Well…this was an interesting turn out. Here are some of my quick impressions following the announcement:
1. James Franco Didn’t Make the Cut…
Look, I’m not surprised. The Academy was not willing to incite a controversy with nominating James Franco and apparently more actors waited to cast their final vote than expected. While I do think he was still great in the role, the potential harm outweighed any good.
2. …but Denzel Washington did?!?!?
That said, what the heck, Academy? Denzel Washington? He’s a great actor, but who would ever consider Roman J. Israel Esq. among his best work? Heck, who would consider his performance one of the better performances this year? This felt more like legacy voting than anything.
3. Christopher Plummer Made the Cut
Ten days is more than enough time to put in an Oscar worthy performance if you are Christopher Plummer, apparently. I hear he’s legitimately great in the role, but man this was more shade thrown in Kevin Spacey’s direction.
4. Phantom Thread for Picture, Director and Supporting Actress?
Man, people must REALLY love Paul Thomas Anderson in the Academy. That or Daniel Day-Lewis got people to pay attention to the film with his retirement announcement. Either way, I was shocked as most people likely were when PTA’s name was read for director, let alone picture, for a film that seemed divisive among some. Then again, it didn’t seem as divisive as Inherent Vice’s reaction, so I will have to see for myself if it is worth the effort. That said, what really shocked me about this was…
5. No Martin McDonagh for Director?
Really? Really? The guy who pretty much is the reason the film works the way it does and he’s only recognized for his writing? The way he constructed the narrative visually is kind of a big deal too! It’s possible for Three Billboards to walk away with a best picture win without a director nomination, but it’s EXTREMELY rare for that to happen (Argo was the last one to do that).
6. Kong Skull Island for Visual Effects
Well, color me impressed. I thought the effect work in Kong was great, but I didn’t think the Academy would have that long of a memory to include it on their list.
7. No Wonder Woman Love
I’m not shocked. Wonder Woman was fun and all, but it would be hard to justify it for any major awards love. Still, I’m a bit surprised it couldn’t squeeze in one of the sound categories
8. Woody Harrelson over the Call Me by Your Name supporting actors
I’m not shocked or unhappy about this, since Woody Harrelson was fantastic in the movie. I’m just surprised that Three Billboards had no issues splitting votes between its two supporting players but Call Me by Your Name’s acclaimed supporting roles were completely shut out. Poor Armie Hammer…
9. Logan got an Oscar nomination!
There you go comic fans. Outside of a softball recognition of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 for visual effects, Logan managed to crack into the Big 8 categories with a nomination. The Writer’s Guild should have been more of an indicator for me, but I’m still kind of surprised.
10. Andy Serkis and Tiffany Haddish
Ok, I can excuse the schmaltzy and unnecessary video intros for some of the categories during the nominations, but man Andy Serkis and Tiffany Haddish had zero chemistry with each other on stage. Their material wasn’t all that good to begin with either, so I’m sure that didn’t help. What’s more, I get that there are a lot of complicated names this year, but Tiffany did not do herself any favors blundering through the teleprompter cues like that. Not their finest hour…
With all of that said and done, here are the official nominees:
Best Picture
Call Me by Your Name
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
Get Out
Lady Bird
Phantom Thread
The Post
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside, Ebbing Missouri
Best Director
Christopher Nolan for Dunkirk
Jordan Peele for Get Out
Greta Gerwig for Lady Bird
Paul Thomas Anderson for Phantom Thread
Guillermo del Toro for The Shape of Water
Best Actor
Timothee Chalamet for Call Me by Your Name
Daniel Day-Lewis for Phantom Thread
Daniel Kaluuya for Get Out
Gary Oldman for Darkest Hour
Denzel Washington for Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Best Actress
Sally Hawkins for The Shape of Water
Frances McDormand for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Margot Robbie for I, Tonya
Saoirse Ronan for Lady Bird
Meryl Streep for The Post
Best Supporting Actor
Willem Dafoe for The Florida Project
Woody Harrelson for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Richard Jenkins for The Shape of Water
Christopher Plummer for All the Money in the World
Sam Rockwell for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Best Supporting Actress
Mary J. Blige for Mudbound
Allison Janney for I, Tonya
Lesley Manville for Phantom Thread
Laurie Metcalf for Lady Bird
Octavia Spencer for The Shape of Water
Best Original Screenplay
The Big Sick
Get Out
Lady Bird
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Best Adapted Screenplay
Call Me by Your Name
The Disaster Artist
Logan
Molly’s Game
Mudbound
Best Cinematography
Blade Runner 2049
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
Mudbound
The Shape of Water
Best Production Design
Beauty and the Beast
Blade Runner 2049
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
Best Costume Design
Beauty and the Beast
Darkest Hour
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water
Victoria and Abdul
Best Film Editing
Baby Driver
Dunkirk
I, Tonya
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Best Sound Mixing
Baby Driver
Blade Runner
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
Star Wars The Last Jedi
Best Sound Editing
Baby Driver
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Best Visual Effects
Blade Runner 2049
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Kong Skull Island
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
War for the Planet of the Apes
Best Make-Up and Hairstyling
Darkest Hour
Victoria and Abdul
Wonder
Best Original Score
Dunkirk
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Best Original Song
Mudbound
Call Me by Your Name
Coco
Marshall
The Greatest Showman
Best Animated Feature
The Boss Baby
The Breadwinner
Coco
Ferdinand
Loving Vincent
Best Foreign Language Film
A Fantastic Woman
The Insult
Loveless
On Body and Soul
The Square
Best Documentary Feature
Abacus: Small Enough to Jail
Faces Places
Icarus
Last Men in Aleppo
Strong Island
Best Animated Short
Dear Basketball
Garden Party
Lou
Negative Space
Revolting Rhymes
Best Documentary Short
Edith + Eddie
Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405
Heroin(e)
Knife Skills
Traffic Stop
Best Live Action Short
Dekalb Elementary
The Eleven O’clock
My Nephew Emmett
Silent Child
Watu Wote/All of Us