Oscars 2019 Nominations: 13 Biggest Shocks, Snubs & Surprises

4. Shock: The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs Love

The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs Tim Blake Nelson
Netflix

The Coen Bros are frequently Academy favourites, so you can never count them out entirely, but The Ballad of Buster Scruggs didn't seem to have anything going for it coming into the nominations.

The film had no momentum, wasn't really being considered a contender in most areas, and was a Netflix production (in a year when voters are already being forced to go hard for another streaming movie, no less). And yet, somehow, it has three nominations. Costume Design is less of a surprise, but the fact it's got Best Adapted Screenplay is a big shock. That is where the Coens' strengths lie, but it didn't seem to have enough backing to beat out the likes of First Man and, more surprisingly, Black Panther.

On top of that, it's picked up an Original Song nomination too, which isn't quite as surprising, but should be absolutely incredible to see on stage during the event itself.

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