The count down is on for a night of glittering gowns and slightly awkward acceptance speeches following the announcement of the 2019 Oscar nominations today by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
And we’re just as confused as ever about their selection criteria. Because somehow actors Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie and BlacKkKlansman lead John David Washington all missed out on nominations.
Bradley Cooper was also snubbed from the Best Director category for A Star Is Born. Him, along with every other female director of last year. Yep, it’s another all-male line-up. To recap, Kathryn Bigelow is the only woman to have won the award, for 2009’s The Hurt Locker in 2010.
Cooper’s omission comes despite the film receiving several other nominations, including for Best Picture. Thankfully, Lady Gaga is up for Best Actress.
As for our Aussies, Kidman totally transformed herself for Destroyer and Robbie also deserved a Best Actress nod (or Best Supporting Actress) for her role as Queen Elizabeth in Mary Queen of Scots.
Meanwhile, Washington was nominated for a Golden Globe, but not an Oscar, for his breakout role. And the fact that his white co-star Adam Driver was nominated for Best Supporting Actor makes this awkward for the Academy. It has many fans asking if we need to bring #OscarsSoWhite back. Especially when Widow’s Viola Davis and Black Panther villain Michael B Jordan were also overlooked.
That’s despite Black Panther making history as the first superhero movie to receive a Best Picture nomination. (The director of the film, Ryan Coogler, also missed out.)
What we can get excited about though is that two Aussies working behind the scenes of period comedy-drama The Favourite received nominations.