The nominations for the 94th annual Academy Awards were announced on Tuesday morning with The Power Of The Dog taking on Belfast and Dune as the films with the most nods.
Tracee Ellis Ross and Leslie Jordan announced the nominations across 23 categories from an early morning event in Los Angeles ahead of the ceremony on March 27.
Following its eight nods at last week’s BAFTA nominations and its three wins at January’s Golden Globes, The Power Of The Dog leads the Oscars pack with 12 nods, including Best Picture, Leading Actor for Benedict Cumberbatch, Supporting Actress for Kirsten Dunst and Director and Adapted Screenplay for Jane Campion.
The Western drama is the film adaptation of Thomas Savage’s 1967 novel and was released in theatres as well as Netflix late last year.
The film stars Benedict alongside Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee, who also both earned a Supporting Actor nomination, as secretive, psychologically duelling rivals on a 1920s Montana ranch.
Oscar nominations 2022: It’s Belfast vs Benedict Cumberbatch! Brit Kenneth Branagh’s movie earned eight nods while The Power Of The Dog bagged 12 (pictured: Judi Dench and Ciaran Hinds in Belfast)
Its nominations were for Supporting Actress, Achievement in Sound, Original Score, Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actor, Film Editing, Cinematography, Production Design, Best Actor, Director and Best Picture.
Campion is the first woman to ever be nominated twice for best director. Last year, Chloé Zhao became the second woman to ever win the award. Meanwhile Campion’s director of photography on The Power Of The Dog, Ari Wegner, is the second woman ever nominated for Best Cinematography.
Benedict will go head to head with Will Smith for King Richard, marking his third Oscar nomination and a strong chance at his first win for the biopic of Venus and Serena Williams’ father.
Also competing in the Leading Actor category are Javier Bardem for Being the Ricardos, Andrew Garfield for tick, tick… BOOM! and Denzel Washington for The Tragedy of Macbeth, marking his ninth Academy Awards nomination.
Leading the way for British talent was Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast, with the semi-autobiographical film bagging eight nods, including Director for Kenneth, Supporting Actress for Judi Dench and Supporting Actor for Ciarán Hinds.
Movie magic: Following its eight nods at last week’s BAFTA nominations and its three wins at January’s Golden Globes, The Power Of The Dog leads the nominations with 12 nods, including Best Picture and Leading Actor for Benedict Cumberbatch
Top prizes! Denis Villeneuve’s star-studded sci-fi epic Dune, based on Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel, landed a slew of technical nods, along with a nod for the top prize for Best Picture bringing its total to 10
Speaking after the nominations came out, Sir Kenneth thanked Academy voters for their ‘generous recognition’.
He said: ‘It’s a long way from the streets of Belfast to the Academy Awards. Today, I think of my mother and father, and my grandparents – how proud they were to be Irish, how much this city meant to them. They would have been overwhelmed by this incredible honour – as am I.’
Dame Judi has made history with her nod, as at 87 she has become the oldest nominee ever for Best Supporting Actress.
It marks her seventh Academy Award nomination, the first of which came in 1999 for her role as Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love. She also received nominations for Mrs Brown (1997), Chocolat (2000), Iris (2001), Mrs Henderson Presents (2005), Notes on a Scandal (2006) and the 2013 film Philomena.
However, the film’s star Jamie Dornan was snubbed in the Leading Actor category, after also missing out in last week’s BAFTA nominations.
The movie, which was inspired by his early childhood growing up in Northern Ireland during the troubles, also landed a spot in the coveted Best Picture list as it continued to dominate awards season.
It will battle it out for the top honour against Coda, Don’t Look Up, Drive My Car, Dune, King Richard, Licorice Pizza, Nightmare Alley, The Power Of The Dog and West Side Story.
Meanwhile, Denis Villeneuve’s star-studded sci-fi epic Dune, based on Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel, landed a slew of technical nods, along with a nod for the top prize for Best Picture bringing its total to 10.
Good luck: Awards darling Olivia Colman is up for Best Actress for her role in The Lost Daughter, a psychological drama written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, and based on the novel of the same name by Elena Ferrante
Great news: Olivia’s Irish co-star Jessie Buckley has also bagged herself a nomination for her work in The Lost Daughter, and will face off against Ariana DeBose (West Side Story), Judi Dench (Belfast), Kirsten Dunst (The Power Of The Dog) and Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard).
Awards darling Olivia Colman is up for Best Actress for her role in The Lost Daughter, a psychological drama written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, and based on the novel of the same name by Elena Ferrante.
It tells the story of Olivia, as Leda, a college professor, who while on a summer holiday, finds herself becoming obsessed with another woman (Dakota Johnson) and her young daughter, prompting memories of her own early motherhood to come back and unravel her.
Olivia will be competing against Jessica Chastain (The Eyes of Tammy Faye), Penélope Cruz (Parallel Mothers), Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos) and Kristen Stewart (Spencer).
Olivia’s Irish co-star Jessie Buckley has also bagged herself a nomination for her work in the film, and will face off against Ariana DeBose (West Side Story), Judi Dench (Belfast), Kirsten Dunst (The Power Of The Dog) and Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard).
Acclaimed performance: Kristen Stewart has earned her first Oscar nomination for her role as Princess Diana in Spencer
Leading Actress: Kristen Stewart has earned her first Oscar nomination for her role as Princess Diana in Spencer, going up against a strong category comprising of Jessica Chastain for The Eyes of Tammy Faye and Penélope Cruz for Parallel Mothers
All-star category: Also in with a chance in the all-star Leading Actress category are Olivia for The Lost Daughter and Nicole Kidman for Being the Ricardos
The Oscar nominations follow the lead of the 2022 British Academy Film Awards which were announced last week, with Dune, The Power Of The Dog and Belfast also leading those nominations with 11, eight and six respectively.
The 94th Academy Awards, held at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, will air Sunday, March 27 on ABC at 8 p.m. ET.
Last year, the global pandemic meant a socially distanced ceremony held at Los Angeles’ Union Station. Ratings plummeted to an all-time low of 9.85 million viewers.
It was previously announced in January that Glenn Weiss will direct the telecast for the seventh consecutive time, while film producer Will Packer is serving as producer, and Shayla Cowan, the chief of staff of Parker’s production companies, was named co-producer, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Craig Erwich, president Hulu Originals & ABC Entertainment, maintained there will be a host for the 2022 Oscars, which will be a first since 2018 when Jimmy Kimmel had the honor of leading the ceremony that year, as well as in 2017.
Leading Actor: Hoping for a win in the Leading Actor category are Andrew Garfield for tick, tick… BOOM!
Big names: Javier Bardem for Being the Ricardos and Denzel Washington for The Tragedy of Macbeth, marking his ninth Academy Awards nomination, are also competing for Leading Actor
So far, The Academy hasn’t made an official announcement as to who will play host on Hollywood’s biggest night of the year. Following a television ratings tumble, the Academy have decided to reinstate a permeant host after using a rota of guest presenters, with sources claiming bosses were keen to enlist Ricky Gervais.
A source told The Mail On Sunday: ‘Things are so desperate this year that the Academy [the organisation behind the awards] even sent out a tweet asking people who they wanted as a host. A lot of fans said Ricky Gervais. There is growing talk that he should be offered the gig.
‘He’s the one man who could save the most boring show on television. The Oscars are always too long and viewers tune out when you get all these self-entitled celebrities going woke and banging on about their pet causes. Ricky would be a breath of fresh air.’
Supporting Actress: Ariana DeBose has won a nomination for her acclaimed performance in West Side Story
Big names: Kirsten Dunst helps bring The Power Of The Dog’s haul up with her nomination and Judi Dench has earned her seventh nomination for Belfast
Accolades: Aunjanue Ellis (right) has got a strong chance in the Supporting Actress category after winning praise for her portrayal of Oracene ‘Brandy’ Price, mother and coach of Venus and Serena Williams in King Richard
Brit hope: In the Supporting Actress category Jessie Buckley (left) earns her debut Oscar nod for The Lost Daughter
However, Ricky, 60, played down the chances of hosting the biggest night of the Hollywood year, saying: ‘They’d never let me do what I wanted. I mean, that’s why the Globes got me. They said I could write my own jokes and say what I wanted, no rehearsals.
‘I don’t think the Oscars would ever allow me that freedom and rightly so… I’d do the Oscars but it won’t happen. I’d get cancelled halfway through.’
The voting for this year’s nominations ended on Tuesday, February 1. As a result of last year’s ceremony being delayed, this year marked the shortest eligibility window n Oscars history.
Co-stars: The Power Of The Dog stars Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smitt-McPhee go head to head in for Supporting Actor
Supporting Actor: Troy Kotsur is up his acclaimed performance in CODA, with a chance at the Supporting Actor Oscar
Snubbed: Belfast’s star Jamie Dornan was snubbed in the Leading Actor category, after also missing out in last week’s BAFTA nominations. Ciaran Hinds (right) did pick up a nod in the Supporting Actor category
Second time around: J.K Simmons has earned a second Oscar nomination following his 2015 win for Whiplash, this time for his role in Being The Ricardos
The Oscars typically award films in the same calendar year, though in 2020, because of the theater closures due to COVID-19, the eligibility was pushed to February 28, 2021.
This year, in an effort to get back to the calendar year format, the eligibility ran from March 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021.
The Academy also announced more changes in April 2020, which will only be in effect for the 94th Oscars, which allows for films to open in more cities to be considered Best Picture eligible.
A film previously had to be exhibited theatrically, at minimum, in Los Angeles County for seven consecutive days sin the same venue.
Pomp and circumstance returns: After a full year without a proper Oscars ceremony, the prestigious event will be held on March 27, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, starting at 8 p.m. ET; Jane Fonda is pictured being honored at the 2020 Oscars in February, one month before COVID-19 was deemed a pandemic, and thus shut down most entertainment events
The Academy revealed that, for the 94th Oscars, films may open in a, ‘commercial motion picture theater’ in one of six cities – Los Angeles, New York City, the Bay Area, Chicago, Miami and Atlanta within the eligibility window.
Drive-in theaters that are open nightly are counted as ‘commercial theaters,’ in the aforementioned cities.
The Academy also revealed that, ‘films intended for theatrical release but initially made available through commercial streaming, VOD service or other broadcast may qualify if the film is made available on the secure Academy Screening Room member site within 60 days of the streaming/VOD release or broadcast.’
Producers for eligible films also had to submit, ‘a confidential Academy Representation and Inclusion Standards entry.’
However, while the forms are required to be submitted, meeting the actual inclusion thresholds will not be required for eligibility in the Best Picture category until the 96th Oscars in 2024.
The 94th Academy Awards will air at 1am on Sky Cinema’s Oscars channel in the UK and at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on ABC in the States.
Ceremony Host reveal: It was previously announced there will be a host for the 2022 Academy Awards ceremony, which will be a first since 2018 when Jimmy Kimmel had the honor of leading the ceremony that year, as well as in 2017; the late night talk show host is seen at the 90th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on March 4, 2018
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