2020 Oscar Nominations: Netflix shines, while women and people of colour snubbed

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Films such as "Ford v Ferrari', 'Little Women', 'Joker' and 'Parasite' will compete for the best picture award

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Joaquin Phoenix was nominated for his role in 'Joker", and the film was also nominated for Best Picture.
The Irishman” and “Marriage Story” were nominated for the Academy Award for best picture, giving Netflix its best chance yet to win Hollywood’s most coveted prize.
 
In all, nine films will vie for best picture, including Ford v FerrariLittle WomenJojo RabbitJokerOnce Upon a Time ... in HollywoodParasite and 1917, which won the top film award at the Golden Globes on Jan. 5. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced the nominees Monday morning online.
 
 
Last year, Netflix’s Roma was seen as a favorite to win the top Oscar but lost to Green Book, from Comcast Corp.’s Universal Pictures. This year, Netflix’s The Two Popes was seen as a potential best-picture nominee but didn’t make the cut.
 
By winning in 2020, Netflix would prove it has ascended into rarefied Hollywood air that it has at times struggled to reach. The online service, now the largest movie studio in the world by volume, has been mostly shut out of the biggest prizes. Earlier this month Netflix was the most nominated studio at the Golden Globe Awards but lost in all the major categories, including best drama and best director.
 
Women were nearly absent from the top awards categories, after being overlooked at both the Golden Globes and the U.K.’s top film prizes, known as the Baftas. All the best-director nominees are male -- “Congratulations to those men,” announcement co-host Issa Rae said pointedly -- and the story lines of most of the top films are driven by male characters.
 
Korean-language film 'Parasite' was nominated for the Best Picture award.
Photo: AP via Neon

The acting and directing awards contenders are largely white, although Cynthia Erivo was nominated for the title role of Harriet Tubman in Harriet. Jennifer Lopez, widely discussed as a likely nominee for her supporting role in “Hustlers,” missed out. Awkwafina, who won the Golden Globe for best dramatic actress in The Farewell, wasn’t nominated by the Academy either.

Major awards shows have come under fire for failing to recognize work from women and people of color. Ricky Gervais, who hosted this year’s Golden Globes for the fifth time, skewered the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for failing to diversify. “There’s a lot of controversy about our next category because no female directors were nominated this year. Not one. I mean, that’s bad,” he said.
 
Once a showcase for emcees such as Johnny Carson, Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg, the Oscars won’t have a host for this year, for the second time in a row. Last year, Kevin Hart stepped down as host after old, homophobic tweets surfaced and he declined to apologize. Hart later said he acted “immature.”
 
 
The major nominations include:
 
Best Picture
Ford v Ferrari
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
Marriage Story
1917
Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood
Parasite
 
Best Director
Martin Scorsese, The Irishman
Todd Phillips, Joker
Bong Joon-ho, Parasite
Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood
Sam Mendes, 1917
 
Best Actress
Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
Saoirse Ronan, Little Women
Charlize Theron, Bombshell
Renee Zellweger, Judy
 
Best Actor
Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory
Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood
Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes
 
Best Supporting Actress
Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell
Laura Dern, Marriage Story
Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit
Florence Pugh, Little Women
Margot Robbie, Bombshell
 
Best Supporting Actor
Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes
Al Pacino, The Irishman
Joe Pesci, The Irishman
Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood
 
Best Adapted Screenplay
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
The Two Popes
 
Best Original Screenplay
Knives Out
Marriage Story
1917
Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood
Parasite
 
Best International Feature
Corpus Christi, Poland
Honeyland, North Macedonia
Les Miserables, France
Pain and Glory, Spain
Parasite, South Korea
 
Best Animated Feature
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
I Lost My Body
Klaus
Missing Link
Toy Story 4
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