LOS
ANGELES, United States — Jane Campion’s gothic Western “The Power of the Dog” led the Oscars
nominations Tuesday, fending off a crowded field of movies from a year in which
COVID-19-weary audiences slowly headed back into movie theaters.
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The movie about
a repressed 1920s cattle rancher in Montana released by Netflix earned 12 nods
ahead of next month’s Oscars gala, including best director — making Campion the
first female auteur nominated twice in Academy Award history.
“The Power of
the Dog” was also nominated for best picture, and landed acting nods for
Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, and Kodi Smit-McPhee.
Campion was last
nominated 28 years ago for “The Piano.”
Sprawling sci-fi
epic “Dune” landed in second place overall, landing 10 nods including best
picture, although its director Denis Villeneuve was overlooked by the Academy
of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
As expected, the
adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sprawling novel set on a desert planet plagued by
monstrous sandworms scored well across technical categories including
cinematography, visual effects, and sound.
Other coveted
directing slots went to
Kenneth Branagh for black-and-white childhood drama
“Belfast” and Steven Spielberg for musical “West Side Story,” with each film
securing seven nominations.
Spielberg’s
decision to remake the most honored musical in Oscars history had been
criticized as unnecessary by some, but it won over voters to earn a best
picture nomination, and another for supporting actress for
Ariana DeBose as
Anita.
The directing
category was rounded out by Paul Thomas Anderson for “Licorice Pizza,” and
Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi — whose subtitled, three-hour drama “Drive
My Car” also earned a rare best picture nomination.
Hopes that
larger-than-life, unapologetically commercial box office hits like “
Spider-Man: No Way Home” and 007 outing “No Time To Die” could break into the best picture
race were thwarted.
The $1.8
billion-grossing “Spider-Man” film landed only a visual effects nomination,
while Daniel Craig’s final James Bond film earned three nods.
‘Wide open’
As widely predicted,
frontrunner Will Smith earned recognition for his portrayal of the father of
tennis greats Serena and Venus Williams in “King Richard,” which took six nods
overall.
He is up against Cumberbatch, Denzel Washington
(“The Tragedy of Macbeth”), Andrew Garfield (“tick, tick...BOOM!”) and Javier
Bardem (“Being the Ricardos.”)
Lady Gaga was the surprise omission in the best
actress category, with “House of Gucci” earning just one nomination -- for best
hair and make-up.
Instead best actress will be contested by
Jessica Chastain (“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”), Olivia Colman (“The Lost Daughter”),
Penelope Cruz (“Parallel Mothers”), Nicole Kidman (“Being the Ricardos”) and
Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”).
The plethora of A-listers will be welcomed by the
Academy, after last year’s sparsely-watched
Oscars gala, which featured smaller
movies barely known to the wider public.
Giant cinematic
spectacles — many of which were pushed back into 2021 during the first year of
the coronavirus pandemic — are competing with auteur films that gained
tractions on streaming sites in this year’s diverse race for Hollywood’s
biggest awards.
“Last year we had a much more indie Oscars ... This
year was the return of big cinema, big movies and studio films,” said one
Academy voter, who asked not to be named.
“The race is wide open this year,” said Deadline
award columnist Pete Hammond.
The
94th Academy Awards gala is scheduled for March
27.
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