NEW YORK (AP) – David Fincher’s “Mank” led the nominations for the 93rd edition of the Academy on Monday with 10 endorsements, and for the first time, two women – Chloé Zhao and Emerald Fennell – were proposed for best director.
Eight films were nominated for Best Picture. “Mank” was joined by Fennell’s “Promising Young Woman,” Zhao’s “Nomadland,” “The Black Judas and Messiah,” “The Sound of Metal,” “Minars,” “The Father,” and “The Chicago Trial 7.”
History was made in the category of best director. Only five women have ever been nominated in this category. Zhao is the first woman of Asian descent to nod and the most nominated woman in a single year in Oscar history. He also received nominations for the adapted screenplay of the film, editing and, as a producer, in the category of best image.
The other nominees for directing were Lee Isaac Chung for “Minari”, Fincher for “Mank” and Thomas Vinterberg for “Another Round”.
For performers, it’s the most diverse list of nominees ever – and it’s a far cry from the completely white candidacy that gave birth to the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite five years ago. Nine of the 20 nominees for acting are people of color, including a posthumous nomination for Best Actor for Chadwick Boseman (“Ma Rainey’s Black Ass”) and nods to Riz Ahmed (“The Sound of Metal”), Steven Yeun (“Minari”), Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield (“Judas and the Black Messiah”), Leslie Odom Jr. (“A Night in Miami”), Viola Davis (“Ma Rainey’s Black Ass”), Andra Day (“People vs. Billie Holiday”) and Yuh-Jung Youn (“Miners”).
Davis, who won for her performance in “Fences” in 2016, earned her fourth Oscar nomination, making Davis the most nominated black actress ever. Yeun is the first Asian American ever nominated for Best Actor.
The other nominees for Best Actress are: Carey Mulligan, “Promising Young Woman”; Frances McDormand, “Nomadland”; Vanessa Kirby, “Women’s Pieces.”
The remaining nominees for Best Actor are: Anthony Hopkins, “Father”; Gary Oldman, “Lack”.
After a year of pandemic that covered most cinemas, the best nominees for the film had almost no boxing place. The Oscars will not only miss the blockbusters, but will go on with many films that have barely been shown on the big screen. This lets streaming services dominate the biggest and most sought after awards in Hollywood.
Netflix, as expected, led the pack with 35 nominations. The service is still fighting for its first winner with the best image, and this year it has two photos in “Mank” and “The Chicago Trial 7” – a Paramount Pictures movie sold during the pandemic. Netflix led last year, with 24 nominations, but came out with only two victories.
Other streamers were in the mix. Amazon, in particular, was well represented with “Sound of Metal”, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” and “One Night in Miami”.
Nominations have been announced from London by presenters Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. The Oscars have usually happened so far, but this year they have been postponed for two months due to the pandemic. Instead, they will be broadcast on April 25.
The film academy confirmed Monday that the show will take place both at the regular home of the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles and at the city’s railroad center, Union Station.
In addition to Youn, the nominations for best supporting actress are: Maria Bakalova, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm”; Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy; Olivia Colman, “The Father”; Amanda Seyfried, “Mank”.
In addition to Odom Jr., Kaluuya and Stanfield, nominations for Best Supporting Actor include: Sacha Baron Cohen, “The Trial of the Chicago 7”; Paul Raci, “The Sound of Metal”.
Nominations for best documentary film are: “Collective”; “Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution”; “Mole Agent”; “My octopus teacher”; “Time.”
Nominations for Best International Film include: “Quo Vadis, Aida ?,” Bosnia and Herzegovina; “Another round”, Denmark; “Better Days”, Hong Kong; “Collective”, Romania; “The man who sold his skin”, Tunisia.
Nominations for Best Original Song are: “Husavik” from “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga”; “Fight for You” from “Judas and the Black Messiah”; “Io Sì (Seen)” from “The Life Ahead”; “Speak Now” from “One Night in Miami”; and “Hear My Voice” from “The Trial of the Chicago 7.”
Nominations for Best Animation Length: “Next”; “Over the moon”; “A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon”; “Soul”; Wolfwalkers.
Nominations for Best Original Screenplay are: “Judas and the Black Messiah”, Shaka King and Will Berson; “Minari,” Lee Isaac Chung; “Promising Woman,” Emerald Fennell; “The Sound of Metal”, Darius Marder and Abraham Marder; “The Chicago 7 Trial,” Aaron Sorkin.
Nominations for best costume design are: Alexandra Byrne, “Emma”; Ann Roth, “Ma Rainey’s Black Ass”; Trish Summerville, “Mank”; Bina Daigeler “Mulan”; Massimo Cantini Parrini “Pinocchio”.
The film academy and ABC will hope that the nominees can generate more emotion than they had elsewhere. Interest in small gold statuettes declined during the pandemic. Mostly virtual Golden Globe ratings have dropped to 6.9 million viewers – down 64% from 2020 – last month. Although on Sunday the Grammy managed to break the Zoom trap which destroyed other awards.
With the notable exception of fueling the growth of streaming subscribers, the pandemic has been punishing for the film industry. Production slowed, and blockbusters were postponed or diverted for streaming, and thousands were fired or sent.
But the outlook for Hollywood has risen recently as coronavirus cases have declined and vaccines have risen. Cinemas are reopening in the two largest US markets, New York and Los Angeles. And more big movies – including Walt Disney Co.’s “Black Widow”. (May 7) – are scheduled for May and beyond.
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Follow AP Film writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP