So, this year’s Oscar nominations have finally been revealed, and it’s safe to say that this year there have been controversies. Following BAFTA coming under fire for its apparent lack of representation in the main categories, the Academy Awards have also sparked outrage for the lack of any female directing nominees in the Best Director category, despite some strong output throughout the year.
1917, which is currently the front-runner to take both Best Picture and the Best Director prize
It is surprising that Greta Gerwig failed to score at least a nod for her very well-received Little Women, which hit cinemas at the tail end of the year, more than qualifying it for inclusion. Céline Sciamma also delivered one of the best films of 2019 with her Cannes-debuting Portrait Of A Lady On Fire, and Lorene Scafaria’s work on Hustlers should have also been in the running. That’s not to mention Alma Har’el for the magnificent Honey Boy or Lulu Wang for The Farewell. There are many more, believe me.
Instead, this year we have five nods for male filmmakers.
We will add that we think that all of these filmmakers – Martin Scorsese, Todd Phillips, Sam Mendes, Quentin Tarantino, and Bong Joon-ho are all worthy of inclusion as their films – The Irishman, Joker, 1917, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, and Parasite respectively, are five of the best movies to have hit the screen over the course of the year. I just would have liked to have seen some of the aforementioned female filmmakers included in that list, and I’m clearly not alone in my thinking.
At the moment the award appears to be Mendes’ to lose, as odds say he’s currently the favorite after winning at the Golden Globes. His film, 1917, is a technical marvel, a very theatrical affair employing the use of one roving camera, the footage appearing never to cut away during its unrelenting two-hour runtime. There is, of course, also Martin Scorsese in the running once again this. The Irishman is also a wonderful achievement – a three and a half hour epic spanning multiple decades, though the film is the least backed movie presently to walk away with the top award.
Bong Joon-ho could be the big surprise of the night as his film Parasite is gaining some huge traction, especially coming out of this past weekend where the film picked up the best ensemble cast award at the Screen Actor’s Guild awards – the first foreign language film to bag the top prize. He’s currently the second favorite for the big win at the Oscars. Can you imagine if he scored? We’d certainly welcome it.
Tarantino comes next favorite, but we’re expecting a win elsewhere for the celebrated filmmaker. Best Original Screenplay could be Tarantino’s again this year with an added win possible for Best Supporting Actor for Brad Pitt, who also won big at this weekend’s SAG awards.
Then there’s Joker, the fifth favorite for the Best Director win for Todd Phillips. Joaquin Phoenix is an absolute cert to walk away with Leading Actor, though we’re not expecting a win in the directing category. Odds are currently 50/1.
Despite no female presence in the directing category – we’re expecting this to be mentioned in the broadcast come 10th February – this is a category to follow in the weeks leading up to the event. A winner other than Mendes at the Director’s Guild Of America awards at the end of this month could change everything. We’ll bring you full coverage as ever right here on the site throughout.
