"The Joker", lauded with 11 nominations ... is where & why Hollywood loses the majority of the country politically.
And why film stars and personalities do more harm than good when they speak out for Democrats.
I don't say this is right or fair, am just asking -- pleading -- to any and all Hollywood types, feeling their oats during awards season, all puffed up, etc. -- to keep it cool with the speechifying, etc.
It is more than ever extremely counter-productive.
Write checks, support Dem candidates any other way you can, quietly and out of the limelight.
7
Perhaps Hollywood is disconnected with reality and the rest of the world. Why are movies like Irishmen joker still being made? Don’t we have enough violence in this world that we have to glorify it for our entertainment!
Yes the entertainment industry is directly responsible for violence in today’s world, it’s exported to other countries as well. American gruesomeness gun violence and corruption.
82
@petey tonei When humans are comfortable, they get bored, so violence and quirkiness become the currency of entertainment, even in the literature. They have to draw you back to the theater, to the tube to make money. Ask yourself if you have learned something or were you just distracted for the hour and a half. Do you even remember any of it ? You are wasting your time when you could be learning a new language, or anything to better yourself.
7
@petey tonei Films are a form of entertainment, they are not created to be the moral litmus test to raise your children by. Cinema is also not responsible for violence. Poor parents, who usually blame their children's behavior on, say, a rap song are usually to blame.
29
JPP, I seriously beg to differ. In the hands of the greatest directors, they aspire to present big ideas, they are a legitimate art form.
The Academy is not necessarily interested in recognizing films with these qualities and there’s the rub.
17
This article makes issue on who wasn’t included but says nothing about if they were included who in the current list is undeserving to be there. Who do writers of this column think has not done a good enough job to be nominated? When voters look at the list should a great acting or directing job be shunted aside because the person is white and or male? Should the top twenty be selected? Top one hundred? Where is the cut off so more can be included. Should they add Best female director? What would happen if they only honored best Actors not Actors and Actresses? No awards can be so inclusive that they are deemed worthless. Everyone gets a trophy.
41
@David Gifford
Of course not, only the best should be nominated. But why is it that a three hour bloodbath with no discernible plot is considered "the best" while complicated (while still enjoyable) films about the rapport between women are easily dismissed?
8
I think the point is that you should flip that question around. You are assuming that people of color were not deserving of a nomination. The writers were assuming they were. Since said writers have probably seen every performance, I’ll take their word over your very tired list of tropes. #overit
6
@David Gifford, you’re saying he tie should go to the man?
2
Better expand the field to 10 or 20 in each category if we are going to gripe every time. Anything can happen when you narrow a field of hundreds down to 5 and it actually doesn't MEAN anything.
26
@Jim Thta won`t help as just participating will immediately become not enough and will be heralded as tokenism. The next step would be why oh why do they never win? And then after they win for 20 years straight the arguement will be "but these past 20 years is nothing compared to hundreds of years of opression!"
You can`t win with these people.
5
A couple of notes. The issue with diversity is there is a legit argument of historical bias at the Academy Awards, but can many honestly say the nominations this year was due to race? That's what I find flawed since we had many good movies and performances this year, and I can't say the nominees were awarded for being white or male. Look at the acting categories, and they are all well deserving. I think Joaquin Phoenix should win Best Actor, but I can make an argument for Leonardo and others. I think Brad Bitt is the best supporting actor, but again I can make a good case for everyone else. Etc and etc.
Point is I get annoyed with the argument how not enough nominations are for women or minorities. Every year we can make arguments who should be nominated or not, but this year so many nominees and awards have been well earned. I personally agree with most of the nominations. I am glad a foreign film was nominated for Best Picture since Parasite is a great movie, and I honestly can't pick a Best Picture out of the bunch since several movies are really good. I love 1917, Parasite, and Once Upon A Time in Hollywood. I would give the award to all three if I could. It's a great year for film buffs and fans, and I wish more people just enjoy it over finding social issues to nitpick about.
257
@Patrick I hear you, all are deserving. But you might feel more empathy for the equally deserving omissions, if you were the ‘social issue’ being traditionally being overlooked. Diversifying the field of voters is a worthy goal, if it helps balance out inevitable biases.
78
@Sandy I agree with Greta Gerwig, but I won't say the nominees weren't deserving as well. I almost feel like at this rate the only answer is do what they did to Best Picture and extend it to nine nominees from 5. But to say the nominees are only because of sexism or racism is a narrow point of view when you have so many well deserving nominees. If anything, lets focus on the studios where they won't give women a chance to direct more movies. That is where we should focus people's anger at this time
27
This is the heart of the issue: rather than constantly disputing that so and so should be nominated rather such and such, focus should be on the equality of opportunity for minorities and women.
Diversify the institution of the Acadamy if you want more equitable voting, and if that diverse version then decides on all-white nominations, then this overwrought debate won’t happen.
9
Greta Gerwig’s transformational vision of the classic source material is clearly one of the best directed films of this or any recent year.
Once again the in-club that is the Academy somehow considers male stories, particularly white male stories, as inherently more important than any others (seemingly for no reason other than that is who the Academy members are), and I for one am done caring or watching...
295
@Julie M Couldn't agree more, it's like they're not even trying to hide the misogyny.
62
@Julie M I saw Little Women at an awards screening where Ms. Gerwig spoke for maybe an hour afterwards, and while I thought she deserved her nomination for Lady Bird, I don't think she deserved a nomination for LW.
It was beautifully shot and well acted, but many in the audience were confused by the time jumps (as were many who commented on the film on an article about LW in the Times).
Moreover, when source material has been ably adapted literally 15 or 20 times, it's difficult for many voters to be quite as excited about it. I enjoyed Ms. Gerwig's adaptation, but don't agree it was transformational.
FWIW, I thought Jojo Rabbit was far and away the best film of the year and like LW, it was nominated for Best Picture and screenplay but not Director.
44
@Julie M the membership is 84% male, so what can we expect?!
12
"Once Upon A Time ... In Hollywood" was like an SNL skit that got out of control.
4
The Oscars are a “joke”—once again showing why they have become irrelevant and are yearly losing viewership. Haven’t watched in years....
3
Sorry fellow movie goers...here's MY 2 cents (I work three jobs!) on this year's nominees:
1) There has to be a tie between Mr. Phoenix (Joker) and Mr. Defoe (The Lighthouse). Both were fantastic...actors who just go there and stay there...you can't take your eyes off of them...
2) Once Upon a Time...wait for it...hold on. Seriously? I completely missed the plot there...the movie surely is a hit in Hollywood, but I sat through 2.5 hours waiting for something to happen. This movie isn't Pulp Fiction and I Love QT, but I'm sorry...Ad Astra was such a better movie WITH a plot.
3) Where is "The Lighthouse" mentioned? You can't take your eyes off of it! Creepy to the max but so engrossing!
4) Where's the diversity? Seems like we are taking a step back.
5) I went to the theater ONCE in 2019. I was in the Philippines and went to see Toy Story 4, which frankly was a slap in the face to us Toy Story fans.
6) No Lighthouse means no watching for me.
7) Let me know how it goes, thank you.
2
I saw "The Irishman" and "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood" two grossly over rated films, long and boring. If they were made by unknown directors we would have never heard of them.
9
This is America so everyone is outraged about something. I’m outraged that no one from Parasite’s amazing cast was nominated in an acting category!.....I’m glad to see that Parasite was nominated for Best Picture, which it easily deserves to win but in all likelihood won’t (presumably it’ll win in the International Film category)
1
Elevating an overblown story about common criminals who murder other common criminals is not art.
7
Best movie I saw by far, I think it came out last year, was TOGO. The sled dog movie with Willem Defoe & Julianne Nicholson. Incredible. There are some scenes in that movie that are so stupendous, that's the word. .. I saw most of these this time and only Parasite, which was great, comes close. But that had a major flaw in my view. Spoiler Alert... People that rich would have cameras inside the house, at least in the dining room area. That would have changed part of Parasite.
Also some other commenters mentioned it. the age thing in The Irishman. Yes Yes .. all the actors looked & moved too old when they were supposed to be younger.. There was an interview with DeNiro the Times did, where he says some of it was digitally done. But it bothered everyone involved, the age looks. Kind of boring anyway. And very speculative about history. .. what happened to that interview anyway ????
1
Do we really need these self-aggrandizing extravaganzas like the Oscars any more? Who cares what these people think of themselves, each other, or anything at all? It’s a business dominated by white men. All the hashtags in the world won’t change that.
2
Don't most film & entertainment awards these days seem pretty past the moment and thirsty?
2
I would have liked to see Olivia Wilde get nominated for directing Booksmart. A great movie, with great reviews, that somehow was forgotten.
3
Please please please do NOT give an award to the JOKER- glorifying violence in this day and age. I saw the interview with Joaquin Phoenix and I mean, come on really? He got into his character to murder as soon as he heard a compelling piece of music? That to me isn't great acting. Taking the art of music and romanticizing the killing of someone? Not true acting first of all. This is somethings humans can stop.
5
We expect too much of these nominations to represent everything possible and then are invariably disappointed by them when they are announced every year? It is asking too much of mindless pop culture -- which is easily 85% of these films if we are being utterly honest.
1
“Joker” was dark, disturbing and absolutely riveting. I saw “Once Upon a Time in....Hollywood” three times. I couldn’t care less whether the actors are male/female, black/white/Latino/Asian/whatever, gay/straight/otherwise. It’s how a movie makes me feel. (On another note, I’m thrilled that “Uncut Gems” wasn’t acknowledged. They could have taken 75 percent of the profanity out of that movie and MAYBE I would have sat there not planning my escape from the theater before that thing was over.).
I get discouraged at these awards. Women are just as much humans as men, with just as interesting stories and lives. Just as much potential. Just as much depth. Yet, the number of male-centric stories outpaces all others. Of course, men are also more of the directors. I wonder how much of the storytelling we see is a vestige of folks like Harvey Weinstein running the show. I turn more to Netflix and Amazon Prime video, these days, to find positive fun compelling exciting hero stories about women. Many of them are reality TV because Hollywood hasn't caught up. I won't feel comfortable with Hollywood until women are fully half of the faces we see on movie covers, because they are fully half of society and just as valid and entirely human beings. I hope to see that kind of equality in my lifetime but we are a long way off.
4
It looks like if movies don’t make a lot of money they don’t get nominated for best picture. Not sure how much Parasite made, however.
Sorely disappointed in most of the nominations.
2
Neither “Moonlight” nor “Green Book” were huge money makers, yet both won Best Picture. And Avengers: Endgame, the highest-gridding movie of all time (unadjusted for inflation) got one minor nomination. Your analysis is flawed.
4
Joaquin Phoenix the favorite really didn't give that amazing a performance; the little tai-chi dance performance in the bathroom aside, you could see the mechanics of the performance the way you couldn't in Ledger's portrayal of the Joker, and since he started the film already crazy it really had nowhere to go (Brad Pitt in Ad Astra was far more affecting since you saw the emotional through-line of his character). Piling so many nominations on this and the Irishman - while completely ignoring films like Malick's A Hidden Life- makes me doubt the Oscars capacity ever to be a reliable bellweather of quality again.
6
“........really didn’t give that amazing a performance.....”. Did you actually SEE the movie????
If you don't like how old white men watch and rate movies maybe you should not validate thier award show by debating the nominations... but if you must continue the farce, next year let's get participation trophies for all the broken hearted and end this debate once and for all.
7
Gee that didn’t last long. Hollywood, Joker, Irish guys in mob land. White men movies about white men for white men. The entertainment industry has the collective awareness of a dog tick. And a shorter memory.
8
It’s a silent vote. No one guides the voters. It’s personal taste about movies and their actors that are up for consideration. Surely you didn’t mind when a black actor won an Oscar in the past or when a film about black families won, I.e. Moonlight? Let it go and vow to make more movies that are Oscar-worthy. Here’s a link FYI, https://www.uticapubliclibrary
3
Nope. Won’t even watch.
4
I have not read all the comments, but I have seen 1917, The Irishman, and Once Upon a Time ...
The Irishman was a very painful experience. I am not a Scorsese hater but I find MOST of his films long winded and this one was , well, painful. Never mind the silly conceit of the "youngering" through CG. Hire a younger actor for god sakes.
1917 - like a bullet. Over before it started.
Once Upon a Time - lovely homage, and not as full of extraneous conversations as the usual Tarantino film. Great twist on the ending.
But the Irishman? Meh.
No comment about diversity from me other than I understand the voiced concerns. But I have no idea how these nominations are determined and I am not a person of colour.
Regards all!
12
With invigorating filmmakers such as Claire Denis, the late Agnes Varda, Gillian Armstrong, Jane Campion, to name just a few, why do we think Gerwig was snubbed when their far superior works have never been nominated? It's a Hollywood game, and you fall into that trap. Denis and Kelly Reichardt are the two finest directors going, let's champion them. We have to look at movies differently before the desire is there to see something of quality playing in our neighborhood cinemas. While I will catch LW later this week, I did see Ladybird, it was simply a poor, paint-by-numbers directing job of an ordinary script that made its strings visible before pulling them. This year's The Irishman, three old white guys stumbling around, slowly, in a boring picture, nothing, and no one came alive in that picture. How did Jo Jo Rabbit get any nods, a one-note joke that fell flat from the get-go. All this is a byproduct, the natural end result of Ho'wood selling its soul by making placebos for teenagers, in the process they forgot how to make a movie, let alone a good one. You want a great movie of color, look at To Sleep With Anger, a multi-layered masterpiece. You make a picture like that today, you'll get the nominations and the awards. But, you likely can't get it made. Not only were Charles Burnett and Danny Glover robbed, we were robbed of so many great movies that could have been made, robbed of an industry that could have grown & grown up. Instead, we get the comics, made by hacks.
3
Somebody please tell me why we need these awards shows. Didn't we just have the Golden Globes? Sigh. It's the only industry I can think of that loves congratulating itself publicly. Everybody flies in on their private jets, they take individual limos, suck up tons of junk, endlessly thank God and their mothers, then they all fly back in their private jets. I remember a generation ago, a couple of very brave, very real actors refused to attend the awards because art is not about telling each other how wonderful you are. I will not be watching this year.
5
It’s the same thing with the Democratic candidates. Everyone in the race now happens to be white. Whose fault is that? I mean, I liked Cory Booker, and Ms. Harris but what is the difference what color people are? Shouldn’t we be choosing people based on their abilities and in this case their acting or directing chops? Not their color or their gender or even their sexual orientation? And really, why is this so important? There is just too much focus on appeasing everyone for no special reason other than the fact that they exist.
9
I 💯 beg to disagree - your experiences and identity make an enormous difference when it comes to which stories are told. I’m in my forties and until recently there were no stories that reflected my own experience - I don’t mean stories I didn’t like, I mean NONE. Total and complete invisibility on the screen, in literature, on tv, in music, in theater, etc. representation MATTERS - it matters to me, as a kid growing up who thought there must be something wrong with me to warrant complete absence in society. It matters also to everyone else not from my community or experience - we are ALL enriched when we experience different perspectives. When only one group is in charge of which stories get told (white men), we all lose out on the chance to broaden our own limited perspectives and taste the richness of humanity.
3
JLo was robbed.
1
Really disappointed that "Ad Astra" didn't at least receive a nomination for Best Cinematography. Every frame of that film was beautiful.
If you're looking for a good space epic with some incredible visuals, I would highly recommend Ad Astra.
For anyone that does watch it, then take note, for there are many small details that most will miss on first viewing.
This film will not outright tell you everything, some things need to be inferred by the audience so keep it in mind.
2
Great films: "The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao".
" A Hidden Life" by director Terrence Malik
Some films don't need to get an award to be loved!
Although, "Hidden Life" deserves a nomination for "Best Cinematography"
4
Why does everyone keep harping about Greta Gerwig “left out”? I heard the movie is boring, and personally have always hated Little Women. Since about 700 films are released each year, Greta Gerwig and 699 others were “left out.”
9
It's too funny when you come to think that the foreign press is actually smarter and more knowledgeable than the Academy.
3
How about we have a ceremony where proportionate gender and racial representation are guaranteed accurate? What kind of Nielsen ratings would that get? Who would care?
2
Women and people of color should boycott the ceremony truly making it a white male event. That would look dramatic. There were plenty of films made by minority people that were better on all counts than the chosen few.
3
"1917" received 10 nominations, including best picture. Every serious review, positive or negative, mentioned "Paths of Glory" as the touchstone for this kind of picture.
"Paths of Glory" did not receive a single Oscar nomination in 1957.
4
Is it really necessary to mention in the subheadline that: Black actors....were largely overlooked."?
Perhaps they were overlooked because other actors were, simply, better this year. Are we to be held accountable for insuring diversity in the awards category even if undeserved? More than likely Eddie Murphy was outperformed by Joaquin Phoenix.
13
Yeesh . . . this is the best the Oscars can do?
The Irishman? Robert De Niro reprising Robert De Niro, and Scorsese breaking old ground glorifying gangsters?
And Tarantino revising history, again, with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, using a savage, deranged multiple murder as a hook? Puerile, ultra-violent and with a truly creepy foot fetish running throughout the film . . . classic Tarantino. And a disgusting last scene with a slim, smiling Sharon Tate greeting guests in her driveway -- though in the real world, she was 8 1/2 months pregnant when the Manson family members stabbed her multiple times. She begged them to let her live long enough so she could deliver her baby. Knowing that, you have to ask, why was this movie made? Why on earth would Hollywood find any redeeming quality in it?
8
I have seen only one of the nominated movies expecting far more than I saw. The media buildups were gushing with rave reviews. After all Americans are still in love with this genre and there’s no shortage of paycheck movies and tv series that milk this cow eternal.
As I sat there taking in this epic offering I kept asking myself if I missed anything, maybe I blinked. Throughout I was waiting to be rewarded for my patience and sagging confidence but it disappointed right up to the finale. Then it was over and I felt cheated and once again left skeptical of the power of the media to shovel manure deemed as Hollywood’s best.
It’s movies such as this that keep me from going to the movies dishing out the bucks and grousing about being scammed. Now nominated for best picture makes me think that the fix was in big time. The Irishman is truly an epic. An epic dud.
1
Wow, no Diana Lin from "The Farewell" or any of the actresses from "Parasaite"?
Wow, that's just outright injustice.
3
Marielle Heller deserved to be nominated last year for Best Director for "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" and this year for "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood". Change my mind.
5
This has been a pretty dismal movie season capped off by The Joker getting the most nominations.; A film whose trailer turned me off profoundly. The small screen is producing more enjoyable content.
5
As an American of Mexican descent, I am pretty annoyed and insulted at discussions of meritorious awards that focus on diversity as if its the only metric that counts. First and foremost I don’t go to movies because they have the right mix of women and minorities. I go to movies that have a compelling story to tell and that do it well. It doesn’t matter if its a story about a violent white disaffected male or about a female abolitionist. If the story is great and its told well it should be nominated regardless of the subject matter, or the demographic make up of its cast. If not enough women or minorities were nominated to satisfy some number the liberal elite have arbitrarily created to assuage their belief that our society is inclusive enough, then perhaps that is a failure of imagination of those self same elites in not creating films that are compelling enough to be seen much less nominated.
17
No nods for A Hidden Life ? The cinematography was unparalleled. Much better film than most if not all the nominees.
5
@Robyn I know, I can't believe it; far more emotionally powerful (and politically relevant) than The Irishman in roughly the same amount of running-time.
6
@steveconn Yes, and Ford Vs Ferrari, Marriage Story, 1917 , the Joker? Decent movies but this was a far better movie then all of them. Terrence Malick and Jorg Widmer, August Diehl all deserve nominations. Such a disappointing slate of nominees.
2
Some years go it was decided that the number of films nominated for Best Picture would grow beyond the traditional five candidates.
Why not do the same for other key categories, including Best Actor, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress? Why limit those slots to just five nominees?
That might help remedy the diversity controversy that seems to emerge with every new Academy Awards season. Increasing the number of people in the industry who are eligible to vote might also help.
1
How is Tom Hanks role in "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" a supporting actor nomination?! Wasn't he the star of the film?
7
I would have thought the same thing before I saw the film this afternoon. Fred Rogers really IS a supporting role relative to the character of Lloyd Vogel, a journalist at Esquire. Rogers supports Vogel as he goes on his personal journey of forgiveness in the film.
1
Is this the first time that two different actors have been nominated for an Oscar for portraying the same character (Ledger and Phoenix)? If not, would it be the first time two different actors WON an Oscar for portraying the same character? Thanks!
1
Not the first time, the two leads in "A Star is Born" got nominated for best actor and actress in three of the four versions, just not the '76 version. But, none of them won.
3
Thanks, Dan! Having seen most of the nominated performances, there’s a good chance that this will be the first time that two actors win Oscars for portraying the same character.
2
Vito Corleone was portrayed by both Marlon Brando and Robert DeNiro, with each being nominated for the Oscar.
6
Not only are Oscarssowhite, as the hashtag reminded us, but now we can add how irrelevant they are becoming. The snubbed actors, films, directors and. so forth are easily better than the majority of those nominated. I am so over the boys' club that can't get over themselves.
10
New rule: If you name an actor who got snubbed, you must identify the actor in that category who is undeserving.
22
The Irishman deserves 10 nominations at the Razzie awards, not the Oscars. What a joke. All you have to do is have Scorsese do a retread of his greatest hits with a bunch of uncanny-valley-faced elderly celebrities pretending and failing to be young, and people will fawn.
19
We should boycott the Oscars.
9
Going to be tough to get them to realize it, because we don't send them any money or anything.
3
Hi,
Maybe.....the numbers can shed light......can it be movies are made with major parts for Caucasian’s because 51% of movies goers are Caucasian........14% Asian and other 21% Hispanic 14% African Americans.....
But the minority’s share is 49%....may be should vote by not going to the movies.....that should change things.
1
As a big Allan Moore fan, I think Joker was a dangerous interpretation, and a disaffected white nationalist rallying cry. Though deserving of Best Actor, as a black person the story made me very anxious in our current climate.
6
@Frazier It really didn't make any sense narrative-wise; three yuppies get killed on a subway and suddenly a mass-movement has started against capitalism. The storytelling was too lazy to be disturbing.
3
I have seen almost all of the Nominated Films. Joker deserves most. I am shocked that The Marriage Story got so many Nominations. It was so overacted, especially by the Lead Man. Rather mediocre film. Irishman on the other hand was entertaining and worth watching a second time.
3
@Philip W Joker just started crazy and grim and stayed there; it had nowhere to go. No one could sit through the Irishman twice unless they were in coma.
5
I love reading comments by people who are outraged over the outrage. Some people really seem to get offended that other people are offended.
14
The constant whining for minorities to receive more nominations is misplaced. Talk about the studios not making top drawer films by minorities in front or behind the camera. That’s a conversation worth having. But when it comes to the highest award in the industry, just talk about the work. The Academy got it more right then wrong. And if the Academy is racist, as the “too white” argument infers, why didn’t Robert De Niro get nominated? Someone comes up short in every year. If a pundit wants to argue person x should have been nominated, that’s an easy argument for several people. If a pundit to going to chastise an entire industry, (and in doing so, calling them racists), then the pundit also should name the nominee that shouldn’t have been selected for the pundit’s choice. Ah, now it’s not quite so easy.
21
Let's face it, folks: other than the incestuous, self-congratulatory and way too self-important members of the Hollywood "community", who truly cares about this insufferable so-called awards season? For someone who lived in L.A. for 11 years and got to observe closely the goings on in said "community", I love the fact that, come this time of the year, they all turn into "artists". The rest of the time they are mostly just good old ruthless capitalists.
13
The fake suspense of the openings of the envelopes is so trite. The thanking of innumerable inspirers and colleagues is so boring.
The parading around in peacock fancy outfits is so off-putting.
I can't imagine watching. I haven't for decades. Have I missed anything?
9
@Steve M
Couldn't agree with you more. Its the recycled event that has long outlived its usefulness. Nothing to see except listening to entitled people acting as if they care about the world. Same sad story every year with different names. Most of these movies just break even after all is said and done.
4
Yes. You have missed a great deal, if in fact, you are to be believed that you haven’t watched in decades. Kind of surprising if so for you to be loiter ya out a topic you purportedly care so little about.
1
Everyone talking about diversity in the Oscars and I’m just here kinda shocked that Joker tricked everyone into thinking it was Oscar-worthy just by being a superhero movie with the slightest bit of pathos.
10
Joker was good but highly overrated. Certainly not worthy of 11 nominations. Best actor perhaps but none of the other categories. Joe Pesci was phenomenal in The Irishman and Scarlett Johansson's nomination for best actress is ridiculous.
7
@ALN Phoenix barely qualified as Best Actor; just generically crazy from beginning to end. Pesci just walked through the Irishman. People act like they have to give him an award for just showing up, but the old fire and charisma was gone.
3
The nominees this year proves that the Oscars are irrelevant. Why bother with the ceremony?
8
What happened to The Report? #Oscarssocluedout
1
Guaranteed to get myself in trouble.
I enjoyed, and was touched by, The Farewell. It pulled in 19.6 million USD.
I would probably fall asleep in Little Woman.
So yeah, my elegance in taste is so more ... mediocre .. that yours?
A whole lot of "lesser" movies and non-action flicks have done quite well over the years.
How about The Shape of Water? Moonlight? Brie Larson?
All of which I thought were great.
3
Brie Larson is not a movie. Maybe you mean ROOM?
3
i don't believe blacks were overlooked.
i think they did not win the nomination.
they may have "lost" by 1 vote. we don't know.
but if members start voting just to be inclusive then winning an oscar loses its meaning.
12
I am so sick and tired of films that appeal primarily to teenage male sensibilities - films full of violence and war that consistently make the Oscar nomination lists. I'm tired of Quentin Tarantino's work being held up as high art. "Little Women" was such a beautifully crafted film that it felt at times that I was watching an impressionist painting come to life. The storyline was subtly different to any previous versions and it most definitely deserved an oscar nomination for Greta Gerwig.
16
'Black actors and actresses were largely overlooked."
Please tell me I'm not the only one who sees great irony that the same media complaining that the largest racial group in the US gets an unfairly disproportionate amount of attention gets upset when the second largest racial group doesn't get a disproportionate amount of attention. Blacks get far more attention than every other racial minority combined. So the focus on them not groups who are actually significantly underrepresented makes all this appear as just an unseemly power grab done dishonestly in the name of equity and social justice.
16
When the #Oscarssowhite hashtag began, UK news and analysis magazine The Economist crunched the numbers for Oscar nominees over the past 10 years. It found that African Americans had been slightly OVER represented (in terms of their percentage of the national US population). In this Troublesome world, where people only take notice of facts that support their beliefs, this finding was conveniently glossed over. Ditto the magazine’s conclusion that the actors really under-represented (compared to the proportion of the population they represented) were those from Asian and Latin backgrounds.
4
All I know is DiCaprio's character was the least interesting of any leads I've seen in the other films, and thought Brad Pitt's character was more interesting than Leonard's. If the character is uninteresting, how does that speak to the actor's portrayal unless the character was designed to be so? Likewise Laura Dern's character in Marriage, which was so stereotypical it almost spoiled the otherwise good movie. Dern is one of my favorite actors and I thought she was wasted in that one.
8
In my humble opinion, the arts shouldn't be judged for the right reasons only.
Winners of a violin or piano competitions, for example, are selected for the right reasons. Achieving accuracy, precise technique, and faithful to the score and etc. will award the artist a medal.
Are they successful in the real world, though?
Ladu Rupu is one of the very few pianists among the winners of the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, who are still successful in the business after the competition.
When you rely too much on the reasons to judge the arts,
the future of the art will be grim.
2
@uji10jo sorry Ladu Rupu should read Radu Lupu
2
"Once Upon A Time In Hollywood" is my personal favorite. It's also a film about actors and acting that the Academy often rewards. Wouldn't surprise me to see it get best picture, best director, best actor for Leo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt seems practically a shoe-in for best supporting actor.
There are a lot of good films this year, but I'm kind of surprised that "Knives Out" was ignored. Oh, well.
7
@Mark McIntyre Pitt really deserved a nomination more for Ad Astra than Hollywood.
1
So happy Knives Out was ignored. That was one movie the judges got right.
1
There is no way Academy voters could have watched all the wonderful movies out this year and voted in the biased, old-white-guy way they do.
Time to make sure the Academy voting base is more diverse, to reflect the reality of the work and the talent.
3
If you watch only ONE documentary, make it "American Factory". The most compelling, scary film I've seen - puts Michael Moore to shame! Of course, we do have to thank him for putting documentaries on the map. But THIS ONE! It is just incredible! Major culture clashes between Dayton, Ohio and manufacturing billionaire in China!
9
Evidently the time has come to address the on-going whining that occurs every year around entertainment awards. If there are insufficient minorities nominated, the elites whisper that racism or sexism is at work (again). So, let's take the approach used by our youngsters. Make sure everyone can be a winner.
I'm thinking we need a Best Black Actress, Best Latina Actress, Best Asian Director, Best Female Director, etc. But, why stop there? Add new categories such as Most Improved Actor, Most Expensive Picture, Warmest Dog Performance and Most Foul Language Picture ( "The Irishman" wins this year).
Since TV viewership of the Academy Awards is already tanking to new lows, this virtually ensures that no one will watch, but there will be no more fragile egos bruised.
And even the dogs will get something.
17
Media reports regarding the nominations for Best Director are also noting that no women are included among the finalists. But the assumption that lack of diversity in a very small group of award nominees suggests something unfair or corrupt is nonsense. Should performances by People of Color be "weighted" such that they receive more credit than they merit? Should the slate of nominees for Director have quotas so that a woman must be included, regardless of the quality of films directed by women that year? How far will this go before quality is secondary to demographic features? The day a performance like that of Joe Pesci is jettisoned in favor of someone else's because he happens to be Asian or gay (or both) marks the end of film as a realm of achievement and, instead, one of superficial identity politics.
14
This article hints at the notion that there is a quota system and assumes, erroneously, that a vast multitude pf members of the Academy looked at their ballot and said: "Greta Gerwig is a woman; therefore, she doesn't get my vote for director. The truth is that it was nominated in other categories, including adapted screenplay written by Gerwig, the woman in question.
Did anyone actually say, "The Farewell" is about Asians and doesn't get my vote," which of course flies in the face of the fact that "Parasite," an Asian film, got many nominations.
Perhaps, and let me just throw this out there, voters have preferences in their taste in movies and vote that way. It's probable that they didn't like some of the films.
I have four female friends with whom I go to the movies. 2 of them loved "1917." One didn't care either way. I hated it. All four of us loved "Bombshell." 3 of the 4, including me, liked "The Irishman." 2 yea, 2 nay regarding "Marriage Story." I was nay. Regarding "Cats:" One loved it. I said not that bad. Two said no.
Additionally, Gerwig could have been left out of the director's list by a single vote – receiving one less vote than #5.
Statistics, which may not be a strong suit of the reporters, haven't been taken into consideration. There actually is the possibility that because there were a lot of good or interesting films this year, the voting pool for each movie was lessened.
Most importantly, it's the Academy Awards. It is absolutely not life.
15
Terrence Malick's A Hidden Life was far more emotionally powerful - and politically relevant- than the Irishman for the same amount of running time. A shame it was overlooked (and Banderas was somewhat affecting in Pain And Glory, but his repetitious 'smoke heroin and reminisce' routine nearly had me leave the theater early).
5
The Hollywood crowd have such fragile egos, that the only way to soothe their feelings is to give everybody an award. I they aren't nominated they're being discriminated against, if they are and don't win, they're being discriminated against. If they win, it's only to show they're not being discriminated against.
I had my fill of Golden Globes, Academy Awards, Cannes Film Festivals, Sundance, and on and on a long time ago.
11
I don't know if Oscars were ever actually handed out for truly outstanding excellence in each category. Many years ago I assumed so. That was before I had a more informed take on the politics involved in any sort of "awards" for artistic endeavors. There are all sorts of reasons: political, personal, financial, etc., that can motivate those who make the decisions on the awards. Take any sort of industry awards with a grain of salt .
7
@Joe Runciter Winners like Lawrence of Arabia, A Streetcar Named Desire, Gone With The Wind, Annie Hall, Kramer Vs. Kramer, etc. were pretty much top-of-the-line. It's only in recent years that they've been stuck in the pendulum of 'too white/practically no whites' instead of actual quality.
11
Is it possible that in general, the best movies and actors were nominated? Am I being too controversial by saying that? Surely it would weaken the awards themselves if more diversity were included as tokenism. I love what Idris Elba can do, and rate him highly, but should he get a nod for Cats, just for inclusivity's sake? I think not. The Joker is one of the most phenomenal performances of all time IMHO and it worries me that all this discussion about whiteness threatens to sour celebrating a truly epic performance.
7
American cinema is reduced to entertainment and that's all. The Times gives it way too much attention. It's just another American addiction for a country that needs to find it's soul, if it still has one.
4
I missed it.
Who was nominated for best gaffer?
1
If the push for more diversity in Hollywood films is ever to succeed over the long term, the public and casual moviegoers must be educated to understand why it matters. Until then, most will ignore this controversy, and leave it to what is in their eyes, an elitist and glamorous industry to deal with.
What if we went to a biennial Oscar awards celebration. Instead of every 12 months...every 24. This would allow for a broader and more diverse mix of films and actors and, in some measure, level the playing field for women and persons of color. Plus, it's greener. Climate change is now a reality and we are dealing with the world wide impact ( hotter weather, melting ice caps, rising sea levels, horrific fires, droughts, and tons of C02 in the air) this would be the perfect way to acknowledge those facts. Worldwide CO2 emissions from commercial flights are rising up to 70% faster than predicted by the UN. Carbon dioxide emitted by airlines increased by 32% from 2013 to 2018, according to a study by the International Council on Clean Transportation. The total increase over the past five years was equivalent to building about 50 coal-fired power plants. Domestic flights in the US and China account for a quarter of all aviation emissions. The US, China and EU account for 55% of all emissions.
All those movie stars and moguls flying and back forth each year, for one night, ...are responsible for some of it. And, biennial Oscars is a grander statement than driving a Tesla back and forth to the studio.
4
wondering what the criteria are for deciding what actually is a "supporting" actor or actress?...seems like Brad Pitt and a couple of others were pretty much lead actors...
2
Glad to see "Joker" getting recognized. It's a brilliant depiction of current political dynamics. As the "That's Life" soundtrack says, "As funny as it may seem/Some people get their kicks/Stompin' on a dream."
3
@Alan It made little sense politically; three yuppies get shot and suddenly a clown killer is a political symbol. If it had used terms like 'fake news' and addressed political party gridlock it would have been far more legitimate.
1
Yes, the Academy missed with Greta Gerwig not getting a nomination. And it could be argued Eddie Murphy deserved one as well. Instead of complaining, I'll just cheer for "American Factory" to win Best Documentary. If a film the Obamas helped produced won an Oscar, it could be the last straw for the demigod at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in D.C. Maybe then the powers-that-be could evoke the 25th Amendment.
7
The four leading pictures are stories about men trying to solve problems with violence, and most glorify the violence. There were also great movies this year with stories about relationships between people, but the academy does not value these stories very highly, apparently. The patriarchy is alive and well and living in Hollywood.
10
Am I the only person who thinks that it is a problem to have an Oscar nominated film that is only available through a subscription streaming service? What if I do not have Netflix and I do not want it? Can I purchase "The Irishman" on bluray or digital download or must I simply do without?
We have an oncoming film distribution problem. What happens if some year nothing released to the big screen gets nominated and in order to see an oscar nominated film one is obligated to sign up for Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney+ or some other service?
17
Get a VPN and torrent them. I do.
I am black, African-American, and thankful the travesty that is "Harriet" was not nominated Best Picture. The slavemaster savior and "Bigger Long" black character were completely offensive, had no real life counterparts, particularly given the director is a black American woman. Cynthia Erivo, a British-Nigerian known for her offensive commentary against black Americans, should not have been tapped to play an African-American icon. I hope Erivo is completely shut out of the awards.
7
I'm sick of the lame excuses offered as to why people of color aren't getting nominated for Oscars. It's like the Supreme Court decisions that the reasons Black people receive the death penalty so more often than white prisoners have nothing to do with racist judges, prosecutors and jury selection; it's just a coincidence. Ninety-one percent of Oscar voters are white- what a coincidence that they nearly all have the same artistic taste that white people are better actors, directors, etc.
3
Please, Add--- Best Director, Female
Jesus--the only way fairness can happen apparently
3
Why is making a Taxi Driver rip-off so transcendent and Oscar-nom worthy? Ridiculous!
12
@DM As well as Scorsese's own The King of Comedy too! A silly comic book villain for kids? No longer, in this dumbed-down, amnesiac culture he's treated as seriously as Hamlet.
4
The fact that "The Irishman" received 10 nominations is proof that there are too many white men in Hollywood. Yes, we all "watched" the movie, but we all also slept through most of it.
15
Scorsese seems to think that old people pretending to be psychopaths are a lot more interesting than they actually are. Actually, the Irishman was so bad that it has made me reconsider my love of some of his earlier movies. I’ve started to think that Goodfellas is just a boring celebration of boring psychopaths too.
4
Has Trump started whining about the Obama’s Oscar nomination yet? You know that will drive him crazy. Good.
11
Personally thought Willem Defoe's performance in The Lighthouse was one of the best I've ever seen.
9
I have no idea why Once Upon a Time is such a big movie, just missed it I guess. Also have no idea why people want to see a war movie. You can enlist in one right now and that is why I don't understand.
4
Nothing for Just Mercy and Jamie Fox? A powerful performance in a movie that changes hearts.
3
Only SAW one film that was nominated and that was "The Irishman,"and agree that Scorcese's preoccupationj with the Mafia has become tiring to watch. Also believe that estate of Jimmy Hoffa should sue Scorcese for defamation of character. Actor who played the former Teamster head did not even look like Hoffa, and was portrayed as weak, which Hoffa was not.If that is Scorcese's "chant de cigne, tant mieux!"You could feel the director's fatigue throughout the film. It constituted a slur against Italian Americans.
3
@Alexander Hamilton - I have not seen The Irishman, and not sure I will, since I don't have Netflix. However I read the book it's based off of, I Hear You Paint Houses. Excellent book.
1
It’s Scorsese, not Scorcese.
I’m not making a fuss over it, just pointing out for the record.
1
If I care about acting I should be willing to overlook an actor’s sex and race when considering a performance. If my political beliefs are more important than the acting, then I’d skip that particular movie. I am glad I am not this narrow-minded so I can truly enjoy a good performance.
6
The fact that Terrence Malick’s “Hidden Life” wasn’t nominated really proves how inane & inconsequential the Academy Awards are.
10
"Largely maintained its traditional point of view, handing out the most nominations to four very male, very white movies. “Joker” (Warner Bros.), which portrays the DC Comics villain as sharing the psychological traits of real-life mass shooters, led all films with 11 nominations"
No bias here.
4
It never ceases to amaze me how seriously people take the Academy Awards. People come on it's the adult equivalent to picking the Home Coming Queen.When did we get so silly?
6
@joe Nominations and Oscar awards lead to hundreds of million of dollars in additional profit and residuals. Movies get an award-affiliation boost, and have a much longer shelf life as a result of a nomination. Affiliation with the Oscars leads to more, better, and higher-paying gigs in the industry (and, relatedly, opportunities for leadership roles and a greater public voice).
4
@K L Yes, if you're in the business (I am) awards, particularly the Oscars, are deadly serious. But I think Joe's comments were about general moviegoers when who really cares is a reasonable point.
There are only a few times that a movie was head and shoulders above everything else in a particular year. Here are some examples (sometimes they didn't even win!):
Sound of Music ('65)
Godfather I and II ('72 and '74)
Cuckoos Nest ('76)
All That Jazz ('79)*
Silence of the Lambs ('91)
Schindler's List ('93)
Titanic ('97)
Shakespeare in Love ('98)
Gladiator (2000)
Avatar (2009)*
Social Network (2010)*
* Didn't win best picture.
2
Clearly the Academy and the Oscars themselves, have lost their way. "The Irishman" was a ridiculous rerun of about 9000 gangster movies, and it get's 10 nominations?? Really, we need to see Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci in another mob movie? And "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" is a joke. Haven't seen 1917, and why would I? So, if the Academy picks such awful movies for nominations, why would we think they are capable of selecting a person of color over a pasty white actor?
8
NYT and others are obsessed with race, in particular with black actors being nominated. Maybe there were other more deserving actors? I noticed several prominent actors were also left out as well...
7
Small editing typos - several of the quoted titles contain an external punctuation mark like comma or period. Like this list:
“Joker,” “The Irishman,” “Marriage Story,” “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood,” and “1917” were “Ford v Ferrari,” “Jojo Rabbit,” “Little Women” and “Parasite.” or “best international feature.”)
I
Well... Maybe all films for each year should get AN award, eh? Just like they give out prizes to every kindergartner, just for playing...
As many awards, in rainbow colors, as there are 'movies'. Equality for all!
5
"Joker" is in the vein of such Best Picture winners as "Crash" or "American Beauty". That is, films which will (if they haven't already) make us all cringe in a few years and question the value of this whole apparatus.
6
Joker was a remarkable film, and one of the most remarkable things was the production design - the recreation of New York (or Gotham) in 1981, both interior and exterior, was so good I could smell it. Yet no nomination for Production Design. As big an omission as any other, I think.
2
Definitely recommend Klaus and I Lost My Body from Netflix. The latter is quite weird but if you stick with it, it’s quite good.
Surprised there’s no mention of Shia LaBeouf. 2019 seemed to be some kind of resurgence for him with Peanut Butter Falcon and Honey Boy.
By what criteria do the movies/actors get judged? What’s the average budget of the best picture nominated films? Would be interesting...
1
The complaints about Greta Gerwig not being nominated for Best Director because she is a woman are cheapening the cause of equality, of "quality" equality. The five men nominated for Best Director are masters of their craft and have been around for a very long time. Greta is a relatively young director with just two major releases under her belt. Little Women was a wonderful film but was not as accomplished as the other 5 nominated films in terms of directorial gravitas and distinction. Also, the time jumping in Little Women was a major, distracting flaw. The other five films were truly unique and also broke new cinematic ground. The film Katherine Bigelow won Best Director for was more rigorous and distinctive than Little Women, and Bigelow had many more films under her belt. I'm sure Ms. Gerwig will be nominated for Best Director many times in the future and I look forward to seeing how her work and voice develops. But we have to respect the quality and mastery of the films themselves when evaluating certain categories, irregardless of the sex of the director. Choosing anything on the basis of sex or race distorts notions of quality. It is another form of being unfair.
7
@Laura Philips you mean "regardless" or "irrespective"
Really don’t see the hype around 1917. Visually impactful but the story just doesn’t pull you in.
2
@Jon T Despite the historical punch, it's a boring movie, and its much-trumpeted "one take" filming was pretty much a stunt.
5
This article certainly takes a political stance and agreeably so. However, having seen most of the "very male, very white movies" I have no qualms with the selection. Joker, Once upon a Time in Hollywood and Ford vs Ferarri were a few of the best movies I've seen in quite some time.
5
I hope that those ladies not nominated will stay home with their significant others. No need tape this fiasco and watch it fast forwarding past the commercials as the results will be readily available the next morning.
Maybe even some academy members of long standing with some decency will also stay home. Think of all the cost savings; no fancy clothes, no borrowed jewelry, no limos. no red carpet.
They might pass the time with a good book, or a potential script for their next almost nod..
2
Gerwig's "Little Women" is brilliant: it brings this often told story to life with compelling vibrancy. By far, the best 2019 movie that I saw. Yes, others were quite good too. I had many favorites before I saw "Little Women" and understood that 2019 was different: where one movie was a classic and the rest were simply interesting. The Oscar nominators are clearly jokers, or maybe just fossils or fools.
2
I am disappointed Taron Egerton was not nominated for his portrayal of Elton John in Rocketman. I admit I haven’t seen the other films or actors nominated many of which I do like for example Adam Driver. As great as Rami Malik was and happy he won for the Bohemian Rhapsody, Taron performed with his own voice and played all the songs. His acting was also incredible which awarded him a golden globe award! Extremely disappointed by this omission.
5
Should they consider the quality of the films?
MLK said something like that.
11
Guess they forgot "1917"...or is that a 2020 film?
@Douglas Scott Treado
It got 10 nominations.
1
We used to discuss the movies. Now we just discuss the snubs.
20
@Sparky We live in social media-fueled, hyper-grievance, "me-first" era, where whining is confused with winning. See Trump and his cult.
7
Why is it that the lack of specifically black performers and movie-makers dominates this type of coverage? How did they get the monopoly in the representation game with the papers of record, such as this one, so ardently in their corner?
"Black actors and actresses were largely overlooked, with the British-Nigerian actress Cynthia Erivo (“Harriet”) as the sole nominee."
Why isn't this line repeated to point out the exclusion of Hispanics (Latinx with an eyeroll), Asians, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, etc.?
Why does the media conveniently forget that the world isn't comprised only of white people and unrewarded blacks with the remainder of us sitting on the sideline, fascinated by this interplay?
28
@Peter
It’s how it plays across all the media. It’s fairly bizarre for all diversity talk they don’t seem to care about real diversity. There is a virtual desert even in LA of brown people represented period.
3
Why the snarky editorializing here by referring to “Marriage Story” as “navel-gazing”? How is that helpful to anyone except the writers, who are straining for cleverness (“too bad, so sad”) when they would be better off simply reporting. Not remotely interested in their take on the nominated films. More interested in the fact — more like appalled — that Greta Gerwig was robbed for Best Director, and she was.
Granted, this is subjective, but The Joker is gar-bage!
7
'Joker': lysergic, psychotic cartoon. 'The Irishman': warmed over hash, an hour too long. One left me feeling the need for a shower, the other a nap. Oscars? Meh, click.
11
Why can't The Times, just report the nominations?
Leave the analysis such as "very male, very white", for an editorial or other opinion piece.
18
@Robert Demographics of most nominees are male. They are white. Those are undisputed facts.
2
Glad the Oscars aren't turning into a diversity award and not nominating Gerwig because she's not male, and Driver's ridiculous 'screaming petulant kid pretending to be a married father' performance will probably lose to Phoenix, but The Joker seems over-nominated, and The Irishman was overlong Scorsese without any of his old fire, just dead technique. Not deserving of a Best Director or Picture nod.
6
If The Irishman wins anything it will just prove, yet again, the Oscars are more a popularity contest than what is actually good. Of course, when garbage like Gladiator wins best picture it's not like the Oscars had the best track record to begin with.
The Irishman wasn't a bad film, just insanely boring and nonsensical since Robert DeNiro and the other cast members looked exactly the same (to me) whether their characters were 60 or 20. Makeup did NOT work, despite all the PR saying it did.
8
@Jonahh I thought Gladiator was deserving for its visuals, acting and score ... Now, that year that "Crash" beat out "There will be Blood," that remains a mystery to me.
2
How is it possible The Two Popes is not nominated for best picture but The Irishman, undoubtedly good but really just a retread of Goodfellas and Casino, and Ford vs. Ferrari, also very good but hardly earth shattering, get nominated? And not even a nomination for Eddie Murphy?
3
Little Women was a good picture. But it was not nearly in the league of the best pictures.
We're now accustomed to hearing marketing hype about mediocre films, just as do about "new" pharmaceuticals. And maybe that's good, because it is getting to be as easy to spot a fake review as it is to spot fake news.
1
I love Scorsese films but The Irishman was a sleeper and not in a good way.
9
To all those offended that the article criticized the Academy's obvious white male self-indulgence: your white male self-indulgence is obvious. Had the Academy chosen all non-white, non-male nominees and film subjects, I suspect there would be an uproar over how the selections were politically based, the Academy was no longer a neutral judge of aesthetics, and why we should all be very concerned about the racism and sexism against white men in Hollywood. I wish for once you could actually see yourselves from someone else's perspective.
3
"...a tad superflous"? That's quite the understatement. The only reason most of the people I know watch the Oscars is so they can comment on the SMH dresses many of the women choose to wear. It will take some doing for anyone to top Gwyneth Paltrow's garb at the Golden Globes this year.
1
@Claudia
Paltrow appeared to have taken a page from Scarlett O'Hara and made a dress from her mother's curtains.
2
@Lynn in DC
More like her mother’s nylons...
2
Someone PLEASE explain to me the merits of "Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood." It was undoubtedly the most boring film I have ever endured to the end.
9
The moment I read the line “four very male, very white films,” I knew exactly where this article was headed - another complaint piece about diversity.
Maybe, just MAYBE, the mostly qualified work was done by white males? (although Eddie Murphy continues to get robbed of nominations).
The male directors are some of the best in the history of cinema. Gerwig’s directing was good, not outstanding. Should she have been nominated just to fill a quota? Would that have been fair to someone else whose work was better?
(YES, these award shows are subjective. But the complaint reeks of some ‘planned deception’ against Gerwig, etc)
Lastly - it took TWO people to write this article??
19
Art appreciation is subjective and cannot be judged like sports. There should not be gender or race based categories.
Budget classification makes sense but where to draw the line? Production vs publicity, and award promotion?
Let these systems evolve at their own pace. If their barometer is based on ratings, let the tv network plug their B class actors as presenters and the sponsors pitch in.
The public wants to see Brad Pitt, whatever nominated or not, give them Brad Pitt.
Oscars will always be a celebrity contest disguised as an art show. American movie royalty is made of gowns and jewels, and the higher your celebrity status, the less you'll have to pay for displaying it. Who cares when the costume designer starts to thank the seamstresses? And the litany of agents...
The issue is simple. Honoring a limited release or an unknown performer to the public is ratings suicide. Let Brad Pitt win his first, let him talk longer, and bring him back as presenter next year. And mention what he is wearing!
If you love the 7th art, go see movies and forget the hoopla.
Best of luck to Irishman!
2
Movies full of gangsters, acts of horrible violence, war, comic book characters. Long and over winded. I’m tired of how these types of movies are heralded by award voters. I won’t be watching the Oscar ceremony.
9
"Uncut Gems" got robbed.
3
The best picture - “Jo Jo Rabbit”.
It won’t win. But I don’t care. I know when I walk out of a movie what dips in my heart. To me, that’s the best picture. I don’t care what the critics or Oscar voters say or do.
You want to get your heart touched in this confused, cold, doubtful, world these days? Go see “Jo Jo”. You’ll walk away with a beautiful, humane feeling, because you will know you are still humane in your very own heart. And that, my friends, is a great, lasting feeling.
7
I saw "Little Women" last night.
Only very little men would have denied Greta Gerwig a nomination for best director.
It is a superb, rich film.
"The Irishman" on the other hand is more of the same, more of the same, more of the same, more of ... Banal in every way from the predictable script, the predictable casting, the predictable acting, the very predictable direction. But, but, BUT it was directed by a man.
So much for the Academy Awards.
#me too Hollywood.
7
I'm not a film critic but believe Last Black Man in San Francisco was a very well done film on a tiny budget. Surprised there were no nominations for this fine film.
6
The Irishman for Best Picture? You've got to be kidding. Too long, too boring. The nominations in that movie are all pure nostalgia for work done 20 plus years ago by the actors and director. To me the Best Picture is The Two Popes. The acting is the best. The screenplay is as good as it gets. It is a small movie that delivers big.
6
The article states that the Academy is 68% male and 84% white. These lists of nominees reflects that deep and abiding bias.
The films that this male, white Academy chooses to honor above all others are almost entirely male-centered, violent and focus on predatory, antisocial behavior.
I dislike movies like that, and with ticket prices through the roof I choose not to go.
The fact that these are the movies that the Academy promotes explains why their awards, and increasingly movies themselves, are irrelevant to me.
5
Millionaires winning more prizes? (At least in professional sports there is actual score-keeping!)
4
Quick! Name some..no, make that any..Oscar (tm) winners from 3-years ago. It’s amazing how many people get so wound up over these awards, and then poof!..they’re forgotten. The movie industry is just that, an industry that has over the decades created the ultimate marketing scheme.
4
I’m surprised they produced a list of women for the Best Actress nominations.
5
I am all for diversity and representation. But saying Latinos were robbed or #Oscarssowhite and the like will turn the Oscars, as well as other cultural touchstones, into identity politics grievance fests. Based on population, the law of probability implies an average of 13% of Oscars should go to African American actors, directors, producers, etc. And 17% of Oscars should go to Latino movie people. If minority representation is low in Hollywood, that should be addressed. But handing out awards isn't the best place to do it. This effort should be thoroughly dealt with ahead of time.
182
@David Agreed. The Oscars have long been notoriously unfair and narrow-minded (Hitchcock NEVER one a Best Directing Oscar!), but should we force them to be like a grammar-school field day, where everyone has to get a ribbon lest feelings be hurt?
18
@David You acknowledge that gross discrimination against people of color goes on at the Oscars. Then that certainly is the right place to protest. The fight against discrimination cannot be so genteel as let a racist proceeding go on without a peep. Rosa Parks didn't say sure I'll sit at the back of the bus, but I intend to talk to someone about this later. If you don't fight discrimination where you see it, you change nothing.
10
@David So, Grammy winners should be represented accordingly?
4
If the Academy can nominate Joaquin Phoenix for Joker, then I don't understand how they can over look Lupita Nyong'o for US. Her performance was more complex and nuance than of the Best Actress nominees. I think Joaquin and Lupita gave the best performances of the year.
4
As a casual, but committed movie watcher, it is extremely tiring to have to get into the social issue mire each and every award show. I fully acknowledge that woman and minorities have had less opportunity in the film industry, and that must be addressed going forward, but I just wish the actual award-giving was more focused on the merits of each film and not the diversity boxes they check off. If you want to argue that Little Woman was better directed than the Joker, or that J-Lo was better than Margot Robbie, I would love to have that discussion because debate on subjective preference is part of the fun.
If the entire list of nominees were minority women, I would be thrilled, as long as they represented (some of) the best films of the year. The point is, I want to debate the films themselves, and their performances, based on their skill and the enjoyment they provided, etc. (using whatever metric).
The reality is that these are just movies, meant to entertain, and most of the participants we are arguing about here are doing just fine for themselves...If the nominating bodies don't give us the nominees we want, we can have good-spirited debate about it, but a lack of gender-balance isn't something we need to demand from a random group of movie critics. It's just movies, and we don't need to be outraged or keep taking this so personally.
4
I am not clear what is "supporting " about Tom Hanks's role in the Mr. Rogers movie. One thing for sure: JLo and Greta Gerwig got robbed.
Gerwig, sure, but J. Lo was in a straightforward, unimpressive film, and she just acted as herself. Not an impressive performance.
10
I know the Tom Hanks thing is LOL. I just hope he doesn’t steal Brad Pitt’s deserves Oscar.
@Jane Eyrehead I'm not watching for fear of another crazy, overlong Tom Hanks acceptance speech like he gave at he Golden Globes that pretty much destroyed every thing I had ever thought about the man.
It was weird that Parasite is nominated for both Foreign Feature and Best Picture. Along the lines of that logic, I’d say Pain and Glory was snubbed for Best Picture, along with Pedro Almodovar for Best Director. Awkwafina and The Farewell seem to me also missing. I’m not sure Greta Gerwig was snubbed—her movie was excellent, but look at the directors listed there and their films. Noah Baumbach, Gerwig’s partner and director of Marriage Story also did not get a nod, though his work was as usual commendable. Maybe Todd Phillips could’ve been swapped out, but my pick, aforementioned, would be Almodovar. Affirmative Action doesn’t seem appropriate in a high-caliber awards show. Attentiveness to the whole range of performances, very certainly.
8
I guess this is a reflection of how dark and bleak we are as a society. Except for Little Women, it seems the end of world with these movies. At least the Joker was sad too.
1
@DREU💤💤” "Ford vs Ferrari" was uplifting, arguably.
Laura Dern gives the best acting performance in all nominated movies, in “Marriage Story.” Adam Driver was also excellent. I found both “Irishman” and “Once Upon a time in Hollywood” uneven and too long, but Pitt was very entertaining. Charlize is very good in “Bombshell.”
4
My idea is best director gets divided into male and female directors. You can't compare a quiet movie about mother daughter and sister relationships like Little Women, to a war movie, a movie about race car drivers, a movie about gangsters, and a movie where Brad Pitt will win an Oscar for playing a stuntman who challenges Bruce Lee to a fight and kills a bad guy with a flame thrower.
It's not just quality of direction, it's the content. I'm not completely kidding. If you are unwilling to give women a separate directing award, please tell me why male and female actors are still judged in different categories.
7
@Jerry S I’m not sure if I agree or disagree with your suggestion, but Kathryn Bigelow became the first female director to win an Oscar (plus BAFTA, Critics’ Choice, and a few others) for a war movie, The Hurt Locker.
3
Personally I have a hard time taking the Joker movie "so serious" when it was a comic book created for children. Like the Batman franchise, I think it's a little silly to impose adult themes and all that dark imagery on (mostly) men in clown makeup and tights. And while Joaquin was marvelous, the film itself didn't give us much beyond a little shock value that we've seen before and a predictable ending.
On the flip side, may the Oscars shine down on Tarantino and the actors of "Once Upon a Time In Hollywood" for giving us adults something incredibly fun and refreshing to watch. (twice, actually)
7
I was surprised and disappointed Lupita Nyong’o didn’t receive a Best Actress nomination for US. She actually played two roles. One of the best performances I’ve seen in years by anyone regardless of race or gender.
13
Pleased to see Kathy Bates get a nod for the Richard Jewell film, maybe one of the best films of the year -- gets 96% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Glad to see these kinds of movies get some love in the age when film has largely become a remake of comic books from decades past.
12
Disappointed Christian Gale didn’t get nominated. Was surprised by how much I liked Ford v Ferrari—pure fun, exciting cinema with pathos, too. I knew nothing about the real story going on.
1
@Mary So agree! Went along w my husband to see Ford v Farrari and found it so very good and entertaining, plus based on a true story I didn't know. Loved Christian Bales & Matt Damon's acting.
1
In not on.
Had the exact same reaction! Who would think a car movie would be so good?
Hard to imagine a good artistic reason for "Just Mercy," the powerful drama about our criminal justice system, receiving zero Oscar nominations. Can't prove it but would be willing to bet that this excellent film was seen by almost none of the Academy members who voted.
The Academy should give some thought to this problem and consider ways to level the promotional playing field so that movies not made by tremendously famous people, or made by people with ethnic backgrounds very different from most Academy voters, still have a chance to be seen and be under actual consideration during the awards season.
3
@FK Grace it was released 10 Jan 2020 and therefore fell outside the eligibility window for this year. My apologies that this had nothing to do with identity.
2
Come on--are we looking for affirmative action or excellence in directing or acting?
Women or others are "snubbed" or "pushed aside"? Can it possibly be that their work did not meet the Academy standards--whatever they are?
Using that language just throws fuel on the fire,and hinders the search for true excellence.
39
@marieka Only five times in the long history of the Oscars, has a director whose film was nominated for Best Picture not been nominated for Best Director. So, no it is not the case that Gerwig's directing "did not meet Academy standards." The Academy is a good old boys club, which is why the Oscar show (and the Golden Globes) are relics of a past time and is why few people, particularly women and people of color, have no interest in watching them.
16
@Claudia Your comment is patently false. Since they raised the limit to up to 10 movies for Best Picture and kept the number of Best Director nominees at 5, every year numerous best picture directors can not be mathematically nominated for best director.
This year, the male directors of Marriage Story (GG's romantic partner) and Jojo Rabbit have experienced the same fate as Ms. Gerwig. Where is the outrage for them?
16
@Claudia
Can you tell me which one of the 5 nominees is the weakest, and why Gerwig's work is superior to that person's? That would be a legitimate basis for your argument.
4
The most self-congratulatory group of people on earth: Oscars, what do the Hollywood oligarchs think about us; Hollywood Foreign Press (Golden Globes), what do people from other countries think about us; SAG awards, what do we think about ourselves; People’s Choice Awards, what do our adoring fans think about us. I’m sure I’m missing something. Feeding men’s egos is EXHAUSTING.
12
So, there should be no awards, no recognition in the world? Only men merit recognition? Only men want recognition?
Or recognition should only be given by people who have little experience in or knowledge of the field?
Come on, awards (and recognition in general) have a place.
7
@JB Waterman
Did I say there should be no awards? What I said was there were a lot of awards and that it’s exhausting.
8
By and large, whatever criticisms - warranted and unwarranted - of the present-day Academy, I believe their hearts are in the right place. They would genuinely like to see more diversity among nominees, they would like to see more women gets nominations in otherwise the traditionally male-dominated categories such as Director and the Tech fields. That said, it doesn't happen overnight. But it is happening. Women and minority artists are writing, producing and directing more films. And really, that's the true metric that drives everything else, including awards. The true problem comes in that the Academy is not recognizing lower budget/ independent film-making where much of that female/minority talent is currently being developed. Those films are largely getting shut out because they don't have the promotional budgets to compete. And that's where the Academy could be reaching out - developing a category for low-budget films that recognizes these film makers doing good work but operating at the economic periphery of the industry. Believe me, there were a number of films made last year and this year that were worthy - but few people heard about them. And this is the area where academy recognition could make a difference.
90
@Chris there's a whole award show called the Independent Spirit awards, not to mention various festivals, if that's what you're into.
2
@Chris Why is diversity is necessarily a good thing?Give awards to the best film makers, regardless of identity politics!No wonder not that many good films are being turned out these days!
1
@Chris
I'm not sure how you concluded that their hearts are definitely in the right place. There is wide agreement by both critics and audiences that Greta Gerwig's Little Women is one of the best movies of the year and it is in fact nominated for Best Picture. Yet Gerwig is not nominated for Best Director? If they were so bending over backwards to do the right thing, that wouldn't be happening. Frankly, as I look at the list of nominees, what I see is a long list of "guy" films that I personally would not even be interested to see.
7
Still trying to understand how Tom Hanks, clearly THE star of his film, the reason most ventured to see 'A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,' would be nominated as a supporting actor?
13
@Alan Gary
Unknown actor wearing a Hank's mask?
I’ve seen all the movies and all of the acting nominees except Banderas. I’ve also spent an embarrassing amount of time in movie theaters. Sandler deserves to be there, Pryce not so much; his performance is safe and familiar. Gerwig should be there - NOT because she’s a woman, but because she totally reimagined a familiar story. It’s right to exclude JLo, but what about her costar? Irishman was 45 minutes too long and Scorsese’s infatuation with gangsters is getting tiresome. The Joker boasts a stunning performance, but it was not an exceptional film. Laura Dern never disappoints, but Margot Robbie’s “turn” is the most powerful scene of 2019.
Oh, here’s a tip: tape the show, and start watching the tape an hour into the show - you can skip the commercials, lingering walks and meandering speeches, and catch up before it’s over. Cheers.
109
@cate Some people were quite upset at the way Gerwig "totally reimagined a familiar story". I do not know whether that is what cost her a nomination for Director. Although, the screenplay was nominated.
3
@cate Gerwig was nominated through Little Women MULTIPLE times. to miss out on 1 nomination when, screenplay, film, actors and costumes, even music ARE nominated, is not understanding how the oscars work.
2
@cate
As much as I appreciate Scorsese, The Irishman was two hours too long...
3
So the first thing that you can say about the collection of nominated works is that they are “very white and very male films? What?
And then not even offer an explanation as to what this means, from a film-critical perspective? Not even to mention the quality or lack thereof of the filmmaking- -the cinematography, script, the score, the characters and themes, or anything having to do with the artwork itself?
I think you’ve lost your minds. 
25
@Omar Alan While I see your point, I think the writer has a valid argument in that the nominations are not in line with the previous awards given, ones that were more all inclusive.
2
@Jonahh maybe - just maybe - from a film-critical perspective, the best work was done by these men? The authors (it took two to write the article) or this piece only mention gender and race, they don’t dissect the work of the films!!
I do not watch the award shows anymore. The nominations and votes are the result of PR campaigns directed at insider networks consisting of people — judging by the way the votes go mostly white men— who survive not by creativity but business ties to one another. That Greta Gerwig did not get a nomination for best director says it all.
6
Go Joaquin Phoenix!
4
Seriously? Gerwig deserved an Oscar nomination for taking a terrific and heartwarming story that has been a favorite of five generations and turning it into an incomprehensible mish-mosh? Everyone should watch the 1994 version directed by Gillian Armstrong and starring Susan Sarandon, Winona Ryder, Claire Danes, Kirsten Dunce, Trini Alvarado and Christian Bale, if you want to see how this Walcott classic ought to be portrayed on the screen.
20
I agree that the directing on Little Women was flawed. I found the jumps in time very distracting from what were clearly wonderful acting performances. On the other hand, getting great performances from actors is one of a director’s prime jobs.
@John Burke
It was difficult to follow, to be sure.
Sorry - I find Joker to be psychotic dystopian garbage. Awards? For what? We are taking our cartoons much too seriously.
53
pretty much all big studio films, with one picture nod going to director and movie "Parasite", to keep the foreigners at bay. i was expecting more from the academy, but sadly they let me and millions of others down. i hope "marriage story" wins everything, especially Laura Dern, a clean sweep of the top 5 categories (last done in 1997 for "As Good As It Gets".) this just flies in the face of diversity. shame.
This article is more about who was snubbed than who was nominated, do better!
11
Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Akira Kurosawa, Sidney Lumet, Robert Altman, Federico Fellini, Howard Hawks, Greta Gerwig. How’s that for inclusion?
3
People are equating Oscar awards or nominations to minorities or women as progress. They are mistaken.
We don’t have to analyze every last sector of society for proportional representation. Every day I feel like another NYT reporter is discussing this regarding movies, corporate America, science, NASA, football, movies, this or that college, Congress, physicians, winners of some obscure book prize, the presidency, and on and on. Of those categories, I’d rank the oscars as dead last, right behind congress and the president. Why push our daughters to become objects of scorn or useless non contributors just for the sake of equality in numbers, or our sons to become head coaches of NFL teams? NYT does this in the same breath that it publishes article after article about traumatic brain injuries.
Of course, the above wouldn’t apply to science or contributory parts of society.
NYT, let’s cool it with these articles every day.
12
I don’t really care one way or the other about the Oscars; I’m just irritated that I have to spend the next six weeks listening to the ultra-woke run around screaming about diversity and inclusion, breathlessly churning out think pieces, demanding “change” — i.e., making sure those pesky racists in Hollywood nominate the “right” actors and movies from now on.
21
For the love of God, enough with the bean counting of race and gender in these awards nominations. "The oscars continued to push women to the margins.. BUT HEY! They made progress by nominating a South Korean film!" Can you not see how painfully reductive and ignorant you sound? There have been years where black actors, had incredible success. Is the argument that the Oscars are racist because Eddie Murphy wasn't nominated for best actor, and because Jennifer Lopez wasn't nominated for best actress? Really? Gerwig could have gotten a nod for Little Women, that's one possible snub in my opinion, one. Gerwig, btw, was nominated for her last film, which was also her directoral debut. You can't determine how "woke" an awards show is by the number of female or minority nominees in a given year, it is abject nonsense to try. This is the type of worthless, hollow, virtue siganling that will get Trump re-elected. You deversify the film industry by diversifying roles and opportunity, that all happens outside of the awards shows. Yet these awards shows take the brunt of criticism when it's the film industry itself that determines who gets what opportunities. They skate along untouched while a silly awards show gets yelled at by twitter.
49
The Irishman is a terrible vanity project of old friends. The acting is horrible. It is like watching CGI caricatures of old parts they all played. I turned it off after 45 minutes.
18
@Karin Thank you! Truly the worst movie that I saw all year. I could barely stay awake in the theater, and the dude next to me was snoring the whole time. I don't understand all the love for this one...
3
Showering Joker and Jojo Rabbit with Oscar nominations is the ultimate rebuke to the woke chattering classes, although it’s a shame the Academy passed on Taka Waititi. It took a Maori Jew from New Zealand to show Americans how we should have responded to (faux Polynesian!) tiki-torch–wielding Nazi LARPers: relentless mockery.
5
NOTHING for “Just Mercy”? Enough said.
HARK!!!
Where is Willem Dafoe for his work in The Lighthouse?!?!
8
Between all these "Action Hero" movies and repetition in general, I had to quit watching movies years ago. I am shocked that people still care about these incredibly boring award shows. I mean, why should I care? Would anyone be excited in other industries held award shows? How about best CPA, or best Plumbing performance? Actually, that would hold my interest more than a bunch of vapid celebrities slapping each other on the back.
5
What is it with self-pleasuring stories about ("love letters to") Hollywood? Once Upon... was one of the most pretentious self-indulgent drivel I've ever seen. Because famous people are the ones who matter. Not the researchers or civil servants who steered us away from wars and epidemics, no. People who can cry on cue, hit their mark, let's watch stories about them for once!
11
@M. Paire Agreed. I also find it frustrating that an actor who plays a scientist or inventor etc. is then treated as a specialist in the discipline of the person they played. For example, an actor plays an ecologist and then we see that actor narrating a PBS special on loss of species diversity. Have we all gone crazy? News flash—Tom Hanks is not an astronaut, Matt Damon is not a botanist, and Brad Pitt did not fight in WWII. “I’m not a doctor but i play on every on TV” used to be a joke.
2
@Llola Steve McQueen (Le Mans, 1971) was a genuinely competent racing car driver, FWIW. They don't make actors like that any more.
1
@Llola. True story. A friend is a leading cardiologist in Toronto. He was at a screening when a woman passed out and collapsed on the floor. He rushed over to help her and was pushed out of the way by Matthew McConaughey who said I got this because he had recently played a doctor in a movie.
1
1917 was like watching a video game. Joker was a gross phony bummer. Once Upon was a fun hoot. Parasite was a masterpiece. The rest were forgettable.
6
Without the Farwell and little women why bother to watch?
3
Men, men, men, men, men, men, men. Maybe it’s time for two different academies. The one for white men and the one for the rest of us. Ugh.
3
How ‘bout just a straight up list of nominees - NOT what your misleading link provided!
5
The Irishman up for "Best Film Editing"? I guess I have always misunderstood the meaning of the word "editing."
8
What color aka race, ethnicity, national origin and gender were ' The Irishman' and ' Joker'?
1
I can't believe that The Last Black Man in San Francisco didn't receive any nominations. The screenplay, cinematography, acting, and score were outstanding. Terrible snub for a fine film.
6
Im pleased that Joker and Phoenix have received nominations for one of the best films ever made imho.
1
11 nominations for The Joker, really? I found the movie quite boring frankly. Excellent photography and art direction for sure but boring movies without real depth shouldn't get that far at the Oscars in my humble opinion.
9
I must be getting old (ok boomer?) or the Academy’s standards have really fallen off when a warmed over remake of “The King of Comedy” leads in Oscar nominations.
I’ll give it kudos for Jaoquin Phoenix’s performance. But that script was practically a rehash by the numbers of Scorsese’s and Paul Zimmerman’s much better 1982 film.
And then Greta gets left out for director?
What gives?
10
Here are my two cents: Ms. Erivo’a nomination for the best actress is galling for two reasons. One, the script was littered with dangerously ahistorical additions including a black bounty hunter/slave catcher. Secondly, Ms. Erivo’a unwillingness to unequivocally and explicitly apologize for disparaging banter about Black American culture in herTwitter feeds was a slap in the face to the very community Ms. Tubman risked her life for over and over again.
2
What does Sandler have to do for recognition?? Murphy has a nomination at least. Also, Phoenix at least had references available in order to put forward a different representation.
Lulu Wang and Awkwafina deserved nominations for The Farewell. It was an example of fine storytelling and acting without resorting to over the top violence or special effects. The Farewell reminded me of The King’s Speech, a fantastic story and superb acting in both.
13
Only journalists thought Little Women should have gotten Gerwig a best director nomination. I’m a DGA woman director and thought Gerwig’s structure for the film was a mess. She begins toward the end of the story, which I thought was interesting, and then puts on the screen, “seven years earlier”, and instead of starting 7 years earlier and bring us up to the first scene, she goes back and forth between past and present scenes. If you didn’t already know the story you wouldn’t know what was happening. A young actor who didn’t know the story told me he never knew the different sisters and couldn’t follow the story, which was my suspicion.
31
@MEB You're telling me that you, a director, and your actor friend have never encountered non-linear storytelling before?
Oh, and the four different sisters are played by four different actresses. That is how you tell them apart.
11
@MEB Thank you, MEB. Ultimately Gerwig does a disservice to Alcott by not respecting her novel, instead "modernizing" it with gimmicks, confusing plot tricks, and some of the worst acting of the year, especially Darn.
5
@MEB
Thank you, I love Greta but 15 minutes into this film and it had me feeling a bit dumb. How was it I couldn't follow along. It was all over the place as you say and likely why it's not being nominated and NOT bc it's a woman director.
4
Now that there are 10 Best Picture nominees every year, isn't it problematic to have only 5 Best Director nominees? There is no Best Picture without a Best Director behind it -- a fact which has long been recognized from the near-perfect paralleling of winners in those 2 categories at the Oscars and Director's Guild Awards.
To paraphrase a Billy Crystal line the year Barbra Streisand was snubbed for directing the BP nominee Yentl: Did "Little Women" direct itself?
7
@Nelle Engoron I hear you, but at what point does an oscar nomination for best director become meaningless when 10 directors can be nominated.
Personally, I wish they would go back to just 5 Best Picture nominations. It was a cynical, commercial ploy to change the rules to allow 10 BP noms years ago that didn't stop the ratings from declining as they hoped.
2
It's too bad that plodding, meandering tripe "The Irishman" got so many nominations. Boring, pointless, and far too lengthy, I have to assume that it just got nominated because of the past careers of its director and stars. For everyone involved, it was just about the worst movie they ever made, with the possible exception of De Niro's "Dirty Grandpa".
"Parasite", "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood", and most of the rest of the films mentioned were really great entertainment, and some had important moral messages. I'm hoping "The Irishman" doesn't win anything, because it doesn't deserve it, but when it probably does, it will just confirm that the Oscars no longer mean anything, they're just influenced by money and the good-old-boy network.
17
@Dan Stackhouse
So sorry that you found 'The Irishman' "boring, pointless, and far too lengthy."
I loved the movie. I loved the book. And the movie followed the book extremely closely.
The problem with any of these awards shows is that they are ALL subjective. The folks I really want to win, regardless if it's the Oscars, Emmys or everything in between, usually don't win.
But as usual, I always love readying your comments Mr. Stackhouse and seeing what's on your mind.
5
@Dan Stackhouse Sorry but what's the important moral message of "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood"? Don't join cult? Invade people's homes 'cos they be packin'? The only message I got was Tarantino is washed up and out of ideas so he makes a movie about himself by piggybacking on the murder of a famous actress.
5
Thanks Marge! And sure, the cinematography of Irishman was fine, but really I didn't think it needed to be 3.5 hours long. I totally agree that the Academy is very subjective in their decisions too.
And dear M. Paire, I didn't mean to imply that Once Upon a Time had a major moral message. It was a nice might-have-been story, and also had a lot to say about aging stars in Hollywood. But the major moral messages were more in films like Parasite, Little Women, and even Joker.
3
The fact that the Joker leads the way is a telling sign of what is happening in the U.S. Really - this is the best that can be offered? Sad. Not funny at all.
14
@Barbara
Totally agree. In today’s climate I have no desire to watch this film but acknowledge that anger and alienation are important themes that need to be explored.
That said, I don’t know what’s in The Joker that hasn’t been done in Taxi Driver or other films.
And while I have not seen the Joker, I have been impressed with the extended trailer set to the Gary Glitter song. It has powerful editing that showcases the great performances and set design in the film. It’s the best marketing peice since the teaser trailer for Fincher’s Girl With A Dragon Tatoo set to LED Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song.
3
@Barbara
Right. Another movie about an angry 50-year-old white guy. Seems to mirror our political atmosphere.
3
@Sam Love Karen O's version. Still wowed.
The best director awards went to all men this year but in defense they are like some of the best directors of all time. It’s a tough year to be a director when you have to compete against Scorsese, Tarantino, Todd Phillips and the director of Parasite. It’s like playing in the NBA vs making the Dream team. This year is an anomaly. At least three of this years films will be considered classics by American masters. By all non bias film critique “Hustlers” does not hold up to “the Joker” or “the Irishman” or “Once upon a time in Hollywood”. Sexism has nothing to do with it.
9
@Mat Great directors, but I'm not so sure they did their best work this year, except for Parasite.
1
If Joe Pesci had not been nominated, I highly doubt I would be tuning in this year.
4
It is a rareity for me to dislike a movie so much that I walk out on it. It's only happened mybe five times in my lifetime. Joker was one of them and now it's an Oscar nominee. Why was such a boring, tedious and meaningless offshoot of comic book series even on the nomination list? Sure, it was a good performance about insanity of a fictional evil character, but also utterly forgettable.
5
I thought the Joker was incredible and a movie for our times. I suspect people don’t like it because it is so unpleasant to watch, but true. It is one of the most thought-provoking films I have ever seen. Who is mentally ill, Arthur or our society? When he wins I hope and suspect Mr. Phoenix will use his power and platform to bring attention to the most exploited and kicked-in-the-face on our planet.
After watching it, you can self-medicate by watching the magical, soul-nourishing Little Women. You go, Amy March.
9
The most perplexing and frustrating thing about Greta Gerwig being snubbed for "Little Women" is that it was specifically her ingenious direction -- the almost Proustian way she played with the story's time and chronology -- that lifted Little Women far beyond the expected, polite literary remake. The movie itself was brilliant, far better than the solid-yet-overrated 1917, and miles better than Once Upon a Time or Joker. But Parasite is still the deserving Best Picture, and it's not even that close.
15
#OscarsDontMatter While the nominations for"Parasite" are encouraging, all I see are the usual fuss to support the same old, same old. Meanwhile so many good people robbed of nominations.
12
Why spend two paragraphs describing the roles and context for the Best Actor nominees and include an unnecessary aside about those who were not nominated then leave out any such editorializing for the female nominees?
8
Just more examples of misogyny dominating every aspect of our lives. Won’t be watching the boys’ club debacle, once again.
8
@Sue Salvesen
Awards are opinions, not entitlements--perceived "oversights"in this whiny era represent racism, misogny or whatever the allegation of the month is?! Plenty of worthy artists go without award recognition, great performances overlooked.
2
It’s Hollywood,you can’t please everyone or anyone,on with the show.
2
I'm really, really surprised that Taron Egerton didn't get nominated!
7
@db carter
Just watched ROCKETMAN for the 5th time. Egerton's performance is great and he sings the songs! Not to mention Jamie Bell as Bernie Taupin. The look on his face when Elton composes YOUR SONG is wonderful.
There is a head scratcher and a snub in every major category. Nothing at all for Dolemite or the Farewell or Just Mercy but what seems like obligatory voting for the “meaningful” black filmnof the year “Harriet”. Yes it does matter tthe Academy is still overwhelmingly male and white.
8
‘Gerwig was overlooked, though her script for “Little Women” was nominated and the film was given a nod for best picture.’
Only in a deliberate and, yes, cynical attempt to gin up phony, crusade-like outrage is being nominated for best screenplay and best picture the equivalent of being “overlooked,“ simply because one didn’t get a best director nomination.
It’s necessary – assuming the author of an article like this wants to maintain even a shred of credibility – to ask the question of whether the people she claims were “snubbed” because of an alleged Academy prejudice linked to their skin color or gender were possibly not as deserving of the nominations for reasons related to the even more superlative performances given by those who were nominated, but who don’t fit the currently favored categories of “overlooked“ individuals in need of some vaguely implied form of social justice a little gold statue might possibly bestow.
The essential takeaway from this article is that there should be a quota of nominations for people who aren’t white men, or in the case of categories for women, who aren’t white women. And we’re supposed to take this sort of commentary, and the author, seriously?
7
@JA I've always been mystified how a film could be nominated for Best Picture but not Best Director also, as if the film made itself.
2
Maybe there should be a separate, very serious, Woke™ Oscars ceremony, where everyone gets a statue.
18
Ugh, premature submit.
*award for best performance by etc.
@CL Or a "Charity" Oscars where mediocre films made by industry veterans get a statue.
5
WHY does anyone care who the members of the AMPAS nominate or give awards to? Seriously! This is something of grave importance to humanity? The amount of teeth gnashing, hand wringing and indignation over this is insane! Every year! This, people, is one big non-issue. Award shows are cheap, a dime-a-dozen and completely and utterly MEANINGLESS. Don’t like this one, watch another. Not satisfied with any, make your own and post it on YouTube. I mean, really. Whose life is threatened by this? Who’s dying on the table? The planet is on serious life support, and this is important? Who cares????
8
@Kevin You're right, Kevin. While we're at it, let's not have a Sports Page, Fashion Page, or restaurant reviews. Let's just have news, wall-to-wall--climate change, impeachment, international unrest...until we all jump off the Brooklyn Bridge.
1
@Mark Reichard You miss the point, entirely.
"Gerwig was overlooked" and women were "pushed aside" for directing nominations. Here we go again. In our PC, everyone-is-great age, I seriously doubt that Gerwig wasn't considered seriously for a nomination. You think, just maybe, she didn't deserve one, on account of Little Women's near-painful mediocrity?
8
@Lewis Ford You think, just maybe, Scorcese and Tarantino got nominations because they're not huge names with huge marketing budgets? Was Irishman ground-breaking or was it a boring redux of Goodfellas? There's a lot of mediocrity to go around. No need to limit it to females.
5
@Lewis Ford boy, you can say "mediocrity" again and again. what a borefest. i fell asleep.
2
@M. Paire Agreed about that. Irishman just another Scorsese gangland retread, while Tarantino movie is just his latest fatuous pop assaults on history.
4
I am so incredibly disappointed that Harriet and Just Mercy had no nominations....both films especially Just mercy were so well written and acted...I don't understand how this works... Just Mercy was flawless as far as i'm concerned ......Sad
2
@cam Conley @cam Conley Cynthia Erivo was nominated for Harriet. The movie itself was more of a cable biopic, but she was fantastic.
2
Immediate thoughts: 1. White men still rule. 2. No sound editing for The Lighthouse? Sound was like a character in this movie. 3. Makeup for The Joker? Hand me the Oscar, because I could have done that. The whole point of makeup in this movie was that it was applied by the character and it looked like it was. 4. Screenplay for 1917? Somewhat simple. I 'm always somewhat befuddled by award shows, but then so am I about how a single person could vote for Trump.
14
Oscars are like popularity contests in high school. I go to Film Critics Assn's and individual critic's picks to find the best films and performances. For example, Michael Haneke's "Amour" did win for best foreign film in 2012, deservedly. Its star, Emmanuelle Riva, was nominated for best actress but lost to Jennifer Lawrence, which was ridiculous! Ms. Riva's performance was extraordinary! Alas, she'll never win an Oscar because she died in 2017. I will never forget her and her performance. Jennifer Lawrence, that year's Homecoming Queen....meh.
7
Lawrence is one of several ingenues who owes her Oscar in no small part to the relentless campaigns of Harvey Weinstein.
Sadly, award show nominations are now judged primarily on how "inclusive" they are, rather than the merit of actual films, direction or performances.
If Ms. Gerwig didn't get nominated for the umpteenth adaptation of Little Women, the reason is not that it simply wasn't one of the 5 best directed films or that the cutting between time periods without reference confused many viewers and critics alike, it is straight up misogyny.
No, Eddie Murphy didn't get a best actor nom for his fine performance, but Robert DeNiro, Christian Bale and Adam Sandler didn't for theirs either. What to make of that?
I thought Jojo Rabbit was the best film of the year (the director was also "snubbed") and found The Joker unwatchable, but I acknowledge these things are highly subjective. I don't believe my taste and judgement is the default right answer.
Of course, the real solution is to diversify the Academy, but it will take time to do so. It is a great honor to be a member, and it must be predicated on some real artistic achievement, not primarily gender, race or ethnicity.
In the meantime, they are just movie nominations, pretty meaningless in the scheme of things. Perhaps we should focus on the existential threat of climate change or the existential threat of the mad man in the White House while the Oscar nominations sort themselves out.
51
@Sparky it wasn't misogyny that lost the oscar nod for gerwig. it was boredom.
3
@Sparky "It is a great honor to be a member, and it must be predicated on some real artistic achievement . ."
What you're saying, or using as defense for academy, is that there haven't been more diverse "artistic achievements" in any categories worthy of inclusion. Doubtful. Ridiculous. Other words come to mind.
1
@in love with the process Your interpretation of the comment is what is ridiculous. And highly revealing.
2
I am disappointed at the lack of diversity in films, not just nominees--but those of us complaining about the nominees should, in fairness, specify who should have included--and who should have been dropped to make room for them.
I would swap Gerwig for Tarantino.
16
@DSM14 yes, gerwig for tarantino, for sure.
3
i can't understand the omission of several nominations for "Uncut Gems" and "Where did you go Bernadette?" for best actress.
1
@gary "Bernadette" was a very high profile project that completely tanked critically and especially commercially. Many times when a movie has the "stink of failure" on it, it's difficult to get an actor or actress a nomination even if the performance is deserving.
2
@Sparky The book was dreadful too.
They need a permanent category for best beat to death or derivative material, where it seems at least a third to a half of what gets released would qualify for.
40
@Kevin
Because there are so few new ideas in Hollywood.
Can we just quit feeling offended because 'no/few women were nominated'? Women are getting more and more opportunities to direct and nominations will happen as a result but as far as this particular category goes (best director) it's a gender-free competition. It boils down to opportunity and not whether we absolutely must have good gender diversity.
29
@ivy, I will try to see good movies and avoid bad ones. The director's gender matters less to me than the quality of what I'm watching; I just hope their accomplishments are appropriately recognized.
2
@ivy
This paper simply cannot get passed identity. The claim in this piece that women were "pushed aside" in the nominations for Best Director is outrageous. Who was pushed aside? I understand that there were some good movies directed by women. While this is changing, most movies are directed by men. And look at the list of the Directors who are nominated? These are all good movies that were well directed. Which of them should be "pushed aside" so that the NY Times could report that, 'only one woman was nominated for Best Director?'
7
For all the comments about the awards being "so white" let's try to be respectful ok. None of us chose the color of our skin but do have the choice of the content of our character. I think I speak for most that these awards are just entertainment, not a serious issue, there's no lives being saved here. Let's focus on real issues like the world coming apart at the seams ie Australia burning in real time.
94
This observation is an excellent example of what people of color mean by white privilege and what women call male privilege, the privilege of ignoring ones color or gender as a part of their humanity and identity. It is an example of taking offence when anyone brings up whiteness or gender and their privileges by appealing to a supposed colorblind or genderblind Individuality, an appeal that white people and men often make. They aren’t accustomed to being lumped together in one homogenous group, so they oppose anyone who does so. The writer of this comment assumes that the white male film makers are simply more talented than the women or people of color who made excellent films but were not nominated. As M. Harriet writes, white people "easily talk about Latin music or the “Black vote.” "They don’t see themselves as living in “white neighborhoods” or attending “white colleges.” The privilege of individuality subconsciously colors the way they interact with the world—even when they don’t realize it."
When they tout an insistence on focusing only on individual character or individual talent, are they saying that the women and people of color who, as groups, were not nominated, have inferior character or talent?
12
"Would ,'most people' agree with you or just most white people? This observation is an excellent example of what people of color mean by white privilege and what women call male privilege, the privilege of ignoring ones color or gender as a part of their humanity and identity. It is an example of taking offence when anyone brings up whiteness or gender and their privileges by appealing to a supposed colorblind or genderblind Individuality, an appeal that white people and men often make. They aren’t accustomed to being lumped together in one homogenous group, so they oppose anyone who does so. The writer of this comment assumes that the white male film makers are simply more talented than the women or people of color who made excellent films but were not nominated. As M. Harriet writes, white people "easily talk about Latin music or the “Black vote.” "They don’t see themselves as living in “white neighborhoods” or attending “white colleges.” The privilege of individuality subconsciously colors the way they interact with the world—even when they don’t realize it."
When they tout an insistence on focusing only on individual character or individual talent, are they saying that the women and people of color who, as groups, were not nominated, have inferior character or talent?
1
@Bev
"Ignoring color or gender as part of their humanity and identity" is exactly what we must be doing. Because it's the truth: everything that makes us human is shared across identities. And because emphasizing commonality puts us on a much better path than emphasizing our differences does.
As far as lumping things together. I will easily talk about Latin music as the modifier reflects history and culture and is applied to "music" which is a thing, not a person. While the term "black vote" bothers me to no end, first because it applies to people and second because it assumes that people of a certain race can't chose to vote based on something other than their race.
4
I saw Little Women over the weekend and I adored the film. That said, I've seen all of the other Best Director nominated films and I would not substitute Little Women (Greta Gerwig) for any of them. I think that Ms. Gerwig more than deserves a nomination for her screenplay (in my opinion, it was the adaptation more than any direction or acting that made the movie so fresh). But, I can't jump on the women were left out train for this one. I haven't seen some of the other films noted (like The Farewell), so I can't comment on those. I've certainly thought women were left for other films, but not for Little Women.
11
@Mary While it was good, Tarantino’s film dragged in several places. I could easily substitute Greta for Quentin.
11
Who cares? Maybe because of my age I watch movies I'm interested in not who the "moldy figs" of the so called academy classify as worthy. Same with novels and jazz. Oscar is a side show; always was, always will be. Except that it enables minorities too get opportunities. The old Hollywood has and is holding back women and people of color since before the cow jumped over the moon. This year is more of the same. Feh on the academy. I'm not watching, again.
4
@Tuxedo Cat The first "talking" movie, "The Jazz Singer" played in 1927, the year of the first Academy Awards. Moviemaking is a business designed to make money. If the Academy has held back women and people of color, the Academy has done so within the context of the world holding back women and people of color.
3
To those disappointed all we have to do is look at the litany of classic movie icons (actors, writers, directors, etc) who never received either a nomination or an Academy Award. It is a list as extensive as it is impressive. There isn't now, nor has there ever been, logic or fairness to the Academy's decisions.
33
We do certainly live in a world of personality cults, don’t we? Tarantino and Scorsese apparently can do no wrong—even when they make really mediocre films.
It’s like we’re just so desperate to believe in *anything* that gives us comfort or normality. But the cracks in the façade are starting to become the façade.
40
Hi Sparky, I understand—I’m an Emmy winner myself, so I have some experience with this world.
My point is a larger one about the rise of tribalism in our world currently—it affects entertainment as well as politics. We look past the obvious flaws in things and people and ideologies because deep down we’re increasingly afraid and desperate. Tarantino’s latest as best picture bears a lot of the same hallmarks as evangelicals’ support if Trump—radically different consequences, but ultimately the same root cause.
3
@Mark Holmes I am an awards voter and there is certainly a bias towards "icons." In part, people will be sure to see their films when some other films (perhaps better) by lesser names will get lost in the shuffle.
When you get 50 or 60 screeners in the mail (admittedly a nice problem to have) and have 6 or 8 weeks to watch them all, in addition to everything else you have going on (and remember it's also holiday time) you often have no choice but to skip some.
In addition, there's the halo effect. Since they're such acclaimed directors, it elevates our opinion of their work even if it's, in fact, mediocre which is the case this year.
64
@Mark Holmes So then you know what a game this all is. I do agree with you that "tribalism" or Identity politics affects every aspect of our culture and certainly our entertainment industry.
Frankly, I can't imagine a world where we get past it, but hopefully I'm wrong.
2
The fact is that the Irishman was at best so-so. The subject has been done to death. Same old guys reprising the same old mafia story.
The Joker, on the other hand, is an entirely new genre; a fictional, realistic, gripping, biopic of a pulp fiction character! What could be more innovating than that? Besides, Pheonix's portrayal was extraordinary! Best movie and acting in a while! Refreshing indeed.
18
@Ed At the time of Hoffa's murder, 1975, Hoffa was 62, Russell Bufalino was 72, and Frank Sheeran was 55. So with a litfle hair color and makeup for DeNiro, it wasn't that much of a stretch (anyway, no one in the audience ever heard of Sheeran before).
1
@Ed
To be clear: you're saying that a movie from existing-IP, which openly and fragrantly apes the style of 70s Scorcese movies, is "entirely new", while a sober, somber, exciting and technically innovative movie like the Irishman has been "done to death"?
Maybe it's because I found Todd Phillip's movie cynical and totally histrionic, but I just can't get behind your take.
2
Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson in The Lighthouse gave powerhouse performances.Dafoe`s monologue is chilling...sad he`s not been nominated, the man is class act.The movie itself is gorgeous, one of the best i`ve seen this year.Sad it didn`t received a nomination.Robert Eggers is one of the most promising directors working today and his love for the craft shows deeply in his films.He only made 2 movies (The Witch and The Lighthouse) both masterpieces in my opinion.Can`t wait for his next projects !If you`ve not seen The Lighthouse or The Witch, you should, beautiful film making in every aspect of it :).
38
@T_Alfred I’ve loved Dafoe’s acting since I saw him in The English Patient.
1
@T_Alfred Read the full ballot and it s got nominated for cinematography,yeeeey.The cinematography is beautiful, hope it wins :D
1
T_Alfred,
Agreed about Eggers. I’ve yet to see The Lighthouse but The Witch is extraordinary. I think the Academy dismisses “horror” as “genre films.” They overlooked Hereditary, another exceptional film, in which Toni Collette gave what might have been the best performance of her career. That dinner scene is unforgettable.
1
So Little Women gets noms for best actress, best supp. actress, screenplay, and Best Picture . . . and not director. I'm feeling sick to my stomach. And I don't understand why it's categorized as "progress" that a South Korean was nominated. It's great, it's worthwhile, but progress is when that nom is part of a trend, not simply a singular disruption.
19
@in love with the process. That is also the case for two male directors, Noah Baumbach (Ms. Gerwig's partner) for Marriage Story and Taika Waitti for Jojo Rabbit who both got nominated for best screenplay, best picture and had acting noms for their films yet didn't get best director nominations.
Does that also make you sick to your stomach?
5
You mean how last year Rami Malek (Egyptian Copt) won Best Actor, Mahershala Ali (black) won Best Supporting Actor, Regina King (black) won Best Supporting Actress, Spike Lee (black) won Best Adapted Screenplay, Peter Ramsey (black) won Best Animated Film, Jimmy Chin (Asian American) Elizabeth Chai Vasarheyli (half Asian American) won Best Documentary, Hannah Beachler (black) won best Production Design, Ruth Carter (black) won Bedt Costume Design, and Alfonso Cuarón (Mexican) won Best Director and Best Cinematography?
Or the year before, when Guillermo del Toro (Mexican), Jordan Peele (black/white), Kobe Bryant (black), Paul Austerberberry (white/Filipino), and Kazu Hiro (Asian American) took home awards?
Or how Mahershala Ali, Viola Davis, Barry Jenkins, Ezra Edelman, and the Moonlight team won the year before that?
9
If they are worried about ratings, they could make it more relatable to more people by, you know, nominating more women and people of color (and not just foreign people of color). Even better, start by giving more jobs in film to women and people of color so there are more nomination possibilities. I’ll start watching again when there’s a noticeable change.
10
So American people of color are of MORE color than “foreign” people of color?
I'm ok with a nomination going to The Irishman, which I enjoyed, but while watching it I had a niggling feeling that the actors I was looking at were about 30 years too old for their parts. 76 year-old DiNiro with a young wife and two small kids? Not credible, even with hair dye.
30
@MIKEinNYC, personally, I think The Irishman was a way for some of our best senior actors to reprise their greatest hits. But no new ground was broken and the film was overly long and uninvolving. On balance, I'd rather have those 3+ hours of my life back.
9
Methinks you need to read up a little bit on how the film was made and the fact that the timeline covered decades.
2
@Jack
I get it, there's a time line. Me thinks I'd rather see a young guy with believable old guy makeup like in "This is Us", than the reverse, which really doesn't work. But, then again, it's acting and I'll fall for it.
3
The lack of recognition for Just Mercy Further reinforces that the Oscars are nothing but a Marketting showcase for movie industry big money.
This was the best adaptation of a book into a crew play I have ever seen.
12
I don't think Just Mercy was released in time to be considered.
Anthony Hopkins and Brat Pitt for Best Supporting Actor? Though the former (as Pope Benedict) didn't get the same biographical depth as Jonathan Pryce's future Pope Francis, Hopkins was fully Pryce's equal in their scenes together; indeed, Hopkins was so slyly intriguing that my thoughts about Benedict have lingered longer than of Francis. Pitt's not-so-easy-going stuntman in the Tarantino film was less showy than Di Caprio's insecure B-movie actor. But like Hopkins, his was the more intriguing presence. And for the Academy to ignore De Niro in "The Irishman" invalidates the whole Best Actor slate. Deeply nuanced and focused, this may be the most complete performance of his great career, outstripping even his Travis Bickle and Jake LaMotta.
7
@Charles Michener
DeNiro was indeed extraordinary in The Irishman. That he failed to be nominated as Best Actor is more proof, if any was needed, that the Academy voters often don't know what they're doing.
5
@Mark Holmes I agree. DeNiro in The Irishman was basically a quieter, more maudlin version of every gangster DeNiro has already played. everything about The Irishman felt like deja vu to me.
9
@Charles Michener Some actors and actresses ask to have their role considered for best supporting actor because the competition will be less in that category. I’m not saying Pitt asked, but it happens.
2
Deeply disappointing that the visions of women (Greta Gerwig), and performances reflecting diverse stories (Awkwafina) are not respected. The overwhelming number of nominations for "Joker" reflect the triumph of male-centric comic universe culture. The Academy needs to diversify.
80
Yes, if Joker was played by a strong black woman only then would it merit a nomination.
4
@Jasmine Armstrong the fact that the two examples you mentioned are heavily in the conversation in of itself shows the change that is happening. Things like this don't happen overnight, but certainly looks like it's well underway.
1
@Jasmine Armstrong
Overwhelming support for The Joker -- a superhero movie. Really! Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is simplistic. I'll stick up for 1917. On the brink of WWIII maybe we ought to reflect on WWI. But Little Women deserved a nod.
A few glaring omissions: Neither "1917" nor "Once Upon a Time" were nominated for Best Film Editing. Jennifer Lopez was (mercifully) left out of the Supporting Actress competition. Neither Greta Gerwig nor Noah Baumbach made it into the Best Director race despite their having made two of the year's three best English-language movies (Scorsese directed the other one). The much-praised Russian film, "Beanpole," was overlooked in the International Film category as was the Senegalese "Atlantics." Happily, the sublime "Edge of Democracy" was nominated for Best Documentary.
4
@stu freeman
Clearly Oscar nominations lack credibility. How can you vote for best of anything unless you've seen everything?
2
Jamie Foxx gave the performance of his career in "Just Mercy" - it is unbelievable that he was not nominated for his role.
5
@CK
Very good indeed, one big caveat, when are we going to see a movie where the black characters are not portrayed as the ever heroic victim? There hasn't been one since Denzel's excellent characters in Training Day and Flight. Flight in particular was excellent.
3
Two crass and dreadful films to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Sorta reminds me of something that happened in 2016.....
8
Terrence Malick's "A Hidden Life" was Best Picture, Director this year but it won't win much because no one saw it.
6
agree with you 100%. What a sad commentary on our celebrity-glutted culture. Not even a nomination for Cinematography! But Hollywood HATES anything spiritually minded. Going to see A Hidden Life again tomorrow and every chance I can get on the big screen.
5
Agreed, wholeheartedly! The fact that it didn’t even get a Best Cinematography nomination is a travesty,
3
Oscars so white, oscars so boring. I’m sure Jonathan Pryce’s performance was very nice, but Adam Sandler’s was astonishing.
5
Jonathon Pryce portrayed an restrained Roman Catholic Cardinal while Adam Sandler portrayed a highly energized gambler. That is the problem in awarding "best" nominations for roles that require very different physical manifestations. I saw both Pryce's and Sandler's performances. I like that Pryce was nominated and wish that Adam Sandler had been nominated as well.
Having said that, all of our preferences and opinions are just that.
4
@Sandra Wilde
Sandler was adequate, but I kept thinking what a young Dustin Hoffman could have done with that role.
2
@Sandra Wilde watch two Popes and then say that. I'm disappointed as well Adam(Iworked with him at SNL)Definitely got snubbed.
1
Here on the Westside of Los Angeles, Academy Awards day means that we brace ourselves for the worst traffic of the year, and considering how intolerable traffic has become on a normal day, that says a lot.
Advice to new Angelinos: stock up the pantry and don’t even think about leaving home on February 9th.
6
Joker?! Did the Academy voters actually see this movie? It’s a contrived hybrid knock off of Taxi Driver and King of Comedy. Every year there’s at least one undeserving movie that gets loads of nominations based mainly on publicity.
73
@Gary Wood I love Joaquin Phoenix, but after I read A. O. Scott's review of Joker, I was like, NOPE.
2
The only thing the predominantly white male Academy understands or cares about is money. The only way to change their behavior is by hitting them in the wallet. I won’t be watching their self-adulating award show, nor paying to see their over-hyped movies. I’ll reward the box office stats of the movies the Academy blows off and, if I watch them at all, check out others for free from my library.
6
justice for Uncut Gems and Greta Gerwig!!
8
I've read Greta Gerwig was pregnant during the filming/post-production of Little Women. I'd like to see one of those men nominated for Best Director try that. We ARE the stronger sex and someday snubs like this will be long forgotten. And I read today that Little Women is doing fabulously at the box office. This film, your accomplishment and your little boy will live on long after this award show is forgotten, Greta.
24
I agree. Pregnant directors should always win. And men are inferior, because they cannot have babies. This is turning into a farce.
9
@Green River If a man was directing a movie while pregnant, I don't think the headline would be whether or not it was nominated for an Oscar.
6
"But even after four years of the initiative, the organization remains 68 percent male and 84 percent white." Okay, but which specific films are being considered as erroneously excluded?
3
@A Name The NYT and other news sources have suggested that, as other awards ceremonies recognized the work of certain individuals on these films, some of the roles in creating them would be considered "overlooked" this year by the Academy: The Farewell, Little Women, Dolemite Is My Name, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Hustlers, Queen & Slim, Harriet.
3
who cares? it's an industry machine to push sales, and a TV machine to sell advertising, and a fashion-house machine to make the country look both elitist and vulgar. Those who have the money drive the votes. What could be more American?
16
I loved Little Women and thought it was a big magnificent movie on all levels. A delight to watch. I hope Greta makes loads of money and laughs all the way to the bank. She deserves it.
54
I’m so tired of hearing the griping about minority actors and directors...women actors and directors. I cannot believe that anyone actually said “Greta Gerwig is a woman director and therefore not eligible for a nomination for best director.” It defies logic. Not everyone is going to get a nomination, period. Art is subjective. Some of your favorites are not going to be nominated. Grow up. Why don’t we just have a women’s Oscar ceremony, a men’s Oscar ceremony, and a Minority Oscar ceremony, so that everyone has a guarantee to win a prize.
43
We wouldn’t need three academies if there was equality in representation within the host academy.
3
@R Stiegel Literally no one said that. Some really enjoyed Little Women and thought the director deserved a nomination, while also taking notice of a continued lack of female directors. That is entirely different than "Give her a nomination because she's a woman!" strawman you're positing. I guess it's not a comment section without lazy and obtuse interpretations.
15
When you’ve got a male-dominated academy that consistently awards white males, you’re right, Gerwig doesn’t have a chance.
1
The strangest omission is Jordan Peele's "Us," a wonderful and popular film that has fallen completely out of discussion. This is especially odd given all the praise lavished on "Parasite," a similar but lesser film. Perhaps Peele asks his audience to think too much, a sure disqualifier for the Academy.
13
@Matt I'll be sure to watch "Us!" Thanks for recommending.
Matt,
I really liked Us, but it was no Get Out. Peele packed in too many ideas—it wasn’t nearly as tight—and the plot holes were a little too big to ignore.
2
I am stunned, absolutely shocked that Lupita Nyong'o was not nominated for "Us". Also, why wasn't Wesley Snipes nominated for "Dolemite Is My Name"?
8
disap to see no Eddie Murphy for Dolemite. Overall tho this is a far better group of films than the last few yrs imv
2
I did not see Joker, mainly because this newspaper and the New Yorker panned it. However, now I am intrigued and will go see it if it is still playing at a theater near me.
2
@Paco
Film is now available on home video. Blu ray or streaming.
1
I finally saw it over weekend and understand why it got all the nominations, a tough but brilliant movie and standout performance by Joaquin!
1
@Paco
It is on Directv right now. I watched it last night and Joaquin Phoenix does a tremendous job portraying Arthur Fleck. He scared the living daylights out of me in his part. Now I know how The Joker came to be in Gotham City.
1
No women directors nominated? You sound vexed. Is the nomination of women a requirement --?, or for the best?
4
Not getting nominated is not getting "pushed aside."
9
No J Lo? Snubbed.
2
Greta Gerwigs bold move to take a beautiful story and throw it into a blender to the point of incoherence was brave.
9
As usual, it is a popularity contest. Ridiculous. Dumb.
It's all about $$$, folks, not about quality of the work.
If it was about the work, then Jamie Foxx vs. Joaquin Phoenix would be the only sane contenders for a best actor category. Supporting actor: Rob Morgan.
Please do see "Just Mercy" for both of these performances.
1
By far the worst omission is Awkafina who starred in The Farewell. Plus my disappointment in not seeing Matthew Rhys get a nod for his role in the Mister Rogers flick was a foregone conclusion. The take away is: if you are old, established, white and already recognized, you got a great shot at an award. Phooey!
8
The only actor I am hoping will win is Joe Pesci because he is such a brilliant actor. I also think his acceptance speech would be a show stopper.
10
@Marge Keller, I think that Pesci was the only senior actor in the movie who stretched to make his role credible. The others felt like they were reprising everything else they've done.
2
@CP
I agree. Good point.
1
what is missing from this commentary is that 2019 is one of the greatest years for movies and it certainly stands out for this century. Parasite, Marriage Story, The Farewell, Honeyland, Little Women, Dolamite, 1917 and so forth.
Any comments around exclusion of specific movies or gender and ethnicity should be accompanied with that context.
Having seen 8 of the 9 nominees for best picture, I can say they also surpass "Green Book".
Just stack them up against 1984 - "Terms of Endearment", "Big Chill", "The Dresser", "The Right Stuff" and "Tender Mercies". Context.
5
The Academy has become like British Royalty. If you got too much spare time in your life, maybe you obsess over these things. But really, who cares? The most important thing is your personal experience with and love for a film and how that film stands the test of time in your own heart. The rest is just commerce.
14
Yes, but commerce drives the machine, and the kids are playing on it.
Recognition for the participants.
I had the joy of seeing Little Women last night. Greta Gerwig was robbed. I hated Lady Bird, and I've never really been a fan of Little Women, but Gerwig's version, a study love, family, politics, art, and, above all, time, is a work of genius. It was also hugely entertaining.
Now Florence Pugh, who managed to turn Amy into the brainy heart of the film, is going to have face off against the great Laura Dern, probably ensuring that the award goes elsewhere. At least Gerwig got the best adapted screenplay nomination, but a great director has been ignored.
7
I still don't get what the hubub was about Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. I felt it was a long slow slog of a movie, and tepid in tone. they could've explored the relationship between Pitt and DeCaprio far more deeper, hardly any real conflict. Boring.
I am ecstatic that they recognized Parasite, a film that did go deeply into class conflicts, with stunning and evocative visuals and a great story. The Joker, for me had a good first hour then its descent into violence took me out of the film. It seemed like it wanted to be the new Taxi Driver, but didn't come close.
33
Once upon a time—great movie. Will win. Real movie stars. The kind you pay $20 to see in a theater and not on your phone,streaming.
11
@Bocheball I loved Brad Pitt's performance, but the movie was a mess. QT goes on long digressions that make no sense and never really tie together, but in the most superficial way, watching 40 minutes of various B movie plots, is not particularly interesting, yet somehow critics and voters applaud. The truth is, he is a lazy screenwriter, but he is critically and commercially successful so he can do what he wants. ButI suspect few of his movies will last.
18
@Bocheball
I loved Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. It was rather slow, up until the end. Leave it to Tarantino to come up with that!
The ending is so worth the slow movie. Great acting by Pitt whom I really don’t care much for.
2
B-o-r-i-n-g. Same old/same old. The only film among the nominees which even remotely interests me is 1917.
9
@Yvette74 If you're like me, run don't walk to see "A Hidden Life" before it leaves the big screens.
2
Why, in the age of Me too and supposed recognition of womens issues, does no one mention in their rhapsodic reviews of Once Upon A Time the scene, of course played to comic effect, where it is heavily implied that Brad Pitt’s character violently murdered his wife with a crossbow? I guess the implication was that it was OK b/c she seemed to be nagging him! Yet everyone raves about what a great character wife murdering Cliff is! Tarantino is one of those weak men who glorify violence because he could never win a fight as a kid - he wouldn’t have survived the girls in my Bronx neighborhood growing up, never mind the boys. How about some makes a revised history movie where everyone making a Tarantino movie, including him, gets killed in a bloodbath - that I’d watch!
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@Barbara Sheridan
I agree with your assessment.
For me, the weakness of Tarantino's films is his inability to take violence seriously. He depicts violence graphically but not realistically.
As a consequence, his films always seem juvenile, cartoonish. At his age (56), you'd think he'd begin to consider human suffering and to take mortality more seriously.
I'm not asking him to become Bergman but just not to continue being Herschell Gordon Lewis.
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@Barbara Sheridan - There was absolutely NO indication in "Once Upon A Time" that it was "OK" for Brad Pitt to murder his wife. In fact, the question of whether he did or not is left unresolved. It is one part of a complex character study. The raves are for the portrayal, not for the nasty character himself. (The same could be said for "Joker".) Tarantino's films have sometimes made me cringe, but this is a great one. I don't know that much about his childhood, so I won't attempt to psychoanalyze him as you do.
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@Barbara Sheridan
Here Here!!
(I am one of the Bronx girls btw. And QT' adolescent appearance(s) at the GG spoke loudly and clearly to your point.)
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J. Lo? That movie was unwatchable. I do not understand the “buzz.” My faith in the Oscars is somewhat restored by her not getting a nomination.
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@DR I thought the movie was a fun piece of fluff. Any award nominations were ridiculous!
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If there's money to be made there's a good chance its giving up its artistic aspirations.
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I am very disappointed to see that Adam Sandler and "Uncut Gems" were not nominated. Eric Bogosian's performance merited notice as well.
"Little Women" was a visual feast.
I am very happy that Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, and "Marriage Story" received nominations.
I know people who criticized "The Irishman" as one more Scorcese gangster movie. "The Irishman" is one of the most compelling based on real events movie in recent years. The women portrayed in "The Irishman" ring especially true to a time and place in which the times were very much changing. I know too many women of today who judge those women of yesterday. The emotional presence of the Irishman's daughter played by Anna Pacquin is sometimes underestimated.
When discussing "The Irishman" and "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" with young people I know, I have had to be careful about including plot spoiling details. There are many people born after 1980 who don't know the reported facts of some, to me, significant 1960's and 1970's events. The fictional nature of "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" should give pause to anyone standing in the truth of ancient or even not so ancient texts and commentary about long ago events.
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@Debra Merryweather
I too thought The Irishman was a terrific film.
As to men being hailed as heroes for killing their wives? What else is new?
A lot of disappointments here. The Farewell should have gotten some nominations. Also, Almodovar and Gerwig both should have been nominated for best director. The industry will drive use crazy with lectures about inclusivity, but I'm willing to bet Best Picture will go to the all-male 1917.
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The Academy can never resist fussy English period pieces. They also have a well known weakness for films about the entertainment business. So I think Best Picture will be a tossup between 1917 and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Unfortunately, I believe they will be too tone deaf to make the impressive feminist work Little Women a serious contender.
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"Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt are my pick for Best Actors.
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Lulu Wang's "The Farewell" and Greta Gerwig's "Little Women" were two of the most beautiful films I've seen in my life. My family and friends left both movies in raptures, in some cases crying happy tears. That the sheer talent of these two directors are overlooked because they told female stories makes me deeply sad. Why do the experiences of non-white, non-male characters get so overlooked? Oh wait, look at the membership of these nominating organizations.
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@SR I agree so much. Those films were just wonderful and the fact the directors are not recognized is a shame. "Little Women" has gotten some of the recognition it deserves, but not so "The Farewell." I hope that people soon start to discover the film and the director, Lulu Wang.
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Who said they were overlooked because of their femaleness or the femaleness of their stories? Just because a woman doesn't get something doesn't mean they didn't get it because they were a woman. Unless you have some evidence, you are talking about a conspiracy theory.
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No nominations for female directed “The Farewell” which I felt was one of best films of years and two wonderful performances by Asian American actors for supporting or lead actress overlooked. Yet the mixed reviewed and audience lukewarm Joker is flooded with award nominations. Then there is the highly original ha ha white buddy movie of about all places Hollywood (more self indulgence) with yet another examination of Sharon Tate murder by the most over-rated director in world Quentin big mouth.
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@BC yes! I can't stand Tarantino
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@BC
Sing it!
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@BC
The top 12 most recommended comments are women complaining about Little Women not being given the respect it is "entitled" to by virtue of...being about women and made by a woman?
Nagging much?
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Curiosity question ....
Why is the live nomination announcement split in two?
I assume the presenters are more than capable of speaking for 30 minutes without a break.
Maybe it gives broadcast networks time for an ad break?
or the (paid?) background applause people need to rest their hands?
'Oscar invitation to Barack and Michelle Obama' ... good point though 'American Factory' fully deserved the nomination.
VM
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So, for all the talk of 'inclusion' and 'equality', how is it there are still gender specific categories?
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@Robert I've been saying that since I was first allowed to stay up and watch the awards show - let's not do the math, but it was LONG LONG time ago...My mom had no answer when I kept asking why it wasn't just "best actor" or "best performance"
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Just don't watch the show. Boycott will hit someone where "they"might get the idea that the way this is rigged is no longer rrlevant.
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Absurd. And basically meaningless. No Eddie Murphy. Pryce and Hopkins, who play opposite each other, in different categories. No Greta Gerwig. And on and on. Irrelevant at this point.
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Price and Hopkins were excellent.
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@John Ramey don't lead and supporting actors always play opposite each other?
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"Once again, the academy excluded women from the directing race. Black actors and actresses were also largely overlooked..."
outrage culture necessitates going to the negative immediately, eh? Diversity means all people should be represented in making films, not that they should automatically be nominated or win.....
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@Jg Apparently you haven't seen "Little Women." It's one of the best films out this year and the directing is nothing short of brilliant.
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@Jg I totally agree with you- the awards should go to the best, regardless of who they are. However, in this case I simply don't understand why marvelous and very complex films about women (The Farewell, Little Women, Bombshell) are shunned in favor of films that consist largely of men shooting each other for three hours. I fail to see the intrigue, nuance, or ostensible sophistication behind some of the favorites in this latter group.
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I felt Little Women was totally overrated. The characters are undeveloped, the camera shooting back and forth, both physically and chronologically, is dizzying, does nothing but confuse, and adds to the lack of authentic character development. The film is immensely sanitized—I saw not one dirty fingernail, or speck of dirt, and was basically unmoved by it. This is the IN clique of young white Hollywood women actors right now. Where are the middle aged women and women of color? I’m bored with this genre of perfectly wrought period pieces. I want grit. Maybe the utter perfection of the film is an antidote to these times, and taken from a idealistic story, but I’d rather watch directors and actors grapple with creative reality, either in the past or present.
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People don't watch because they don't care about the nominees, in general. They don't like the movies that are made.
Tom Hanks, Greta Gerwig, and a few others still make good movies.
The rest is dross.
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As someone who in the past would rearrange my schedule for Sunday and Monday around watching the telecast, I am just sick of it. Ms Gerwig directed one of the most beautiful and intelligent movies this year. I will not be watching.
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@Andrea Damour That is simply your opinion. The people who nominated these directors and films think otherwise If you think your opinion isnt well represented in the oscars then simply dont watch it.
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@Andrea Damour I'll be passing on this with you. Cant remember when a movie (Little Women) moved me so. That first scene when Jo walked into the publishers' office- I work in a very male-dominated (and frankly unwelcoming) environment and that scene could have been me, today in 2020. (But I might watch the red carpet beforehand for the dresses...which will be the best part of that night IMHO.)
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Many of us won’t be watching it and many of us agree with her.
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I cannot believe that Jamie Foxx did not get nominated for Best Actor in Just Mercy. He was just fabulous as was the movie and the other actors.
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A little surprised that Tom Hanks is nominated for "Best Supporting Actor" for that Mr Rogers movie. He seemed like the lead actor to me.
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Hello RP:
Totally agree. It is a cowardly bit of gamesmanship on the part of the studio, knowing he would be in stiff competition against the other lead actor nominees. Hopefully the academy membership will see it for the sham it is, but I would not count on it.
Cheers,
Jeff Pucillo
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While I didn’t see the movie, I recognize the maneuver. This year’s Best Actor rave is so competitive that Hanks was put into the category that gave him a better chance at a nomination
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@RP Smith Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers was most definitely the supporting role in this film. The film is not about Mr. Rogers, it is about a magazine writer (played by Matthew Rhys) working on a piece about Mr. Rogers, and how the process affects him. The writer is the main character. For starters, Rhys as writer has much more screen time than Hanks as Rogers. But the real test of who the main character is in a movie is who changes. The writer is a different person at the end of the movie than at the beginning; Mr. Rogers is exactly the same. I agree that Oscar nominations often make dubious choices as to who is a lead and who is supporting, but this is not such a case.
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