Oscar Nominations 2021: The Snubs And Surprises
Who excelled and who stumbled in the nominations for the biggest night in Cinema.
The nominations are in! The slate of films to be celebrated at the 93rd Academy Awards has been announced and considering the sparse year it has been due the coronavirus pandemic, the nominations are actually quite good!
As with any year, there are some shocking admissions and some unexpected surprises but this is a good line-up of films without a doubt.
In regards to the aforementioned slim pickings, a lot of the same films pop up throughout with Mank leading the pack with 10 nominations. In joint second place are Minari, The Father, Sound of Metal, Judas and the Black Messiah, Trial of the Chicago 7 and Best Picture frontrunner Nomadland who all managed to reap six bids apiece. Promising Young Woman and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom are in third with five nominations each.
A historic year, more non-white actors were nominated than ever before with 9 out of 20 slots going to underrepresented groups with some long overdue love for Asian performers. Two women are nominated in the Best Director field and there is strong representation across the below the line categories.
The snubs and surprises are bound to cause debate leading up to the ceremony, but if it gets more eyes on these films then that can only be a good thing.
10. Snub: Regina King - Best Director
Not to start off on a negative note, but where on earth was Regina King! The Oscar winner was passed over on the directing line-up for her directorial debut One Night In Miami... The story of four civil rights icons, including Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali, spending one night together was an intimate piece with minimal locations or action.
It could have fallen apart in the hands of a lesser director but King manages to make the film dynamic and cinematic with the skill of someone that has years more experience behind the camera than she does. She had already picked up a Globe nomination and was recognised by the DGA for her first time directing a feature film.
If she were to receive a nomination, King would have made history as the first black woman nominated in the category and would have brought the total of female directors nominated this year to three. One Night also missed out on a Best Picture nomination but managed to pick up bids for its adapted screenplay and doubly for Leslie Odom Jr.'s supporting performance and original song. Regina King deserved a spot on that list also.