Oscars 2018: ‘The Shape Of Water’ Shows The Way With 13 Nominations
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has finally revealed the nominees for the 2018 Oscar Awards. Leading the pack of this year’s potential big winners is Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water, with an impressive 13 nominations.
The list of nominees for the 90th Academy Awards was announced on Tuesday morning by Andy Serkis and Tiffany Haddish. The actual Oscars award night will be held on March 4, according to the New York Times.
After The Shape of Water, Dunkirk got the most nominations with eight. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri follows with seven Oscars nominations.
There were nine nominees for Best Picture. Aside from the top three most nominated films, also getting Oscars nods were Call Me By Your Name, Darkest Hour, Get Out, Lady Bird, Phantom Thread, and The Post.
Leading the nominees for Best Actor in a Leading Role are Daniel Day-Lewis (Phantom Thread), Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour), and Denzel Washington (Roman J. Israel, Esq.). All three have been nominated in the category before, with Day-Lewis (thrice) and Washington (twice) taking home the Oscar statuette. Timothée Chamalet (Call Me By Your Name) and Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out) are first-time Best Actor nominees.
James Franco was left out of the Best Actor race despite his impressive performance in The Disaster Artist. The New York Times believes he was excluded from the Oscars due to accusations of inappropriate behavior and sexual misconduct.
A huge congratulations to #TheShapeofWater team on their ?13? #OscarNoms from @TheAcademy! #Oscars2018 pic.twitter.com/Td8kS1Ediq
— The Shape of Water (@shapeofwater) January 23, 2018
Veteran actresses Meryl Streep (The Post) and Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) are again nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role. They lead an impressive group, which includes Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water), Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird), and Margot Robbie (I, Tonya). Robbie is a first-time nominee while Streep beat her own record by registering her 21st Oscars nomination, as Time noted.
Interestingly, former NBA player Kobe Bryant was nominated for an Oscar. Bryant made it to the list thanks to his short animated film, Dear Basketball, which he did with noted Walt Disney animator, Glenn Keane.
Add it to the resume. @kobebryant's "Dear Basketball" is Oscar-nominated for Best Animated Short Film. pic.twitter.com/g4bUK2hwoy
— ESPN (@espn) January 23, 2018
Another surprising entry to the 2018 Oscars nominations list is Mary J. Blige. The singer was nominated for Best Actress in A Supporting Role and Original Song for her work on Mudbound.
One interesting takeaway from this year’s Oscars nominations is its diversity. As CNN pointed out, the Oscars nominations “offered something for everyone.” Four African-Americans were nominated for the main acting awards while films tackling LGBT issues also received nods from the Academy Awards. The 2018 Oscars nominations also saw a healthy dose of experience and youth with 88-year-old Christopher Plummer, 22-year-old Chamelet, and the 23-year-old Ronan receiving nods.
With 13 Oscar nominations, The Shape of Water becomes the second most nominated film in the history of the Academy Awards. It joins a formidable group, which includes Gone With the Wind, From Here To Eternity, Mary Poppins, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Forrest Gump, Shakespeare In Love, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Chicago, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
La La Land, Titanic, and All About Eve hold the record with 14 Oscar nominations each, with the latter two bagging the Best Picture Award.
For the complete list of 2018 Oscar nominees, check here.
