NEW YORK (AP) – David Fincher’s “Mank” led the 93rd Academy Awards nominations with 10 kinks on Monday, and for the first time, two women – Chloé Zhao and Emerald Fennell – were tipped for best director.
Eight films were nominated for the best film. ‘Mank’ was joined by Fennell’s ‘Promising Young Woman’, Zhao’s ‘Nomadland’, ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’, ‘Sound of Metal’, ‘Minari’, ‘The Father’ and ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7.’
History was made in the best director category. Only five women have ever been nominated in the category before. Zhao is the first woman of Asian descent to receive a nod – and the most nominated woman in one year in Oscar history. She also received nominations for the film’s adapted screenplay, editing and as a producer in the best picture category.
The other directors nominated were Lee Isaac Chung for “Minari”, Fincher for “Mank” and Thomas Vinterberg for “Another Round”.
For artists, it’s the most diverse line of nominees ever – and unlike the all-white actor nominees who spawned the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite five years ago. Nine of the 20 acting nominees are people of color, including a posthumous nomination for best actor for Chadwick Boseman (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”), and nods for Riz Ahmed (“Sound of Metal”), Steven Yeun (“Minari”), Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield (“Judas and the Black Messiah”), Leslie Odom Jr. (“One Night in Miami”), Viola Davis (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”), Andra Day (“The People vs. Billie Holiday”) and Yuh-Jung Youn (“Minari”).
Davis, who won for her performance in 2016’s ‘Fences’, received her fourth Oscar nomination, making Davis the most nominated black actress ever. Yeun is the first Asian-American ever to be nominated for Best Actor.
The other Best Actress nominees are: Carey Mulligan, “Promising Young Woman”; Frances McDormand, “Nomadland”; Vanessa Kirby, “Pieces of a Woman.”
The other nominees for best actor are: Anthony Hopkins, “The Father”; Gary Oldman, “Limp.”
After a pandemic year that closed most cinemas, the best film nominees barely had a box office to talk about. Not only will the Oscars miss box office hits, it also moves forward with many movies barely played on the big screen. That ensures that streaming services will dominate Hollywood’s biggest and most sought-after awards.
Netflix led the pack, as expected, with 35 nominations. The service is still looking for the first best film winner, and this year there are two shots in “Mank” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7” – a movie that Paramount Pictures sold out during the pandemic. Netflix also led with 24 nominations last year, but got away with just two wins.
Other streamers were in the mix. Amazon in particular was well represented with “Sound of Metal”, “Borat Subsequent Movie Film” and “One Night in Miami.”
The nominations have been announced from London by presenters Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. The Academy Awards would usually have happened by now, but this year were delayed for two months due to the pandemic. They will instead air on April 25.
The film academy confirmed on Monday that the show will be held at both its usual home at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles and at the city’s railroad junction, Union Station.
Besides Youn, the nominees for Best Supporting Actress are: Maria Bakalova, “Borat Subsequent Movie Film”; Glenn Close, “Hillbilly Elegy”; Olivia Colman, “The Father”; Amanda Seyfried, “Limp.”
In addition to Odom Jr., Kaluuya and Stanfield, the nominees for Best Supporting Actor are: Sacha Baron Cohen, “The Trial of the Chicago 7”; Paul Raci, “Sound of Metal.”
The nominees for the best documentary are: “Collective”; “Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution”; “The Mole Agent”; “My Octopus Teacher”; “Time.”
The nominees for the best international film are: “Quo Vadis, Aida?,” Bosnia and Herzegovina; “Another Round”, Denmark; Better Days, Hong Kong; “Collective”, Romania; “The Man Who Sold His Skin”, Tunisia.
The nominees for the best original song are: “Husavik” from “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga”; “Fight for You” from “Judas and the Black Messiah”; “Io Si (Seen)” from “The Life Ahead (La Vita Davanti a Se)”; Now pronounce “One Night in Miami”; and ‘Hear My Voice’ from ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7.’
The nominees for the best animation film: “Onward”; “About the Moon”; “A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon”; “Soul”; “Wolfwalkers.”
Best Original Screenplay nominees are “Judas and the Black Messiah”, Shaka King, and Will Berson; “Minari”, Lee Isaac Chung; “Promising Young Woman,” Emerald Fennell; Sound of Metal, Darius Marder and Abraham Marder; Trial of the Chicago 7, Aaron Sorkin.
The nominees for the best costume design are: Alexandra Byrne, “Emma”; Ann Roth, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”; Trish Summerville, “Mank”; Bina Daigeler “Mulan”; Massimo Cantini Parrini “Pinocchio.”
The film academy and ABC hope the nominees can generate more excitement than elsewhere. Interest in small gold statues declined during the pandemic. Ratings for a largely virtual Golden Globes fell to 6.9 million viewers – a 64% drop from 2020 – last month. But on Sunday, the Grammys managed to break the Zoom trap that has corrupted other awards shows.
With the notable exception fueling streaming subscriber growth, the pandemic is punishing the film industryProduction slowed to a crawl, blockbusters were postponed or diverted to streaming, and thousands were fired or on leave.
But the outlook for Hollywood has recently cleared up as coronavirus cases have declined and vaccines have increased. Cinemas are reopening in the two largest markets in the US, New York and Los Angeles. And several bigger movies – including Walt Disney Co.’s “Black Widow”. (May 7) – Scheduled for May and beyond.
Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP