They’re not happening until April 25 this year — thanks, COVID-19 — but the Academy Awards have returned to some measure of homeostasis. They’re back to snubbing Spike Lee, but they’re not embarrassing themselves the way they did in the alabaster cringefest era of #OscarsSoWhite.
While industry paean Mank led the nominations with 10, Judas and the Black Messiah (6) and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (5) also received well-deserved plaudits, including a best actor nod for the late Chadwick Boseman, a best actress nomination for Viola Davis and supporting actor nominations for LaKeith Stanfield and Daniel Kaluuya. Judas also scored nods for best picture and best original screenplay, though, in a puzzling turn, its director, Shaka King, did not get a nomination for directing. Nomadland director Chloé Zhao became the first woman of color in the 93-year history of the Oscars to receive a nomination for best director.
Other bright spots: Leslie Odom Jr., the beating heart of One Night in Miami, was recognized for his work playing Sam Cooke. Garrett Bradley, director of Time and the first woman to win the U.S. documentary prize at Sundance, earned a nomination for her deep dive into one family’s yearslong experiences with mass incarceration. Playwright and screenwriter Kemp Powers scored a nomination for One Night in Miami, which was adapted from his play of the same name.
There was at least one major disappointment. Delroy Lindo’s magnificent performance as a tortured, MAGA hat-sporting Vietnam veteran losing himself and his grip on reality went unrecognized, as did most of the work that made Da 5 Bloods great. At least Terence Blanchard, Lee’s longtime collaborator, notched a nomination for his score for the film.
Netflix’s domination this year (the studio behind Mank, Ma Rainey and The Trial of the Chicago 7 racked up 35 nominations) still leaves something to be desired. Da 5 Bloods, which aired on Netflix, is one of Lee’s best films in a prolific career, yet neither he nor the film seemed to receive the level of studio support given to his contemporary and friend, Martin Scorsese and The Irishman. Last year, The Irishman racked up 10 Oscar nominations, including for best picture and best director. It was the streamer’s costliest film production ($ 175 million). Meanwhile, Lee got a fraction of that budget ($ 45 million) to make Da 5 Bloods, which sits alongside Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X as Lee’s best work. Nevertheless, Lee made magic — the recreated stone My Son temples where the film’s big gunfight takes place were constructed from wood and Styrofoam. And without the budget for de-aging technology that was afforded to Scorsese, Lee relied on changing aspect ratios and a corps of experienced actors to delineate between war-era and modern-day Saigon.
The result was an improvement over the distracting and gimmicky effects work of The Irishman, a way of merging the strengths of film and theater. (And while it does not fall into the category of traditional Oscar bait, I would have liked to see some appreciation for the romance, rigor and beauty of Radha Blank’s The Forty-Year-Old Version, another Netflix film about the frustrations and triumphs of the creative process.)
Here are the 2021 Oscar nominations:
Best Picture
The Father: Producers – David Parfitt, Jean-Louis Livi and Philippe Carcassonne
Judas and the Black Messiah: Producers – Shaka King, Charles D. King and Ryan Coogler
Mank: Producers– Ceán Chaffin, Eric Roth and Douglas Urbanski
Minari: Producer – Christina Oh
Nomadland: Producers – Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey and Chloé Zhao
Promising Young Woman: Producers – Ben Browning, Ashley Fox, Emerald Fennell and Josey McNamara
Sound of Metal: Producers – Bert Hamelinck and Sacha Ben Harroche
The Trial of the Chicago 7: Producers – Marc Platt and Stuart Besser
Actor in a Leading Role
David Lee/Netflix
Riz Ahmed in Sound of Metal
Chadwick Boseman in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Anthony Hopkins in The Father
Gary Oldman in Mank
Steven Yeun in Minari
Actor in a Supporting Role
Sacha Baron Cohen in The Trial of the Chicago 7
Daniel Kaluuya in Judas and the Black Messiah
Leslie Odom Jr. in One Night in Miami
Paul Raci in Sound of Metal
LaKeith Stanfield in Judas and the Black Messiah
Actress in a Leading Role
Viola Davis in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Andra Day in The United States vs. Billie Holiday
Vanessa Kirby in Pieces of a Woman
Frances McDormand in Nomadland
Carey Mulligan in Promising Young Woman
Actress in a Supporting Role
Maria Bakalova in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Glenn Close in Hillbilly Elegy
Olivia Colman in The Father
Amanda Seyfried in Mank
Youn Yuh-jung in Minari
Animated Feature Film
Disney/Pixar
Onward: Dan Scanlon and Kori Rae
Over the Moon: Glen Keane, Gennie Rim and Peilin Chou
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon: Richard Phelan, Will Becher and Paul Kewley
Soul: Pete Docter and Dana Murray
Wolfwalkers: Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart, Paul Young and Stéphan Roelants
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
Costume Design
Emma: Alexandra Byrne
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom: Ann Roth
Mank: Trish Summerville
Mulan: Bina Daigeler
Pinocchio: Massimo Cantini Parrini
Directing
Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Another Round: Thomas Vinterberg
Mank: David Fincher
Minari: Lee Isaac Chung
Nomadland: Chloé Zhao
Promising Young Woman: Emerald Fennell
Documentary (Feature)
Collective: Alexander Nanau and Bianca Oana
Crip Camp: Nicole Newnham, James 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
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
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
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
Makeup and Hairstyling
Emma: Marese Langan, Laura Allen and Claudia Stolze
Hillbilly Elegy: Eryn Krueger Mekash, Matthew Mungle and Patricia Dehaney
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom: Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson
Mank: Gigi Williams, Kimberley Spiteri and Colleen LaBaff
Pinocchio: Mark Coulier, Dalia Colli and Francesco Pegoretti
Music (Original Score)
Da 5 Bloods: Terence Blanchard
Mank: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
Minari: Emile Mosseri
News of the World: James Newton Howard
Soul: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste
Music (Original Song)
“Fight For You” from 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” from The Trial of the Chicago 7
Music by Daniel Pemberton; Lyric by Daniel Pemberton and Celeste Waite
“Husavik” from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
Music and Lyric by Savan Kotecha, Fat Max Gsus and Rickard Göransson
“Io Sì (Seen)” from The Life Ahead (La Vita Davanti A Se)
Music by Diane Warren; Lyric by Diane Warren and Laura Pausini
“Speak Now” from One Night In Miami
Music and Lyric by Leslie Odom Jr. and Sam Ashworth
Production Design
The Father: Production Design: Peter Francis; Set Decoration: Cathy Featherstone
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
Short Film (Animated)
Burrow: Madeline Sharafian and Michael Capbarat
Genius Loci: Adrien Mérigeau and Amaury Ovise
IF Anything Happens I Love You: Will McCormack and Michael Govier
Opera: Erick Oh
Yes-People: Gísli Darri Halldórsson and Arnar Gunnarsson
Short Film (Live Action)
Feeling Through: Doug Roland and Susan Ruzenski
The Letter Room: Elvira Lind and Sofia Sondervan
The Present: Farah Nabulsi
Two Distant Strangers: Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe
White Eye: Tomer Shushan and Shira Hochman
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 Navarrete and Phillip Bladh
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
Tenet: Andrew Jackson, David Lee, Andrew Lockley and Scott Fisher
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer, Peter Baynham, Erica Rivinoja, Dan Mazer, Jena Friedman and Lee Kern; Story by Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Dan Swimer and Nina Pedrad
The Father: Screenplay by Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller
Nomadland: Written for the screen by Chloé Zhao
One Night In Miami: Screenplay by Kemp Powers
The White Tiger: Written for the screen by Ramin Bahrani
Writing (Original Screenplay)
Judas and the Black Messiah: Screenplay by Will Berson and Shaka King; Story by Will Berson, Shaka King, Kenny and Keith Lucas
Minari: Written by Lee Isaac Chung
Promising Young Woman: Written by Emerald Fennell
Sound of Metal: Screenplay by Darius and Abraham Marder; Story by Darius Marder and Derek Cianfrance
The Trial of the Chicago 7: Written by Aaron Sorkin
