In no particular order, here are my thoughts on the 2020 Academy Award nominations.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL NOMINATION LIST
1. Scarlett Johansson had a GREAT year.
Avengers: Endgame was a massive success and she leads the pack with her own Marvel film (Black Widow) coming out in mid 2020 – but she also took on some roles that are getting a lot of attention. Nominated in BOTH major actress categories – her role in JoJo Rabbit gets a Best Supporting nod and her role in Marriage Story gets a Best Actress. Her biggest competition in Best Actress would be Renee Zellwegger and my only reasoning behind that is because she already won the Golden Globe. Competition in Best Supporting is largely in Kathy Bates. I wouldn’t rule out – in fact I am rooting for – her to bring home the award in BOTH! It is possible she’ll split votes though and only get a vote on one or the other, hurting her chances.
2. Greta Gerwig snubbed
Little Women is all over this Oscars board. Best Picture included – but Greta Gerwig is not up for Best Director. The Oscars are notoriously unkind to women in roles outside of acting and this is a great example. She SHOULD be up there. Who would I kick off – that’s a tough choice, but it would be Scorsese.
3. Frozen 2 Isn’t Included in Best Animated Feature
Disney still gets in that category with Toy Story 4 (thanks Pixar) but this goes to show that the sequel just doesn’t muster the same acclaim as the first one. Best original song has Frozen 2 listed…but don’t count on that to win.
4. JoJo Rabbit Gets Some Serious Love
One of my favorite movies of 2019 – which is incredibly hard to pitch to someone – is in a lot of categories, including Best Picture. The story of a young boy who has an imaginary friend…Adolf Hilter…goes to war on hate. This Hilter Youth goes through a mine field of emotions. Stellar performances by Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell and Taika Waititi create a movie that will stick to your mind like oatmeal sticks to my stomach on a cold winter day.
5. Ford vs. Ferrari All Technical and Best Picture?
This surprised me, a lot! Ford vs Ferrari was an awesome movie and I expected it to get plenty of technical awards like editing and sound, because any good movie about an auto race should. But then to see it in the Best Picture category out of nowhere was a shocker. No acting nods or a random director nomination. It deserves plenty of praise – but it would be a long journey to Best Picture, even if it has a Shelby engine inside.
6. Do Pesci and Pacino cancel each other out in Best Supporting Actor?
Both of these guys were great in The Irishmen. No doubt about it. BUT you can only vote for one…does this mean some vote for one and some vote for another? This could be the lowest percentage winner in Academy history. These are all great actors who deserve this award and I think it will be difficult for voters to pick one. Honestly, when you are filling out your ballot – just have someone pick a number one through five. Although…with a huge split on this one (Pitt already has the Golden Globe, Hanks is an Oscar Heavy, etc…) Jonathan Pryce from The Two Popes should prep a speech, just in case.
7. The announcements were…meh
Watching the announcements were a chore. Weird chemistry and awkward jokes made for a looooooooong morning. No ideas on how to freshen these up – but someone smarter or more creative than I am needs to step in with some fresh ideas!
Less than a month from now you can tune into tinseltown’s big night on Sunday, February 9th. Host-less, but at least you’ll get a whole night of Randy Newman!
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