Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey and Chloé Zhao, Producers
Nomadland was added to the AP best films and National Society of Film Critics 2020, and as well as beingan Oscar contender will now be available for viewers to watch starting February 19, 2021. Movie-goers can either visit the big screen available anywhere movie theaters are open, or opt for a stay-at-home watch.
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
Ben Browning, Ashley Fox, Emerald Fennell and Josey McNamara, Producers
A hall of mirrors, not only of reflections on “Kane” and “Mank” but this very moment in time
Seeing “Mank” on netflix, in painstakingly low tech black and white on and ancient 2004 vintage plasma flat screen many coincidences seemed to converge and collide.
In the final sequences of Mank as the epilogue divulges the Oscar win for best screenplay and indicates that “Citizen Kane” was the final film written by Herman J. Mankiewicz, while as is part of Hollywood history and lore, it was the first by Orsen Wells, as a director and actor.
And Mank was released a dat after it was announced that Warner Bros. would begin releasing all its films (the next 17, at any rate) simultaneously on HBO max and in theaters. For many, particularly those in the movie theater business, this was seen as a possible death knell for live cinema.
And, taking this thread further, “Mank” also touches on the fact that Citizen Kane, which in many ways marks the birth of modern filmmaking, was only released at all due to legal maneuvering by RKO Radio Pictures, and Orson Wells only had the contract allowing him full autonomy because of his status as a radio star…
Radio, in other words, was present at the inauguration of modern cinema while Streaming attends the death of the movie theater experience, for the time being, at any rate.
And while these various technical marvels, the luxurious, sensual and powerfully stimulative immersion in a dark theater, on the one hand, and the inconsistent and convenient yet ever evolving systems of today both share, as a prerequisite to all creation the written, spoken and word and the imagination the imbues its invocation.
A movie for the ages and a single man’s creative life that was fulfilled through it’s creation
Adding to the layers of what seems like uncanny timing, “Citizen Kane” inspirational subject in real life, William Randolph Hearst, was at the time of the film’s initial release, rich on the level that would compare to Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos today, but was a newspaper Publisher. Newspaper publishing is yet another storytelling technology that, already at that time was considered on its way out, and in “Mank” there is even a scene where Hearst touts “Talkies”, movies with sound and dialog, as the technology that would captivate the future.
Implying, inadvertently perhaps, that we are at a similar crossroads of change, and that, while streaming, digital publishing and beyond may be “the future”, the light of good works, and of a great story well told, will shine into eternity, as will “Citizen Kane” and the man who originally conceived it: Mank.
Disney’s Slate Continues to Outperform Commercially, if not always Critically
Although the first animated feature film debuted way back in 1939 with “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves,” the Best Animated Feature category at the Academy Awards has only existed for nineteen years, arriving in 2001 when DreamWorks’ “Shrek” won the inaugural prize.
Although “Shrek” may have taken home that initial award—beating out fellow nominees “Monsters Inc.” and “Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius”—DreamWorks would not be the animation studio to rein supreme over the category in the coming years. In the nineteen years that the category has taken place, Disney’s Pixar has won ten times, making it the unrivaled champion of the Best Animated Feature title.
In fact, almost every time Pixar releases a movie, it gets a nomination, and almost every time it gets a nomination, it wins. Only three times has a Pixar movie been in the runnings, but lost to one of its competitors. Following “Monsters Inc’s” initial loss to “Shrek,” “Cars” lost to “Happy Feet” in 2006 and “Incredibles 2” lost to “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse” just last year—albeit, the studio won Best Animated short with yesteryear’s “Bao.”
Many were happy to see “Spider-Verse” win in 2019. The movie was original and its animation was captivating, far from the predictable family narratives and re-hashed 3D style of Pixar that audiences have become all too familiar with over the past twenty-six years. Furthermore, with Disney being a conglomerate juggernaut in modern Hollywood, there is something cathartic about seeing an underdog beat them out—in addition to the ten Pixar wins, Walt Disney Animation studios have also won three of the nineteen Best Animated Feature titles, leaving the House-of-Mouse with all but six of the total trophies for the category.
With “Spider-Verse” winning last year, some assumed that Pixar might be losing its power, and when “Toy Story 4” lost to the commercially unsuccessful, but critically acclaimed “Missing Link” at the 2020 Golden Globes, many were optimistically foreseeing another Pixar defeat at the upcoming Oscars—making it Disney’s first consecutive defeat in the category since 2006.
Overrated or Just still too Big to Ignore, Toy Story’s Success is Undeniable
“Toy Story 4” is by no means a bad movie, and it grossed over a billion dollars at the Box Office, but many movie goers grow weary of Pixar’s cash-out sequels. Likewise, the fourth installment in the “Toy Story” series feels a bit unnecessary, especially considering how excellently “Toy Story 3” seemed to conclude the saga in 2010. Also, it is hardly a stretch of the imagination to think that Disney insisted on a fourth film just to sell more Woody and Buzz toys to a younger generation.
Moreover, the Animated Feature category was filled with some suburb competition this year. “Missing Link” was a visual masterpiece from unsung stop-motion animation company Laika. “How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” was a wonderful conclusion to DreamWorks’ heartfelt fantasy trilogy—all three of the films losing to Disney titles in previous years’ Oscars. Then, Netflix’s “Klaus” was an aesthetic stunner, and Jérémy Clapin’s “I Lost My Body” was a mature meditation on the human condition and the first animated movie to win the esteemed Nespresso Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
In short, the competition was stacked for Best Animated Feature and while the winner was anything but a sure thing, the divisive “Toy Story 4” hardly felt like anyone’s first pick. Thus, when actress Mindy Kaling presented the award partway through the evening, few expected and many were disappointed when she announced the Pixar title as the victor.
When director Josh Cooley and producers Mark Nielsen and Jonas Rivera took the stage, their acceptance speech was sincere. All involved in “Toy Story 4” seemed grateful for the prize, but audiences cannot help but feel like some of the other titles deserved it more.
Everything New is Old Again
In a year of Oscar firsts and progressive wins—from “Parasite” being the first foreign film to earn Best Picture, to the animated short “Hair Love” and the documentary “American Factory” winning with stories that celebrate multiculturalism—the Best Animated Feature category seemed a little regressive, championing the default, blockbuster Pixar nominee over some truly innovative pieces of cinema.
At least Pixar claims that it is done with sequels now and that the studio will be returning to original stories from here on out. 2020 promises the releases of “Onward” and “Soul” from Pixar, a couple movies with no connection to any previous intellectual properties. When they inevitably get nominated at the 2021 Academy Awards, let’s hope that they deserve their opportunity for hardware, and that the Academy keeps up its progressive tendencies when deciding on animated movies going forward.
The 2020 Oscars are a wrap. Big news is “Parasite” with four awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Bong Joon-Ho and Best International Film. Best Actor Joaquin Phoenix gave an emotional heart felt speech, quoting his brother River, Best Actress Renée Zellweger also waxed emotional, although the two veered off in similar yet opposite directions. Overall, other than the groundbreaking win for the South Korean wonder \”Parasite\” and the welcome diversity that it represents, these Oscars were, oddly, short on drama. Below you can see all the winners in each category:
Oscars winners (Refresh for updates)
Category winners are in bold with check-mark.
Best picture
1917 The Irishman Jojo Rabbit Joker Little Women Marriage Story Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood Parasite Ford v Ferrari
Best director
Bong Joon-ho, Parasite√ Sam Mendes, 1917 Todd Phillips, Joker Martin Scorsese, The Irishman Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
Best actor
Joaquin Phoenix, Joker√ Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory Adam Driver, Marriage Story Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes
Best actress
Cynthia Erivo, Harriet Renée Zellweger, Judy√ Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story Charlize Theron, Bombshell Saoirse Ronan, Little Women
Best film editing
The Irishman Jojo Rabbit Joker Ford v Ferrari√ Parasite
Best supporting actress
Laura Dern, Marriage Story√ Florence Pugh, Little Women Margot Robbie, Bombshell Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit
Best cinematography
Roger Deakins, 1917√ Rodrigo Prieto, The Irishman Lawrence Sher, Joker Jarin Blaschke, The Lighthouse Robert Richardson, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
Best sound mixing
Ad Astra Joker 1917√ Ford v Ferrari Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
Best sound editing
1917 Ford v Ferrari√ Joker Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Documentary short feature
In the Absence Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)√ Life Overtakes Me St. Louis Superman Walk Run Cha-Cha
Documentary feature
American Factory√ The Cave The Edge of Democracy For Sama Honeyland
Best costume design
Sandy Powell & Christopher Peterson, The Irishman Mark Bridges, Joker Arianne Phillips, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood Jacqueline Durran, Little Women√ Mayes C. Rubeo, Jojo Rabbit
Best production design
Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood√ The Irishman 1917 Jojo Rabbit Parasite
Live-action short film
Brotherhood Nefta Football Club The Neighbors’ Window√ Saria A Sister
Best adapted screenplay
Steven Zaillian, The Irishman Greta Gerwig, Little Women Taika Waititi, Jojo Rabbit√ Anthony McCarten, The Two Popes Todd Phillips & Scott Silver, Joker
Best original screenplay
Rian Johnson, Knives Out Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story Sam Mendes & Krysty Wilson-Cairns, 1917 Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood Bong Joon-ho, Parasite√
Animated short film
Dcera (Daughter) Hair Love√ Kitbull Memorable Sister
Animated feature film
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World I Lost My Body Klaus Missing Link Toy Story 4√
Best supporting actor
Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood√ Al Pacino, The Irishman Joe Pesci, The Irishman Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Makeup and hairstyling
Bombshell√ Joker Judy Maleficent: Mistress of Evil 1917
Visual effects
Avengers: Endgame The Irishman The Lion King 1917√ Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Music (original score)
Joker√ Little Women Marriage Story 1917 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Music (original song)
“I’m Standing With You” from Breakthrough “Into The Unknown” from Frozen II “Stand Up” from Harriet “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from Rocketman√ “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” from Toy Story 4 “Glasgow” from Wild Rose
International feature film
France, Les Misérables North Macedonia, Honeyland Poland, Corpus Christi South Korea, Parasite √ Spain, Pain and Glory
1917 The Irishman Jojo Rabbit Joker Little Women Marriage Story Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood Parasite√ Ford v Ferrari
Best director
Bong Joon-ho, Parasite√ Sam Mendes, 1917 Todd Phillips, Joker Martin Scorsese, The Irishman Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
Best actor
Joaquin Phoenix, Joker√ Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory Adam Driver, Marriage Story Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes
Best actress
Cynthia Erivo, Harriet Renée Zellweger, Judy√ Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story Charlize Theron, Bombshell Saoirse Ronan, Little Women
Best film editing
The Irishman Jojo Rabbit Joker Ford v Ferrari√ Parasite
Best supporting actress
Laura Dern, Marriage Story√ Florence Pugh, Little Women Margot Robbie, Bombshell Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit
Best cinematography
Roger Deakins, 1917√ Rodrigo Prieto, The Irishman Lawrence Sher, Joker Jarin Blaschke, The Lighthouse Robert Richardson, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
Best sound mixing
Ad Astra Joker 1917√ Ford v Ferrari Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood
Best sound editing
1917 Ford v Ferrari√ Joker Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Documentary short feature
In the Absence Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)√ Life Overtakes Me St. Louis Superman Walk Run Cha-Cha
Documentary feature
American Factory√ The Cave The Edge of Democracy For Sama Honeyland
Best costume design
Sandy Powell & Christopher Peterson, The Irishman Mark Bridges, Joker Arianne Phillips, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood Jacqueline Durran, Little Women√ Mayes C. Rubeo, Jojo Rabbit
Best production design
Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood√ The Irishman 1917 Jojo Rabbit Parasite
Live-action short film
Brotherhood Nefta Football Club The Neighbors’ Window√ Saria A Sister
Best adapted screenplay
Steven Zaillian, The Irishman Greta Gerwig, Little Women Taika Waititi, Jojo Rabbit√ Anthony McCarten, The Two Popes Todd Phillips & Scott Silver, Joker
Best original screenplay
Rian Johnson, Knives Out Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story Sam Mendes & Krysty Wilson-Cairns, 1917 Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood Bong Joon-ho, Parasite√
Animated short film
Dcera (Daughter) Hair Love√ Kitbull Memorable Sister
Animated feature film
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World I Lost My Body Klaus Missing Link Toy Story 4√
Best supporting actor
Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood√ Al Pacino, The Irishman Joe Pesci, The Irishman Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Makeup and hairstyling
Bombshell√ Joker Judy Maleficent: Mistress of Evil 1917
Visual effects
Avengers: Endgame The Irishman The Lion King 1917√ Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Music (original score)
Joker√ Little Women Marriage Story 1917 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Music (original song)
“I’m Standing With You” from Breakthrough “Into The Unknown” from Frozen II “Stand Up” from Harriet “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from Rocketman√ “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” from Toy Story 4 “Glasgow” from Wild Rose
International feature film
France, Les Misérables North Macedonia, Honeyland Poland, Corpus Christi South Korea, Parasite √ Spain, Pain and Glory
ScarJo and Joker cast shadows over the hope for new faces
On the morning after a Critics Choice Movie Awards ceremony that heavily paralleled the Golden Globes—“Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood” won best picture, Joaquin Phoenix won best actor, Renèe Zellweger best actress, Brad Pitt best supporting actor, Laura Dern best supporting actress, etc., the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences released their nominations for the 92nd Oscars, the pinnacle of the awards season that will take place in early February as per tradition at the famed Dolby Theater on Hollywood Boulevard.
The Oscar Nominations for 2020 offer the usual suspects in most categories. Like the Critics Choice Awards’ Broadcast Film Critics Association and the Golden Globes’ Foreign Hollywood Press, the Academy is big on yesteryear’s work from Tarantino, Mendez, and Scorsese. Likewise, they favor performances from Phoenix, Pitt, and Zellweger.
That being said, there are still a few head turners on this year’s nomination list, from the names included, to the names left out, to the handful of names that dominated.
First off, it should really be no surprise at this point in the awards season that Netflix got a lot of love for its 2019 filmography.
The Academy nominated both Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” and Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story” for best picture and Fernando Meirelles’ “The Two Popes” appeared in several categories as well.
This bodes well for the streaming service that clearly spent the year trying to produce and promote prestigious original content.
If one film dominated the list, however, it was Todd Phillips’ “Joker,” which garnered eleven nominations including best picture, best director, and best actor.
This is significant as not every year does a movie based on a comic book character lead the race, especially not when that comic book character is a controversy-inducing villain brought to the screen by the director of “The Hangover.”
Nevertheless, “Joker” stood out amongst the competition. In terms of noms, the film was narrowly followed by “The Irishman,” “Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood,” and “1917,” all fellow best picture contenders that received ten nominations each.
Moreover, while there weren’t really any surprises on the best actor or best actress fronts, Scarlett Johansson managed to snag both best actress and best supporting actress nominations for her respective roles in “Marriage Story” and “Jojo Rabbit.”
Snubs and Overlooked Talent that was Coincidentally Diverse Abounded
Adam Sandler went unsung for his groundbreaking performance in “Uncut Gems,” and critic favorites Awkwafina from “The Farewell” and Jennifer Lopez from “Hustlers” were similarly snubbed, not receiving any accolades from the Academy despite earning praise elsewhere.
This brings us to the biggest elephant in the room, which has been a persistent topic for the past few Academy Awards—how diverse are this year’s nominees?
The noticeably whitewashed 2016 Oscars sparked this long overdue conversation about diversity in the Awards. Since then, the Academy has been seemingly more inclusive, nominating and honoring racially-charged films like “Moonlight,” “Get Out,” “BlackKklansman,” and, “Black Panther”, feminist features like “Lady Bird” and “Roma,” and queer narratives like “Call Me By Your Name” and “The Favourite.”
This year, however, despite all of the progress over the past couple of several telecasts, the Academy seems to have relapsed into yet another celebration of a white male dominated Hollywood. The only big 2020 nominees that deviate from this norm are Greta Gerwig’s female-centric “Little Women” and Bong Joon-ho’s Korean “Parasite.”
Both of these films were nominated for best picture and Bong Joon-ho was nominated for best director.
The rest of the nominations in these categories are filled with the work of white men. Characteristically, the films are overwhelmingly white as well—from the Western European World War I narrative in “1917,” to the Nazi-Germany satire in “Jojo Rabbit” to a movie literally titled “The Irishman,” there is not a whole lot of diversity going on.
Likewise, many of these movies also sideline female characters to subordinate roles such as wives, mothers, and girlfriends to the male leads.
While these skewed nominations may be mere products of their not being as many women or minority filmmakers in the industry, that very underrepresentation is a testimony to Hollywood’s systemic gender and racial inequality both in front of and behind the camera.
Thus, when the red carpet rolls out on February 9th, we can expect to see a lot of talent on it, but probably not as much color as we’d prefer.
Following the success of last year’s hostless ceremony, the Academy also recently announced that the event will again not have a host. Hence, there will be no central figure on stage to comically quell (or egregiously highlight) the Academy’s systematic issues regarding representation.
Still, if the Golden Globes were any indicator, we will probably still hear a lot of social commentary through the acceptance speeches.
In total, the Academy has taken a big step back this year, not showing the level of diversity that the public might desire or expect.
However, the Academy Awards are only the opinions of a handful of aged industry professionals. Just because they don’t recognize certain talent does not mean that there won’t be eventual recognition, at the latest once the demographics change in the voting block (cold comfort till then).
Academy Awards, Oscars, Joker, Scarlett Johansson, Whitewashed Hollywood, Netflix, Bong Joon-ho, Todd Phillips, Awkwafina, Jennifer Lopez, Movie,
Based on an article published in “New York Magazine” in 2015, this feel-good stripper story is getting strong, effusive positive reviews after its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival this weekend.
Talk of an Oscar nod for J Lo is already out there based on her performance as the head of an underdog-stripper crime “family”. In a kind of “Robin-Hood as Stripper” twist based on the original report.
With a star studded cast, lead by Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu (“Fresh off the Boat”, “Crazy Rich Asians”), Cardi B, Julia Stiles and Keke Palmer, the crime drama has the mixture of a heist movie with built in sex, money and post feminist empowerment all wrapped into one.
Written for the screen and Directed by Lorene Scafaria, “Hustlers” is riding the buzz straight into opening weekend with what appears like it will be a big first weekend beginning on September 12th.