With 13 nods, “The Shape of Water”, a lyrical drama about a mute cleaning lady’s unique bond with a sea creature, swept the 90th Academy Awards nominations, with James Franco and Tom Hanks snubbed in their Best Actor bids.
The Guillermo del Toro-directed film left touted favourites “Dunkirk” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” far behind. “The Shape of Water” was one nomination shy from becoming only the fourth movie in the Oscars history to bag a record 14 nods, levelling the stature held by “La La Land”, “All About Eve” and “Titanic”.
It was followed by Christopher Nolan’s war drama “Dunkirk” with eight, Martin McDonagh’s “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” with seven, Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Phantom Thread” and Joe Wright’s “Darkest Hour” with six nods each.
A total of nine films were nominated in the Best Picture segment, which also included “The Post”, “Get Out”, “Call Me By Your Name” and “Lady Bird”.
Greta Gerwig has become the fifth woman to be nominated for Best Director in the Oscars history for her coming-of-age film, “Ladybird”. The debutante filmmaker - the only woman nominee, who was snubbed at the Golden Globes along with “Wonder Woman”’s Patty Jenkins, found a mention at the round table of directors.
Veteran actor Meryl Streep received her 21st Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Katherine Graham in Steven Spielberg’s newspaper drama, “The Post” in the Best Actress category. She has won the Academy Award thrice. Nolan bagged his first-ever Oscar nomination for the Best Director for World War II drama “Dunkirk”, told from the perspectives of three elements - air, land and sea.
In the past, the ace filmmaker has failed to receive a nod for his critically-acclaimed movies and moneyspinners such as “The Dark Knight” and “Inception”.
Denzel Washington bagged his eighth nomination (ninth in total as his production “Fences” was nominated in the Best Picture category last year) in the Best Actor category for his part in the legal drama, “Ronan J Israel, Esq”.
The actor stars in the title role as an idealistic defence attorney who finds himself in the middle of crisis and how he is compelled to take action.
Unlike his “The Post” co-star Streep, double-time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks did not receive a nomination in the Best Actor segment.
As a proper send-off, Daniel Day-Lewis received a nod in the Best Actor segment for “Phantom Thread”, his sixth nomination in total.
Gary Oldman fetched his second Best Actor nomination for his portrayal of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour”.
Oldman is one of the frontrunners in the category, after his back-to-back wins at the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Golden Globes.
After being snubbed at the Globes, Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” bagged four nods - for Best Director, Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay.
James Franco of “The Disaster Artist”-fame did not bag any nomination either in the Best Director or in the Best Actor category, amid allegations of sexual harassment against him.
He took home a Golden Globe in the category of Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy this year for his portrayal of filmmaker Tommy Wiseau. The film, however, received sole nod in the Best Adapted Screenplay segment.
Legendary music composer John Williams received his 51st nod in the Best Original Score for “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”.
Williams already has five Oscars to his credit.
The nominations were announced by actors Tiffany Haddish and Andy Serkis.
Actor Priyanka Chopra featured in the introductory video to the Best Cinematography segment.
The “Quantico” star was seen in a blink-and-you-miss appearance before the top five nominees in the segment were announced.
Interestingly, only female actors introduced this year’s Oscar nominations. Other artistes to introduce nods were Gal Gadot, Salma Hayek, Rosario Dawson, Rebel Willson, Michelle Yeoh, Michelle Rodriguez, among others.
Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the award ceremony will be held on March 4.
PTI
