The Associated Press
NEW YORK–Guillermo del Toro’s lavish monster romance, “The Shape of Water,” fished out a leading 13 nominations, Greta Gerwig became just the fifth woman nominated for best director, and “Mudbound” director of photography Rachel Morrison made history as the first woman nominated for best cinematography in nominations announced this morning for the 90th-annual Academy Awards.
“The Shape of Water,” shot in Toronto and Hamilton, came just shy of tying the record of 14 nominations shared by “All About Eve,” “Titanic,” and “La La Land.”
Toronto native J. Miles Dale shares in the best picture nomination for the film.
Oscar voters put forward nine best-picture nominees: “The Shape of Water,” Martin McDonaugh’s rage-fuelled comic drama “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Gerwig’s nuanced coming-of-age tale “Lady Bird,” Jordan Peele’s horror sensation “Get Out,” Joe Wright’s Winston Churchill drama “Darkest Hour,” Steven Spielberg’s timely newspaper drama “The Post,” Christopher Nolan’s World War II epic “Dunkirk,” Luca Guadagnino’s tender love story “Call Me By Your Name,” and Paul Thomas Anderson’s twisted romance “Phantom Thread.”
Del Toro’s dark fantasy scored a wide array for nominations for its cast (Sally Hawkins, Richard Jenkins, and Octavia Spencer), del Toro’s directing, its sumptuous score (by Alexandre Desplat), and technical craft.
“It is a privilege to tell such stories and to be able to make films that show there is a life beyond the life that people know–one that is not always seen,” said best actress nominee Hawkins.
The cascading fallout of sexual harassment scandals throughout Hollywood put particular focus on the best director category, which for many is a symbol of gender inequality in the film industry.
Gerwig follows only Lina Wertmuller, Jane Campion, Sofia Coppola, and Kathryn Bigelow, the sole woman to win (for “The Hurt Locker”).
Also nominated for best director was Peele. He becomes the fifth black filmmaker nominated for best director, and the third to helm a best-picture nominee, following Barry Jenkins last year for “Moonlight.”
He’s also just the third person to receive best picture, director, and writing nods for his first feature film after Warren Beatty (“Heaven Can Wait”) and James L. Brooks (“Terms of Endearment”).
Though all of the acting front-runners–Frances McDormand (“Three Billboards”), Gary Oldman (“Darkest Hour”), Allison Janney (“I, Tonya”), and Sam Rockwell (“Three Billboards”)–landed their expected nominations, there were surprises.
Denzel Washington (“Roman J. Israel, Esq.”) was nominated for best actor, likely eclipsing James Franco (“Disaster Artist”).
Franco was accused of sexual misconduct, which he denied, just days before Oscar voting closed.
The category’s other nominees were a retiring veteran–Daniel Day-Lewis for what he’s said is his final performance (“Phantom Thread”)–and a pair of breakouts: Timothee Chalamet (“Call Me By Your Name”) and Daniel Kaluuya (“Get Out”).
Christopher Plummer, who replaced Kevin Spacey in Ridley Scott’s “All the Money in the World,” also sneaked into the best supporting actor category.
Added to the film in reshoots little more than a month before the film’s release, Plummer is now, at 88, the oldest acting nominee ever.
Perhaps most unexpected was the broad success of Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Phantom Thread,” which scored not only nods for Day-Lewis and Lesley Manville, for best supporting actress, but also nominations for best picture, Anderson’s direction, costume design, and Johnny Greenwood’s score.
Anderson likely displaced not only Steven Spielberg (“The Post”) but Martin McDonagh, the director of the film many have tapped to win best picture, “Three Billboards.”
His absence is a major knock for a film that has endured the harshest backlash of the contenders, with many claiming it’s out of touch in matters of race.
Though the favourites are largely independent films, a number of blockbusters fared well, including five nods for “Blade Runner 2049,” four for “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” three for “Baby Driver,” two for “Beauty and the Beast,” and two for Pixar’s “Coco,” which is up for best animated feature.
Still, Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman,” which became the highest-grossing movie ever directed by a woman, failed to receive any Oscar nods despite an awards campaign.
But the box-office hit that carved the most unlikely path to the Oscars was “Get Out.” It opened back in February on Oscar weekend, and went on to pocket $254.7 million worldwide.
It scored four nominations.
Though many minorities still were absent from the acting categories, the film academy, which has worked to diversify its membership, put forward a field of nominees almost as diverse as last year when “Moonlight,” “Fences,” and “Hidden Figures” powered a rebuttal to the “OscarsSoWhite” backlash of the two years prior.
Four black actors–Washington, Kaluuya, Spencer, and Mary J. Blige (“Mudbound”)–are among the 20 acting nominees.
Meryl Streep, who stars as Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham in “The Post,” notched her 21st Oscar nomination.
She was joined for best actress by McDormand, Hawkins, Saoirse Ronan (“Lady Bird”), and Margot Robbie (“I, Tonya”).
