Female filmmakers were shut out, "Parasite" made history and "Joker" edged out "The Irishman," "1917" and "Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood" in Monday's Oscar nominations.
Todd Phillips' R-rated superhero smash "Joker" topped all films with 11 nominations to the 92nd Academy Awards, while Martin Scorsese's elegiac crime epic "The Irishman," Quentin Tarantino's 1960s Los Angeles fairy tale "Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood" and Sam Mendes' continuous World War I tale "1917" all trailed close behind with 10 nods apiece. Those four were among the nine films nominated for best picture by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. The others were: Greta Gerwig's Louisa May Alcott adaptation "Little Women," Noah Baumbach's divorce drama "Marriage Story," Taika Waititi's Nazi Germany romp "Jojo Rabbit," James Mangold's racing drama "Ford v Ferrari" and Bong Joon Ho's class satire "Parasite" — the first Korean film to be nominated and only the 11th non-English best-picture nominee.
"Joker," which gives the DC Comics villain an antihero spin, was expected to do well Monday. But the academy's overwhelming support for a divisive movie that was far from a critical favorite was unexpected. The film's nominations included best actor for Joaquin Phoenix and best director for Phillips.
Though a record 62 women (or about a third of nominees) were nominated Monday, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences put the most weight behind a handful of swaggering male-driven and man-made movies predicated on virtuosity, spectacle and star power. For the 87th time, the academy selected all-male directing nominees.
Hollywood, in the midst of a streaming upheaval, also gave Netflix more nominations, 24, than ever before. The 10 nominations for "The Irishman" tied the most for a Netflix film, following "Roma" last year. Scorsese, a one-time winner for "The Departed," was nominated for best director for the ninth time. The film also won nods for Al Pacino, Joe Pesci and its de-aging special effects. "We put all of ourselves into this picture," said Scorsese in a statement.
"1917" followed up its Golden Globes win and strong opening weekend at the box office with nominations not just for its technical achievement (including Mendes' directing and Roger Deakins' cinematography) but for best screenplay, too.
"Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood" was nominated in just about every category it was expected to, including Tarantino for directing and screenplay, best actor for Leonardo DiCaprio and best supporting actor for Brad Pitt. And Hollywood loves little more than a good story about itself.
"It's a real love story to this industry," DiCaprio said by phone. "In this movie, Quentin got to do a movie that was a homage to Los Angeles and a place that I grew up in."
Despite a year in which women made historic gains behind the camera, female directors were again shut out of best director. The most likely candidate was Greta Gerwig ("Little Women"), who was the last woman nominated, two years ago for "Lady Bird."
"Congratulations to those men," said Issa Rae, who presented the nominees alongside John Cho.
Rebecca Goldman, chief operating officer for Time's Up said of the lack of women nominated for directing: "This is why Time's Up exists — to ensure women in entertainment and across industries get the opportunities and recognition they deserve."
There were many surprises. Awkwafina, who was poised to become just the second Asian American nominated for best actress (the first, 1936 nominee Merle Oberon, hid her South Asian heritage), wasn't nominated for her acclaimed leading performance in "The Farewell." Also overlooked for best animated film was "Frozen 2," the highest grossing animated film ever; Beyoncé, for her "Lion King" song; and the hit documentary "Apollo 11."
Most glaringly, Jennifer Lopez, long considered a supporting actress front-runner for her performance in "Hustlers," was also denied her first Oscar nomination.
Those oversights left the Oscars with their least diverse field since the fallout of #OscarsSoWhite pushed the film academy to diversify its membership. The only actor of color nominated was Cynthia Erivo, the British actress, for her Harriet Tubman in "Harriet." Last week, the British film academy nominated only white performers, leading Erivo to decline an invitation to perform.
Bong Joon Ho's "Parasite," however, made history for South Korea. Along with the country's first nomination for best international film, the Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or-winner also scored nods for Bong's direction, best editing and best production design.
No filmmaking couple has had an Oscar nominations morning quite like Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, director of the divorce drama "Marriage Story." Their movies were each nominated for best picture, best screenplay (adapted for Gerwig; original for Baumbach) and six nominations in total.
"Little Women" producer Amy Pascal, the former Sony Pictures chief, said she would celebrate with Gerwig and Baumbach at dinner Monday evening. On Gerwig's lack of directing nod, Pascal said: "I wish it were otherwise. But we're so proud this morning."
Nominations for "Marriage Story" included nods for its leads, Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson, and Laura Dern for best supporting actress. Johansson, also nominated for her supporting turn in "Jo Jo Rabbit," became the first two-time acting nominee since Cate Blanchett managed the feat in 2007.
Also nominated for best actress was Renée Zellweger, considered the front-runner for her Judy Garland in "Judy"; Charlize Theron ("Bombshell"); and Soairse Ronan ("Little Women"). Just 25 years old, Ronan now has four Oscar nominations.
Joining Driver, DiCaprio and Phoenix for best actor were Jonathan Pryce, who stars as Pope Francis in "The Two Popes"; and Antonio Banderas, who plays a semi-fictionalized version of director Pedro Almodóvar in "Pain and Glory." One of the year's most competitive categories, those selections left out Eddie Murphy ("Dolemite Is My Name"), Robert De Niro ("The Irishman") and Adam Sandler ("Uncut Gems").
"What are the odds that you are being directed by your own character? Very rare, right?" said Banderas by phone Monday.
Tom Hanks received his first Oscar nomination since "Cast Away" 19 years ago for his Mister Rogers in "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood." But Pitt, who is heading toward his first acting Academy Award, is the overwhelming favorite among the supporting actor nominees. Joining Pacino and Pesci was Pryce's papal co-star, Anthony Hopkins.
Along with Dern and Johnson, the nominees for best supporting actress were Kathy Bates ("Richard Jewell"), Florence Pugh ("Little Women") and Margot Robbie ("Bombshell").
"American Factory," the first film from Barack and Michelle Obama's recently launched production company, Higher Ground, was nominated for best documentary. Said Obama: "It's the kind of story we don't see often enough and it's exactly what Michelle and I hope to achieve with Higher Ground."
"Honeyland," about a wild bee keeper in rural Macedonia, became the first film ever nominated for both best documentary and best international film. The film, directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubo Stefanov, began as a short video commission from Macedonia's Nature Conservation Project and grew into one of the year's most acclaimed releases.
Also up for best documentary are: "For Sama," "The Edge of Democracy" and the Syrian Civil War film "The Cave." Feras Fayyad, director of "The Cave," was nominated in 2018 for his "Last Men in Aleppo" but was unable to attend the Oscars when his visa was rejected because of President Donald Trump's travel ban.
"I wish my film, which provides clear evidence of crimes against humanity committed by Bashar al-Assad's Syrian regime and his Russian conspirators, did not need to exist," Fayyad said in a statement. "I wish I was still in Damascus drinking coffee with my artist friends."
The other nominees for best international film were "Pain and Glory" from Spain, "Les Miserables" from France and "Corpus Christi" from Poland.
The nominees for best animated feature film were: "How to Train a Dragon: The Hidden World"; "Toy Story 4"; "I Lost My Body"; "Klaus"; "Missing Link."
After the most dominant box-office year in Hollywood history, the Walt Disney Co.'s top films — including the record-setting Marvel blockbuster "Avengers: Endgame" — were largely relegated to categories like best visual effects. The studio, which has never won a best picture Academy Award, does have a few contenders via its acquisition in April of 20th Century Fox: best-picture nominees "Ford v Ferrari" and "Jojo Rabbit."
The 92nd Academy Awards will take place Feb. 9 in Los Angeles at the Dolby Theatre. ABC will again broadcast the show, viewership for which last year rose 12% to 29.6 million. Like last year, this year's ceremony will go without a host.
Another thing that will be the same: John Williams ("Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker") is again a nominee for best score. His 52 nominations are second only to Walt Disney's 59.
AP Entertainment Writers Jonathan Landrum Jr. and Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Here’s a full rundown of nominees:
Performance by an actor in a leading role
Antonio Banderas in “Pain and Glory” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Leonardo DiCaprio in “Once upon a Time…in Hollywood” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Adam Driver in “Marriage Story” (Netflix)
Joaquin Phoenix in “Joker” (Warner Bros.)
Jonathan Pryce in “The Two Popes” (Netflix)
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Tom Hanks in “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Anthony Hopkins in “The Two Popes” (Netflix)
Al Pacino in “The Irishman” (Netflix)
Joe Pesci in “The Irishman” (Netflix)
Brad Pitt in “Once upon a Time…in Hollywood” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Performance by an actress in a leading role
Cynthia Erivo in “Harriet” (Focus Features)
Scarlett Johansson in “Marriage Story” (Netflix)
Saoirse Ronan in “Little Women” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Charlize Theron in “Bombshell” (Lionsgate)
Renée Zellweger in “Judy” (LD Entertainment and Roadside Attractions)
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Kathy Bates in “Richard Jewell” (Warner Bros.)
Laura Dern in “Marriage Story” (Netflix)
Scarlett Johansson in “Jojo Rabbit” (Fox Searchlight)
Florence Pugh in “Little Women” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Margot Robbie in “Bombshell” (Lionsgate)
Best animated feature film of the year
“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” (Universal) Dean DeBlois, Bradford Lewis and Bonnie Arnold
“I Lost My Body” (Netflix) Jérémy Clapin and Marc du Pontavice
“Klaus” (Netflix) Sergio Pablos, Jinko Gotoh and Marisa Román
“Missing Link” (United Artists Releasing) Chris Butler, Arianne Sutner and Travis Knight
“Toy Story 4” (Walt Disney) Josh Cooley, Mark Nielsen and Jonas Rivera
Achievement in cinematography
“The Irishman” (Netflix) Rodrigo Prieto
“Joker” (Warner Bros.) Lawrence Sher
“The Lighthouse” (A24) Jarin Blaschke
“1917” (Universal/Amblin Partners) Roger Deakins
“Once upon a Time…in Hollywood” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Robert Richardson
Achievement in costume design
“The Irishman” (Netflix) Sandy Powell and Christopher Peterson
“Jojo Rabbit” (Fox Searchlight) Mayes C. Rubeo
“Joker” (Warner Bros.) Mark Bridges
“Little Women” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Jacqueline Durran
“Once upon a Time…in Hollywood” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Arianne Phillips
Achievement in directing
“The Irishman” (Netflix) Martin Scorsese
“Joker” (Warner Bros.) Todd Phillips
“1917” (Universal/Amblin Partners) Sam Mendes
“Once upon a Time…in Hollywood” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Quentin Tarantino
“Parasite” (Neon) Bong Joon Ho
Best documentary feature
“American Factory” (Netflix)
A Higher Ground Productions and Participant Media Production
Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert and Jeff Reichert
“The Cave” (National Geographic)
A National Geographic Documentary Films/Danish Documentary Production in co-production with Ma.Ja.De/Hecat Studio Paris/Madam Films Production
Feras Fayyad, Kirstine Barfod and Sigrid Dyekjær
“The Edge of Democracy” (Netflix)
A Busca Vida Filmes in association with Violet Films Production
Petra Costa, Joanna Natasegara, Shane Boris
and Tiago Pavan
“For Sama” (PBS Distribution/Channel 4/Frontline)
A Channel 4 News/ITN Productions/Channel 4/Frontline/PBS Production
Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts
“Honeyland” (Neon)
A Pharmachem/Apolo Media/Trice Films Production
Ljubo Stefanov, Tamara Kotevska and Atanas Georgiev
Best documentary short subject
“In the Absence”
A Field of Vision Production
Yi Seung-Jun and Gary Byung-Seok Kam
“Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)” (A+E Networks)
A Grain Media Production
Carol Dysinger and Elena Andreicheva
“Life Overtakes Me” (Netflix)
A Stylo Films Production
John Haptas and Kristine Samuelson
“St. Louis Superman” (MTV Documentary Films/AJE Witness)
An AJE Witness and Meralta Films Production
Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan
“Walk Run Cha-Cha” (The New York Times Op-Docs)
A Concordia Studio Production
Laura Nix and Colette Sandstedt
Achievement in film editing
“Ford v Ferrari” (Walt Disney) Michael McCusker and Andrew Buckland
“The Irishman” (Netflix) Thelma Schoonmaker
“Jojo Rabbit” (Fox Searchlight) Tom Eagles
“Joker” (Warner Bros.) Jeff Groth
“Parasite” (Neon) Yang Jinmo
Best international feature film of the year
“Corpus Christi”
An Aurum Film Production
Poland
“Honeyland”
A Pharmachem/Apolo Media/Trice Films Production
North Macedonia
“Les Misérables”
An SRAB Films Production
France
“Pain and Glory”
An El Primer Deseo/El Deseo Production
Spain
“Parasite”
A Barunson E&A Production
South Korea
Achievement in makeup and hairstyling
“Bombshell” (Lionsgate) Kazu Hiro, Anne Morgan and Vivian Baker
“Joker” (Warner Bros.) Nicki Ledermann and Kay Georgiou
“Judy” (LD Entertainment and Roadside Attractions) Jeremy Woodhead
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” (Walt Disney) Paul Gooch, Arjen Tuiten and David White
“1917” (Universal/Amblin Partners) Naomi Donne, Tristan Versluis and Rebecca Cole
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“Joker” (Warner Bros.) Hildur Guðnadóttir
“Little Women” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Alexandre Desplat
“Marriage Story” (Netflix) Randy Newman
“1917” (Universal/Amblin Partners) Thomas Newman
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” (Walt Disney) John Williams
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” from “Toy Story 4”
(Walt Disney)
Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
“(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from “Rocketman”
(Paramount)
Music by Elton John
Lyric by Bernie Taupin
“I’m Standing With You” from “Breakthrough”
(Walt Disney)
Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
“Into The Unknown” from “Frozen II”
(Walt Disney)
Music and Lyric by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and
Robert Lopez
“Stand Up” from “Harriet”
(Focus Features)
Music and Lyric by Joshuah Brian Campbell and
Cynthia Erivo
Best motion picture of the year
“Ford v Ferrari” (Walt Disney)
A 20th Century Fox Production
Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping and James Mangold, Producers
“The Irishman” (Netflix)
A Netflix/Tribeca Productions/Sikelia
Productions/Winkler Films Production
Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Producers
“Jojo Rabbit” (Fox Searchlight)
A Defender Films/Piki Films Production
Carthew Neal and Taika Waititi, Producers
“Joker” (Warner Bros.)
A Joint Effort Production
Todd Phillips, Bradley Cooper and Emma Tillinger
Koskoff, Producers
“Little Women” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
A Columbia Pictures/Regency Enterprises Production
Amy Pascal, Producer
“Marriage Story” (Netflix)
A Netflix/HeyDay Films Production
Noah Baumbach and David Heyman, Producers
“1917” (Universal/Amblin Partners)
A DreamWorks Pictures Production
Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris, Jayne-Ann Tenggren and Callum McDougall, Producers
“Once upon a Time…in Hollywood” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
A Columbia Pictures Production
David Heyman, Shannon McIntosh and Quentin Tarantino, Producers
“Parasite” (Neon)
A Barunson E&A Production
Kwak Sin Ae and Bong Joon Ho, Producers
Achievement in production design
“The Irishman” (Netflix)
Production Design: Bob Shaw
Set Decoration: Regina Graves
“Jojo Rabbit” (Fox Searchlight)
Production Design: Ra Vincent
Set Decoration: Nora Sopkova
“1917” (Universal/Amblin Partners)
Production Design: Dennis Gassner
Set Decoration: Lee Sandales
“Once upon a Time…in Hollywood” (Sony Pictures
Releasing)
Production Design: Barbara Ling
Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh
“Parasite” (Neon)
Production Design: Lee Ha Jun
Set Decoration: Cho Won Woo
Best animated short film
“Dcera (Daughter)” (Miyu Distribution)
A FAMU/MAUR Film Production
Daria Kashcheeva
“Hair Love” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
A Matthew A. Cherry Entertainment/Lion Forge
Animation/Blue Key Entertainment Production
Matthew A. Cherry and Karen Rupert Toliver
“Kitbull” (Walt Disney)
A Pixar Animation Studios Production
Rosana Sullivan and Kathryn Hendrickson
“Memorable”
A Vivement Lundi ! Production
Bruno Collet and Jean-François Le Corre
“Sister”
A California Institute of the Arts Production
Siqi Song
Best live action short film
“Brotherhood” (Travelling, les films qui voyagent)
A Midi La Nuit/Cinetelefilms/Laika Film & Television Production
Meryam Joobeur and Maria Gracia Turgeon
“Nefta Football Club”
A Les Valseurs Production
Yves Piat and Damien Megherbi
“The Neighbors’ Window”
A Marshall Curry Production
Marshall Curry
“Saria”
A Hungry Man Inc. Production
Bryan Buckley and Matt Lefebvre
“A Sister”
A Versus Production
Delphine Girard
Achievement in sound editing
“Ford v Ferrari” (Walt Disney) Donald Sylvester
“Joker” (Warner Bros.) Alan Robert Murray
“1917” (Universal/Amblin Partners) Oliver Tarney and Rachael Tate
“Once upon a Time…in Hollywood” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Wylie Stateman
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” (Walt Disney) Matthew Wood and David Acord
Achievement in sound mixing
“Ad Astra” (Walt Disney) Gary Rydstrom, Tom Johnson and Mark Ulano
“Ford v Ferrari” (Walt Disney) Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Steven A. Morrow
“Joker” (Warner Bros.) Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic and Tod Maitland
“1917” (Universal/Amblin Partners) Mark Taylor and Stuart Wilson
“Once upon a Time…in Hollywood” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Michael Minkler, Christian P. Minkler and Mark Ulano
Achievement in visual effects
“Avengers: Endgame” (Walt Disney) Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Matt Aitken and Dan Sudick
“The Irishman” (Netflix) Pablo Helman, Leandro Estebecorena, Nelson
Sepulveda-Fauser and Stephane Grabli
“The Lion King” (Walt Disney) Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones and Elliot Newman
“1917” (Universal/Amblin Partners) Guillaume Rocheron, Greg Butler and Dominic Tuohy
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” (Walt Disney) Roger Guyett, Neal Scanlan, Patrick Tubach and Dominic Tuohy
Adapted screenplay
“The Irishman” (Netflix) Screenplay by Steven Zaillian
“Jojo Rabbit” (Fox Searchlight) Screenplay by Taika Waititi
“Joker” (Warner Bros.) Written by Todd Phillips & Scott Silver
“Little Women” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Written for the screen by Greta Gerwig
“The Two Popes” (Netflix) Written by Anthony McCarten
Original screenplay
“Knives Out” (Lionsgate) Written by Rian Johnson
“Marriage Story” (Netflix) Written by Noah Baumbach
“1917” (Universal/Amblin Partners) Written by Sam Mendes & Krysty Wilson-Cairns
“Once upon a Time…in Hollywood” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Written by Quentin Tarantino
“Parasite” (Neon) Screenplay by Bong Joon Ho, Han Jin Won. Story by Bong Joon Ho
