Wandering through the pandemic and forced into an extra-long awards season in which consultants, movie stars and studio executives are all blaring from virtual Q. and Ash and video ceremonies, Hollywood will finally reach the official countdown to the Oscars Monday morning nominations for the 93rd annual Academy Awards are announced.
This is a year in which streaming in Hollywood has taken strong hold, thanks to the theatrical stoppage caused by the coronavirus. Candidates such as “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”, “Mank”, “One Night in Miami” and “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” have been released by people like Netflix and Amazon. Even releases from traditional studios, such as Searchlight’s “Nomadland” and “Judas and the Black Messiah,” by Warner Bros., were probably watched by more people on streaming services rather than in the limited number of theaters it could show.
And because most studios are delaying their award-winning 2021 budget-oriented tariff in anticipation of an emerging theater market, most films that would become best nominations for best film were not as flashy or star-studded as usual. This has created more awards opportunities for smaller budget films with more diverse castings, led by a more diverse group of directors.
Expect Netflix to re-nominate the group; last year it received 24 but walked away with just two wins. This year, the streaming service has three films that are the best films: the homemade “Mank” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” for which Chadwick Boseman will surely receive a posthumous nomination for best actor, and “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” which he acquired from Paramount Pictures.Amazon Studios has ‘One Night in Miami’ and ‘Sound of Metal’ in different categories, and it may get a little love for ‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm’ in the custom screenplay, supporting actress and even the best picture category.
The Oscars ceremony, which was postponed for two months due to the pandemic, will be held on April 25. Here are some other things to note Monday morning.
Time is not a reliable construction in this year’s prize race. With the addition of two months to the nomination process, conventional thinking was thrown out the window.
Movies debuting after the first of the year, such as ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’, presented at this year’s virtual Sundance Film Festival, have become popular with audiences and critics alike. And they find themselves competing with films like ‘Sound of Metal’, which debuted during last year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Without the traditional touch points such as parties, premieres and film festivals to show voters what to look for, the flowing debut of a film has become even more important. “Nomadland” – which premiered at the Venetian Film Festival but only hit the Hulu streaming service in February – has increased with awards, while films previously available in 2020 to a wider audience on Netflix, such as “Mank “feel like they’re losing steam.
There has never been more than one woman nominated for best director in a year, and only five women have been nominated in the category in the history of the academy near the 100 years.
This year it may change.
Chloé Zhao is not only a shoo-in to be nominated for ‘Nomadland’, but she’s the favorite to win, having won the Golden Globe and been nominated for the BAFTAs and Directors Guild Awards. She will be the first Chinese woman to be nominated for Best Director Oscar.
Other women may name her as a director, including Emerald Fennell (‘Promising Young Woman’) and Regina King (‘One Night in Miami’). If woman is named King, she will be the first black woman to be recognized in a very white, very masculine category.
If ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’ is the best photo nomination, it’s the first time a team producing all black (composed by director Shaka King, Ryan Coogler and Charles D. King) has been recognized in the category .
Two actors of Asian descent can also be nominated for Best Actor: Steven Yeun (“Minari”) and Riz Ahmed (“Sound of Metal”). Ahmed would be the first Muslim to be nominated for Best Actor. If Alan Kim, the 8-year-old star of ‘Minari’, gets a nod, he can play in the supporting role category, he can join Justin Henry (‘Kramer vs. Kramer’) for the distinction between the youngest actors who ever nominated.