The 2017 Oscar nominations are in and of course causing as much controversy as they have in recent years. With La La Land leading the pack with fourteen nominations tying with Titanic and All About Eve for record number of nominations for a single film.
The Oscars seems to be trying to distance itself from the past two years criticism of #OscarsSoWhite as seven out of the twenty actors nominated are people of colour. Actors Denzel Washingon, Ruth Negga, Mahershala Ali, Dev Patel, Viola Davis, Naomie Harris and Octavia Spencer were announced as nominees, along with directors Barry Jenkins, Raoul Peck, Herbert Peck and Ava DuVernay. Whilst films like Fences and Hidden Figures focus on struggles that faced black people in America. However, there is still a call for more diverse nominees as there were no Hispanic nominees and only one Asian nominee.
However nominations for Casey Affleck, for best actor, and Mel Gibson, for best director, caused outrage. Casey Affleck was accused of sexual assault in 2010 whilst directing a film about his brother Joaquin Phoenix. Whilst Mel Gibson infamously went on a drunken anti-Semitic, misogynistic 2006 rant, as well having charges of domestic abuse against his ex-wife.
Now it wouldn’t be the Oscars if they didn’t snub some great films, actors and directors. Although, Deadpool seemed like a long shot fans were giving a glimmer of hope as it received nominations from the Golden Globes, Writers Guild and Directors Guild. Actors that were snubbed included Amy Adams for Arrival and the amazing Taraji P. Henson for Hidden Figures. Hollywood favourite, Tom Hanks also missed out on a nom for Sully. Whilst Martin Scorsese and Denzel Washington missed out on the Best Director nods.
There were three Irish nominations in amongst it all. Of course, Ruth Negga received a best actress nomination for her role in Loving. The Lobster which was co-produced by Irish production company Element Pictures received a nomination for Best Original Screenplay and Consolata Boyle was nominated for Best Costume for her work on Florence Foster Jenkins.
So without further adue here are a rundown of the latest Academy Award nods.
BEST PICTURE
Arrival
Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
La La Land
Lion
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
BEST DIRECTOR
Denis Villeneuve, Arrival
Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge
Damien Chazelle, La La Land
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
BEST ACTOR
Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling, La La Land
Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington, Fences
BEST ACTRESS
Isabelle Huppert, Elle
Ruth Negga, Loving
Natalie Portman, Jackie
Emma Stone, La La Land
Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea
Dev Patel, Lion
Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Viola Davis, Fences
Naomie Harris, Moonlight
Nicole Kidman, Lion
Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Hell or High Water
La La Land
The Lobster
Manchester by the Sea
20th Century Women
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Arrival
Fences
Hidden Figures
Lion
Moonlight
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Arrival
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Silence
BEST FILM EDITING
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
La La Land
Moonlight
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Deepwater Horizon
Doctor Strange
The Jungle Book
Kubo and the Two Strings
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Arrival
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Hail, Caesar!
La La Land
Passengers
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Allied
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Florence Foster Jenkins
Jackie
La La Land
BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
A Man Called Ove
Star Trek Beyond
Suicide Squad
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Jackie
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Passengers
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Audition (The Fools Who Dream),” La La Land
“Can’t Stop the Feeling,” Trolls
“City of Stars,” La La Land
“The Empty Chair,” Jim: The James Foley Story
“How Far I’ll Go,” Moana
BEST SOUND EDITING
Arrival
Deepwater Horizon
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Sully
BEST SOUND MIXING
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
My Life as a Zucchini
The Red Turtle
Zootopia
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Fire at Sea
I Am Not Your Negro
Life, Animated
O.J.: Made in America
13th
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Land of Mine
A Man Called Ove
The Salesman
Tanna
Toni Erdmann
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
Extremis
4.1 Miles
Joe’s Violin
Watani: My Homeland
The White Helmets
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT
Ennemis Entreniers
La Femme et le TGV
Silent Nights
Sing
Timecode
BEST ANIMATED SHORT
Blind Vaysha
Borrowed Time
Pear Cider and Cigarettes
Pearl
Piper
Bronwyn O’Neill