Why Greta Gerwig and Mary J. Blige’s Oscar nominations are significant
Plus other female nominees that are making history
Comedian Tiffany Haddish kept the 90th Academy Awards nominations announcement lively Tuesday morning. She presented the nominees alongside actor Andy Serkis.
“The Shape of Water” dominated the nominations for the 90th Academy Awards on Tuesday morning, landing 13, one shy of the record. Writer and director Guillermo del Toro’s grown-up fairy tale romance between a mute woman and a misunderstood aquatic monster is up for best picture, best director, best screenplay and acting awards for Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer and Richard Jenkins, in addition to a number of technical categories.
“Dunkirk,” Christopher Nolan’s war epic, landed eight noms, and “Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri” picked up seven. The movie has been a hit awards shows this season. It won big prizes at the SAG Awards and Golden Globes, where Frances McDormand won for best actress in a drama.
Greta Gerwing, Mary J. Blige and Meryl Streep were also standout nominees. Here’s why:
Greta Gerwig
“Lady Bird’s” Greta Gerwig’s nomination for best director ends the Academy’s eight-year streak of nominating all men. Gerwig is the fifth woman to be recognized in the category.
The other four are Lina Wertmuller (“Seven Beauties”), Jane Campion (“The Piano”), Sofia Coppola (“Lost in Translation”) and Kathryn Bigelow (“The Hurt Locker”), who won the Oscar in 2010 and became the only female filmmaker to do so. “Lady Bird” also got Gerwig a nomination for best original screenplay and is one of nine best picture contenders.
Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige became the first person to be nominated for best original song and acting for the same film. Blige got a best supporting actress nomination for her role as Florence Jackson — a wife and mother just trying to get by and keep her kids safe in the Jim Crow South — in Netflix’s “Mudbound.” She also cowrote and recorded “Mighty River” for the movie.
Rachel Morrison
“Mudbound’s” Rachel Morrison is the first female cinematographer to be nominated in the Academy’s 90-year history. Morrison, who also worked on the highly anticipated “Black Panther,” was named best cinematographer by the New York Film Critics Circle earlier this awards season.
Dee Rees
Dee Rees wrote the screenplay for “Mudbound” alongside Virgil Williams, making her the first black woman in 45 years — and the second ever — to be nominated for best original screenplay. The first was “Lady Sings the Blues” writer Suzanne de Passe, who shared the 1972 nomination with co-writers Chris Clark and Terence McCloy. Rees also directed “Mudbound,” but she was not recognized in that category.
Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep notably beat her own record for most appearances in the best actress category. Her nomination for playing publisher Katherine Graham in “The Post” is her 21st and comes 40 years after the first, which she received for “The Deer Hunter.” Streep has won three Oscars total, for “Kramer vs. Kramer,” “Sophie’s Choice” and “The Iron Lady.”
Other notable nominations:
- Jordan Peele’s box-office smash “Get Out” was nominated for best picture and best original screenplay. Peele was also nominated for best director. He is the fifth black director to get a nomination in the category. Actor Daniel Kaluuya picked up a best actor nomination, too.
- Christopher Nolan received his first-ever best director nod for “Dunkirk,” a best picture contender.
- Denzel Washington, perhaps a surprise best actor nominee for crime thriller “Roman J. Israel, Esq.,” also beat his own record for the most-nominated black actor in Oscar history. This is his eighth. He won in the supporting category for “Glory,” and in the leading category for “Training Day” in 2002.
Original story by The Washington Post’s Stephanie Merry and Sonia Rao.
