From Taron Egerton to Cynthia Erivo to ‘Honeyland,’ Stats and History of the 2020 Oscar Nominations
Hemming and hawing aside, snubs and anger subsiding, each year the Oscar nominations bring forth history, statistic breakers and a handful of interesting notes to brighten and lighten the morning. Here are just a few.
BEST PICTURE
For the first time ever in Oscar history, four movies got 10 or more nominations (Joker, 1917, The Irishman, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood).
2020 is a record number of female producers nominated in a single year including two for Emma Tillinger Koskoff, who produced The Irishman and Joker. Other female producers were Amy Pascal (Little Women), Jenno Topping (Ford v Ferrari), Jane Rosenthal (The Irishman), Pippa Harris and Jayne-Ann Tenggren (1917) and Shannon McIntosh (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood).
Currently three of the nine Best Picture nominees have grossed over $100 million domestically. 1917 and Little Women will both soon cross the mark as well, giving us the second most $100+ million BP nominees ever, behind only 2012 (7) and tied with 2009 and 2010.
This is the first time both Palme d’Or and Golden Lion winners (Parasite and Joker, respectively) have been nominated for Best Picture.
Five actors starred in two best picture nominees this year: Scarlett Johansson (Jojo Rabbit and Marriage Story), Laura Dern (Little Women and Marriage Story), Robert De Niro (The Irishman and Joker), Al Pacino (The Irishman and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), and Tracy Letts (Ford v Ferrari and Little Women).
At 11, Joker is the most-nominated comic book-based film, beating 2008’s The Dark Knight’s 8.
BEST DIRECTOR
With his ninth Directing nomination, Martin Scorsese is the most-nominated living director. Only William Wyler has more nominations in the category, with a total of 12.
BEST ACTOR
Joaquin Phoenix (Joker) is now tied with Christian Bale as the 2nd most nominated actor born in 1970s with 4 and tied with Anthony Quinn as the actor born in a Latin American territory with most Oscar noms with 4 (Phoenix was born in Puerto Rico).
Jonathan Pryce (along with Anthony Hopkins of The Two Popes) is the first actor nominated for playing the Pope. He’s also the oldest ever British nominee in this category. Two Popes writer Anthony McCarten is now 4/4 in Best Actor from screenplays he’s written. The last three (Rami Malek, Gary Oldman, Eddie Redmayne) won.
Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory) is the third Spanish actor nominated for an Oscar after the Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz and the 8th Leading Actor nominated for a full non-English speaking role after Marcello Mastroianni, Giancarlo Giannini, Max Von Sydow, Gerard Depardieu, Massimo Troisi, Roberto Benigni and Javier Bardem.
The last time both Comedy/Musical Golden Globe acting wins were snubbed is 2009 (Sally Hawkins and Colin Farrell). This year was Taron Egerton (Rocketman) and Awkwafina). Egerton is the first actor to miss an Oscar nomination after winning the Globe and being nominated at SAG and BAFTA.
BEST ACTRESS
Cynthia Erivo is only the third person to be nominated for both acting and song in the same year (for the same film) after Mary J. Blige and Lady Gaga. After never happening, this is the third year in a row that is has. She is also the first Black British actress nominated in this category and the fourth after 1996’s Marianne Jean-Baptiste, 2004’s Sophie Okonedo and 2016’s Naomie Harris (all in supporting). Kasi Lemmons is only the 3rd Black woman to direct an Oscar-nominated performance following Euzhan Palcy (Marlon Brando in a Dry White Season) and Dee Rees (Mary J. Blige in Mudbound) but the first ever in this category.
The last time both Comedy/Musical Golden Globe acting wins were snubbed is 2009 (Sally Hawkins and Colin Farrell). This year was Taron Egerton (Rocketman) and Awkwafina).
Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story) is the 12th person to be double-nominated in a single year and the first to do so as their first two nominations since Jamie Foxx (2004’s Ray and Collateral).
At age 25, Saoirse Ronan (Little Women) is the youngest actor to reach 4 nominations, tying with Jennifer Lawrence (who was a few months younger when she got her 4th nomination in 2015). Unlike Lawrence, however, all of her nominations come from Best Picture nominees.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
First time since 2012 that all nominees in one category (Supporting Actor in both cases) were previous winners.
The gaps between nominations for these nominees is kind of staggering: Tom Hanks – 19 years, Anthony Hopkins – 22 years, Brad Pitt – 24 years (he has been nominated in lead and won BP as a producer since), Al Pacino – 27 years, Joe Pesci – 29 years.
Anthony Hopkins (along with Best Actor nominee Jonathan Pryce of The Two Popes) is the first actor nominated for playing the Pope. He is also now the most-nominated Welsh actor with 5 nominations.
Joe Pesci is tied in second place as the most nominated actor in this category with 3 alongside names like Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christopher Plummer, Jack Palance, Mark Ruffalo, Peter Ustinov, Willem Dafoe and others.
Al Pacino is now the second current living most nominated actor after Jack Nicholson. He’s also now tied with Paul Newman and Spencer Tracy with 9 noms, in third place, just behind Jack Nicholson (12) and Laurence Olivier (10) and tied in second place as the most nominated actor in this category with 3 alongside Joe Pesci, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christopher Plummer, Jack Palance, Mark Ruffalo, Peter Ustinov, Willem Dafoe and others.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Laura Dern (Marriage Story) her mother Diane Ladd with 3 Oscar nominations. Keeping it in the family, Dern (Marriage Story & Little Women) and her father Bruce Dern (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) both starred in Best Picture nominees.
Scarlett Johansson (Jojo Rabbit) is the 12th person to be double-nominated in a single year and the first to do so as their first two nominations since Jamie Foxx (2004’s Ray and Collateral).
Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers) was the critics leader (with 13 wins to Dern’s 12) but was snubbed on Oscar morning.
OTHERS OF NOTE:
A record 62 women were nominated, almost one third of this year’s nominees.
Honeyland is the first movie to be nominated for International Feature (formerly Foreign Language) and Documentary Feature.
Mayes C. Rubeo is the first ever Mexican native to be nominated for Costume Design (Jojo Rabbit).
John Williams continues to add to his record number of music scoring nominations with his 47th (for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker). His overall total of 52 nominations (including five for Original Song) is the most for any living person, and second only to Walt Disney at 59.
Randy Newman’s ninth nomination for Original Score and thirteenth nomination for Original Song, and Thomas Newman’s 15th nomination for Original Score, bring the total for members of the Newman family (Alfred, Lionel, Emil, Thomas, David and Randy) to 93, more than any other family.
“I’m Standing With You” from Breakthrough is Diane Warren’s 3rd consecutive Original Song nomination. She now has 11 nominations without a win.
Every film in the Toy Story franchise has been nominated for Original Song.
With his tenth nomination, Alan Robert Murray has set a record for the Sound Editing category. He has won twice (2006’s Sands of Iwo Jima and 2014’s American Sniper).
Nomination tallies for this year’s acting nominees:
Al Pacino – 9
Leonardo DiCaprio – 6
Tom Hanks – 6
Anthony Hopkins – 5
Brad Pitt – 4
Joaquin Phoenix – 4
Kathy Bates – 4
Renée Zellweger – 4
Saoirse Ronan – 4
Charlize Theron – 3
Joe Pesci – 3
Laura Dern – 3
Adam Driver – 2
Margot Robbie – 2
Scarlett Johansson – 2 (double nominee)
Antonio Banderas – 1
Cynthia Erivo – 1
Florence Pugh – 1
Jonathan Pryce – 1
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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