2021 OSCAR NOMINATIONS – FULL LIST

​Well, well, well, the time has finally come! The 2021 Oscars nominations have been revealed and are chock full of pleasant surprises (as well as a few snubs). Films like Judas and the Black Messiah and Sound of Metal did far better than many expected, while others – such as Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and One Night in Miami… – did not do as well as initially projected. The total Best Picture nomination count landed at 8 rather than 9, and some films that were never in contention (in terms of being leading favorites) managed to squeeze themselves in, blocking out some distinguished competition. Here is that list in full.

​Best Picture:

• The Father
• Judas and the Black Messiah
• Mank
• Minari
• Nomadland
• Promising Young Woman
• Sound of Metal
• The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Director:

• Thomas Vinterberg, Another Round
• David Fincher, Mank
• Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
• Chloé Zhao, Nomadland
• Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman

Best Actor:

• Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
• Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
• Anthony Hopkins, The Father
• Gary Oldman, Mank
• Steven Yeun, Minari

Best Actress:

• Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
• Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holiday
• Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman
• Frances McDormand, Nomadland
• Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman

Best Supporting Actor:

• Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7
• Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah
• Leslie Odom Jr., One Night in Miami…
• Paul Raci, Sound of Metal
• Lakeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah

Best Supporting Actress:

• Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
• Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy
• Olivia Colman, The Father
• Amanda Seyfried, Mank
• Yuh-Jung Youn, Minari

Best Animated Feature:

• Onward
• Over the Moon
• A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
• Soul
• Wolfwalkers

Best International Feature Film:

• Another Round (Denmark)
• Better Days (Hong Kong)
• Collective (Romania)
• The Man Who Sold His Skin (Tunisia)
• Quo Vadis, Aida? (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Best Documentary Feature:

• Collective
• Crip Camp
• The Mole Agent
• My Octopus Teacher
• Time

Best Cinematography:

• Sean Bobbitt, Judas and the Black Messiah
• Erik Messerschmidt, Mank
• Darius Wolski, News of the World
• Joshua James Richards, Nomadland
• Phedon Papamichael, The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Film Editing:

• Yorgos Lamprinos, The Father
• Chloé Zhao, Nomadland
• Frédéric Thoraval, Promising Young Woman
• Mikkel E.G. Nielsen, Sound of Metal
• Alan Baumgarten, The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Production Design:

• Peter Francis, The Father
• Mark Ricker, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
• Donald Graham Burt, Mank
• David Crank, News of the World
• Nathan Crowley, Tenet

Best Costume Design:

• Alexander Byrne, Emma
• Ann Roth, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
• Trish Summerville, Mank
• Bina Daigeler, Mulan
• Massimo Cantini Parrini, Pinocchio

Best Makeup & Hairstyling:

• Emma
• Hillbilly Elegy
• Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
• Mank
• Pinocchio

Best Original Score:

• Terence Blanchard, Da 5 Bloods
• Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Mank
• Emile Mosseri, Minari
• James Newton Howard, News of the World
• Jon Batiste, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Soul

Best Original Song:

• “Fight for You,” Judas and the Black Messiah
• “Hear My Voice,” The Trial of the Chicago 7
• “Husavik,” Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
• “Io Sì (Seen),” The Life Ahead
• “Speak Now,” One Night in Miami…

Best Adapted Screenplay:

• Peter Baynham, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jena Friedman, Anthony Hines, Lee Kern, Dan Mazer, Erica Rivinoja, and Dan Swimer, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
• Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller, The Father
• Chloé Zhao, Nomadland
• Kemp Powers, One Night in Miami…
• Ramin Bahrani, The White Tiger

Best Original Screenplay:

• Will Berson and Shaka King, Judas and the Black Messiah
• Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
• Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman
• Derek Cianfrance, Darius Marder, and Abraham Marder, Sound of Metal
• Aaron Sorkin, The Trial of the Chicago 7

Best Visual Effects:

• Love and Monsters
• The Midnight Sky
• Mulan
• The One and Only Ivan
• Tenet

Best Sound:

• Greyhound
• Mank
• News of the World
• Soul
• Sound of Metal

Best Live-Action Short:

• Feeling Through
• The Letter Room
• The Present
• Two Distant Strangers
• White Eye

Best Animated Short:

• Burrow
• Genius Loci
• If Anything Happens I Love You
• Opera
• Yes-People

Best Documentary Short:

• Colette
• A Concerto Is a Conversation
• Do Not Split
• Hunger Ward
• A Love Song for Latasha

​A few highlights: Lakeith Stanfield was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in Judas and the Black Messiah despite being campaigned for Lead, My Octopus Teacher made a surprise appearance in the Best Documentary Feature Category, Thomas Vinterberg took the Best Director spot for international hit Another Round over Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7, and Mank lost both Film Editing and Original Screenplay nominations to Promising Young Woman and Judas and the Black Messiah, respectively. Judas also picked up a nod for Cinematography, while Better Days broke through the International Feature category, A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon managed to crack the animation race, and Paul Raci held on to a Supporting Actor spot for his brilliant work in Sound of Metal. In terms of snubs, both Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and One Night in Miami…were left out of the Best Picture (the former missed Adapted Screenplay as well), and Tenet’s Ludwig Göransson missed out on Best Original Score, as the Academy instead opted to nominate Terence Blanchard’s work on Da 5 Bloods, which scored its only nomination in that category. Apart from what I’ve noted here, there weren’t too many departures from the expected nominee pool this year, and the unexpected choices were mostly positive. 

So, what do you think of these nominees? Any egregious snubs for you? Pleasant surprises? Let me know in the comments section below, and keep your eyes peeled for more Oscars coverage as the awards season continues. Thanks for reading!
 
- The Friendly Film Fan