2020 Oscar Nominations: Parasite Received 6 Nods; Awkwafina snubbed

It looks like Awkwafina’s Oscar dreams have been crushed.

Despite making history at last week’s Golden Globes for becoming the first woman of Asian descent to win Lead Actress in a Musical/Comedy for her performance in The Farewell, Awkwafina was shut out of the Best Actress category. That sucks, we know.

Had Awkwafina been nominated, she would’ve been the 10th Asian actor to do so in the Oscars’ 92 year-history. So far only three Asians actors have won: Miyoshi Umeki (1957’s Sayonara), Ben Kingsley (1982’s Gandhi), Haing S. Ngor (1984’s The Killing Fields).

But on the bright side, Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite became the second Asian movie to be nominated for Best Picture and Best International Film. (formerly Best Foreign Language Film). The first was 2000’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Bong’s dark comedy-thriller, starring Song Kang-Ho as the head of a family of scammers, also picked up Best Director, Film Editing, Best Original Screenplay, and Production Design.

The members of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science really, really, love the gritty comic-book-inspired Joker: it received the most nominations of 11, including Best Picture, Best Director (Todd Phillips), and Best Actor (Joaquin Phoenix).

Elsewhere, Barack and Michelle Obama picked up their first Oscar nomination via their Higher Ground production company, for American Factory, which is in the running for Best Documentary.

The Academy also are big fans of Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood, The Irishman, and 1917, all of which earned 10 nominations. They’re also very impressed by Scarlett Johansson: she’s vying for Best Actress (Marriage Story) and Best Supporting Actress (JoJo Rabbit).

The 92nd Academy Awards will be held at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre on Feb 10 (Singapore time, 9am), and like last year’s event, it will go host-less. Catch the Oscar-cast live on meWATCH and Channel 5 on Feb 10 (Mon), 9am (same day repeat: 10.45pm). The Red Carpet will kick off at 7.30am (same-day repeat: 6pm).

Meanwhile, here are the nominations in the major categories.

Best Picture

Ford v Ferrari

The Irishman

Jojo Rabbit

Joker

Little Women

Marriage Story

1917

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Parasite

Best Director

Martin Scorsese, The Irishman

Todd Phillips, Joker

Sam Mendes, 1917

Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood

Bong Joon-Ho, Parasite

Best Actor

Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory

Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood

Adam Driver, Marriage Story

Joaquin Phoenix, Joker

Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes

Best Actress

Cynthia Erivo, Harriet

Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story

Saoirse Ronan, Little Women

Charlize Theron, Bombshell

Renee Zellweger, Judy

Best Supporting Actor

Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes

Al Pacino, The Irishman

Joe Pesci, The Irishman

Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood

Best Supporting Actress

Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell

Laura Dern, Marriage Story

Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit

Florence Pugh, Little Women

Margot Robbie, Bombshell

Best Animated Feature

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

I Lost My Body

Klaus

Missing Link

Toy Story 4

For the complete list of nominations, click here.