New Oscar Records. An Evolving List
Thursday, January 14, 2016 at 4:00PM Refresh your screen for updates as we add to the list. If you suspect you've seen a statistic worth shouting about, put it in the comments.
Records Broken This Year
Jennifer Jones (Duel in the Sun, age 27) vs Jennifer Lawrence (Joy, age 25)• Jennifer Lawrence (who is 25 years old) breaks Jennifer Jones's record of quickest actor to 4 nominations. Jones had held that record -- she accomplished 4 nominations by the age of 27 -- since 1947. But no more. And how is this for a freaky detail about this record. As Joe Reid points out both of these Jennifers had a powerful "David O" in their corner, Russell for Lawrence and Selznick for Jones.
• John Williams, the Meryl Streep of Original Scores, broke his tie with the long dead composer Alfred E Newman (1900-1970) to score a 44th nominations for Original Score. He's won 5 times (not a record). This is his 50th nomination in total since he's also been nominated for Original Song.
• Sylvester Stallone has broken the obscure record of longest stretch between acting nods for playing the same character for Rocky (1976) and Creed (2015). The previous record holder was Paul Newman between The Hustler (1961) and The Color of Money (1986). Other actors who've done this double whammy character trick are Cate Blanchett for Elizabeth, Bing Crosby for Father O'Malley, Al Pacino for Michael Corleone and Peter O'Toole for Henry II.
• This is reportedly the only time in history that all 5 Original Song nominees have been their films only nomination. It's also reportedly the most nominations ever amassed by Australians though I don't have confirmation on what the number is.or what the previous record that was broken is.
• Carol becomes the Most Nominated Film in the modern expanded Best Picture field era to not receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. The previous record was a three way tie between The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011), Skyfall (2012) and Foxcatcher (2014) which each received 5 nominations but were not included in Best Picture.
[Aside: The all time record holder, from back when there were only 5 Best Picture nominees and more room for this sort of "achievement" in not-quite-making-it, is They Shoot Horses Don't They (1969) -- which is the most amazing movie you MUST see it -- which received 9 nominations but no Best Picture bid. Of these four other pictures, all but Foxcatcher won at least one Oscar. So we'll see on Carol.]
2015 Specific Records
• Tom Hardy and Domnhall Gleeson are the most ubiquitous faces from the Best Picture lineup. Each actor appears in two nominees; Hardy headlines Mad Max: Fury Road and is nominated as supporting actor in The Revenant; Gleeson has supporting roles in Brooklyn and The Revenant. TFE crush Billy Magnussen also appears in two Best Picture nominees (Bridge of Spies and The Big Short) albeit in small roles.
• Sandy Powell (Costume Design for Carol & Cinderella) and Andy Nelson (Sound Mixing for The Force Awakens and Bridge of Spies) are the only double nominees in a single category this year. Powell and Nelson already have 3 and 2 Oscars respectively.
• Four of the five Best Director nominees are enjoying an additional nomination: George Miller and Alejandro G Inarittu are both nominated for producing (Best Picture). Tom McCarthy and Adam McKay are also nominated in Screenplay.
• Most Nominated Person in the running again this year: John Williams on his 50th nomination (he's won five time)
• Most Nominated Person this year who has never won: Thomas Newman (Score) and Roger Deakins (Cinematography). They're both on their unlucky 13th nomination. Newman comes from a big family of musicians and composers. His father Alfred Newman was nominated 45 times (second only to John Williams for composing) and won 9 Oscars. His brother David was nominated once. His cousin Randy Newman was nominated 20 times winning twice (both times in "Original Song" for Pixar movies) His uncle Emil was nominated once and there are more of them still out there...
Climbing The Ranks
Neither Russell or Inarritu are there yet but they're both quickly climbing the ranks for 'Directors who've had the most Best Picture nominees' and 'Directors who've directed the most nominated performances.' They both have exactly 3 Best Picture nominated films on their resumes now. One more for either of them and they're up there with the likes of Clint Eastwood and Elia Kazan and Alfred Hitchcock (who are all --- with many other men -- tied for 19th place of most Best Picture nominees). It'll be easier for them to climb that chart than it was for others due to the expansion of the Best Picture field.
Steven Spielberg is currently #2 of all time for 'Directors who've had the most Best Picture nominees' Bridge of Spies gives him his 11th Best Picture nominee. Two more and Spielberg will tie the all time leader William Wyler who directed 13 Best Picture nominees in his career. Spielberg isn't a strong factor in the 'Directors who've guided the most Oscar nominated performances' with 11 such examples in his long career but Russell and Inarritu are skyrocketing up that same chart. This year's nominations give Russell his 11th (tied with Spielberg now despite a much shorter career) and Inarritu his 10th. The only two living directors who are in the top ten in that regard are Martin Scorsese (22 performances, 3rd place of all time after William Wyler and Elia Kazan), Woody Allen (18 performances, 6th place of all time after those three plus George Cukor and Fred Zinneman).
Oops
• This one comes from Tim. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the first film post Gone with the Wind (1939) to hold record for highest grossing film in the history of the U.S. box office that has not received a Best Picture nomination to go along with its cash haul. The others to hold that status at given points were (though box office statistics pre modern era are always somewhat debatable were) The Ten Commandments, The Sound of Music, Jaws, Star Wars, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Titanic, and Avatar. It's worth noting that Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the first sequel in that list which could account for it being the first to not win the nomination.
Reader Comments (70)
And Jennifer Jones and David O Selznick get mentioned in Joy too! Crazy coincidence!
Why can Sandy Powell and Andy Nelson get nominated for two different movies in the same category, but actors can't do the same? Does anyone know the reasoning behind that rule?
Maybe the Academy wants to put Jennifer Lawrence in the arena every year, just like Katniss? At this rate she will have 20 nominations by the time she is 40. Or, will she be out of the game by the time she is 30. We all will be watching her progress.
On top of the 4 direct Leo connection I mentioned, me and my friend had started to play the "how many nominees can you link within six degrees of Leonardo DiCaprio" this morning. So far we have already come up with three lines (and we vowed to find out how many lines will it takes to finish all nominees):
3 nominees: Leo -- Matt Damon (The Departed) -- Joan Allen (Bourne Series) -- Brie Larson (Room) -- Amy Schumer (Trainwreck) -- Upcoming project with Jennifer Lawrence
3 nominees: Leo -- Cate Blanchett (The Aviator) -- Eddie Redmayne (Elizabeth: The Golden Age) -- Amanda Seyfried (Les Miz) -- Rachelk McAdams (Mean Girls)
2 nominees: Leo -- Armie Hammer (J. Edgar) -- Alicia Vikander (The Man from UNCLE) -- Domhnall Gleeson (Ex Machina) -- Rachel McAdams (About Time)
So far, we are having a lot of fun.
PJ: Leo -- Margot Robbie (Wolf of Wall Street) -- Christian Bale (The Big Short) -- Louis C.K. (American Hustle) -- Bryan Cranston (Trumbo).
Not a record broken, really, but it's the first time that the Coen brothers have been nominated for their work on a film that was directed and produced by someone else.
Posted by Caroline: Re: Domhnall Gleeson. Not to mention that he's in FOUR movies that are being nominated this year. Is that also some kind of record?
Good question that. What a year for him. I thought he was great in The Revenant, especially near the end. Definitely held his own next to Tom and Leo. He chewed the scenery at times in Star Wars but showed depth striving for Stoke's approval and mistrust of Kylo Ren. And in a complete change of pace he was sympathetic and relatable as the character whose perspective the viewer shares in Ex Machina.
Posted by Ex: There are reports floating around this morning that this is the most number of Australian's ever nominated. Trying to find out if that is true or not is proving to be difficult!
Yes I've been checking that stat out too. I'd say it would have to be true. Though the Aussie media and Mad Max fans need to be prepared for the possibility of zero wins.
George Miller has now been nominated for FIVE separate categories - adapted screenplay, original screenplay, best picture, animated feature, and now best director.
I had lunch with a good friend today who told me he was disappointed by Joy and thought it was bad. I just wanted to add some honest perspective.
Here's a list I'd like to see - authors with multiple Best Picture nods based on their books. Inspired by Michael Lewis' third today with The Big Short following Moneyball and The Blind Side - which might be a record for nonfiction?
Todd Haynes can take solace in the fact that not a single Oscar nomination ever went to a film directed by his hero, Rainer Werner Fassbinder. At least his (Haynes) films have racked up some nominations here and there if never Picture or Director. In the 60s and 70s various films by European auteurs like Pasolini, Visconti, Bunuel, Bergman, Wertmuller, and Antonioni, got nods here and there, but it's as if Fassbinder didn't exist for Oscar. People of course called his brilliant films chilly, and overly intellectual, too.
Every single movie that Gleeson appeared in last year is Oscar nominated. Killing the game.
JLaw is sooooooooooo overrated!! Yes she's young, gorgeous, talented, witty and charming and she was the best tink in Joy (althot she can't save tt x'mas turkey) But to pile on her ano nom for a mediocre & messy dud...that's unforgivable and plain lazy (Lets vote for Katniss coz she's sooo cool and sassy!!) If anytink she's way BETTA in the Hunger Game finale than Joy. Y not nom her for that??? at least that will be more convincing...
She has taken up the spot from more deserving actresses, waiting to add "AA BEST ACTRESS NOMINEE" to their CV!! lol
Liz -- ooh that's an interesting one.
In case people were wondering. Leonardo DiCaprio (revenant) and Tom Hanks (bridge of spies) have now been in 8 BP nominees, Brad Pitt (Big Short) has been in 7, Michael Pena and Matt Damon (both The Martian) have been in 5, Jeremy Strong (Big Short), Sean Bean (The Martian), Jessica Chastain (Martian), Jeff Daniels (Martian), Lukas Hass (The Revenant) have been in 4, Jim Broadbent (Brooklyn) Christian Bale (Big Short), Michael Keaton (Spotlight), Soirese Ronan (Brooklyn), William H Macy (The Room), Domhall Gleeson (Brooklyn, Revenant), Tom Hardy (Mad Max, Revenant), Soirese Ronan (Brooklyn), and Paul Guilfoyle (Spotlight) have been in three BP nominees
Liz: After this nomination for The Big Short, I'd fully expect a Flash Boys adaptation at some point soon.
Claran: Rampling has been added to the ranks, but the only other one who might have deserved to get that title added to their name based on their work? Did it in an animated film.
Personally, I liked Lawrence's performance better than those of the other nominees that I've seen (Sundance Selects thinks we're all rubes here in the middle of the country; sorry, Rampling). I am also someone who was really rooting for Tomlin and, like Volvagia, Poehler to gain traction this year, but I must say, we were among a small crowd here in the TFE forums - there wasn't much talk among posters beyond Blanchett/Mara/Rampling/Ronan/Larson, all of whom were nominated, so it's odd to see outrage surrounding Lawrence's nod.
People love to complain about actresses. But it seems as though there are things to get more upset about in the actor categories - Eddie Redmayne, Mark Ruffalo (robbing other, better members of his cast, most notably Keaton), Christian Bale - unlike many, I actually think he gave a decent performance, but you can certainly make a case that he's been overnominated, considering how strong the potential Best Actor field was in 2013 and the potential Best Supporting Actor field was this year. Frankly, I would add Leo, but I know the internet is against me on that. All are recent repeat nominees. And Matt Damon is kind of a ridiculous choice; people keep talking about how charismatic his turn is in The Martian but I didn't see all that much charisma there, not compared with, say, Tom Hanks in Bridge of Spies, who I guess is barred from Oscar nominations now (or, frankly, Lawrence).
I like Jennifer Lawrence, but her breaking Jennifer Jones' record is every kind of wrong. She is NO Jennifer Jones.
Dominik and Suzanne. It's all in the post: there's also Cate Blanchett for Elizabeth I, Bing Crosby for Father O'Malley and Peter O'Toole for Henry II.
William Wyler, one of my favorite directors, directed 31 actors and actresses to Oscar nominations.
Regarding the whole Australian record for nominations, the new record is 15. The previous record was 13 in 2002 because Moulin Rouge was made in Australia. A link to a news article confirming it is below :)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-15/the-revenant-tops-oscars-with-12-nods/7089992