2017 Oscar Nominations: ‘La La Land’ Dominates, #OscarsSoWhite Over

Damien Chazelle’s La La Land earned a record-tying 14 nominations, Amazon became the first streaming service to nab a Best Picture contender with Manchester by the Sea and seven of the 20 acting nominations went to people of color when the 89th annual Academy Awards unveiled its nominees Tuesday morning.

La La Land — which tied the all-time nomination record with both All About Eve (1950) and Titanic (1997) — will vie for the night’s top prize with eight other films: Arrival, Fences, Hacksaw Ridge, Hidden Figures, Moonlight, Lion, Hell or High Water and the aforementioned Manchester by the Sea.

After two consecutive years in which all of the nominees in each of the four main acting categories were white, sparking #OscarsSoWhite boycotts and protests, seven people of color landed nominations this year: Denzel Washington for Fences; Ruth Negga for Loving; Mahershala Ali for Moonlight; Dev Patel for Lion; Viola Davis for Fences; Naomie Harris for Moonlight; and Octavia Spencer for Hidden Figures. The nominations for Davis, Harris and Spencer mark the first time in Oscar history that three black actors were nominated in the same category in the same year (Best Supporting Actress).

Meanwhile, the Documentary category features three films about black life in America: Ava DuVernay’s 13th, Raoul Peck and Hebert Peck’s I Am Not Your Negro and Ezra Edelman and Caroline Waterlow’s OJ: Made in America. Fire at Sea, Gianfranco Rosi’s film about the migrant crisis on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, and Life Animated will also compete in the category.

Mel Gibson earned a Best Director nod — 21 years after he won the award for Braveheart — for his work on Hacksaw Ridge, but faces stiff competition from Chazelle (La La Land), Barry Jenkins (Moonlight), Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester by the Sea) and Denis Villeneuve (Arrival). Notably absent from the directing category this year were previous Oscar winners Clint Eastwood (Sully) and Martin Scorsese, who was again overlooked for his Christian-themed epic Silence.

In the Best Actor race, Ryan Gosling will square off against Casey Affleck, Denzel Washington, Viggo Mortensen and Andrew Garfield. Best Actress honors went to Emma Stone, Ruth Negga, Natalie Portman, Isabelle Huppert and, for her 20th nomination, Meryl Streep.

Other notable snubs this year included no Amy Adams (Arrival) or Taraji P. Henson (Hidden Figures) in the Actress categories; Micheal Keaton (The Founder) and Matthew McConaughey (Gold) in the Actor category; and no Deadpool for Best Picture consideration, even though the Academy only nominated nine films in the category this year.

Overall, La La Land led with 14 nominations, Arrival and Moonlight picked up eight, Hacksaw Ridge, Lion and Manchester by the Sea earned six apiece and Fences and Hidden Figures earned four.

The 89th Academy Awards will air Sunday, February 26 on ABC, with Jimmy Kimmel hosting.

The complete list of nominees for the 89th Academy Awards:

Arrival
Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
La La Land
Lion
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling, La La Land
Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington, Fences

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Isablle Huppert, Elle
Ruth Negga, Loving
Natalie Portman, Jackie
Emma Stone, La La Land
Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea
Dev Patel, Lion
Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Viola Davis, Fences
Naomie Harris, Moonlight
Nicole Kidman, Lion
Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea

Best Directing

Denis Villeneuve, Arrival
Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge
Damien Chazelle, La La Land
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
Barry Jenkins, Moonlight

Best Animated Feature

Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
My Life as a Zucchini
The Red Turtle
Zootopia

Best Adapted Screenplay

Arrival
Fences
Hidden Figures
Lion
Moonlight

Best Original Screenplay

Hell or High Water
La La Land
The Lobster
Manchester by the Sea
20^th Century Women

Best Foreign Language Film

Land of Mine (Denmark)
A Man Called Ove (Sweden)
The Salesman (Iran)
Tanna (Australia)
Toni Erdmann (Germany)

Best Documentary Feature

Fire at Sea
I Am Not Your Negro
Life, Animated
O.J.: Made in America
13th

Best Original Song

“Audition (The Fools Who Dream),” La La Land
“Can’t Stop the Feeling,” Trolls
“City of Stars,” La La Land
“The Empty Chair,” Jim: the James Foley Story
“How Far I’ll Go,” Moana

Best Original Score

Jackie
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Passengers

Best Cinematography

Arrival
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Silence

Film Editing

Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
La La Land
Moonlight

Costume Design

Allied
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Florence Foster Jenkins
Jackie
La La Land

Makeup and Hairstyling

A Man Called Ove
Star Trek Beyond
Suicide Squad

Production Design

Arrival
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Hail, Caesar!
La La Land
Passengers

Sound Editing

Arrival
Deepwater Horizon
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Sully

Sound Mixing

Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

Visual Effects

Deepwater Horizon
Doctor Strange
The Jungle Book
Kubo and the Two Strings
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Best Documentary Short

Extremis
4.1 Miles
Joe’s Violin
Watani: My Homeland
The White Helmets

Best Animated Short

Blind Vaysha
Borrowed Time
Pear Cider and Cigarettes
Pearl
Piper

Best Live Action Short

 

Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum