, DC Gal in VA said:

Just wanted to give support, good wishes, positive thoughts and prayers to Selma Blair. Loved her Oscars party outfit; absolutely gorgeous. But, more importantly, I wanted to acknowledge her strength and beauty as she battles a very aggressive form of Mutiple Sclerosis.

You truly walk in beauty like the night. We are all with you! 

Indeed.  I have thought of her a time or two, wondering why we hadn't seen her since the Charlie Sheen/Anger Management debacle.  I read today that she either is now or is close to designing clothing for people with ability challenges.  She looks absolutely beautful ^here.  

[SunnyBeBe]

Just now, SuprSuprElevated said:

You mean a professional singer playing the part of a professional singer is hard?  Okay okay, don't kill me, but Streisand she ain't.

That's pretty funny.  Actually, I hadn't thought about her role as actress, since, she won the Oscar for song writing, but, that's a good point.

  I was just envisioning sitting down with musical instrument, pen, whatever and coming up with the lyrics and music........four people, sharing their thoughts on the lyrics and melody.....I don't know.  I think song writers are gifted people For many, the words and music come quickly....just pours out of them...I've never heard it described as HARD work.  So, I'm just trying to process it. 

[ruby24]

I think she's just talking about getting to that point in her career, and it's all been "hard work," etc. Look, I'm sure it is, because I know that touring and rehearsing and performing and making music isn't easy, but I also think people just recoil in general at hearing wealthy, famous people describe what they do as "hard work" in a somewhat defiant tone, considering how the rest of us live. We all work hard and we do NOT get (and will never get) the luxurious benefits that she does, so I get that it tends to strike people as irritating to hear that (I actually cringed when she said it because I knew that's how it came across, even if I don't think that's what she meant by it).

[Crs97]

I love that Lady Gaga has spent her career reaching out to marginalized groups, but something that bothers me about her is that it feels like she wants us to identify her as some marginalized outcast who pulled herself up by her bootstraps and made good, as if we didn’t know she grew up in a very wealthy, very supportive family.  I understand that difficulties know no class, but listening to her talk about her struggles to make it remind me of an anecdote about JFK that he once tried to portray himself as one of the commen men by talking vaguely about his tough times and someone retorted, “Yeah, one day the maid forgot to bring you breakfast in bed.”  Apparently even he laughed and learned. I feel like she would just double-down about how hard her life has been and how much she has sacrificed.  I don’t know enough about her to be sure, but the few interviews I have seen and read give me this vibe.

[MVFrostsMyPie]

The only thing I have to add about that is that everything can seem a million times harder to accomplish when you have a chronic illness that causes chronic pain and fatigue and so many other issues. I also have fibromyalgia, and combined with the other autoimmune disorders I’m dealing with, feel like I’m a 30something in the body of an 80-year-old. Heck there are probably 80-year-olds who have more stamina and energy than me. Even working a regular 9-5 job is absolutely exhausting, but luckily I get to WFH on Fridays and give my aching bones a rest. The struggle is real, y’all. I hope she has a less aggressive form of fibromyalgia than I do. At least she can afford the more expensive meds for pain.

[SuprSuprElevated]

5 minutes ago, MVFrostsMyPie said:

The only thing I have to add about that is that everything can seem a million times harder to accomplish when you have a chronic illness that causes chronic pain and fatigue and so many other issues. I also have fibromyalgia, and combined with the other autoimmune disorders I’m dealing with, feel like I’m a 30something in the body of an 80-year-old. Heck there are probably 80-year-olds who have more stamina and energy than me. Even working a regular 9-5 job is absolutely exhausting, but luckily I get to WFH on Fridays and give my aching bones a rest. The struggle is real, y’all. I hope she has a less aggressive form of fibromyalgia than I do. At least she can afford the more expensive meds for pain.

Sorry about your troubles.  Hubs has a similar ailment, and it is debilitating, for both of us, if that doesn't sound too selfish.  Chronic pain is a deal breaker.  

Best to you moving forward through it.

[MVFrostsMyPie]

Thank you! Best wishes to your husband as well. 

[aradia22]

Obviously I'm incredibly late on this but I'm watching the Oscars slowly while cooking/doing chores around the house.

Regina King's speech, and the speeches from the costume designer and production designer of Black Panther made me tear up, especially the production designer. Also, Chris Evans was adorable helping her up the stairs and I love Emilia Clarke's dress. It looked OK on the red carpet but STUNNING on stage.

[aradia22]

So I finally watched the infamous Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper performance. Meh? It was fine. I still haven't seen the movie because it's hard to get excited about yet another version of A Star is Born. His voice cracked a few times but he did okay for a non-singer and I think they made it work so she didn't completely outshine him. For all that it was highly choreographed it was also slightly awkward, like how she made her way to the piano. It was VERY theater-y. And I mean like high school theater kids. I've never heard the song in its entirety before. Also, meh? Some of those lyrics were... somewhere between amateurish and too sincere. Like the modern world and hardcore stuff. That's like some DCOM level songwriting. Overall, not terrible but I think Lady Gaga's vocals carry it. 

[Inquisitionist]

22 hours ago, aradia22 said:

I've never heard the song in its entirety before. Also, meh? Some of those lyrics were... somewhere between amateurish and too sincere. 

I'm with you there.  Not terribly impressed.  

[ProudMary]

Key dates for this year's Oscars season have been announced.

Academy Backs Off Earlier Oscar Dates in 2021, 2022

 

Quote

The Academy's announcement also included key dates for this year's Oscars season. See them below.

Governors Awards — Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019

Preliminary Voting Begins — Friday, Dec. 6, 2019

Preliminary Voting Ends — Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019

Nominations Voting Begins — Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020

Nominations Voting Ends — Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020

Oscar Nominations Announcement — Monday, Jan. 13, 2020

Oscar Nominees Luncheon — Monday, Jan. 27, 2020

Finals Voting Begins — Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020

Finals Voting Ends — Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020

92nd Oscars — Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020

[ProudMary]

Best Picture contenders can now be streamed by Academy voters.

Oscars: Academy Expands Streaming Platform to Include Best Picture Contenders

From the article: "Members of AMPAS received a notice from the Academy on Wednesday, noting the expansion now includes best picture hopefuls. Voters were already able to stream documentaries, animated films and shorts on the Academy’s members-only viewing site."

[ProudMary]

No host for the Oscars again this year. I'm fine with that. I didn't miss a host last go-around.

 

[ShadowHunter]

Happy we will not have a host again. It worked last year so hopefully it works again.  

[Milburn Stone]

I don't really mind the hostlessness, but it does seem a pity we've come to a point where they're literally afraid to pick a host.

[truthaboutluv]

1 minute ago, Milburn Stone said:

I don't really mind the hostlessness, but it does seem a pity we've come to a point where they're literally afraid to pick a host.

I actually don’t think it’s fear. There was so much praise for how well and smoothly the show ran last year without a host, that they probably figure why bother.

[Bruinsfan]

To me it's a no-brainer. Runs smoother, little chance for controversy, more focus on the actual awards and speeches, probably easier to produce and cheaper. I'd imagine Bruce Vilanch is the only person who strongly objects to the change.

[ShadowHunter]

2 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

I actually don’t think it’s fear. There was so much praise for how well and smoothly the show ran last year without a host, that they probably figure why bother.

Agree, they will run with this till it stops working. Then they probably go back to having a host.

[mtlchick]

The nominations are out. I never thought Joker would be leading the pack especially over the Irishman but here we are.

 

Meanwhile the J Lo train derailed and it seems only people who like to vote saw Missing Link as I don’t know anyone who saw it. 

[Dr.OO7]

Would it have killed them to nominate Kasi Lemmons for Director and Harriet for Best Picture? 

Every year I get less interested in the Oscars, and stuff like this is why. It's such a "one step forward, one step backwards" battle with these people.

[sally-can-wait]

My only little happiness with the nominations is Parasite getting love and Saoirse and Florence getting nominated for Little Women otherwise what a disappointment. No Ana de Armas for Knives Out, no Lupita for US, no Awkwafina for The Farewell, no Adam Sandler for Uncut Gems, and no Greta Gerwig director’s nom for Little Women. Just blah! 

[ShadowHunter]

19 minutes ago, sally-can-wait said:

My only little happiness with the nominations is Parasite getting love and Saoirse and Florence getting nominated for Little Women otherwise what a disappointment. No Ana de Armas for Knives Out, no Lupita for US, no Awkwafina for The Farewell, no Adam Sandler for Uncut Gems, and no Greta Gerwig director’s nom for Little Women. Just blah! 

I can't be too upset over Adam Sandler. I heard he was great in it but he has made so much crap. As an actor I don't know how I feel about him. 

Nice Florence got in for Little Women finally a worthy Amy. Greta did that as well. Adapted Screenplay for Greata I had a feeling that was all she was going to get. 

Well Joaquin Phoenix is winning best actor.  Joker got more love then ,any said but at least they nominated a movie people saw. Netflix did well with The Two Popes and Marriage Story. 

A few snubs no J Lo and Taron Edgerton. Taron was still a long shot so not too surprised.

[sally-can-wait]

6 minutes ago, ShadowHunter said:

I can't be too upset over Adam Sandler. I heard he was great in it but he has made so much crap. As an actor I don't know how I feel about him. 

Nice Florence got in for Little Women finally a worthy Amy. Greta did that as well. Adapted Screenplay for Greata I had a feeling that was all she was going to get. 

Well Joaquin Phoenix is winning best actor.  Joker got more love then ,any said but at least they nominated a movie people saw. Netflix did well with The Two Popes and Marriage Story. 

A few snubs no J Lo and Taron Edgerton. Taron was still a long shot so not too surprised.

I understand why Adam Sandler wouldn't get nominated because, as you said, his film history is full of crap, but man he was good in Uncut Gems. I was one of the few that didn't love Taron in Rocketman so I'm not too upset there. And you're right Greta did get a screenplay nod but as we all know Director is the big prize. I'll be pulling for Bong Joon-ho but it will probably go to Sam Mendes. 

[Ohwell]

I'm just happy that Parasite, Ford v. Ferrari and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood got nominated for Best Picture, even though I don't expect any of them to win.   

And I'm deliriously happy that I'll get to see Brad Pitt again!  Also looking forward to seeing Antonio Banderas.  

Forgot to add, I'm also happy for Bong-Joon-ho getting the nomination for Best Director.  

Edited January 13, 2020 by Ohwell

[Dr.OO7]

33 minutes ago, sally-can-wait said:

My only little happiness with the nominations is Parasite getting love and Saoirse and Florence getting nominated for Little Women otherwise what a disappointment. No Ana de Armas for Knives Out, no Lupita for US, no Awkwafina for The Farewell, no Adam Sandler for Uncut Gems, and no Greta Gerwig director’s nom for Little Women. Just blah! 

This is an especially bad year for snubs. I'm very disappointed.

[sacrebleu]

I'm fine with no host. After the opening monologue-- all the host does is introduce presenters-- and I'm all for cutting out extraneous chatter. I'm one of the few people who didn't like Billy Crystal as host because of his constant, "wasn't that great, folks" slowing down the show, and he also made jokes about how long the show was, which only served to make the show longer! 

I can't believe they wouldnt at least be tempted to pit husband and wife against each other (Gerwig/Baumbach) for Director. 

[mtlchick]

25 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

 

And I'm deliriously happy that I'll get to see Brad Pitt again!  Also looking forward to seeing Antonio Banderas.  

 

I feel this is Pitt’s to lose. He had a rough few years with his personal life so some could see it as a “comeback role” but it doesn’t feel like “Denzel won for Training Day to make up for losing for The Hurricane or Malcolm X” scenario either. I thought he was great in this.  

[galaxygirl76]

It's crazy that it took Tom Hanks 19 years between nominations. Speaking of supporting actor lots of big name actors in there with four Oscar winners and Brad Pitt. 

That said, I'm feeling very lackluster about this year. Nothing that stands out for me personally. 

[Milburn Stone]

2 hours ago, sally-can-wait said:

No Ana de Armas for Knives Out...

She definitely should have been nominated for Best Actress, and a Best Supporting Actor/Actress wouldn't have been amiss for Toni Collette, Jamie Lee Curtis, or Michael Shannon either.

Edited January 13, 2020 by Milburn Stone

[Cementhead]

Well, if you're the betting kind, I'd put some good money down on betting that Scarlett Johansson is going to be an Academy Award winner this year.  😏

Edited January 13, 2020 by Cementhead

[slowpoked]

Well, it looks like that the Oscars noms took after the BAFTA ones. Expect #OscarsSoWhite to be very much talked about again this year, especially given the embarrassment of riches of work that POC did in a lot of brilliant films this year. 

Bummed for JLo. I know she's not everyone's favorite actress but she did give a brilliant performance in Hustlers, and more than for her, I was hoping she would get nominated so that it shines a lot on a character/occupation that most everyone in society looks down upon. It's not a movie role that is often rewarded in glitzy awards show, and it's also not a role that most directors and writers give a lot of nuance to, and JLo tackled it beautifully in a well-reviewed film that made a lot of money. 

It's hard to call a film that had a lot of nominations a loser, but aside from JLo, I think the other biggest loser today may be 1917. For it to miss out a nomination on the one specific thing that is the movie's main selling point (Editing), does not bode well for its chances on the bigger awards. 

Happy and bummed for Parasite at the same time. Happy that it was able to break through for a couple more nominations (Editing & Production Design) aside from the expected ones. The production design especially is a coup, given that the entire location was built from scratch. One of the film's pleasant surprises was that the rich family's house was not a house in real-life, but built specifically and deliberately for the director's shots, blocking, etc. Glad to see that the meticulousness in building that set was rewarded.

But bummed that it wasn't able to breakthrough in the acting awards. The consensus was that Mr. Kim would be the presumed nominee in the Supporting Actor category, but I really thought there might be enough to pull through for Mrs. Park who gave an excellent performance as the gullible wife. If she had been a white actress and that part was spoken in English, it would have been a surefire nominee like Laura Dern's was. One could argue that her character was the main driving force of the film, as the poor family wouldn't have been able to infiltrate the rich family had it not been for her, and her comedic timing was one of the best parts of the film.

4 hours ago, Camille said:

Would it have killed them to nominate Kasi Lemmons for Director and Harriet for Best Picture? 

I saw Harriet and I really wished it was a better made film. But I can understand why it didn't break through aside from Cynthia Erivo. The same with Judy. It was a so-so film that Renee dragged through the finish line for an acting award. 

Speaking of Renee, I'm rooting for her and I hope she wins. But there might also be a chance she might be Glenn Close'd this year - not sure by who yet but maybe between Charlize and Scarlett. The main theory on why Glenn Close lost last year to Olivia Colman was that the latter was helped by her movie being up for more nominations, and therefore was a priority for the voters to see, compared to Glenn's movie which only had one nomination. 

Edited January 13, 2020 by slowpoked

[blackwing]

32 minutes ago, Cementhead said:

Well, if you're the betting kind, I'd put some good money down on betting that Scarlett Johansson is going to be an Academy Award winner this year.  😏

I don’t think so... I know they say that double nominees are likely to win one of the awards but there have been more than a few times where they were double losers.  Sigourney Weaver (her Gorillas in the Mist year), Julianne Moore (Far From Heaven and the Hours), Cate Blanchett the year she got nominated for Elizabeth the Golden Age, Emma Thompson who lost for The Remains of the Day and something else.   I’d say that the betting consensus is that Renee Zellweger and Laura Dern have the actress awards locked.

I’m most disappointed for Awkwafina.  Absolutely no nominations for “The Farewell”, which I thought was such a touching and poignant film.  I had also thought that Shuzhen Zhao could have snuck in with a surprise nom.  

Disappointed as well for Jennifer Lopez, although I know her film and performance has its share of detractors.  I guess it’s another year with an almost entirely white slate of nominees... it seems Cynthia Erivo got the designated token non-white slot this year.   

Edited January 13, 2020 by blackwing

[galaxygirl76]

30 minutes ago, Cementhead said:

Well, if you're the betting kind, I'd put some good money down on betting that Scarlett Johansson is going to be an Academy Award winner this year.  😏

It didn't work for Sigourney Weaver, Emma Thompson, Cate Blanchett, or Julianne Moore when they had two nominations in the same year. Most recent woman to win one of the two nominations was Holly Hunter. 

[proserpina65]

On ‎01‎/‎10‎/‎2020 at 5:33 PM, Bruinsfan said:

To me it's a no-brainer. Runs smoother, little chance for controversy, more focus on the actual awards and speeches, probably easier to produce and cheaper. I'd imagine Bruce Vilanch is the only person who strongly objects to the change.

Whereas I thought it was boring as hell without a host.

I knew there was little chance of Jessie Buckley getting a nomination for Wild Rose, though she would've deserved it, but I was hoping that Glasgow would get a nomination for Best Original Song.  Guess they needed that spot for that crap from Frozen 2.

And I was also extremely disappointed that Apollo 11 didn't get nominated for Best Documentary.

2 hours ago, Camille said:

This is an especially bad year for snubs. I'm very disappointed.

I think a huge part of the problem is that except for Best Picture, there are only 5 slots per category.  Which is inevitably going to mean that some people who should get nominations won't.  For the most part, those nominated do deserve their nominations, so it's a matter of who to leave out.

 

[GHScorpiosRule]

27 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

Whereas I thought it was boring as hell without a host.

Same here. I keep wishing that Eddie Murphy would host. He would be FUNNY! He proved that he's still got the funny in his stint as host on SNL last month.

[slowpoked]

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

Disappointed as well for Jennifer Lopez, although I know her film and performance has its share of detractors.  I guess it’s another year with an almost entirely white slate of nominees... it seems Cynthia Erivo got the designated token non-white slot this year.   

Why is it that the white actors are considered the locks for the nomination, while that last spot is where the POC fight to be included? Like how Renee, Saorsie Charlize and Scarlett are locks, and the last spot are where Cynthia, Lupita, Awkwafina, etc. have to fight to get in?

Heck, while she most probably would not have been a winner, I thought JLo was a lock for the nom. I didn't think she would be the one "in the bubble" in her slot. 

[Dr.OO7]

1 hour ago, proserpina65 said:

think a huge part of the problem is that except for Best Picture, there are only 5 slots per category.  Which is inevitably going to mean that some people who should get nominations won't.  For the most part, those nominated do deserve their nominations, so it's a matter of who to leave out

Yes, I know that happens every year. It's just that this year is especially surprising regarding who was left out.

[Bill1978]

I can't believe I am writing this as a major fan of Disney animation but I am thrilled that Frozen II got snubbed in the Animated Feature category.

[Quickbeam]

5 hours ago, sally-can-wait said:

I understand why Adam Sandler wouldn't get nominated because, as you said, his film history is full of crap, but man he was good in Uncut Gems. 

I've loved him since Punch Drunk Love. He can act when given the right material.

[GaT]

I haven't seen the movie (or any of the movies actually) & I normally don't even care, but I am confused as to why Tom Hanks is nominated in the Best Actor in a Supporting Role category. Isn't he the main character? He plays Mr. Rogers & the movie is about his life, isn't it?

[slowpoked]

6 minutes ago, GaT said:

I haven't seen the movie (or any of the movies actually) & I normally don't even care, but I am confused as to why Tom Hanks is nominated in the Best Actor in a Supporting Role category. Isn't he the main character? He plays Mr. Rogers & the movie is about his life, isn't it?

Not really. The story is more about a writer's friendship with Mr. Rogers. The writer is based on real-life journalist Tom Junod (played by Matthew Rhys). So I don't think there's a category fraud here for Tom Hanks. Which some people could argue about Brad Pitt (some argue he is a co-lead of LDC more than a supporting actor).

[Valny]

4 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

 

I knew there was little chance of Jessie Buckley getting a nomination for Wild Rose, though she would've deserved it, but I was hoping that Glasgow would get a nomination for Best Original Song.  Guess they needed that spot for that crap from Frozen 2.

 

 

 

proserpina65-  I was coming here to post the same thing about Jessie. I definitely had more optimism for the song because she had not been nominated in other awards(except the BAFTA's, which may have given her a hometown edge which I will take) But I did have a glimmer of hope she would be a surprise nom just like that one actress from Roma last year.  Oh well, I guess the film was to small to get the voters attention? I But damn that ending song was perfect. Well performed, emotional and served to tell a story of what the main character was going though. 
Another real shame is not getting to see Jessie perform that song at the Oscars. That would have been special.  On a happier note, Glasgow did tie for a win at yesterday's Critic's Choice awards, so I was super psyched about that. But they didn't show that award given out, they just mentioned sharing the win with Rocket Man.  Grrrr... would have loved to have seen Mary Steenburgen, who is one of the co-writers, get up there and get that award.  

[Growsonwalls]

It looks like Leo will continue the curse of not getting awarded for his best work and getting awarded for his worst work.

His performance in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was IMO deeper and richer than Brad Pitt's but it;s Joaquin Phoenix's year.

I'm disappointed at the lack of nominations for Knives Out. Ana de Armas really deserved a nod. She anchored the film with her goodness and that's a hard quality to pull off.

Edited January 13, 2020 by Growsonwalls

[Bruinsfan]

At this point I'm just crossing my fingers that Pain and Glory and 1917 win awards for something.

[mtlchick]

5 hours ago, slowpoked said:

Speaking of Renee, I'm rooting for her and I hope she wins. But there might also be a chance she might be Glenn Close'd this year - not sure by who yet but maybe between Charlize and Scarlett. The main theory on why Glenn Close lost last year to Olivia Colman was that the latter was helped by her movie being up for more nominations, and therefore was a priority for the voters to see, compared to Glenn's movie which only had one nomination. 

If your theory holds true (and it's a solid one) I think the edge could go to Charlize, for 2 reasons:

 

1) Marriage Story (along with the Irishman and The Two Popes) are by Netflix, and the "old Hollywood guard" may not yet be willing to toss out acting awards to a company who they see as a threat to the standard movie studio system.

 

2) Megyn Kelly has come out with her thoughts about the movie and feeling what she "could have done differently" both with the movie and in real life.  It could humanize someone who seems to constantly shoot herself in the foot.  In this #MeToo era and more young voters in the mix, that could help Theron's chances (and if Bombshell doesn't win for Makeup, that will be the shocker.  I was convinced that WAS Kelly in the trailers until I learned I was wrong.)

[blackwing]

4 hours ago, slowpoked said:

Why is it that the white actors are considered the locks for the nomination, while that last spot is where the POC fight to be included? Like how Renee, Saorsie Charlize and Scarlett are locks, and the last spot are where Cynthia, Lupita, Awkwafina, etc. have to fight to get in?

Heck, while she most probably would not have been a winner, I thought JLo was a lock for the nom. I didn't think she would be the one "in the bubble" in her slot. 

I’m not saying that all of the minority actors were competing against Erivo for a single nomination... I’m just saying it looks glaringly obvious when there is only one minority actor amongst the 20 nominees.  It turns that one non-white actor into a token.  Almost like the Academy is saying “hey now, don’t you criticise us, it’s not all white this year, we got the black woman in.”   Oh and by the way, the black woman played a slave.

I haven’t seen “Harriet” but I know Erivo is a great actress and I’m sure she deserved her nomination.  But I also think Jennifer Lopez and especially Awkwafina deserved nominations.  I don’t know who in the Best Actress category I would have bumped for Awkwafina, but she deserved to be there.  And I definitely would have bumped Kathy Bates for Lopez.

Whatever happened to Oscars rewarding people for a career performance (Lopez) or for a breakthrough performance against type (Awk)?   It’s things like this that make people say the Academy is racist.  It’s even worse on the actor side, where it’s really obvious that the Academy hates Eddie Murphy.  In Supporting Actor, we’ve got the familiar veteran white men (four previous winners and Brad Pitt).

But hey... at least they didn’t nominate Meryl Streep for the umpteenth time.  But she was last nominated two years ago, and the longest span she has gone without nominations in her career is five years.  So I’m positive she will get nominated again next year automatically, leaving others to duke it out for four slots.  
 

I wish 1) they expanded the acting nominees to 8 or even 10 slots, and 2) that Tiffany Haddish would host.  She’d have a field day with this acting nominee slate.

[slowpoked]

1 hour ago, Growsonwalls said:

I'm disappointed at the lack of nominations for Knives Out.

I'm actually surprised at this. I thought KO is the type of movie that the Academy goes gaga over. I thought with a larger slate of BP noms, it could sneak in there. It probably ended up being one of those movies that was expected to do well, but in the end did not. 

Come to think of it, when was the last time an honest-to-goodness whodunit movie was nominated for BP? Gosford Park?

6 minutes ago, blackwing said:

I’m not saying that all of the minority actors were competing against Erivo for a single nomination... I’m just saying it looks glaringly obvious when there is only one minority actor amongst the 20 nominees.  It turns that one non-white actor into a token.  Almost like the Academy is saying “hey now, don’t you criticise us, it’s not all white this year, we got the black woman in.”   Oh and by the way, the black woman played a slave.

@blackwing, sorry, my question was more an observation rather than a question to you. It just seems frustrating that the locks are mostly the white actors while the POC are the ones leaving to fight for that last spot and to satisfy the "token" nomination. Like, why can it not be the reverse - why can't Lupita, Awkwafina, Alfre Woodard, Cynthia be the locks and let Renee, Charlize, Scarlett fight for that last spot instead? The benefit of the doubt for a great performance always goes first to the white actor. It's not like the Academy can say, "well, we would love more POC in our nominations but there weren't great work to choose from the past year..."

[bmoore4026]

Well, I just looked at the nominations.  Can anyone say "shit show"?

No Chris Evans Support Actor Nomination or Ana De Armas Best Actress Nomination for Knives Out.  No Lupita Nyong'o Best Actress nomination or Best Original Screenplay nomination for Us.  No Taron Egerton Best Actor Nomination for Rocketman.  What the hell, Academy!?

At least Frozen 2 didn't get a Best Animated Feature nomination.  I have that.

[Blakeston]

I'm actually very glad that Taron Egerton didn't get nominated for Rocketman. 

All year long, he went completely overboard with grubbing for votes with the members of various awards bodies. To the point that he hosted a private Elton John concert for all of the Golden Globe voters. (And after doing that, he won the Globe - who could have predicted it?)

If he'd succeeded in landing an Oscar nomination, it would have just encouraged more actors to set aside months and months of their time to do the same.

[Darlin]

55 minutes ago, Blakeston said:

I'm actually very glad that Taron Egerton didn't get nominated for Rocketman. 

All year long, he went completely overboard with grubbing for votes with the members of various awards bodies. To the point that he hosted a private Elton John concert for all of the Golden Globe voters. (And after doing that, he won the Globe - who could have predicted it?)

If he'd succeeded in landing an Oscar nomination, it would have just encouraged more actors to set aside months and months of their time to do the same.

Sounds like there is a thin line between campaigning and bribing for votes.

I don't understand why nominees are allowed to campaign.  I get that as a nominee you want the voting body to see your work, but campaign tactics can get real tacky real quick.