Start the countdown, because the Oscars are here!
After a long wait, the Academy announced this year’s Oscars nominees on Tuesday. As part of the Academy’s digital push, the 89th Oscars nominees were announced via a live-streaming event. The Academy President, Cheryl Boone Isaacs announced this year’s nominees in a pre-taped event that was live-streamed on Youtube and on the Oscars’ website.
Now that we know the nominees, we are waiting for the huge event! The Oscars will be broadcasted on Sunday, February the 26th. This year, and for the first time, Jimmy Kimmel will host the ceremony. We can’t wait!
¡The 2017 Academy Awards!
The awards that commemorate the excellence in cinematic achievements is the oldest entertainment awards ceremony. A total of 2,947 Oscars had been awarded since the first ceremony in 1929. Back in 1930, it was first broadcasted by radio and in 1953 it was televised for the first time. I guess 2017 sets the mark for the first time the announcement was made via live-stream video.
The 24 categories were announced by the Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs. She was joined by actors Guillermo del Toro, Marcia Gay Harden, Terrence Howard, Jennifer Hudson, Brie Larson, Jason Reitman, Gabourey Sidibe, Ken Watanabe, Demian Bichir, Dustin Lance Black and Glenn Close.
How do the nominations and category process work?
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences categorizes films into different specters, there are different branches that represent the different disciplines in film production, such as actors, directors, writers, composers and so on.
The 24 categories include: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor/Actress in Leading Role, Best Actress/Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Animated Feature, Best Short Animated Film, Best Costume Design, Best Documentary Feature, Best Film Editing, Best Foreign Language Film, Best Writing, Best Production Design, Best Original Song, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Sound Editing, Best Visual Effects.
This year’s favorites are La La Land (Damien Chazelle) with 10 nominations, another pretty strong one is Moonlight (Barry Jenkins) with 8 nominations, and Manchester by the Sea (Kenneth Lonergan) with 6 nominations.
Best Picture
The nominees for this important category are “Arrival”; “Fences”; “Hacksaw Ridge”; “Hell or High Water”; “Hidden Figures”; “La La Land”; “Lion”; “Manchester by the Sea” and “Moonlight”. What a tough competition.
This category’s favorite is the devastating coming of age drama “Moonlight.” The movie did extremely well at New York Film Critics and Critics Choice winner and was also a Globe and SAG nominee. Another category’s favorite is “Manchester By the Sea,” and the musical romance “La La Land.”
Best Director.
The nominees are Damien Chazelle for “La La Land,” Mel Gibson for “Hacksaw Ridge,” Barry Jenkins for “Moonlight,” Kenneth Lonergan for “Manchester by the Sea,” and Denis Villeneuve “Arrival.”
This year the competition is pretty tough. We got the return of Mel Gibson after years of personal ups and downs, with a WWII drama, the magical work of Damien Chazelle, and the intense family drama of Kenneth Lonergan.
These three are definitely the favorites to win the Oscar. Mel Gibson’s return has made extremely well in the box office, while Lonergan and Chazelle have taken the critics to their feet, both of them got a bunch of Globe, SAG, and Critics Choice nominations.
Best Actor in Leading Role.
The nominees are Casey Affleck for “Manchester by the Sea”; Andrew Garfield for “Hacksaw Ridge”; Ryan Gosling for “La La Land,”; Viggo Mortensen for “Captain Fantastic”; and Denzel Washington for “Fences”.
The big favorite is Casey Affleck for his portrayal of a Boston janitor weighed down by depression. Affleck is a Gotham, National Board of Review, New York Film Critics Circle, Critics Choice and Golden Globes winner.
The second favorite is Denzel Washington for his self-directed portrayal of a Pittsburg ex-baseball player turned garbage man. Denzel was a Critics Choice, Golden Globe and SAG Award nominee. Andrew Garfield had an acclaimed portrayal of a pacifist soldier who granted him the Critics Choice, Golden Globe SAG, and BAFTA nominations.
Best Actress in a Leading Role.
The nominees are Isabelle Huppert for “Elle”; Ruth Negga for “Loving”; Natalie Portman for “Jackie”; Emma Stone for “La La Land” and Meryl Streep for “Florence Foster Jenkins”. The big favorite is Natalie Portman for her touching and raw portrayal of Jackie Kennedy during the grieving of her husband. This is Natalie’s third nomination, and could be her second Oscar. Natalie’s Jackie won the Critics Choice Award, it also landed her Golden Globe, SAG and BAFTA nominations.
The second favorite is Emma Stone for her role as a singer-actress-dancer. She had Critics Choice, SAG and BAFTA nominations and took home the Golden Globe for Best Musical Actress.
Best Film Editing.
The nominees are Joe Walker for “Arrival,” John Gilbert for “Hacksaw Ridge,” Jake Roberts for “Hell or High Water, ”Tom Cross for “La La Land,” and the duo Nat Sanders and Joi McMillon. “Moonlight.”
This year’s heavyweights are “Manchester by The Sea”, “La La Land” and “Moonlight.” The movies that held the many nominations are “Manchester by the Sea” and “La La Land”, followed by “Moonlight.”
Source: Variety