The 2019 Oscar Nominees Were Just Announced, And Here’s Everything You Need To Know
The latest batch of Oscar nominees have finally been released and everyone is buzzing with excitement. Who do you think is going to take home the golden statue? Who are you rooting for? Hollywood's biggest night is on Sunday, February 24th, so don't forget to tune in to see who wins (and what everyone is wearing).
Keep reading to learn more about all of the 2019 Academy Award nominees. Do you think Lady Gaga will get one step closer to an EGOT?
BlacKkKlansman
Let's start with the Best Picture category because everybody knows that's the most exciting award. And if you haven't seen all of the nominees yet, you still have about a month to get caught up.
BlacKkKlansman was nominated for Best Picture Oscar this year. The film follows the first African American detective in the Colorado Springs Police Department as he sets out to infiltrate and expose the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan.
Black Panther
A few months ago, The Academy thought it would be a good idea to introduce another category called "Best Popular Film." They wanted to recognize Black Panther at The Oscars because of its success at the box office, but it was speculated that they didn't want it to compete against "serious" movies.
After a whole bunch of backlash, The Academy decided not to implement the Best Popular Film category. The good thing is that Black Panther got nominated for an Oscar anyway.
Bohemian Rhapsody
Obviously, Bohemian Rhapsody is nominated for a Best Picture Oscar this year. Bohemian Rhapsody won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture—Drama, so most movie buffs would have been pretty stunned if it didn't get an Oscar nomination.
A lot of people were surprised when Bohemian Rhapsody took home the Golden Globe, so we'll have to see if they can keep up their winning streak. The competition may be a little bit tougher this time around.
The Favourite
Just so we're all on the same page, yes, there's a "U" in The Favourite. The movie was made in the UK, so they're going with the British spelling of "favourite." Let's not complain about it, alright?
The Favourite is honestly my favorite movie up for best picture this year. It has everything— humor, witty dialogue, fancy costumes, some vindictive lesbian bedroom scenes... This is the most original and creative movie I've seen in a long time, and there's some duck racing in it, which is just wonderful.
Green Book
Green Book surprised everyone when it took home the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy. It seems like this little movie came out of nowhere, even though it's full of big stars like Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali.
This film takes place in Southern America in the 1960s. It follows a black jazz musician named Don Shirley as he tours from city to city with his white driver, Tony Vallelonga. It's a movie about unlikely friendships and perseverance.
Roma
Roma is a Mexican film that was released on Netflix this past year. The movie is shot entirely in black and white, and all of the dialogue is in Spanish. The film is Alfonso Cuaróns' brainchild, and it's a semi-autobiographical take on his own upbringing in Mexico City.
It's set in the early 1970s and it follows a live-in housekeeper who works for a middle-class family. Roma is the only foreign film nominated for Best Picture this year.
A Star Is Born
A Star Is Born has proven to be a pretty polarizing film. Some people love it, some people aren't to keen on it, but it got nominated for Best Picture, so most people must have positive feelings about it.
This movie is the fourth remake of A Star Is Born, which means that this is a story that is truly timeless and universal. It resonated with audiences way back in 1937, and it's still resonating with audiences now.
Vice
Vice has been getting rave reviews from some pretty hard-to-please critics, so it's no surprise that this political film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture. The film has an all-star cast and it's relevant to today's political climate, so I think it has a really good chance at taking home the statue.
Christian Bale completely transformed himself into Dick Cheney, and the tone of this film is absolutely perfect.
Alfonso Cuarón
Alright, that's all the Best Picture nominees for 2019. Now we're going to move on to the Best Director nominees. First up, Alfonso Cuarón for Roma. Alfonso Cuarón is a Mexican-born director who's best known for films like Children of Men, Y Tu Mamá También, Gravity, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Roma is his most personal film to date, and his love for the subject matter really shows. Cuarón won the Golden Globe for directing this year, so chances are he's also going to win the Oscar.
Yorgos Lanthimos
Yorgos Lanthimos is a Greek film director best known for films like The Lobster, Dogtooth, and The Killing of a Sacred Deer. His films have been nominated for Best Screenplay and best Foreign Film Oscars before, but this is the first time that Lanthimos is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director.
His film The Favourite uses some truly innovative film techniques and it's unlike any period film created in the past.
Spike Lee
Spike Lee has truly made a name for himself in Hollywood. Not many directors rise to this level of celebrity. Spike is best known for directing films like She's Gotta Have It, Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, and Inside Man.
He's been nominated for an Academy Award twice, but he has yet to take home the trophy. Could 2019 be his year? I don't think anybody else could have done BlackKklansman justice.
Adam McKay
Adam McKay is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director this year for his work on Vice. He's best known for directing some of your favorite comedy movies, such as, Anchorman, Step Brothers, The Other Guys, and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.
Although Vice is technically a comedy, it's McKay's most serious film to date. His other political comedy-drama hybrid, The Big Short, earned him a Best Director nomination back in 2015.
Pawel Pawlikowski
Pawel Pawlikowski is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director this year for his film Cold War. His film Ida won the 2015 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Cold War is a Polish language film set in the late 1940s until the 1960s. It tells the story of a musical director who discovers and falls in love with a young singer. The film is loosely inspired by the lives of Pawlikowski's parents.
Yalitza Aparicio
Alright, that's the entire Best Director category. Now we're moving right along to the Best Actress category. First up is Yalitza Aparicio, who played Cleo in Alfonso Cuarón's Roma.
Aparicio is a Mexican actress and teacher. Her parents are of indigenous origin, and she is fluent in the Mixtec language. Roma is Aparicio's first film, and she's already begun working on her second film, Love is Blind, set to be released in 2019.
Glenn Close
Glenn Close is nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress for her role as Joan Archer in The Wife. By the way, this isn't Glenn's first rodeo. She has an entire Wikipedia page dedicated to her awards and nominations. Over the course of her career, she's already been nominated for seven Academy Awards. She hasn't won an Academy Award yet, so this could be her year.
Glenn won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture—Drama this year, so chances are she's going to win the Oscar too.
Olivia Colman
I don't think I can put into words how much I loved Olivia Colman's performance in The Favourite. This woman is absolutely perfect in every way and I really hope she wins the Academy Award. Yeah, Glenn Close is nice, but Olivia Colman is really special.
Olivia has already won two Golden Globe awards (one very recently for her role in The Favourite), but this is the first time she's been nominated for an Oscar.
Lady Gaga
You know Lady Gaga best as a pop star, but she's actually wanted to be an actress far longer than she wanted to be a singer. Her dreams finally came true when she was cast in Bradley Cooper's reimagining of A Star is Born. Lady Gaga has had some prior acting experience in American Horror Story, but this is her first film role.
Lady Gaga's performance was surprisingly great in A Star is Born, but could it be good enough to beat out acting heavy hitters like Glenn Close and Olivia Colman? I don't think so.
Melissa McCarthy
Melissa McCarthy is no stranger to award ceremonies. She's already won two Emmy Awards, and she's received nominations for two Academy Awards, two Golden Globes, two BAFTAs, and three SAG Awards.
This year she's nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress for her performance as Lee Israel in the biographical crime drama, Can You Ever Forgive Me? The film follows Israel as she tries to revitalize her failing writing career by forging letters from dead authors and playwrights.
Christian Bale
Time to move on the Best Actor nominees. First up is acting powerhouse Christian Bale. Christian Bale has already won an Academy Award for his work in The Fighter back in 2011. Since then, he's been nominated for three more Academy Awards (including this one for his portrayal of Dick Cheney in Vice).
Bale won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy this year, so he has a really good chance of taking home the Oscar too.
Bradley Cooper
Bradley Cooper is nominated for a Best Actor Oscar this year for his role in A Star Is Born (a movie that he also directed). This is Cooper's fourth acting Oscar nomination. He's previously been nominated for his work in Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle, and American Sniper.
While Bradley put on a very convincing Southern accent for A Star Is Born, I don't think he really has a chance of taking home the Oscar this year. The category is just too strong. I'm sure he feels like it's an honor just to be nominated, though.
Willem Dafoe
This is perhaps the most surprising of the 2019 Academy Award nominations. Neither Willem Dafoe nor his movie At Eternity's Gate were nominated for a Golden Globe Award of any kind this year.
At Eternity's Gate is a biographical drama about the life of Vincent van Gogh. Willem Dafoe plays van Gogh, you know, that famous artist who went crazy and cut his own ear off. Actually, that seems like the perfect role for Dafoe.
Rami Malek
Rami Malek is nominated for an Academy Award this year for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury in the film Bohemian Rhapsody. Rami won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture—Drama this year, so he has a really good chance of winning the Academy Award too.
Rami has also won an Emmy for his acting work on the hit show, Mr. Robot. This is the first time he's been nominated for an Academy Award. However you feel about Bohemian Rhapsody, you can't deny that Rami Malek did an excellent job in the film.
Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Mortensen is nominated for an Oscar for the role of Tony Vallelonga in the film Green Book. Viggo has been nominated for an Academy Award twice before, once for his work in Eastern Promises, and once for his work in Captain Fantastic.
He won a SAG Award for his performance in the final Lord of the Rings film. Viggo might not win for Best Actor this year, just because he's up against some very good performances.
Amy Adams
Now we're moving right along to the Best Actress in a Supporting Role category. Amy Adams is nominated for her acting work in Vice. In the film, she plays Dick Cheney's wife, Lynne Vincent Cheney.
Amy Adams has been nominated for an Oscar a whopping six times (including this time). Could this year finally be her year? Is Amy Adams the female version of Leonardo DiCaprio? She has won two Golden Globes in the past, but I think she deserves an Oscar.
Marina de Tavira
Marina de Tavira plays Sofia, the mother of the family, in Alfonso Cuarón's film Roma. This is her first major acting job and the first time she's been nominated for an acting award of any kind.
Marina was born in Mexico City. She was 43 years old at the time to movie was filmed. Marina probably won't win against some of the more seasoned veteran actors in her category, but it's nice to see that she was honored with a nomination.
Regina King
Regina King is nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role this year. Her work in If Beale Street Could Talk earned her a Golden Globe earlier this year. Regina has a real chance of taking home the statue in this category.
I think it's going to be tough for voters to choose between her and Amy Adams (although everyone in this category was absolutely amazing). It seems that the Supporting Actress category may actually be the strongest group this year.
Emma Stone
This year, Emma Stone is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in The Favourite. Emma is becoming something of a regular at these award shows.
She was nominated for an acting Oscar in 2015 for her work in Birdman, and she won an acting Oscar in 2017 for her role as Mia in La La Land. I think her acting is better in The Favourite than in either of those films.
Rachel Weisz
Rachel Weisz plays Emma Stone's nemesis in The Favourite. I think their performances in the film were equally good, and I have no idea how voters are supposed to choose between them. I guess that's why they're both nominated.
Rachel Weisz already has an Academy Award for her performance in The Constant Gardener back in 2006. This is her second nomination. Do we think it could be her second win? You never know how these award shows are going to pan out.
Mahershala Ali
Alright, we're moving right along to the Best Actor in a Supporting Role category. Mahershala Ali is nominated for his portrayal of jazz pianist Don Shirley in Green Book. This is the second time Mahershala Ali has been nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar.
He was previously nominated for his role in Moonlight in 2017, and he ended up winning in his category that year. Ali could easily take home the Oscar again this year.
Adam Driver
Adam Driver is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his work in BlackKklansman. Driver has proven time and time again that he's a seriously talented actor.
He's been nominated for several Primetime Emmy Awards, several Critics' Choice Awards, and he was nominated for a Golden Globe this year. Even if Adam doesn't take home the trophy in February, we're all expecting great things from him in the future.
Sam Elliott
Sam Elliott is nominated this year for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of Bobby Maine, Jack's older half-brother and manager in A Star Is Born.
Sam Elliott has been acting professionally since 1968. You probably know him best from films like The Big Lebowski, We Were the Soldiers, and Hulk. This is Sam Elliott's first Oscar nomination. He was previously nominated for a Golden Globe for his work in Conagher.
Richard E. Grant
Richard E. Grant is nominated this year for his role as Jack Hock in the biographical drama Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Grant is a Swazi-English actor best known for playing John Seward in Bram Stoker's Dracula and Zander Rice in Logan. He also played Izembaro in the sixth season of the HBO series Game of Thrones. Until now, he hasn't been nominated for any major acting awards.
Sam Rockwell
Sam Rockwell got his start by acting his fanny off in a whole bunch of fairly successful indie films. Recently he's been taking on some more high-profile roles. In 2017, he won an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his work in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri.
This year, he's nominated in the same category for his portrayal as President George W. Bush in the film Vice. I think either Sam Rockwell or Mahershala Ali will win in this category.
