‘Shape of Water’ gets 13 Oscar nods
Fantasy romance The Shape of Water topped the Oscars nominations list on Tuesday with 13 nods, one shy of the record, as the Academy also gave a rare nomination to a woman in the directing category.
In second place was World War 2 epic Dunkirk, with eight nods, while crime drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, generally thought to be the favourite in the best picture category, picked up seven nominations.
But The Shape of Water, Guillermo del Toro’s Cold Warset story of love between a mute cleaning woman and a mysterious merman-like creature, dominated the competition.
It scored nods for best picture, best director and best actress for its star Sally Hawkins.
Richard Jenkins and Octavia Spencer each scored nominations in the supporting acting categories, and the film was also nominated for best original screenplay, with the rest of its nods coming in technical categories.
The haul fell one short of the record for most nominations ever, held jointly by La La Land, Titanic and All About Eve.
“This nomination is for every one of us who brought our hearts to this film,” Hawkins said in a statement retweeted by the movie’s official Twitter account.
“I’m here because of the greatness of others. I stand on the shoulders of giants.”
The 90th Academy Awards — the climax of Hollywood’s awards season, to be hosted by late night funnyman Jimmy Kimmel — will be held on March 4.