Amid much hype and fanfare, both the Academy Award and BAFTA nominees were announced this week.
Once again, it’s looking like a three-way race between Sam Mendes’ WWI war epic “1917,” Quentin Tarantino’s love note to L.A., “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood” and Martin Scorsese’s mob drama “The Irishman.”
“Once Upon a Time” and “1917” already won the important Golden Globe Awards for best pictures.
The Oscars were announced at 5 a.m. on Monday morning at the Geffen Theater in Hollywood.
“Once Upon a Time” continued to pick up steam as a best picture nominee along with “The Irishman,” “1917,” “Joker,” “Jojo Rabbit,” “Little Women,” “Marriage Story,” “Ford v Ferrari” and the foreign language film “Parasite.”
For best actor, Joaquin Phoenix seems likely to pick up another award for the dark comic book film “Joker.” Others included Adam Driver for “Marriage Story,” Antonio Banderas for “Pain and Glory” and Jonathan Pryce for “The Two Popes.” Malibu was represented by Leonardo DiCaprio for “Once Upon a Time.”
For best actress, Renee Zellweger is a likely to continue her streak in the Judy Garland biopic “Judy.” A little diversity was added with Cynthia Erivo’s excellent turn in “Harriet,” which also snagged best original song for “Stand Up.” Also on the best actress board: Charlize Theron in “Bombshell,” Scarlett Johansson for “Marriage Story” and Saoirse Ronan for “Little Women.”
Local Tom Hanks picked up another best supporting acting nom for “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” as well as Al Pacino and Joe Pesci for “The Irishman,” Brad Pitt for “Once Upon a Time” and Anthony Hopkins for “The Two Popes.”
As for best supporting actress, Laura Dern is a good bet to pick up another award for “Marriage Story.” You’ll also find Margot Robbie for “Bombshell,” Florence Pugh for “Little Women,” Scarlett Johansson for “Jojo Rabbit” and an unexpected nod for Kathy Bates in “Richard Jewell.”
Another important category is best director, which contained the usual suspects: Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” Sam Mendes’ “1917,” Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time” as well as Todd Phillips for “Joker” and Bong Joon-ho for “Parasite.
Also in the news, The Critic’s Choice Awards were held on Sunday night in Santa Monica. “The Irishman” was up for 14 Awards, including best picture. “Once Upon a Time” followed with 12. The best picture nods included “Uncut Gems” starring Malibu’s Adam Sandler.
It was surprising to see an actor known for goofy comedies like “The Wedding Singer” or “Big Daddy” take on a dramatic role. And, at last, Robert De Niro got a well-deserved best acting nom for “The Irishman” as well as locals Leonardo DiCaprio for “Once Upon a Time” and Tom Hanks for “A Beautiful Day.” But the best acting award went once again to Joaquin Phoenix for “Joker.” “Dolomite is My Name” with Eddie Murphy won for best comedy and its star won the lifetime achievement award.
“The Irishman” won best casting ensemble.
“Once Upon a Time” won several awards including best screenplay, best supporting actor for Brad Pitt and best production design. “1917” won in several categories including best director (in a tie with Boog Joon Ho for “Parasite”) as well as best editing and best cinematography.
As expected, Rene Zellweger won for her turn in “Judy,” while Laura Dern won another best supporting actress for “Marriage Story.”
As for the biggie, “Once Upon a Time” took home a win for best picture.
Meantime, across the pond, nominees for the BAFTA awards, the British equivalent of the Academy Awards, were announced. (They were dubbed “#BAFTASoWhite” for a lack of color.)
Best pic noms went to “The Irishman” (10 nominations), “Once Upon a Time” (10 nominations) “Joker” (11 nods), plus “1917” (9 honors) and “Parasite.” The three directorial forerunners also include Martin Scorsese for “The Irishman,” Sam Mendes for “1917” and Quinten Tarantino for “Once Upon a Time,” as well as Todd Phillips for “Joker.”
Malibu was represented by Leonardo DiCaprio as best actor for “Once Upon a Time,” as well as Joaquin Phoenix for “Joker, Adam Driver for “Marriage Story,” Taron Egerton for the Elton John biopic “Rocketman” and Jonathan Pryce for “The Two Popes.”
On the best actress side, Renee Zellweger is probably another shoe-in for her turn in “Judy” and Scarlett Johansson picked up a nod for ‘Marriage Story,” plus Charlize Theron for “Bombshell,” Jessie Buckley for “Wild Rose” and Saoirse Ronan for “Little Women.”
Malibu’s Tom Hanks, who just earned the lifetime achievement award at the Golden Globes, is up for best supporting actor for “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” as well as Anthony Hopkins for “The Two Popes,” Al Pacino and Joe Pesci for “The Irishman” and local Brad Pitt for “Once Upon a Time.”
Meantime, best supporting actress honors went to Laura Dern for “Marriage Story,” Florence Pugh for “Little Women,” Margot Robbie for both “Bombshell” and “Once Upon a Time,” and Scarlett Johansson for “Jojo Rabbit.”
There’s a lot of gold to be given away so stay tuned. The BAFTA awards take place on Feb. 2. The Oscars will be given away the following Sunday, Feb. 9.