10 Things We Learned From Oscar 2016 Nominations
No matter how silly or self-important the Academy Awards appear to be (and let’s face it, so often are), the fact remains that the Oscars are so much more than just an awards show. They also serve as a veritable referendum on contemporary film, a place where a thousand different narratives — both on screen and behind the scenes — collide, converse and campaign for a better shot at being remembered. If every snub tells a story, then every nomination does as well — and these are the ones that we’ll be talking about between now and the ceremony on February 28th.
Harvey Weinstein Strikes Out
Time and again, Harvey Weinstein has shown an unparalleled ability to turn arthouse water into Oscar wine. You know how sports people always say that it’s about “who wants it more?” It doesn’t matter which film he’s peddling, or what competition he’s up against — Harvey Weinstein wants it more. But for the first time since 2008, Weinstein doesn’t have his name on a single Best Picture nominee (though the Weinstein Company did land 10 nominations, overall). While his pair of award-driven movies this year, Carol and The Hateful Eight, might have been long shots to win Best Picture, the fact of the matter is horses owned by the man who beat Saving Private Ryan with Shakespeare in Love are always in the race. Unless, of course, they’re not in the running at all.
White Out
If you want to find some color among this year’s roster of nominees, you really have to know where to look. Like the Best Animated Short Film category, for example, where Sanjay Patel has been nominated for Sanjay’s Super Team. Or Best Original Song, where the Weeknd got a shout out for his contribution to Fifty Shades of Grey. Nothing brought the profound lack of racial diversity more clearly into focus, though, than Creed, for which Sylvester Stallone scored a Best Supporting Actor nod, while director Ryan Coogler and star Michael B. Jordan were both overlooked. But it’s okay: Straight Outta Compton was nominated for Best Original Screenplay, so Hollywood’s institutional racism is obviously the stuff of a bygone era. Somewhere, Oscar host Chris Rock is licking his lips.
Trans Positive
But it wasn’t all bad news on the diversity front. While Tangerine‘s trans star Mya Taylor didn’t receive the Best Actress nomination so many people hoped she would, musician Antony Hegarty became the second trans person ever nominated for an Academy Award (the first was Angela Morley). Her urgent ballad “Manta Ray,” which appeared on the soundtrack for the environmental doc Racing Extinction, snagged a well-deserved nod for Best Original Song. Here’s hoping that Antony performs at the ceremony, as the sound of her voice would guarantee at least one beautiful moment amidst the usual interminable dross of the telecast.
Carter Burwell Scores His First Nomination
Judging by composer Carter Burwell’s IMDB page, it would seem as if he’s scored approximately half of the great American movies made during the last 30 years (Being John Malkovich, Fargo, etc.), but until this morning he had exactly zero Oscar nominations to show for his hard work. Fortunately, the brilliant musician had the savvy to recognize that his score for Todd Hayne’s Carol was something special, and — for the first time in his career — he agreed to campaign for it (read our interview with Burwell). Lo and behold, it turns out that you can’t win if you don’t play.
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