In a perfect world, Mandy and Sorry to Bother You would dominate the 2019 Oscar nominations. However, in case you somehow missed this little fact, we do not live in such a world.
Still, there's plenty to celebrate about this year's batch of Academy Award contenders. As expected, Roma (10 total nods), The Favourite (also 10), A Star Is Born (eight nods), and Adam McKay's Dick Cheney dramedy Vice (also eight) lead the nominees following a wave of critics and audiences' effusive praise.
BlacKkKlansman, A Star Is Born, and Black Panther are among the eight films up for the night's top prize. "All the Stars," Kendrick Lamar and SZA's Black Panther soundtrack cut, is up against a Mary Poppins Returns track and a song from the RBG doc, among others.
You can catch an archived stream of the nominations announcement, co-presented by Kumail Nanjiani (who was previously nominated alongside wife Emily V. Gordon for his excellent 2017 comedy Big Sick) and Black-ish star Tracee Ellis Ross, up top. If you're like me, you'll likely spend the bulk of that broadcast wondering why the hell aren't Kumail and Tracee hosting the actual Oscars too. (Seriously! Why aren't they?!?!)
As far as who will take home these prizes, that's still somewhat up for debate. At the Jan. 19 Producers Guild Awards—often a sign of what's to come with Academy Award winners—Peter Farrelly's controversial Green Book took home the top prize.
Unfortunately, the bulk of Oscars chatter this year has largely revolved around Kevin Hart's extremely brief status as the 2019 host and his extended apology/non-apology tour for past tweets. In the weeks since, the Academy is believed to be readying a hostless broadcast. What, exactly, that will mean will be revealed Feb. 24 live from the Dolby Theatre in beautiful, Trumpless Los Angeles, California.
Below, catch a list of the night's biggest categories. Fittingly, I have decided to save the most important categories—the writing ones!—for last:
Best Picture
- Black Panther
- BlacKkKlansman
- Bohemian Rhapsody
- The Favourite
- Green Book
- Roma
- A Star Is Born
- Vice
Directing
- BlacKkKlansman, Spike Lee
- Cold War, Pawel Pawlikowski
- The Favourite, Yorgos Lanthimos
- Roma, Alfonso Cuaron
- Vice, Adam McKay
Leading Actress
- Yalitza Aparicio, Roma
- Glenn Close, The Wife
- Olivia Colman, The Favourite
- Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born
- Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me
Leading Actor
- Christian Bale, Vice
- Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born
- Willem Dafoe, At Eternity’s Gate
- Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
- Viggo Mortensen, Green Book
Supporting Actress
- Amy Adams, Vice
- Marina De Tavira, Roma
- Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
- Emma Stone, The Favourite
- Rachel Weisz, The Favourite
Supporting Actor
- Mahershala Ali, Green Book
- Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman
- Sam Elliott, A Star Is Born
- Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me
- Sam Rockwell, Vice
Original Song
- "All the Stars," Black Panther
- "I’ll Fight," RBG
- "The Place Where Lost Things Go," Mary Poppins Returns
- "Shallow," A Star Is Born
- "When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings," The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Original Score
- Black Panther, Ludwig Goransson
- BlacKkKlansman, Terence Blanchard
- If Beale Street Could Talk, Nicholas Britell
- Isle of Dogs, Alexandre Desplat
- Mary Poppins Returns, Marc Shaiman
Best Documentary Feature
- Free Solo
- Hale County This Morning, This Evening
- Minding the Gap
- Of Fathers and Sons
- RBG
Animated Feature
- Incredibles 2
- Isle of Dogs
- Mirai
- Ralph Breaks the Internet
- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Adapted Screenplay
- The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
- BlacKkKlansman, Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee
- Can You Ever Forgive Me, Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty
- If Beale Street Could Talk, Barry Jenkins
- A Star Is Born, Eric Roth and Bradley Cooper & Will Fetters
Original Screenplay
- The Favourite, Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara
- First Reformed, Paul Schrader
- Green Book, Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly
- Roma, Alfonso Cuarón
- Vice, Adam McKay
For a full breakdown of all nominees in all categories, this is where you should go.
