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'Roma,' 'The Favourite' lead Oscars nominations with 10 each

The Oscars -- set for February 24, 2019 -- are the climax of Hollywood's awards season AFP/File / Christopher Polk
Agence France-Presse
January 22, 2019

Alfonso Cuaron's "Roma," an ode to his childhood in 1970s Mexico City, and offbeat royal romp "The Favourite" on Tuesday topped the Oscar nominations with 10 each.

Popular musical romance "A Star Is Born" and Dick Cheney biopic "Vice" finished with eight nominations each, while superhero blockbuster "Black Panther" finished with seven.

So far, the awards season has been a bit surprising, with prizes sprayed among a variety of films. So Tuesday's announcement gives the race to the Academy Awards on February 24 a bit more clarity.

AFP/File / Mark RALSTON Alfonso Cuaron scored big with 10 Oscar nominations for "Roma" after his film won two Golden Globes for best director and best foreign language film

For Oscar watcher Sasha Stone, who runs Awards Daily, the new voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences "really did show up and vote in ways we've not really seen in the Oscar race."

Stone added that "all bets are mostly off. Truly anything could win at this rate."

The sweeping success of "Roma" is history-making for streaming giant Netflix, marking its first nomination for best picture, and also first in other top categories like best director and best actress.

The black and white film also snatched up nods for best supporting actress and best foreign film.

For Cuaron, it was a personal triumph, as he earned four nominations himself.

AFP/File / Anthony HARVEY (L-R) Actresses Rachel Weisz, Olivia Colman and Emma Stone have each earned Oscar nominations for their work in "The Favourite" -- which tied with "Roma" for the most nominations at 10

But "The Favourite" scored a bit of a surprise with its stellar haul.

While nominations for its trio of stars -- Olivia Colman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz -- were seen as a near-lock, its flight to the top of the list was not.

Director Yorgos Lanthimos took a nod -- instead of Bradley Cooper for "A Star Is Born," the latest iteration of the classic musical romance, despite recognition at the Golden Globes and from the Directors Guild.

"Star" nevertheless scored in most big categories, with nominations for three of the four acting prizes -- Cooper, Lady Gaga and their co-star Sam Elliott.

AFP/File / VALERIE MACON "Black Panther" won seven Oscar nominations including a historic best picture nod -- (L-R) director Ryan Coogler along with actors Danai Gurira, Michael B. Jordan and Lupita Nyong'o are seen here at the Golden Globes

In all, there are eight films vying for best picture: "Roma," "The Favourite," "A Star Is Born," Spike Lee's "BlacKkKlansman," Queen biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody," satirical Dick Cheney biopic "Vice," civil rights dramedy "Green Book" and "Black Panther."

"Panther" made history as the first superhero flick ever nominated in the category -- a major victory for Marvel Studios.

"Thank you @TheAcademy! #WakandaForever," past Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o, who stars in the film, wrote on Twitter.

"Green Book" earned five Oscar nominations, after moving up in the Academy Award conversation at the weekend when it won best film at the Producers Guild of America awards.

Twenty times out of 29, the PGA award winner has gone on to take the best picture Oscar, including "The Shape of Water" last year.

- Controversy -

                                                              AFP/File / Jean-Baptiste LACROIX Glenn Close (L) and Lady Gaga each won best actress Oscar nominations, after their tie victory at the Critics' Choice Awards, seen here

Last year, the awards season was marked by the Harvey Weinstein scandal, and the birth of the #MeToo and Time's Up movements against sexual misconduct and harassment in the workplace.

This year, multiple controversies are plaguing the Oscars -- none of them related to last year's bombshell.

In August, the Academy -- under fire for being too elitist -- announced it would add a "best popular film" award. But many saw the new category as a booby prize for blockbusters like "Black Panther" that would keep them out of contention for top honors.

The plan was scrapped a month later.

Then actor-comedian Kevin Hart had perhaps the briefest tenure ever as Oscars host -- a few days. He withdrew after homophobic tweets he had written years ago sparked a crippling backlash on social media.

By all accounts, with many stars reportedly unwilling to grasp the poisoned chalice, the Academy has opted to go forward without a host.

Of course, on Oscars night, the focus will revert to the nominees, and the red carpet glamour.

In the best actor category, Christian Bale looks to be the frontrunner for his uncanny portrayal of Cheney in "Vice."

                                                                AFP/File / VALERIE MACON Christian Bale is the favorite to take home the best actor Oscar for his portrayal of Dick Cheney in "Vice"

But Rami Malek's Golden Globe win for his work as Freddie Mercury in Queen biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody" put him into the conversation.

Viggo Mortensen ("Green Book") and Cooper ("Star") are also contenders, with Willem Dafoe ("At Eternity's Gate") rounding out the field as a dark horse.

For best actress, Glenn Close's momentum is soaring after her twin Globe and Critics' Choice wins for "The Wife," in which she plays a woman author whose marriage boils over when her writer husband wins the Nobel Prize.

But Gaga and Colman, who plays Queen Anne in "The Favourite," are expected to give her a fight, along with breakout "Roma" star Yalitza Aparicio and dark horse Melissa McCarthy ("Can You Ever Forgive Me?").

In the supporting actor category, Elliott will go head-to-head with "Green Book" star Mahershala Ali, who took home a Golden Globe. For best supporting actress, Regina King ("If Beale Street Could Talk") will battle with Stone and Weisz.

"Roma" is the presumptive favorite for best foreign language film. It will compete with "Capernaum" (Lebanon), "Cold War" (Poland), "Never Look Away" (Germany) and "Shoplifters" (Japan).

The nominations were announced on Tuesday in the pre-dawn hours in Hollywood by actors Tracee Ellis Ross and Kumail Nanjiani.

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