89th Academy Awards nominees announced
Photo courtesy of awardsdaily.com
Nominations for the 89th Academy Awards were announced on Tuesday, and there is just over a month to go until the ceremony on February 26. “La La Land,” the musical starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone that has become a national sensation, received a record amount of nominations. It received 14 nominations and is now tied with “All About Eve” (1950) and “Titanic” (1997) for most nominations received by a single film. Coming in second with eight nominations each are “Arrival” and “Moonlight.” “Hacksaw Ridge,” “Manchester by the Sea,” and “Lion” each have six nominations, and “Fences” received four.
The diversity of the nominees has received praise this year. For the past two years, all 20 nominees in acting categories were white, causing intense scrutiny and boycotting of the ceremonies by stars like Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Spike Lee. As a result of the lack of diversity, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization behind the Oscars, decided to overhaul membership rules in hopes of correcting the issue. This year, seven of the nominees in acting categories are of races other than white. In addition, Barry Jenkins, an African-American, was nominated for best director for Moonlight. Barry Jenkins is only the fourth ever African-American to receive an Oscar nod in this category.
The nominations this year are also getting attention, as usual, for who is not on the list. Noticeably absent is Amy Adams, who has received five Oscar nominations over the years and has yet to win one. She will have to keep waiting, despite the fact that two of her films, “Arrival” and “Nocturnal Animals,” are in the running for awards this year. “Nocturnal Animals” only received one nomination overall: Michael Shannon for Best Supporting Actor. Annette Bening, who has received four nominations over the years and has also not won an Oscar, failed to receive one this year for her film, “20th Century Women.” Taraji P. Henson also did not receive a nomination for “Hidden Figures,” despite her standout performance. Absent from the directing category were Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood, and Denzel Washington, all Oscar veterans. Scorsese’s film “Silence” and Eastwood’s film “Sally” were only nominated for one award each. However, Washington’s film, “Fences,” fared well.
Aside from the snubs, there are also many notable nominations. Meryl Streep, for example, broke her own record for nominations received in acting categories. Her nomination for “Florence Foster Jenkins” is her 20th acting nomination. Streep has won three Oscars over the course of her career, and this year was the recipient of the prestigious Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award at the Golden Globes. Another notable nominee is one of St. Lawrence’s own, Viggo Mortensen. Mortensen graduated from St. Lawrence in 1980, and has gone on to star in many successful films. He is known for playing Aragorn in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and has also app eared in “A History of Violence” and “The Road.” This year, he is nominated for Best Actor for his role in “Captain Fantastic.” This is his second Oscar nomination.
Good luck, Viggo!
The full list of nominees is available at oscars.org