Biggest Takeaways From Oscar Noms: Del Toro and Peele Reign, Spacey Humiliated and Franco Snubbed

It’s happening. In just over two months Hollywood’s best and brightest will don expensive outerwear to celebrate… well…themselves. The 90th Academy Awards will be held on March 4 and on Tuesday morning, this year’s nominees dropped.

Here are the biggest takeaways — all of your water cooler Oscars info in one place so you can seem informed during what is sure to be a day of major Hollywood chatter.

Kevin Spacey Was Majorly Dissed

Iconic actor Christopher Plummer was nominated for his role in All the Money in the World. This is important for two reasons. Firstly, Plummer, at 88, is the oldest performer to ever be nominated for best supporting actor. Second, he was added into the film at the last minute, replacing Kevin Spacey after all those sexual misconduct allegations surfaced. Spacey had already shot his scenes and Plummer’s reshoots constituted a mere ten days. Major diss for the disgraced Spacey.

James Franco Was Completely Shut Out

The director and star of The Disaster Artist had a great time at the Golden Globes, walking away with several awards. Golden Globes success usually translates to an Academy Awards nomination. But in James Franco’s case, that did not happen. Why? We can’t say definitively. But it’s certainly worth noting that Franco has been accused by multiple women of sexually exploitative behavior.

Jordan Peele Makes History

Renaissance man Jordan Peele, formerly of comedy duo Key & Peele. The comedian’s film Get Out made history this year. Not only is Peele the third first-time director in hostory to walk away with nominations for best picture, director and screenplay, but also the film itself is one of only a handful of horror/genre movies to ever receive a best picture nomination. Also, Get Out was released way back in February — with each remaining film nominated for best picture being released in July or as late as November and December.

The Shape of Water Walks Away With Most Nominations 

Guillermo Del Toro’s story of girl meets fish, The Shape of Water, absolutely dominated nominations — receiving 13 in total. The film is represented in every major category. Not bad for the one-time director of Blade II. 

Netflix Finally Becomes a Major Player

Many have surmised that Netflix’s recent dip into film production would put them at a disadvantage come awards season. After all, could stuffy Academy voters take a streaming service seriously? It looks like they can. Netflix’s own Mudblood walked away with four major nominations and two Netflix-produced documentaries were nominated as well. Movie theaters must be shaking in their boots.

The First Woman Was Nominated For Best Cinematography… Ever

In the 90-year history of the Academy Awards, not a single woman had been nominated in the best cinematography category, until now. Rachel Morrison was nominated for her work in Mudbound. 

Composer John Williams Received His 51st Nomination for Star Wars Score

The symphonic arrangements of John Williams are essentially synonymous with going to the movies, particularly blockbusters. His latest nomination, for the score from Star Wars: The Last Jedi, will make 51 times the legendary composer has been recognized by the Academy. That’s a lot of tuxedos.

A Comic Book Movie Gets a Nomination That Isn’t For Effects or Costumes or Whatever 

Marvel’s Logan, featuring Hugh Jackman’s final performance as Wolverine, was nominated for a bona-fide Oscar in the best adapted screenplay category. This is a first for a comic book movie.

Here are all of the major nominations, in one place.

Best Picture

Call Me By Your Name
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
Get Out
Lady Bird
Phantom Thread
The Post
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Actor

Timothee Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name
Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread
Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out
Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour
Denzel Washington, Roman J. Israel, Esq.

Best Actress

Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water
Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Margot Robbie, I, Tonya
Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
Meryl Streep, The Post

Best Supporting Actor

Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project
Woody Harrelson, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water
Christopher Plummer, All the Money in the World
Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Supporting Actress

Mary J. Blige, Mudbound
Allison Janney, I, Tonya
Lesley Manville, Phantom Thread
Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird
Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water

Best Director

Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk
Jordan Peele, Get Out
Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird
Paul Thomas Anderson, Phantom Thread
Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water

Best Original Screenplay

The Big Sick
Get Out
Lady Bird
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Adapted Screenplay

Call Me By Your Name
The Disaster Artist
Molly’s Game
Logan
Mudbound

Best Foreign Language Film

A Fantastic Woman, Chile
The Insult, Lebanon
Loveless, Russia
On Body and Soul, Hungary
The Square, Sweden

Best Cinematography

Blade Runner 2049
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
Mudbound
The Shape of Water

Best Costume Design

Beauty and the Beast
Darkest Hour
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water
Victoria & Abdul

Best Original Score

Dunkirk
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Animated Feature Film

The Boss Baby
The Breadwinner
Coco
Ferdinand
Loving Vincent

Best Documentary Feature

Abacus: Small Enough to Jail
Faces Places
Icarus
Last Men in Aleppo
Strong Island

Best Film Editing

Baby Driver
Dunkirk
I, Tonya
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Best Original Song

“Mighty River” from Mudbound
“Mystery of Love” from Call Me By Your Name
“Remember Me” from Coco
“Stand Up for Something” from Marshall
“This Is Me” from The Greatest Showman

Best Production Design

Beauty and the Beast
Blade Runner 2049
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water

Best Visual Effects

Blade Runner 2049
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Kong: Skull Island
Star Wars: The Last Jedi

The Academy Awards will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on March 4 and aired on ABC, with comedian Jimmy Kimmel taking on hosting duties.

[image via screenshot]

—

Follow Lawrence Bonk (@sidescrollers) on Twitter

Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com