Yes, snubs are unavoidable when it comes to awards nominations, but a lot of moviegoers aren't happy about some major omissions for 'Barbie'. However, there are reasons why some Oscar firsts this year make it Kenough.
ADVERTISEMENTThe Oscar nominations are out and fans aren’t Barbie-lieving their eyes.
Yes, part of the internet is fuming over the absence of Margot Robbie in the Best Actress category and director Greta Gerwig in the Best Director section – both nods many believed were a done deal.
And the news is not going down well.
Barbie did receive eight nods, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor for Ryan Gosling and Best Supporting Actress for America Ferrera. However, Gerwig missed out, with Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer), Martin Scorsese (Killers of the Flower Moon), Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things), Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest), and Justine Triet (Anatomy of a Fall) getting directing noms.
A nomination for Triet means that the Best Director line-up is not entirely male.
As for Robbie, she missed out on an acting nomination, with the Emma Stone (Poor Things), Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon), Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall), Annette Bening (Nyad), and Carey Mulligan (Maestro) getting noms.
Many have reacted to both these omissions, with many noting the irony of Gosling receiving a nomination and his co-star being left out.
"Wait Ryan Gosling got nominated for his role as Ken, but Margot Robbie didn't get nominated for Barbie?! And Greta got snubbed for Best Director?!?! Way to justify the literal plot of the movie @TheAcademy"
"Greta Gerwig made a film that was critically acclaimed, culturally impactful, hilarious, unique, visually exceptional, perfectly cast and acted, left people laughing, crying and thinking AND made a billion dollars at the box office. But no Best Director nom?!"
"The Oscars couldn't bring themselves to nominate two female directors in one year."
"Ken getting nominated and not Barbie is honestly so fitting for a film about a man discovering the power of patriarchy in the Real World."
The comments go on... Even if some are trying to embrace the positives...
"Yet couple weeks ago, everyone ranting cos America Ferrrara didn't get nominated. Is she going to get the accolades she deserves for the nomination or will the next few weeks just concentrate on the Margot/ Greta snub ?"
Granted, the omissions can be grating, especially considering Barbie was the highest-grossing film of 2023, taking $1.44bn worldwide, but here are some cheery factoids about today’s Oscar nominations that can make up for it:
- Margot Robbie did get a nomination for Best Picture for her role as a producer on Barbie.
- Similarly, Gerwig received a nomination in the Best Adapted Screenplay category, alongside her co-writer and partner Noah Baumbach.
- Despite her directing snub, Gerwig became the first woman to have directed three Best Picture nominated films (Lady Bird, Little Women, Barbie).
- This year also marks the first time three films nominated for Best Picture were directed by women: Anatomy of a Fall, Barbie and Past Lives. Baby steps, granted. But it’s the first time it has happened.
- Billie Eilish’s ‘What Was I Made For?’ and Ryan Gosling’s ‘I’m Just Ken’ are among the tracks nominated from Barbie for Best Original Song at this year’s Oscars. So that’s something. And at 22 years of age, this is already the second nomination for Eilish, who previously won in this category in 2022 for the title track of the James Bond film No Time to Die.
- Elsewhere, the nominations also saw Killers of the Flower Moon star Lily Gladstone become the first ever Native American actress to be recognised. And while we're on Killers, her director Martin Scorsese scores his 10th nomination in the Best Director category this year, which is a record and sees him beat Steven Spielberg for the most-nominated living director of all time. (As a reminder, he has only won the award once, for 2007's The Departed.) And Gladstone’s co-star Robert De Niro also broke a record, that for the longest time between first and most recent Oscar nominations - 49 years. He overtakes Katharine Hepburn's previous record of 48.
And if none of these facts cheer you up, then just think of Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore and Charles Melton, who got zip for May December, Todd Haynes’ fascinating drama that really deserved a hell of a lot better.
And what about Celine Song and our favourite film of 2023? Didn't she deserve more?? WHERE IN THE “IN-YUN" IS HER NOMINATION??????
*Cough*
Everything's fine. We're cheery.
ADVERTISEMENTAs a reminder, the top Oscar nominees are:
- Oppenheimer - 13 nominations
- Poor Things - 11
- Killers of the Flower Moon - 10
- Barbie - 8
- Maestro - 7
- American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers, The Zone of Interest – 5
This year’s Oscars ceremony is taking place on 10 March, with talk show host Jimmy Kimmel presenting the awards. And yes, Oppenheimer will doubtlessly run away with it. Just you wait.
