Los Angeles (AFP)
Todd Phillips' "Joker" movie, with Joaquin Phoenix in the title role, leads the race for the 92nd Academy Awards with eleven nominations in total, the American Academy of Cinema Arts and Sciences announced on Monday, which presents the prestigious awards.
"Joker" competes in the categories of best film, best actor, best director, best screenplay, and many technical categories. He is neck and neck with three other favorites, "The Irishman" by Martin Scorsese, "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood" by Quentin Tarantino and "1917" by Sam Mendes, with ten nominations each.
Palme d'or at the last Cannes festival, the South Korean film "Parasite" by Bong Joon-ho also stood out with six nominations, notably in the flagship category of "best film", that of best foreign film and that of the best director.
Other outsiders include "Marriage Story" (six nominations), with its duo of prominent actors Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson, both selected, "Jojo Rabbit" (six nominations) and "Les Filles du Dr March" by Greta Gerwig. The latter was however not retained in the category of directors, where no woman is selected this year, which will undoubtedly cause controversy in Hollywood.
Often criticized for its lack of diversity, the Academy of Oscars will again be exposed to criticism for this 92nd selection: the American black actress Cynthia Erivo is the only non-white artist to have made her way in the nominations, in the category "best actress" for "Harriet".
Commentators were already pointing the finger Monday at the absence of Eddie Murphy, who made his comeback to the movies in "Dolemite is my name", and Jennifer Lopez, who could claim a nomination for "Queens".
The Oscars will be awarded in Hollywood on February 9.
© 2020 AFP