Written by Jordan Hanson
It’s a new year, and 2018 is already off to a chaotic beginning, from the bomb cyclone to the government shutdown. However, there are a few things to look forward to this year: the Oscars, for instance.
Nominations have been released for the 90th Annual Academy Awards, and they bring the promise of good things to come.
According to People Magazine, this is a record-breaking year for the Oscars. Meryl Streep increased her record of nominations to 21, Rachel Morrison of Mudbound became the first woman to be nominated for Best Cinematography, Octavia Spencer has become the first black actress to have two nominations after a previous win, as well as the first to receive back-to-back nominations (breaking her own record), Dee Rees (director and screenwriter for Mudbound) is the first black woman to be nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, Mary J. Blige is the first person to be nominated for both an acting performance and original song, among a plethora of other noteworthy actors, actresses and directors receiving nominations and continuing to set and break records. Although the Oscars are still majorly white and male (according to the New York Times – 72% male and 87% white), this year has taken considerable leaps in increasing the diversity amongst those nominated for the awards.
The Academy Awards will not premiere until March, but people and news foundations are already making predictions.
According to CNN, films that can expect to be big winners are The Shape of Water with 13 nominations, followed by Dunkirk and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, with 8 and 7 nominations respectively. I, personally, am hopefully anticipating wins for Coco, The Last Jedi and Beauty and the Beast. Two Roanoke freshmen, Liesl Greider and Lexie Ruckman, are strongly pulling for Dunkirk. Though the awards are weeks away, one thing is for sure: the 90th Annual Academy Awards are going to be interesting.
