'Joker' leads Oscar noms; '1917,' 'Irishman' close behind

This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Joaquin Phoenix in a scene from "Joker." On Monday, Jan. 13, Phoenix was nominated for an Oscar for best actor for his role in the film. (Niko Tavernise/Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Joaquin Phoenix in a scene from "Joker." On Monday, Jan. 13, Phoenix was nominated for an Oscar for best actor for his role in the film. (Niko Tavernise/Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

Female filmmakers were shut out, "Parasite" made history and "Joker" edged out "The Irishman," "1917" and "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood" in Monday's Oscar nominations.

Todd Phillips' R-rated superhero smash "Joker" topped all films with 11 nominations to the 92nd Academy Awards, while Martin Scorsese's elegiac crime epic "The Irishman," Quentin Tarantino's 1960s Los Angeles fairy tale "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood" and Sam Mendes' continuous World War I tale "1917" all trailed close behind with 10 nods apiece.

Those four were among the nine films nominated for best picture by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. The others were: Greta Gerwig's Louisa May Alcott adaptation "Little Women," Noah Baumbach's divorce drama "Marriage Story," Taika Waititi's Nazi Germany romp "Jojo Rabbit," James Mangold's racing drama "Ford v Ferrari" and Bong Joon Ho's class satire "Parasite" - the first Korean film to be nominated and only the 11th non-English best picture nominee.

"Joker," which gives the DC Comics villain an antihero spin cribbed from Scorsese, was expected to do well. But the academy's overwhelming support for a divisive movie that was far from a critical favorite was unexpected. Its nominations included best actor for Joaquin Phoenix and best director for Phillips.

Though a record 62 women (or about a third of nominees) were nominated Monday, the academy put the most weight behind a handful of swaggering male-driven movies predicated on virtuosity, spectacle and star power. For the 87th time, the academy selected all-male directing nominees.

"Congratulations to those men," said Issa Rae, who presented the nominees alongside John Cho.

Hollywood, in the midst of a streaming upheaval, also gave Netflix more nominations than ever before: 24. The 10 nominations for "The Irishman" tied the most for a Netflix film, following "Roma" last year. Scorsese, a one-time winner for "The Departed," was nominated for best director for the ninth time. The film also won nods for Al Pacino and Joe Pesci.

"1917" followed up its Golden Globes win and strong opening weekend at the box office with nominations not just for its technical achievement (including Mendes' directing and Roger Deakins' cinematography) but for best screenplay, too.

"Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood" was nominated in all the expected categories, including Tarantino for directing and screenplay, best actor for Leonardo DiCaprio and best supporting actor for Brad Pitt.

"It's a real love story to this industry," DiCaprio said by phone. "In this movie, Quentin got to do a movie that was a homage to Los Angeles and a place that I grew up in."

There were many surprises. Awkwafina, who was poised to become just the second Asian American nominated for best actress, wasn't nominated for her acclaimed leading performance in "The Farewell." Also overlooked for best animated film was "Frozen 2," the highest grossing animated film ever and Beyoncé, for her "Lion King" song.

Most glaringly, Jennifer Lopez, long considered a supporting actress front-runner for her performance in "Hustlers," was also denied her first Oscar nomination.

Those oversights left the Oscars with their least diverse field since the fallout of #OscarsSoWhite pushed the film academy to diversify its membership. The only actor of color nominated was British actress Cynthia Erivo for her Harriet Tubman in "Harriet."

Bong Joon Ho's "Parasite," however, made history for South Korea. Along with the country's first nomination for best international film, "Parasite" also scored nods for Bong's direction, best editing and best production design.

No filmmaking couple has had an Oscar nominations morning quite like Gerwig and "Marriage Story" director Noah Baumbach. Their movies were each nominated for best picture, best screenplay (adapted for Gerwig; original for Baumbach) and six nominations in total.

Nominations for "Marriage Story" included nods for its leads, Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson, and Laura Dern for best supporting actress. Johansson, also nominated for her supporting turn in "Jo Jo Rabbit," became the first two-time acting nominee since Cate Blanchett managed the feat in 2007.

Also nominated for best actress was Renée Zellweger, considered the front-runner for her Judy Garland in "Judy"; Charlize Theron ("Bombshell"); and Soairse Ronan ("Little Women"). Just 25 years old, Ronan now has four Oscar nominations.

Joining Driver, DiCaprio and Phoenix for best actor were Jonathan Pryce, who stars as Pope Francis in "The Two Popes"; and Antonio Banderas, who plays a semi-fictionalized version of director Pedro Almodóvar in "Pain and Glory."

No category was more competitive this year. Those left out were themselves a formidable group: Eddie Murphy ("Dolemite Is My Name"), Robert De Niro ("The Irishman"), Christian Bale ("Ford v Ferrari") and Adam Sandler ("Uncut Gems").

Sandler on Twitter responded: "Bad news: Sandman gets no love from the academy. Good news: Sandman can stop wearing suits."

Tom Hanks received his first Oscar nomination in 19 years for playing Mister Rogers in "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood." But Pitt, who is heading toward his first acting Academy Award, is the overwhelming favorite among the supporting actor nominees.

"American Factory," the first film from Barack and Michelle Obama's recently launched production company, Higher Ground, was nominated for best documentary.

"Honeyland," about a wild bee keeper in rural Macedonia, became the first film ever nominated for both best documentary and best international film.

Also up for best documentary are: "For Sama," "The Edge of Democracy" and the Syrian Civil War film "The Cave."

The other nominees for best international film were "Pain and Glory" from Spain, "Les Miserables" from France and "Corpus Christi" from Poland.

After the most dominant box-office year in Hollywood history, the Walt Disney Co.'s top films - including the record-setting Marvel blockbuster "Avengers: Endgame" - were largely relegated to categories like best visual effects. The studio has never won a best picture Academy Award but does have a few contenders via its acquisition in April of 20th Century Fox: "Ford v Ferrari" and "Jojo Rabbit."

The 92nd Academy Awards, which will again go hostless, will be held Feb. 9 in Los Angeles and broadcast live on ABC.

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AP Entertainment Writers Jonathan Landrum Jr. in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

The list of nominees for the 92nd Academy Awards

The list of nominees for the 92nd Academy Awards:

Best picture: "Ford v. Ferrari"; "The Irishman"; "Jojo Rabbit"; "Joker"; "Little Women"; "Marriage Story"; "1917"; Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood"; "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"; Saoirse Ronan, "Little Women"; Charlize Theron, "Bombshell"; Renée Zellweger, "Judy"

Best supporting actor: Tom Hanks, "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood"; Anthony Hopkins, "The Two Popes"; Brad Pitt, "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood"; Joe Pesci, "The Irishman"; Al Pacino, "The Irishman"

Best supporting actress: Kathy Bates, "Richard Jewell"; Laura Dern, "Marriage Story"; Scarlett Johansson, "Jojo Rabbit"; Florence Pugh, "Little Women"; Margot Robbie, "Bombshell"

Best director: Bong Joon Ho, "Parasite"; Sam Mendes, "1917"; Todd Phillips, "Joker"; Martin Scorsese, "The Irishman"; Quentin Tarantino, "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood"

Adapted screenplay: "The Irishman," Steven Zaillian; "Jojo Rabbit," Taika Waititi; "Joker," Todd Phillips and Scott Silver; "Little Women," Greta Gerwig; "The Two Popes," Anthony McCarten

Original screenplay: "Knives Out," Rian Johnson; "Marriage Story," Noah Baumbach; "1917," Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns; "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood," Quentin Tarantino; "Parasite," Bong Joon-ho and Jin Won Han

Animated feature: "How to Train a Dragon: The Hidden World"; "Toy Story 4"; "I Lost My Body"; "Klaus"; "Missing Link"

Original Score: Hildur Gunadóttir, "Joker"; Alexandre Desplat, "Little Women"; Randy Newman, "Marriage Story"; Thomas Newman, "1917"; John Williams, "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker"

Original song: "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again," "Rocketman" (Music by Elton John, lyrics by Bernie Taupin); "I'm Standing With You," "Breakthrough" (Music and lyrics by Diane Warren); "Into The Unknown," "Frozen II" (Music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez); "Stand Up," "Harriet" (Music and lyrics by Joshuah Brian Campbell and Cynthia Erivo); "I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away," "Toy Story 4" (Music and lyrics by Randy Newman)

Cinematography: Rodrigo Prieto, "The Irishman"; Lawrence Sher, "Joker"; Jarin Blaschke, "The Lighthouse"; Roger Deakins, "1917"; Robert Richardson, "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood."

Costume design: "The Irishman"; "Jojo Rabit"; "Joker"; "Little Women"; "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood"

Animated short film: "Dcera (Daughter)"; "Hair Love"; "Kitbull"; "Memorable"; "Sister"

Visual effects: "Avengers: Endgame"; "The Irishman"; "The Lion King"; "1917"; "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker"

Live action short film: "Brotherhood"; "Nefta Football Club"; "The Neighbors' Window"; "Saria"; "A Sister"

Documentary short subject: "In the Absence"; "Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl)"; "Life Overtakes Me"; "St. Louis Superman"; "Walk Run Cha-Cha."

Documentary feature: "American Factory"; "The Cave"; "The Edge of Democracy"; "For Sama"; "Honeyland"

International film: "Corpus Christi," Poland; "Honeyland," North Macdeonia; "Les Miserables," France; "Pain and Glory," Spain; "Parasite," South Korea

Film editing: "Ford Vs. Ferrari"; "Jojo Rabbit"; "The Irishman"; "Joker"; "Parasite"

Production design: "The Irishman"; "Jojo Rabbit:' "1917;" "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood" "Parasite"

Makeup and hairstyling: "Bombshell"; "Joker"; "Judy"; "Maleficent: Mistress of Evil"; "1917"

Sound Editing: "Ford v Ferrari," Don Sylvester; "Joker," Alan Robert Murray; "1917," Oliver Tarney and Rachel Tate; "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood," Wylie Stateman; "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker," Matthew Wood and David Acord

Sound mixing: "Ad Astra," Gary Rydstrom, Tom Johnson and Mark Ulano; "Ford v Ferrari," Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Steven A. Morrow; "Joker," Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic and Tod Maitland; "1917," Mark Taylor and Stuart Wilson; "Once upon a Time...in Hollywood" Michael Minkler, Christian P. Minkler and Mark Ulano

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