Last evening Priyanka Chopra Jonas did India proud when she along with husband Nick Jonas unveiled the full list of nominations for Oscars 2021. The nominations were revealed in a two-part virtual event for the 93rd Academy Awards. Other than honouring several well-deserved actors, directors, pictures and technicians it also clocked a few firsts and remarkable milestones. Here’s what’s buzzing about the Oscars 2021 nominations:
Viola Davis makes history as the most nominated Black actress ever
Viola Davis has broken new ground for Black actresses at the Academy Awards by becoming the most nominated Black actress ever. She received her fourth career acting nomination for her work as the titular character in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. She is the only Black woman with two Best Actress nominations and broke the record for the most number of overall acting nominations for a coloured actress. She was previously tied with her longtime friend Octavia Spencer, who has three nominations (Hidden Figures, The Shape of Water and a win for The Help). Viola has been nominated in the past for Doubt, The Help and won for Fences. Whoopi Goldberg is the only other Black actress with more than one Oscar nomination for acting. She was nominated for The Color Purple and Ghost, she won the award for the latter film. However, Denzel Washington remains the most-nominated Black performer of all time with eight Oscar nominations (including two wins) as an actor and one nomination for Best Picture for his work producing Fences. Morgan Freeman has five nominations including one win.
Chloe Zhao and Emerald Fennell make Oscars history with Best Director nominations
2021 will go down as the historic year for diversity at the Oscars in the acting category. However, it has also made history by nominating two women directors in the Best Director category. Chloe Zhao for Nomadland and Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Women bagged nominations. Zhao and Fennell will compete against David Fincher (Mank), Lee Isaac Chung (Minari), and Thomas Vinterberg (Another Round). Zhao, who has been the most awarded filmmaker in a single awards season is the frontrunner in the race to the coveted trophy. She has already bagged Golden Globe for Best Director at this year’s award ceremony.
Mank leads with scoring 10 nominations
David Fincher’s Mank bagged 10 Oscar nominations yesterday. The film which is an origin story of Citizen Kane has got a Best Director nomination for Fincher as well as Best Actor for Gary Oldman and Best Supporting Actress for Amanda Seyfried. It has also been nominated for Best Picture, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling and Best Sound. Mank has received the highest nods this year.
(Source: The Academy Awards)
