The 2018 award season has been unlike any other, from the Golden Globes blackout to the Screen Actor's Guild awards being hosted and presented by only women. And now we've just about hit the halfway point with the 90th Annual Academy Award nominations.
"Shape of Water" led the charge with a whopping 13 nominations, while "Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri" followed not too far behind with seven nominations.
Vanity Fair's Rebecca Keegan spoke with A Martinez about the announcements major takeaways.
#MeToo's biggest beneficiary
One big question going into this year's awards is how the #MeToo movement will affect the Oscars. It manifested in two ways:
The first way we felt its effect: Christopher Plummer. The 88-year-old actor nabbed a nomination after a nine-day reshoot job just two months ago. Plummer replaced Kevin Spacey in his role as J. Paul Getty in the Ridley Scott "All the Money in the World."
On the flipside, James Franco's film "The Disaster Artist" only got one nomination. Leading up to the Oscars Franco won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a musical or comedy and was nominated for a SAG award. However, during the Oscar voting period, several allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced against Franco.
Academy is anti-Netflix no more
"Mudbound" which is currently streaming on Netflix got four nominations including Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Cinematography, Original Song and Adapted Screenplay...which suggests the anti-Netflix wing of the Academy is in retreat.
Also, "Mudbound's" cinematography nomination is making Oscar history. Rachel Morrison is the first woman ever to receive a nod in this category.
Fox Searchlight receives 20 nominations
Fox Searchlight received the most nominations of any company. This success should help the company maintain its model as the Disney/Fox deal unfolds.
"This Disney deal is going to be closely watched. Searchlight is kind of a jewel in the Oscar race and how Disney treats that company, whether they let them continue to operate the way they have been...Early signals from Bob Iger, the Disney chief, are that Disney likes Searchlight, likes them doing what they do, the way they do it and perhaps Disney would like to be in the Oscar business in a bigger way than it has been since it sold Miramax a few years ago."
Some other smaller takeaways...
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Greta Gerwig's nomination marks only the fifth time a woman has been nominated in the directing category.
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"Logan" is the first comic book film to be nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay.
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Saoirse Ronan's Best Actress marks her third Oscar nomination. She's only 23.
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Jordan Peele is only the third person in Academy history to receive a nomination in Best Picture, Director and Writing.
Click here to check out the full list of nominees. The 90th Annual Academy Awards will be televised on Sunday, March 4, on ABC.