On the night of Jan. 23, actors Jack Quaid and Zazie Beetz hosted the official 96th Academy Awards nomination ceremony, where the films and creators nominated for all categories were revealed. The event had many expected announcements, such as “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” both being nominated for Best Film, the most prestigious award of the night; however, the ceremony was also host to some surprises and snubs.
The two main films to sweep the nomination ceremony were “Oppenheimer” with 13 nominations and “Poor Things” with 11 nominations. These two movies were nominated in several of the same categories, with everything from Best Picture and Best Actor to Best Editing and Best Production Design. Both of the films are expected to win big at the upcoming event based on their performance at earlier award ceremonies, such as the Emmys and Golden Globes.
Two of the biggest snubs at the nomination ceremony included Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig not being nominated for Best Actress and Best Director, respectively, for the film “Barbie.” This left many industry heads surprised as these two women were nominated for these awards at previous award ceremonies this season. Another surprise was Charles Melton failing to be nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in “May December,” despite being in a similar situation to Robbie and Gerwig this awards season.
Two actors were surprisingly nominated: America Ferrera for Best Supporting Actress in “Barbie,” and Sterling K. Brown for Best Supporting Actor in “American Fiction.” Neither of these actors was nominated at the Emmys or the Golden Globes.
Beyond these, the nomination ceremony also hosted many industry firsts. Lily Gladstone, for her performance as Molly Burkhart in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” was nominated for Best Actress. This makes her the very first actress of Native American descent to be nominated for an Academy Award. Gladstone told Entertainment Weekly that this award belongs not only to her but “the Osage Nation, the Blackfeet Nation, the Nez Perce Nation, every Indigenous actor whose shoulders [she] stands on.”
For this same film, Martin Scorcese was nominated for Best Director, making him the oldest directing nominee at 81 years old. Beyond Scorcese, the Best Director category houses several great creators. Among them is Christopher Nolan, who was nominated for the first time for his biopic “Oppenheimer.”
Foreign films also hit it big at this past week’s nomination ceremony, with Justin Triet’s French-language film “Anatomy of a Fall” being nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Original Screenplay and Best Editing. The Japanese film “Godzilla: Minus One” by Takashi Yamazaki was nominated for Best Visual Effects. This is the first time that the Godzilla franchise has been nominated for an Academy Award since the monster’s creation in 1954.
The Oscars will be taking place on March 10, hosted this year by Jimmy Kimmel. This will be his fourth time serving as the award ceremony’s main host. To see how you can watch the event, visit oscars.org/how-to-watch.
