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Surprise: Daniel Kaluuya & Lakeith Stanfield
Photo: Glen Wilson / © Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection/CP Images
In one of the stranger twists of this year's Oscar nominations, "Judas and the Black Messiah" stars Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield were both nominated in the same category for Best Supporting Actor, despite being co-leads in the film.
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Snub: Regina King For Best Director
Getty Images
It’s hard to complain when the Academy’s Best Director category includes two women for the first time ever, but if there was ever a year for women to outnumber the men, it’s 2021. Regina King’s feature film directorial debut earned a total of three nominations including Adapted Screenplay, Best Song and Best Supporting Actor for Leslie Odom, Jr., but seeing the Oscar-winning actress’ name would have been the icing on the cake. To date, no Black woman has been nominated in the directing category.
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Surprise: ‘A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon’ For Best Animated Feature
Netflix
He’s the little sheep that could. The beloved spin-off of the “Wallace And Gromit” franchise has plenty of fans in the Academy to land an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature over the other would-be contenders like “The Croods: A New Age” and “The Willoughbys”.
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Snub: ‘Borat’ For Best Actor
Amazon Studios
Sure, Sacha Baron Cohen is now an Oscar-nominated actor for his supporting turn in the ensemble drama “The Trial Of The Chicago 7”, but what is “Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm” without him? Even in 2020, a few (albeit gullible) Americans were still fooled by his undercover ways and aren’t able to separate the man from the character. Now that’s commitment. The movie did earn Cohen a screenplay nod and breakout co-star Maria Bakalova a nomination. Plus, we just really want to hear the presenters announce the film by its full title: “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan”
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Snub: Delroy Lindo In 'Da 5 Bloods'
Photo: DAVID LEE/NETFLIX © 2020
Despite universal praise for his sharp, challenging and spellbinding turn in "Da 5 Bloods", actor Delroy Lindo failed to nab a nomination at this year's Oscars.
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Surprise: 'Another Round'
Photo: Samuel Goldwyn Films /Courtesy Everett Collection/CP Images
While the Best International Feature nomination for the Danish film "Another Round" was fully expected, the drama - about a group of teachers who experiment with being perpetually drunk in order to loosen up - surprised Oscar-watchers by snagging a nod for Thomas Vinterberg for Best Director.
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Snub: 'First Cow'
Photo: A24
Kelly Reichardt's moving period film "First Cow" was one of the first films of 2020 to begin building awards buzz, but the love apparently didn't burn long enough for Academy voters to remember, as the movie found itself completely shut out of this year's nominations.
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Surprise: Paul Raci For Best Supporting Actor
Pacific Northwest Pictures
Ask anyone who has seen “Sound Of Metal” and you’ll hear raves about Paul Raci’s performance, but the longtime character actor’s name may come as a surprise as it’s likely to be unfamiliar to many. The 72-year-old’s role as Joe, a man who runs a rural shelter for deaf recovering addicts, has been earning praise for his part since the film premiered at TIFF in 2019. In a category full of showy performances, Raci’s may just be the one true supporting performance.
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Snub: ‘Mank’ For Best Original Screenplay
Netflix
The movie about famed Hollywood screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz didn’t land a screenplay nod. David Fincher’s “Mank” leads the nominations pack with 10 nods, but despite all the love shown to the biopic, it’s missing from the Best Original Screenplay category. The screenplay was written by Jack Fincher, the director’s late father.