Basketballer Kobe Bryant is an Oscar nominee (Image courtesy: AFP)
Highlights
- "What?? This is beyond the realm of imagination," Kobe Bryant tweeted
- Greta Gerwig is only the fifth female best director nominee
- Meryl Streepis now the most-nominated performer with her 21st nod
Los Angeles: The nominations for the 90th Oscars were announced Tuesday, with
The Shape of Water, Dunkirk and
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri leading the pack. But the statistical quirks that the annual event throws up can be as intriguing as tracking which movies get the most nods. Here are some fun facts and figures from this year's list of nominees:
Female filmmakers recognizedThe 7,000-plus voters of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences managed to remember this year that women make movies too.
Greta Gerwig, recognized for
Lady Bird, is only the fifth female best director nominee, and the first since Kathryn Bigelow won for
The Hurt Locker in 2010.
Rachel Morrison, the director of photography on
Mudbound, is the first woman to receive a nomination for cinematography.
Long live Queen MerylMeryl Streep increases her lead as the most nominated performer in history with her 21st nod for Steven Spielberg's
The Post.
Her three wins were for
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979),
Sophie's Choice (1982) and
The Iron Lady (2011).
All hail the maestroJohn Williams adds to his record number of music scoring nominations with his 46th for
Star Wars: The last Jedi.
His overall total of 51 nominations -- including five for original song -- is the most for any living person, and second only to Walt Disney at 59.
Kobe Bryant: Oscars MVP?Basketballer Kobe Bryant, an 18-time NBA all-star, is an Oscar nominee thanks to his collaboration with artist Glen Keane and composer John Williams for the short
Dear Basketball."What?? This is beyond the realm of imagination," Bryant, 39, tweeted following the announcement.
Snubs and surprisesAmong this year's big snubs were Golden Globes nominees Armie Hammer (
Call Me by Your Name) and Hong Chau (
Downsizing), as well as
Wonder Woman, which didn't get a single nomination.
Mudbound and
The Big Sick were conspicuously absent from the best picture category, though they received other nominations.
Steven Spielberg (
The Post) and Martin McDonagh (
Three Billboards) were both left out of the best director category, despite helming two of the most acclaimed movies of the year.
On the other side of the coin, Denzel Washington picked up a surprise 8th nomination for acting, expanding his own record as the most-nominated black actor in Oscars history. He has won twice, for
Glory and
Training Day.
Washington also has a nomination for best picture for
Fences, which he directed and co-produced.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)