The Oscar nominations were announced Tuesday. Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water” leads the way with 13 nominations, while “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” and “Dunkirk” follow closely behind with eight and seven nominations, respectively.
Here & Now‘s Jeremy Hobson goes through some of the top nominees with Claudia Puig (@claudiapuig), president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.
Interview Highlights
On 13 nominations for “The Shape of Water”
“I was kind of surprised. Not that it’s not deserving, but it’s just not the film I thought would get the most nominations. But then again, when I look at the list, I don’t know who else would have gotten 13 nominations. It’s directed by Guillermo del Toro, who did ‘Pan’s Labyrinth.’ And it’s kind of a fantasy, there are elements of sci-fi, but it’s also a love story. But it’s basically a kind of a fish-man and a mute woman who fall in love, and there’s homophobia in the backdrop, and there’s some militaristic fears of the other, so there’s a lot going on there and it’s beautiful to watch. It’s quite stunning.”
On “Get Out”
“It’s a great film, period. But it also touched a nerve, and I think it’s extremely timely. It got four nominations because it also got director, picture, Daniel Kaluuya was nominated [for Best Actor] and then screenplay. So I’m really happy about that.”
On a Best Director nomination for Greta Gerwig for her film “Lady Bird”
“I was very happy about that. I wasn’t that surprised, but, you know, given sort of the male-dominated Oscars, in general, I was mildly surprised but extremely happy. She certainly is deserving, and someday we won’t have to be talking about the one woman director, the one African-American director, but, unfortunately, we still have to talk about that.
“The film got five nominations too. That’s my second favorite movie, so I’m really happy. In the climate that we’re in, it does have a good chance [to win]. I think both ‘Lady Bird’ and ‘Get Out’ have have a good chance because of the times we’re living in.”
On the Best Actor category
“It will be interesting to see whether the academy — which is still, by the way, I think, 72 percent white and 87 percent male. So it’s not as — you know, the efforts that the academy has been making have been are slow. But it’ll be interesting to see if they go with sort of the traditional Best Actor winner, which would be Gary Oldman. I would love to see Daniel Kaluuya win or even Timothée Chalamet for ‘Call Me By Your Name.’ I think the fact that Denzel Washington is one of the contenders is interesting, as well, because it’s not a film that a lot of people saw and it got mixed reviews. I think it could go to Gary Oldman or Daniel Day-Lewis, who was also nominated, because those are kind of perennial Oscar winners and these kind of traditional performances, but you know we can we can hold out hope for Daniel Kaluuya.”
On the Best Actress category
“I think the person to beat is Frances McDormand. I think she’s got kind of the lead here. She won the Screen Actors Guild Award the other night. She’s beloved. It’s much more of a feisty performance. I think Meryl Streep does a wonderful job [in ‘The Post.’] Of course, saying that is like saying, you know, there’s air. And [Streep’s] playing a woman who kind of comes into her own as a strong, capable woman who is not regarded that way. So there’s, you know, there again the #MeToo movement and female empowerment could be reflected in that if she were to win. But I think it’s Frances McDormand’s to lose basically.”
On sexual misconduct allegations against James Franco, who was not nominated for Best Actor for “The Disaster Artist”
“I think he was notably left out because of the fact that, I think it’s at least five women who have accused him of inappropriate sexual behavior. This is a very different year. Last year you had someone who had been accused of that — Casey Affleck — who actually won Best Actor. We’re living in very different times.”
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