Remember Joker? Of course, you do. Todd Phillipps’ Scorsese pastiche dressed up as a supervillain origin story was a black hole of internet discourse for a few weeks there, pulling in hot take after hot take praising it, critiquing it, defending it and then observing its meteoric box office rise.
Few could have predicted that the guy behind The Hangover movies would churn in a gritty DC Comics movie anchored by a mesmerizing Joaquin Phoenix performance. Fewer still could have predicted today, when Joker came out on top of the Oscar game with 11 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor for Phoenix and Best Editing and Cinematography.
Pretty wild, considering what didn’t get nominated this year. Oscar darling film studio A24 was largely shut out, except for a cinematography nomination for Lighthouse. Its Uncut Gems, which was expected to net the first-ever nomination for Adam Sandler, was snubbed altogether. Also snubbed: The Farewell, Lulu Wang’s exquisite meditation on family and loss starring Awkwafina.
In fact, no women at all were nominated for Best Director, prompting announcer Issa Rae to pointedly jab “Congratulations to these men” after reading their names. Little Women received a Best Picture nomination, but it must have come together all on its own, because Gerwig’s name was nowhere to be seen among the Best Director nominees.
None of this is likely to curb criticisms of the Oscars’ lack of diversity, which seems to happen every year because the Academy can’t seem to fix its own mostly white, mostly male focus, routinely skipping over excellent movies and performances from people of color. There was one, single person of color nominated for an acting award: Cynthia Erivo for Harriet.
One bright spot: Parasite. Bong Joon-Ho became just the second Asian director in Oscar history to get a nomination for Best Director. Parasite, which was not only nominated for Best Movie — it was the first South Korean movie to ever get nominated for Best Foreign Film. That’s the sort of richly deserved recognition the Academy should be focusing on more in the future.
Read below for the full list of nominees:
Best Picture
Ford v Ferrari
1917
The Irishman
Joker
Jojo Rabbit
Little Women
Marriage Story
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Parasite
Best Director
Quentin Tarantino – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Martin Scorsese – The Irishman
Sam Mendes – 1917
Bong Joon-ho – Parasite
Todd Phillips – Joker
Best Actor
Joaquin Phoenix – Joker
Leonardo DiCaprio – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Adam Driver – Marriage Story
Antonio Banderas – Pain and Glory
Jonathan Pryce – The Two Popes
Best Actress
Renee Zellweger – Judy
Scarlett Johansson – Marriage Story
Cynthia Erivo – Harriet
Charlize Theron – Bombshell
Saoirse Ronan – Little Women
Best Supporting Actor
Brad Pitt – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Joe Pesci – The Irishman
Anthony Hopkins – The Two Popes
Al Pacino – The Irishman
Tom Hanks – A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Best Supporting Actress
Laura Dern – Marriage Story
Scarlett Johnasson – Jojo Rabbit
Margot Robbie – Bombshell
Florence Pugh – Little Women
Kathy Bates – Richard Jewell
Best Original Screenplay
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Quentin Tarantino
Marriage Story – Noah Baumbach
Parasite – Bong Joon-ho
Knives Out – Rian Johnson
1917 – Sam Mendes & Krysty Wilson-Cairns
Best Adapted Screenplay
The Irishman – Steven Zaillian
Joker – Todd Phillips & Scott Silver
Jojo Rabbit – Taika Waititi
Little Women – Greta Gerwig
The Two Popes – Anthony McCarten
Best International Film
Corpus Christi – Poland
Honeyland – North Macedonia
Les Miserables – France
Pain and Glory – Spain
Parasite – South Korea
Best Documentary Feature
American Factory
The Cave
The Edge of Democracy
For Sama
Honeyland
Best Documentary – Short Subject
In the Absence
Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)
Life Overtakes Me
St. Louis Superman
Walk Run Cha-Cha
Best Animated Feature Film
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
I Lost My Body
Klaus
Missing Link
Toy Story 4
Best Film Editing
Ford v Ferrari
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Parasite
Best Cinematography
The Irishman
Joker
The Lighthouse
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Best Production Design
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Parasite
Best Costume Design
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Best Makeup & Hairstyling
Bombshell
Joker
Judy
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
1917
Best Visual Effects
Avengers: Endgame
The Irishman
The Lion King
1917
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Best Original Score
Joker
Little Women
Marriage Story
1917
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Best Original Song
“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” – Toy Story 4
“I’m Gonna Love Me Again” – Rocketman
“I’m Standing with You” – Breakthrough
“Into the Unknown” – Frozen II
“Stand Up” – Harriet
Best Sound Editing
Ford v Ferrari
Joker
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Best Sound Mixing
Ad Astra
Ford v Ferrari
Joker
1917
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Best Live-Action Short Film
Brotherhood
Nefta Football Club
The Neighbors’ Window
Saria
A Sister
Best Animated Short Film
Dcera (Daughter)
Hair Love
Kitbull
Memorable
Sister
