Following the infamous “Oscars So White” boycott of last year’s ceremony, the Academy has taken issues of diversity to heart. The organization added more diverse projects to their voter lineup and now that the 2016 Academy Award nominations are in, it’s clear they are trying to save face.
This year, every single acting category has at least one nominee with diverse, characters and or themes representing minority groups. In the case of Best Supporting Actress, three African-American women are nominated, along with several nominations to the feature film “Moonlight,” A gay love story about two black men. This is a far cry from two consecutive years, in which no African-Americans were nominated for any acting roles, prompting the boycott.
Though the Oscars are certainly not the center of the only diversity problem in Hollywood, the fact that the Academy is trying to keep up with the times while still honoring the best actors is an admirable feat.
In other news, “La La Land,” the worldwide hit musical starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, is now one of the most nominated films in Oscar history, with a grand total of 14 nominations, tying with “Titanic.” Stone and Gosling both landed nominations for the film. Stone is the clear frontrunner in her category.
Other films that received a great deal of attention are “Hacksaw Ridge,” landing a Best Actor nomination for Andrew Garfield, “Arrival” with eight nominations and “Moonlight” receiving a Best Supporting Actor nod for the film’s breakout star Mahershala Ali, along with best original score.
Notable snubs include Amy Adams’s emotional performance in “Arrival” failing to get a Best Actress nod, Pixar’s “Finding Dory” receiving no attention and one of the highest grossing films of the year, “Deadpool,” which many believed had a chance at least at a technical category, but received nothing.
Even films that were lukewarmly received picked up nominations. “Passengers” got two nominations for Production Design and Original Score and “Suicide Squad” managed to worm its way into Best Makeup.
The Oscars are always an event to celebrate and remember. This year, almost every moviegoer has something to look forward to.
So many great films are up for gold this year that no matter which film wins, film fans will be biting their nails. With a diverse range of actors to boot, this year’s ceremony will be a night to remember.
Bradley Burgess can be reached at [email protected]