The nominations for the 93rd Academy Awards were announced this morning and, as always, there were a few surprises (though not as many as one might think considering how tumultuous the past year was in movies) and a few snubs.
Netflix’s Mank from director David Fincher led the pack with the stylistic biopic of Citizen Kane writer Herman J. Mankiewicz pulling in 10 nominations, including for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor for Gary Oldman and Best Supporting Actress for Amanda Seyfried.
Half a dozen movies followed with six nominations apiece: The Father, Judas and the Black Messiah, Minari, Nomadland, Sound of Metal, and The Trial of the Chicago 7, with actress-writer turned director Emerald Fennell’s feature debut Promising Young Woman right behind them with five nominations. Fennell’s nomination for Best Director, along with Chloé Zhao for Nomadland, is the first time two women have ever been nominated for that category in the same year, with Zhao being the first Asian woman to be nominated, period. It was also the first time an Asian-American has been nominated in the Best Actor category (Steven Yeun for Minari) along with the first Muslim and person of Pakistani descent (Riz Ahmed for Sound of Metal). Overall, nine people of color were nominated in acting categories, an Academy Awards record. However, that doesn’t mean there weren’t still some snubs and surprises.
LaKeith Stanfield had been positioned in the Best Actor category for Judas and the Black Messiah to make space for his co-star Daniel Kaluuya in the Best Supporting Actor category. However, he ended up earning more votes in the latter category so now both men are competing for Best Supporting Actor. As for snubs, while film critics had been championing Delroy Lindo for Best Actor for his devastating performance in Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods, he was overlooked, as was Regina King for Best Director for One Night in Miami. Outside of Judas, Black-led dramas were overlooked entirely in the Best Picture category between the aforementioned Da 5 Bloods, One Night in Miami, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
The announcements were two months later than usual as this year’s ceremony has been pushed back by a few months. The ceremony, which was originally scheduled for February 28 as usual, was pushed back to April 25. It will take place live in-person at Los Angeles’ Union Station and the Dolby Theatre.
The Oscars 2021 Nominees Are…
Best Picture
The Father – David Parfitt, Jean-Louis Livi and Philippe Carcassonne, producers
Judas and the Black Messiah – Shaka King, Charles D. King and Ryan Coogler, producers
Mank – Ceán Chaffin, Eric Roth and Douglas Urbanski, producers
Minari – Christina Oh, producer
Nomadland – Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey and Chloé Zhao, producers
Promising Young Woman – Ben Browning, Ashley Fox, Emerald Fennell and Josey McNamara, producers
Sound of Metal – Bert Hamelinck and Sacha Ben Harroche, producers
The Trial of the Chicago 7 – Marc Platt and Stuart Besser, producers
Best Director
Thomas Vinterberg – Another Round
David Fincher – Mank
Lee Isaac Chung – Minari
Chloé Zhao – Nomadland
Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Riz Ahmed – Sound of Metal
Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Anthony Hopkins – The Father
Gary Oldman – Mank
Steven Yeun – Minari
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Viola Davis – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Andra Day – The United States v. Billie Holiday
Vanessa Kirby – Pieces of a Woman
Frances McDormand – Nomadland
Carey Mulligan – Promising Young Woman
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Sacha Baron Cohen – The Trial of the Chicago 7
Daniel Kaluuya – Judas and the Black Messiah
Leslie Odom Jr. – One Night in Miami
Paul Raci – Sound of Metal
Lakeith Stanfield – Judas and the Black Messiah
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Maria Bakalova – Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Glenn Close – Hillbilly Elegy
Olivia Colman – The Father
Amanda Seyfried – Mank
Yuh-jung Youn – Minari
Best Animated Feature Film
Onward – Pixar
Over the Moon – Netflix
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon – Netflix
Soul – Pixar
Wolfwalkers – Apple TV Plus/GKIDS
Best Adapted Screenplay
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm – Screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer, Peter Baynham, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Mazer, Jena Friedman, Lee Kern; Story by Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer, Nina Pedrad
The Father – Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller
Nomadland – Chloé Zhao
One Night in Miami – Kemp Powers
The White Tiger – Ramin Bahrani
Best Original Screenplay
Judas and the Black Messiah – Screenplay by Will Berson, Shaka King; Story by Will Berson, Shaka King, Kenny Lucas, Keith Lucas
Minari – Lee Isaac Chung
Promising Young Woman – Emerald Fennell
Sound of Metal – Screenplay by Darius Marder, Abraham Marder; Story by Darius Marder, Derek Cianfrance
The Trial of the Chicago 7 – Aaron Sorkin
Best Original Song
“Fight for You” (Judas and the Black Messiah) – Music by H.E.R. and Dernst Emile II; Lyric by H.E.R. and Tiara Thomas
“Hear My Voice” (The Trial of the Chicago 7) – Music by Daniel Pemberton; Lyric by Daniel Pemberton and Celeste Waite
“Húsavík” (Eurovision Song Contest) – Music and Lyric by Savan Kotecha, Fat Max Gsus and Rickard Göransson
“Io Si (Seen)” (The Life Ahead) – Music by Diane Warren; Lyric by Diane Warren and Laura Pausini
“Speak Now,” (One Night in Miami) – Music and Lyric by Leslie Odom, Jr. and Sam Ashworth
Best Original Score
Da 5 Bloods – Terence Blanchard
Mank – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
Minari – Emile Mosseri
News of the World – James Newton Howard
Soul – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Jon Batiste
Best Sound
Greyhound – Warren Shaw, Michael Minkler, Beau Borders and David Wyman
Mank – Ren Klyce, Jeremy Molod, David Parker, Nathan Nance and Drew Kunin
News of the World – Oliver Tarney, Mike Prestwood Smith, William Miller and John Pritchett
Soul – Ren Klyce, Coya Elliott and David Parker
Sound of Metal – Nicolas Becker, Jaime Baksht, Michelle Couttolenc, Carlos Cortés and Phillip Bladh
Best Costume Design
Emma – Alexandra Byrne
Mank – Trish Summerville
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – Ann Roth
Mulan – Bina Daigeler
Pinocchio – Massimo Cantini Parrini
Best Animated Short Film
“Burrow” – Disney Plus/Pixar
“Genius Loci” – Kazak Productions
“If Anything Happens I Love You” – Netflix
“Opera” – Beasts and Natives Alike
“Yes-People” – CAOZ hf. Hólamói
Best Live-Action Short Film
“Feeling Through”
“The Letter Room”
“The Present”
“Two Distant Strangers”
“White Eye”
Best Cinematography
Judas and the Black Messiah – Sean Bobbitt
Mank – Erik Messerschmidt
News of the World – Dariusz Wolski
Nomadland – Joshua James Richards
The Trial of the Chicago 7 – Phedon Papamichael
Best Documentary Feature
Collective – Alexander Nanau and Bianca Oana
Crip Camp – Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht and Sara Bolder
The Mole Agent – Maite Alberdi and Marcela Santibáñez
My Octopus Teacher – Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed and Craig Foster
Time – Garrett Bradley, Lauren Domino and Kellen Quinn
Best Documentary Short Subject
“Colette” – Anthony Giacchino and Alice Doyard
“A Concerto Is a Conversation” – Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers
“Do Not Split” – Anders Hammer and Charlotte Cook
“Hunger Ward” – Skye Fitzgerald and Michael Scheuerman
“A Love Song for Latasha” – Sophia Nahli Allison and Janice Duncan
Best Film Editing
The Father – Yorgos Lamprinos
Nomadland – Chloé Zhao
Promising Young Woman – Frédéric Thoraval
Sound of Metal – Mikkel E.G. Nielsen
The Trial of the Chicago 7 – Alan Baumgarten
Best International Feature Film
Another Round – Denmark
Better Days – Hong Kong
Collective – Romania
The Man Who Sold His Skin – Tunisia
Quo Vadis, Aida? – Bosnia and Herzegovina
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Emma – Marese Langan, Laura Allen, Claudia Stolze
Hillbilly Elegy – Eryn Krueger Mekash, Patricia Dehaney, Matthew Mungle
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Mia Neal, Jamika Wilson
Mank – Kimberley Spiteri, Gigi Williams, Colleen LaBaff
Pinocchio – Mark Coulier, Dalia Colli, Francesco Pegoretti
Best Production Design
The Father – Production Design: Peter Francis; Set Decoration: Cathy FeatherstoneAD
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – Production Design: Mark Ricker; Set Decoration: Karen O’Hara and Diana Stoughton
Mank – Production Design: Donald Graham Burt; Set Decoration: Jan Pascale
News of the World – Production Design: David Crank; Set Decoration: Elizabeth Keenan
Tenet – Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Kathy Lucas
Best Visual Effects
Love and Monsters – Matt Sloan, Genevieve Camilleri, Matt Everitt and Brian Cox
The Midnight Sky – Matthew Kasmir, Christopher Lawrence, Max Solomon and David Watkins
Mulan – Sean Faden, Anders Langlands, Seth Maury and Steve Ingram
The One and Only Ivan – Nick Davis, Greg Fisher, Ben Jones and Santiago Colomo Martinez
Tenet – Andrew Jackson, David Lee, Andrew Lockley and Scott Fisher
