Oscars 2020: Margot Robbie nominated amid diversity criticism
Margot Robbie’s second Oscars nomination overshadowed by fresh criticism of lack of diversity.
Margot Robbie received her second Oscars nomination but the Academy Awards has come in for fresh criticism over a lack of diversity in nominations dominated by the comic villain film Joker.
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Robbie is in the running for a best supporting actress award for her performance in Bombshell, the Fox News drama that also earned a best actress nomination for Charlize Theron. She’s up against a formidable line-up of actresses: Laura Dern, who won a Golden Globe for Marriage Story, as well as Scarlett Johansson (Jojo Rabbit), Florence Pugh (Little Women) and Kathy Bates (Richard Jewell).
Robbie — nominated two years ago for her starring role in I, Tonya — is the only Australian in the running for awards, which take place on February 9 without a host directing traffic.
The list of nominations, released early on Monday, Australian time, has come in for criticism over the lack of diversity in the acting categories.
Cynthia Erivo (Harriet) is the sole black nominee, with the academy overlooking fine performances from the likes of Lupita Nyong’o (Us) and Eddie Murphy (Dolemite Is My Name). And there are no women among the nominees for directing (Sam Mendes, Quentin Tarantino, Todd Philipps, Martin Scorsese, Bong Joon Ho), with Greta Gerwig considered unlucky to have missed out for Little Women, which saw her nominated for best adapted screenplay.
But Parasite, by Bong Joon Ho, became the first South Korean film to be nominated for best picture, one of its six nominations.
“The gender and racial diversity of the nominations continues to be clearly lacking, which continues to be disappointing,” Thomas E. Rothman, chair of Sony’s Motion Picture Group told the New York Times.
Joker has divided critics but nonetheless still leads the pack with 11 nominations, including best picture, best director (Phillips) and best actor (Joaquin Phoenix).
Joker is closely followed by Tarantino’s love letter to filmmaking, Once Upon a Time … In Hollywood, and Mendes’ inspiring war movie 1917. Both films received ten nominations each, including best picture and best director.
Netflix — which failed to convert a record number of nominations at the Golden Globes earlier this month — has received 24 nominations in total, including best picture nods for The Irishman and Marriage Story. It is also in the running for best documentary feature with American Factory, the first release from Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company Higher Ground.
Other notable absences include Adam Sandler, who has been receiving critical acclaim for his performance in Uncut Gems, and the Elton John biopic Rocketman, which has received only a single nomination (best original song).
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