Oscar noms: Franco, ‘Wonder Woman’ miss out
AS USUAL, the Academy Award nominations on Tuesday morning made some people very happy — and dealt a crushing disappointment to others. Here are some of the biggest snubs and surprises in a variety of categories: SNUBS — James Franco In “The Disaster Artist,” Franco stars as oddball film maker Tommy Wise au, famous for creating what some consider the best worst movie ever made (“The Room”). When Franco won the best comedy actor prize at the Golden Globes and wore a Time’s Up pin, he was called out on social media by two women who accused him of sexually inappropriate and exploitative behaviour. Their tweets went viral, and the Los Angeles Times followed up with a story that included more allegations of misconduct. Franco has called the accusations “not accurate” in two uncomfortable latenight interviews, though many wondered if the attention would torpedo his Oscar chances. While we’ll never know (some voters probably turned in their ballots before the headlines), it couldn’t have helped.
— Michael Stuhlbarg and more in “Call Me By Your Name”
This romance between 17-yearold Elio ( Timothee Chalamet) and 24-year- old Oliver (Armie Hammer), a graduate student living with Elio’s family in Italy for the summer, landed four nominations: best picture, adapted screenplay, song and lead actor for Chalamet. Not a bad showing. Still, fans were furious with the lack of a nom for Michael Stuhlbarg, who plays Elio’s father and delivers a stunning monologue about love and acceptance that makes audience members weep. Plus, despite a strong campaign, Hammer missed out on an acting nod, while director Luca Guadagnino also didn’t show up on the best director list. — “I, Tonya” Margot Robbie was nominated, as expected, for her starring role in the Tonya Harding biopic. Allison Janney, who plays Harding’s abusive mother, will likely take home the best supporting actress prize. But the film for the disgraced figure skater still failed to make the coveted best picture category. While there’s room for 10 movies, the academy voters only selected nine: “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” “The Post,” “The Shape of Water,” “Dunkirk,” “Lady Bird,” “Get Out,” “Call Me By Your Name,” “Phantom Thread” and “Darkest Hour.” — “Wonder Woman” The third highest- grossing movie of 2017 (raking in US$ 412.6 million domestically at the box office), starring Gal Gadot and directed by Patty Jenkins, didn’t land a single nomination. While superhero movies are never a lock for Oscar nods, quite a few viewers were disappointed by the complete lack of attention, even in the technical categories. — “The Florida Project” Critics adored Sean Baker’s film that follows a six-year old girl living in a Florida motel, but it was also absent from the best picture category. The movie wasn’t completely ignored— Willem Dafoe, who played the motel owner, earned a nomination for best supporting actor. Washington Post film critic Ann Hornaday called it Dafoe’s “finest performance in recent memory.”
— Steven Spielberg and Martin McDonagh
“The Post” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” directors, respectively, were left off the list. While the best directing category is quite solid (Christopher Nolan, Guillermo del Toro, Jordan Peele, Greta Gerwig, Paul Thomas Anderson), multiple prognosticators expected the veteran directors to make the cut. McDonagh did get a nomination for his screenplay. — “In the Fade” This German drama, centred around a powerful performance from Diane Kruger as a grieving mother whose family is killed in a terrorist attack, won best foreign language film at the Golden Globes — but didn’t even show up in the academy’s list. — “The Lego Batman Movie” Maybe not a total shock, given its predecessor, “The Lego Movie,” was also snubbed in 2015 in the animated feature film category, however. But“The Boss Baby” did make the list. Seriously. SURPRISES — “Phantom Thread” Never bet against Daniel DayLewis in any contest, though the nomination total for this indie drama was still surprising. Day-Lewis, who plays a famous dress designer, was nominated for best actor, and the film also picked up nods for best picture, supporting actress ( Lesley Manville), original score and costume design. Paul Thomas Anderson also earned a best director nom, bumping names like Spielberg and McDonagh out of the category. — “Get Out” Lots of critics hoped that Jordan Peele’s chilling satirical horror movie would get some Oscars attention, but steeled themselves for disappointment. So many were happily shocked when it scooped up four highprofi le nominations: best picture, director, actor ( Daniel Kaluuya) and original screenplay.
— Christopher Plummer nominated for best supporting actor
After Kevin Spacey was accused of sexual misconduct with minors, his film“All the Money in the World” looked like it could be in serious jeopardy last year. That is, until Plummer was recruited to take over the role of billionaire J. Paul Getty. The extensive reshoots had to take place in about nine days so the film could still make its release date. So while perhaps more people have heard about the behind-the-scenes drama than have seen the movie, the academy voters made quite a statement by nominating 88-year-old Plummer, who is now the oldest nominee ever in an acting category.
— Greta Gerwig nominated for best director
Another on the “happy surprise” list — the quirky “Lady Bird” earned a whopping five nominations, including best picture and Gerwig for best director. In other words, no one will be able to point out the “all male” directors list, as Natalie Portman did at the Golden Globes.
— Woody Harrelson nominated for best supporting actor
Harrelson, who plays the embattled police chief in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” wasn’t necessarily expected to show up in this category, as he beat out more likely contenders such as Stuhlbarg and Hammer.