La La Land, black actors score big with Oscar nods

Romantic showbiz musical La La Land topped the Oscars nominations list on Tuesday with a whopping 14 nods, tying a record, as black actors were honored in all acting categories for the first time.

Damien Chazelle’s whimsical tribute to Hollywood’s Golden Age of musicals scored nods for best picture, best director and for its two stars, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. Its 10 other nominations came in nine categories.

The haul ties the film with Titanic and All About Eve for the most nominations ever.

“When you mention those movies, it makes my head spin even more than it’s spinning. I’m a little speechless,” Chazelle, in Beijing to promote his film, told trade magazine Variety.

In second place were sci-fi thriller Arrival and comingof-age dramaMoonlight, tied at eight nominations each.

The 89th Academy Awards will be held on Feb 26 — the climax of Hollywood’s awards season, to be hosted by late night funnyman Jimmy Kimmel.

With a record six black actors nominated, this year’s crop clearly reflected a push by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voters to show more diversity after the #OscarsSoWhite controversy of the past two years that had prompted calls for a boycott of the annual bash.

Mahershala Ali and Naomie Harris are first-time nominees for Moonlight, while two-time winner DenzelWashington and multiple nominee Viola Davis are in the running again for their performance in Fences.

“I hope I wasn’t nominated because I was black. That has no relevance,” Ali told The Hollywood Reporter. “I hope I was nominated for my work.”

Also nominated are past winner Octavia Spencer, a best supporting actress candidate for Hidden Figures, and Ruth Negga, in the best actress category for Loving.

“This is not necessarily a message,” Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs said about the list of nominees.

“It really has to do with the talent. Each year, we recognize talents and films of a particular year. Andthis year has been just fabulous.”

Tuesday’s nominations were also notable in that they marked the first time a streaming service — Amazon Studios — earned a best picture nod, for Manchester by the Sea.

Also noteworthy was Dev Patel’s nomination in the best supporting actor category for Lion, which marks only the third time that an actor of Indian descent has received an Oscar nod.