For the first time in history, two women have received Oscar nominations for best director as organizers promise a “unique year” for the award ceremony.
Chloe Zhao and Emerald Fennell join the five other women who have been nominated for best director in the Academy Award’s decadeslong history. Zhao, nominated for her film Nomadland, and Fennell, nominated for Promising Young Woman, are the only women to have been nominated in the category at the same time. Their nominations were announced on Monday.
The 93rd Academy Awards is set to take place in-person on April 25 throughout multiple locations after its initial showing, slated for Feb. 28, was postponed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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“In this unique year that has asked so much of so many, the Academy is determined to present an Oscars like none other, while prioritizing the public health and safety of all those who will participate,” a spokesperson for the event said. “To create the in-person show our global audience wants to see, while adapting to the requirements of the pandemic, the ceremony will broadcast live from multiple locations, including the landmark Dolby Theatre.”
Other notable nominations include a posthumous selection of Chadwick Boseman for best actor in a leading role for his performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. The actor, who was hailed for his character in Black Panther, died of colon cancer in late August 2020.
The films The Father, Mank, Judias and the Black Messiah, Minari, Nomadland, Trial of the Chicago 7, Promising Young Woman, and Sound of Metal will compete for best picture, while Zhao and Fennell face competition from Thomas Vinterberg (Another Round), David Fincher (Mank), and Lee Isaac Chung (Minari) for the best director bid.
Alongside Boseman, Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal), Anthony Hopkins (The Father), Gary Oldman (Mank), and Steven Yeun (Minari) will compete for best actor. Yeun is reportedly the first Asian-American to be nominated for the award.
Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Andra Day (The United States v. Billie Holiday), Vanessa Kirby (Pieces of a Woman), Frances McDormand (Nomadland), and Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman) were nominated for best actress.
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm was also given a nod for awards, despite drawing controversy when it aired. The film, starring Sacha Baron Cohen, was lambasted by conservative figures after it featured a viral hotel-room prank on former President Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
Guiliani claimed to be “tucking in” his “shirt” when images circulated of the GOP figure appearing to reach inside his pants, alongside actress Maria Bakalova, who was nominated for best supporting actress.
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“The Borat video is a complete fabrication,” Giuliani wrote at the time. “I was tucking in my shirt after taking off the recording equipment. At no time before, during, or after the interview was I ever inappropriate. If Sacha Baron Cohen implies otherwise he is a stone-cold liar.”
