Lady Gaga, Jennifer Hudson among this year's Oscar snubs
Lady Gaga, Jennifer Hudson, Bradley Cooper, Frances McDormand and Leonardo DiCaprio are among the familiar names who weren't named when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominees for the 94th Academy Awards on Tuesday morning.
Gaga's performance in "House of Gucci" and Hudson's portrayal of Aretha Franklin in "Respect," which earned them Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, were not among the final five Oscar picks for best actress. Neither was three-time Oscar-winner McDormand, for "The Tragedy of Macbeth."
While the SAG Award nominations perfectly predicted the five picks in the best actor category, they were no guarantee elsewhere. SAG nominees Cooper (for "Licorice Pizza"), Ben Affleck ("The Tender Bar"), Jared Leto ("House of Gucci"), Cate Blanchett ("Nightmare Alley"), Ruth Negga ("Passing") and Caitríona Balfe ("Belfast") were snubbed.
Also missing, among the actors: Peter Dinklage ("Cyrano"), Adam Driver ("House of Gucci"), Joaquin Phoenix ("C'mon, C'mon"), Oscar Isaac ("The Card Counter"), Willem Dafoe ("Nightmare Alley"), Mark Rylance ("Don't Look Up"), Clifton Collins Jr. ("Jockey") and Cooper Hoffman ("Licorice Pizza").
The best actress and supporting actress categories, so rich with excellent performances this year, could not accommodate Alana Haim ("Licorice Pizza"), Renate Reinsve ("The Worst Person in the World"), Tilda Swinton ("Memoria"), Jodie Comer ("The Last Duel"), Tessa Thompson ("Passing"), Emilia Jones and Marlee Matlin ("CODA"), Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence and Melanie Lynskey ("Don't Look Up"), Kathryn Hunter ("The Tragedy of Macbeth"), Rita Moreno ("West Side Story") and Rebecca Ferguson ("Dune").
But there were happy surprises in the acting categories. Jessie Buckley, exceptional as the younger Leda in "The Lost Daughter," was nominated alongside Olivia Colman as the older Leda. And while Judi Dench notched her eighth acting nomination, her fellow nominees for best supporting actress are all up for the very first time. In the best actress category, only Kristen Stewart, for "Spencer," is a newbie.
Japanese director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi is in the running for "Drive My Car" (which is also up for best picture, best international feature film and best adapted screenplay). But "Dune" director Denis Villeneuve, a Directors Guild nominee, didn't make the cut for the academy. "The Power of the Dog" director Jane Campion is nominated, the first female to be up for best director twice. (Her first was for "The Piano.")
Other best picture nominees whose directors weren't nominated are "CODA" (Siân Heder), "Don't Look Up" (Adam McKay), "King Richard" (Reinaldo Marcus Green) and "Nightmare Alley" (Guillermo del Toro). "The Tragedy of Macbeth"'s Joel Coen and "The Lost Daughter's" Maggie Gyllenhaal are also missing.
Another glaring omission on the nominations list: writer-director Aaron Sorkin, who saw three of his "Being the Ricardos" actors (Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem and J.K. Simmons) nominated, but not himself.
The fashion house drama "House of Gucci" received one nomination, for makeup and hairstyling, but not for costume design.
In the best original song category, nominations were picked up by Billie Eilish ("No Time to Die"), Beyoncé and DIXSON ("Be Alive" from "King Richard"), Lin-Manuel Miranda ("Dos Oruguitas" from "Encanto"), Van Morrison ("Down to Joy" from "Belfast") and perennial nominee Diane Warren ("Somehow You Do" from "Four Good Days"), while the songwriting of Brian Wilson, H.E.R., Ariana Grande, Jay-Z, Jennifer Hudson, Carole King, U2 and Sparks ended up on the no-play list.
And sorry, Spidey fans: Despite a passionate marketing and social media play to win a best picture nomination, "Spider-Man: No Way Home" was not among the final 10. It will have to make do with its $1.7 billion worldwide box office gross.
