LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Jane Campion’s gothic Western The Power Of The Dog led the Oscar nominations on Tuesday (Feb 8), fending off a crowded field of movies from a year in which Covid-19-weary audiences slowly headed back into movie theatres.
The movie about a repressed 1920s cattle rancher in Montana released by Netflix earned 12 nods ahead of next month’s Oscars gala, including Best Director – making Campion the first female auteur nominated twice in Academy Award history.
The Power Of The Dog was also nominated for Best Picture, and landed acting nods for Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee.
Campion was last nominated 28 years ago for The Piano.
Sci-fi epic Dune landed in second place overall, landing 10 nods including Best Picture, although its director Denis Villeneuve was overlooked by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
As expected, the adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sprawling novel set on a desert planet plagued by monstrous sandworms scored well across technical categories including cinematography, visual effects and sound.
Other coveted directing slots went to Kenneth Branagh for black-and-white childhood drama Belfast and Steven Spielberg for musical West Side Story, with each film securing seven nominations.
Spielberg’s decision to remake the most honoured musical in Oscars history had been criticised as unnecessary by some, but it won over voters to earn a Best Picture nomination, and another for Supporting Actress for Ariana DeBose as Anita.
The directing category was rounded out by Paul Thomas Anderson for Licorice Pizza, and Japanese film-maker Ryusuke Hamaguchi, whose subtitled, three-hour drama Drive My Car also earned a rare Best Picture nomination.
Hopes that larger-than-life, unapologetically commercial box office hits like Spider-Man: No Way Home and 007 outing No Time To Die could break into the Best Picture race were thwarted.
The US$1.8 billion (S$2.4 billion)-grossing Spider-Man film landed only a visual effects nomination, while Daniel Craig’s final James Bond film earned three nods.
‘Wide open’
As widely predicted, front runner Will Smith earned recognition for his portrayal of the father of tennis greats Serena and Venus Williams in King Richard, which took six nods overall.
He is up against Cumberbatch, Denzel Washington (The Tragedy Of Macbeth), Andrew Garfield (tick, tick...BOOM!) and Javier Bardem (Being The Ricardos).
Lady Gaga was the surprise omission in the Best Actress category, with House Of Gucci earning just one nomination – for best hair and make-up.
Instead Best Actress will be contested by Jessica Chastain (The Eyes Of Tammy Faye), Olivia Colman (The Lost Daughter), Penelope Cruz (Parallel Mothers), Nicole Kidman (Being The Ricardos) and Kristen Stewart (Spencer).
The plethora of A-listers will be welcomed by the Academy, after last year’s sparsely watched Oscars gala, which featured smaller movies barely known to the wider public.
Giant cinematic spectacles – many of which were pushed back into 2021 during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic – are competing with auteur films that gained traction on streaming sites in this year’s diverse race for Hollywood’s biggest awards.
“Last year we had a much more indie Oscars... This year was the return of big cinema, big movies and studio films,” said one Academy voter, who asked not to be named.
“The race is wide open this year,” said Deadline award columnist Pete Hammond.
The 94th Academy Awards gala is scheduled for March 27.
Nominees in the key categories:
Best picture
Belfast
CODA
Don’t Look Up
Drive My Car
Dune
King Richard
Licorice Pizza
Nightmare Alley
The Power of the Dog
West Side Story
Best director
Kenneth Branagh, Belfast
Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car
Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza
Jane Campion, The Power Of The Dog
Steven Spielberg, West Side Story
Best actor
Javier Bardem, Being The Ricardos
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power Of The Dog
Andrew Garfield, tick, tick...BOOM!
Will Smith, King Richard
Denzel Washington, The Tragedy Of Macbeth
Best actress
Jessica Chastain, The Eyes Of Tammy Faye
Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter
Penelope Cruz, Parallel Mothers
Nicole Kidman, Being The Ricardos
Kristen Stewart, Spencer
Best supporting actor
Ciaran Hinds, Belfast
Troy Kotsur, CODA
Jesse Plemons, The Power Of The Dog
JK Simmons, Being The Ricardos
Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power Of The Dog
Best supporting actress
Jessie Buckley, The Lost Daughter
Ariana DeBose, West Side Story
Judi Dench, Belfast
Kirsten Dunst, The Power Of The Dog
Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard
Best international feature film
Drive My Car (Japan)
Flee (Denmark)
The Hand Of God” (Italy)
Lunana: A Yak In The Classroom (Bhutan)
The Worst Person In The World” (Norway)
Best animated feature
Encanto
Flee
Luca
The Mitchells vs The Machines
Raya And The Last Dragon
Best documentary feature
Ascension
Attica
Flee
Summer Of Soul
Writing With Fire
Best original screenplay
Belfast - Kenneth Branagh
Don’t Look Up - Adam McKay and David Sirota
King Richard - Zach Baylin
Licorice Pizza - Paul Thomas Anderson
The Worst Person In The World - Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier
Best adapted screenplay
CODA - Sian Heder
Drive My Car - Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Takamasa Oe
Dune - Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, Eric Roth
The Lost Daughter - Maggie Gyllenhaal
The Power Of The Dog - Jane Campion
Films with six or more nominations
The Power of the Dog:: 12
Dune: 10
Belfast: 7
West Side Story: 7
King Richard: 6
