2019 Academy Awards

It’s February, and awards season has started. The Academy Awards, more commonly known as the Oscars, are the most prestigious awards for film. This year is yet another year of breaking barriers for the Oscars. It marks a change in the world of film.

The nominees for best picture are as follows:

Black Panther
BlackkKlansman
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite
Green Book
Roma
A Star is Born
Vice

Black Panther being nominated for Best Picture is the first time a superhero movie was nominated in this category. The Academy has been known to snub films in the superhero genre in the past, especially in 2009, when Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight was snubbed for a Best Picture nomination, and even in 2018, when they controversially announced a “Best Popular Film” category, which many interpreted as a way to get out of nominating Black Panther for the biggest award. Additionally, Roma is a Netflix film and marks the first time a film from Netflix has been nominated for a major award. This represents the shift of society to streaming services rather than actually heading out to movie theaters, and has definitely legitimized Netflix as a content provider. There is no clear frontrunner as of right now since Black Panther won the biggest award at the Screen Actors’ Guild Awards (SAG), Bohemian Rhapsody and Green Book won at the Golden Globes, and Roma won Best Film at the BAFTAs.

The nominees for Best Actor in a Leading Role are as follows:

Christian Bale, Vice
Bradley Cooper, A Star is Born
Willem Dafoe, At Eternity’s Gate
Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
Viggo Mortensen, Green Book

The frontrunner for this category has generally been clear throughout the awards season. Rami Malek has won all of the major acting awards, winning Best Actor at the Golden Globes, the BAFTAs, and the SAG Awards. His portrayal of lead Queen singer Freddie Mercury has been praised by both fans and critics.

The nominees for Best Actress in a Leading Role are as follows:

Yalitza Aparicio, Roma
Glenn Close, The Wife
Olivia Colman, The Favourite
Lady Gaga, A Star is Born
Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?

This is a first-time nomination for Yalitza Aparicio, who made her film debut in Roma, and the first acting nomination for Lady Gaga, who was previously nominated for Best Original Song. Currently, Glenn Close has won best actress at both the Golden Globes and the SAG Awards, while Olivia Colman also won Best Actress at the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs. There is no clear frontrunner, but the two seem to be tied.

The nominees for Best Actor and Actress in a Supporting Role are as follows:

Mahershala Ali, Green Book
Adam Driver, BlackkKlansman
Sam Elliot, A Star is Born
Richard E Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me
Sam Rockwell, Vice

Amy Adams, Vice
Marina De Tavira, Roma
Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
Emma Stone, The Favourite
Rachel Weisz, The Favourite

The current frontrunner for Best Actor in a Supporting Role is Mahershala Ali, who has won all of the Best Supporting Actor awards at the BAFTAs, Golden Globes, and SAG Awards. As for the Best Actress in a Supporting Role, it is much more divided and there is no clear frontrunner, since Rachel Weisz won at the BAFTAs, Regina King won at the Golden Globes, and Emily Blunt, who was not nominated for an Oscar, won for her role in A Quiet Place at the SAG Awards.

The nominees for Best Director are as follows:

Spike Lee, BlackkKlansman
Pavel Pawlikowski, Cold War
Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite
Alfonso Cuaron, Roma
Adam McKay, Vice

Currently, Alfonso Cuaron has won Best Director at the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs, and there is no such category at the SAG Awards. He was also nominated for Best Cinematography. Additionally, both Cuaron and Pavel Pawlikowski directed foreign-language films, and this marks the first time that two foreign language films were nominated for Best Director.

The nominees for Best Animated Feature Film are as follows:

Incredibles 2
Isle of Dogs
Mirai
Ralph Breaks the Internet
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse

The frontrunner for this category is Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse which has received high ratings by critics and audiences alike. It won at both the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs, though the SAG does not have a category for animated films.

There has been controversy surrounding the Academy Awards, starting early in 2018 with their decision to include a Best Popular Film category, which was quickly rescinded due to backlash, and later Kevin Hart’s removal as host after he was revealed to have made homophobic comments in the past. It will be not be hosted by anyone this year, making it the first ceremony in 30 years not to be hosted by someone.

Additionally, the #oscarssowhite controversy has prevailed from when it started back in 2016 when there was an appalling lack of minority groups nominated for the Oscars. This year, with the nominations of Black Panther and BlackkKlansman among others, it would seem that it wouldn’t be a problem. However, many are still angry about how the majority of the actors nominated are white, with only Rami Malek, Yalitza Aparicio, Mahershala Ali, Regina King, and Marina De Tavira being racial minorities out of 20 nominees total. However, others are pleased that director Spike Lee is finally nominated after boycotting the ceremony in 2016. Others believe that this ceremony is much more diverse than previous years, and that we ought to be celebrating the accomplishments of the many minorities nominated.

Roma and The Favourite lead with ten nominations each. While the previous awards of the season do not necessarily mean a movie or actor will definitely win, it is a good indicator of how the show will go down. Make sure to tune in on February 24 (February 25 HKT).

This article will be updated as winners are announced.