Oscar Nominations 2020: ‘Joker’ Leads with 11 Nominations, J-Lo and De Niro Snubbed

Today finally saw the announcement of the 92md Academy Awards. So, who were the big winners and losers, and he got snubbed and surprised? Let’s take a look...

Unsurprisingly (following its recent domination) Warner Bros polarising “Joker” leads the way with a whopping 11 nominations, including Best Actor for Category favourite Joaquin Phoenix, Beat Director for Todd Phillips, and a coveted best picture nomination. Though it must be added it will most likely only walk away with one or two in form of Phoenix and Hildur Guonadottir for original score. Elsewhere, close behind “Joker” was big hitters “1917”, “The Irishman”, and “Once Upon a time...In Hollywood”, which each landed ten nods, including picture, screenplay, and directing. 

Just below these juggernauts is “Jojo Rabbit”, “Little Women”, “Marriage Story”, and Bong Joon Ho’s tremendous “Parasite” each with six nominations apiece. 

Now for the Snubs and surprises. 

The first major snub came in the first announced category when Jennifer Lopez found herself left out in the cold for her performer in “Hustlers”, even after a host of critic’s nominations, commercial success, and apparent love from academy members. Possibly more outrageous in my opinion is the lack of Awkwafina in the lead actress category, for her incredible work in Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell”, however, the Academy have been big sticklers in the past for not nominating actors who have come from comedy.

Elsewhere, the directing category was a male lockout as Greta Gerwig lost on the (realistically) one available slot to “Joker” director Todd Phillips. Whilst it is a real disappointment to many that none of the cast of Parasite, including Song Kang-Ho and Park So-Dam were able to break into the acting categories, and follow in the footsteps of Yalitza Aparicio and Marina De Tavira from last year’s foreign-language hit “Roma”. Paramount and Taron Egerton will also be majorly disappointed the actor was unable to land in best actor, following their extremely (and ridiculously at times) aggressive campaigning. 

The biggest snub of all, landing a remarkable zero nominations was the Safdie brothers “Uncut Gems”. A film you could drop into any year of these awards and it would land at least four or five nominations. The films biggest defeat came in both the lead actor category for star Adam Sandler’s career best performance, and for the film’s screenplay, head and shoulders above some of those nominated today. 

Finally, in the acting categories, one-time locks Lupita Nyong’o (“Us”) Eddie Murphy (“Dolemite Is My Name”), and outside shot Willem Dafoe (“The Lighthouse”) were also overlooked.

Take a look at the full list of nominees below.

Best Picture
“Ford v Ferrari” (Disney/Fox)
“The Irishman” (Netflix)
“Jojo Rabbit” (Fox Searchlight)
“Joker” (Warner Bros.)
“Little Women” (Sony)
“Marriage Story” (Netflix)
“1917” (Universal)
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (Sony)
“Parasite” (Neon)

Best Director
Martin Scorsese (“The Irishman”)
Todd Phillips (“Joker”)
Sam Mendes (“1917”)
Quentin Tarantino (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”)
Bong Joon Ho (“Parasite”)

Best Actor
Antonio Banderas (“Pain and Glory”)
Leonardo DiCaprio (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”)
Adam Driver (“Marriage Story”)
Joaquin Phoenix (“Joker”)
Jonathan Pryce (“The Two Popes”)

Best Actress
Cynthia Erivo (“Harriet”)
Scarlett Johansson (“Marriage Story”)
Saorise Ronan (“Little Women”)
Charlize Theron (“Bombshell”)
Renee Zellweger (“Judy”)

Supporting Actor
Tom Hanks (“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”)
Anthony Hopkins (“The Two Popes”)
Al Pacino (“The Irishman”)
Joe Pesci (“The Irishman”)
Brad Pitt (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”)

Supporting Actress
Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”
Laura Dern (“Marriage Story”)
Scarlett Johansson (“Jojo Rabbit”)
Florence Pugh (“Little Women”)
Margot Robbie (“Bombshell”)

Adapted Screenplay
Taika Waititi (“Jojo Rabbit”)
Steve Zaillian (“The Irishman”)
Anthony McCarten (“The Two Popes”)
Greta Gerwig (“Little Women”)
Todd Phillips and Scott Silver (“Joker”)

Best Original Screenplay
Rian Johnson (“Knives Out”)
Noah Baumbach (“Marriage Story”)
Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns (“1917”)
Quentin Tarantino (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”)
Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won (“Parasite”)

Animated Feature
“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World”
“I Lost My Body”
“Klaus”
“Missing Link”
“Toy Story 4”

International Feature Film
“Corpus Christi”
“Honeyland”
“Les Miserables”
“Pain and Glory”
“Parasite”

Best Documentary
“American Factory”
“The Cave”
“Edge of Democracy”
“For Sama”
“Honeyland”

Best Cinematography
“The Irishman”
“Joker”
“The Lighthouse”
“1917”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Best Costume Design
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”
“Little Women”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Film Editing
“Ford vs. Ferrari”
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”
“Parasite”

Makeup and Hairstyling
“Bombshell”
“Joker”
“Judy”
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”
“1917”

Original Score
“Joker”
“Little Women”
“Marriage Story”
“1917”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”

Original Song
I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” “Toy Story 4”
“I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” “Rocketman”
“I’m Standing With You,” “Breakthrough”
“Into the Unknown,” “Frozen 2”
“Stand Up,” “Harriet”

Production Design
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“1917”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
“Parasite”

Sound Editing
“Ford v Ferrari”
“Joker”
“1917”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’

Sound Mixing
“Ad Astra”
“Ford vs. Ferrari”
“Joker”
“1917”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Visual Effects
“Avengers: Endgame”
“The Irishman”
“The Lion King”
“1917”
“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”

Documentary (Short Subject)
“In the Absence”
“Learning to Skateboard in a War Zone If You’re a Girl”
“Life Overtakes Me”
“St. Louis Superman”
“Walk Run Cha-Cha”

Short Film (Animated)
“Daughter”
“Hair Love”
“Kitbull”
“Memorable”
“Sister”

Short Film (Live Action)
“Brotherhood”
“Nefta Football Club”
“The Neighbor’s Window”
“Saria”
“A Sister”