New Oscar Trivia via the new set of nominations
Tuesday, February 8, 2022 at 1:30PM Add to this list in the comments if you'd like. Refresh your screen for updates as we find more trivia...
Bradley Cooper scored his 9th nomination, this time for producing Nightmare Alley
PICTURE
-With Nightmare Alley Bradley Cooper received his fourth nomination for producing, tying his Oscar nomination stats for acting. You know who else has four nominations for producing and four for acting? Warren Beatty! Of course Warren Beatty also has multiple writing and directing nods and an actual statue so he's still ahead of Cooper in the stats book.
- With his nomination for producing and writing Belfast, Kenneth Branagh now holds an Oscar record...
He's been nominated in seven different categories (Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay, Adapted Screenplay, Live-Action Short, Lead Actor, and Supporting Actor). The previous record was six categories, held in a tie between three men: Walt Disney, Alfonso Cuarón, and George Clooney.
- West Side Story gives Steven Spielberg his 11th Oscar nomination as a Producer. He has the most nominations of any person for Best Picture but he already held this record so he just beat himself. Before he began producing his own pictures two of his films were nominated for the top prize (Jaws and Raiders of the Lost Ark). One of his previous producing nominations comes from a film he didn't director, Letters from Iwo Jima)
- West Side Story marks the 12th film directed by Steven Spielberg to receive a Best Picture nomination. He is now just one Best Picture nomination away from tying the all time record: William Wyler directed 13 films that were nominated for Hollywood's top prize. (With the expanded field for Best Picture over the past decade, and presumably continuing, today's directors will have a clear window to make big moves on that particular list... though only two living directors are currently in the top ten)
Top Ten - Directors with Most Films Nominated for Best Picture
1. William Wyler (13)
2. Steven Spielberg (12)
3. John Ford (9)
4. Martin Scorsese and Mervyn Leroy (8 each)
6. Frank Capra, George Cukor, Henry King, George Stevens (7 each)
10. David Lean, Fred Zinneman, Michael Curtiz, Sam Wood (6 each)
- This is the first year (we believe) where 40% of the Best Picture list is either remakes or re-adaptations of previously filmed material (CODA, Dune, Nightmare Alley, West Side Story)
DIRECTING
- Jane Campion is the first woman to receive multiple nominations for Best Director (only 7 women have ever been nominated). Her previous nomination came for The Piano (1993) losing to Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List. Now she's up against Spielberg again. She is now also the oldest woman ever nominated in this category at age 67.
- Steven Speilberg's 8th nomination for Best Director ties him with Billy Wilder as the third most nominated director of all time (William Wyler leads the all time list with 12 followed by Martin Scorsese with 9 nominations)
- Steven Spielberg has now been nominated for Best Director in six consecutive decades (a record!): the 1970s (Close Encounters), 1980s (Raiders of the Lost Ark, ET), 1990s (Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan), 2000s (Munich), 2010s (Lincoln), and 2020s (West Side Story).
-Ryusuke Hamaguchi is the third Japanese director to be Oscar nominated, following Hiorshi Teshigahara (1965) and Akira Kurosawa (1985)
ACTING
- With Troy Kotsur's nomination this is only the second time in history that a deaf performer has been Oscar nominated for acting. Marlee Matlin, his onscreen spouse /co-star in CODA, was the first (and she won) with Children of a Lesser God (1986). Other sign-language performances have been nominated but the actors in those roles were hearing.
- For the first time in history two out queer actors are nominated! (Kristen Stewart and Ariana DeBose)
- For the first time in history each acting category has a performance directed by a woman in it (Jane Campion's Power of the Dog and Maggie Gyllenhaal's The Lost Daugher, and Sian Heder's CODA each secured acting nominations)
- With Denzel's 9th acting nomination for Tragedy of Macbeth, he joins the top five of all time for male acting nominations, making it a top six.
Most Nominated Male Actors
1 Jack Nicholson (12 noms / 3 wins)
2. Laurence Olivier (10 noms / 1 win / 2 honoraries)
3. Paul Newman (9 noms / 1 win / 2 honoraries)
4. Spencer Tracy and Denzel Washington (9 noms / 2 wins each)
6. Al Pacino (9 noms / 1 win)
- With Judi Dench's 8th acting nomination for Belfast she joins the top five of all time for female acting nominations, making it a top six.
Most Nominated Female Actors
1. Meryl Streep (21 noms / 3 wins)
2. Katharine Hepburn (12 noms / 4 wins)
3. Bette Davis (10 noms / 2 wins)
4. Judi Dench and Geraldine Page (8 noms / 1 win each)
6. Glenn Close (8 noms)
- Two sets of real life couples are nominated this year which is fun: Kiki Dunst and Jesse Plemons for Power of the Dog) and Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem for Parallel Mothers and Becoming the Ricardos, respectively.
MISCELLANIA
- Ari Wegner (Power of the Dog) is only the second woman to ever be nominated in Best Cinematography (following Rachel Morrison for Mudbound)
- Diane Warren (Four Good Days) extends her record of Most Original Song Nominations without a win to 13. She's held the record for a long time and just keeps extending it.
- Though Disney has long dominated wins in Best Animated Feature this is only the second time they've managed 3 of the 5 nominations for Best Animated Feature (Luca, Encanto, Raya)
Reader Comments (38)
Does Ari Wegner make it (at least) three out queer women nominated this year?
(Andrew Garfield)
Gotta be the only year where 80% of the countries nominated for international film come from monarchies! All five were monarchies when the Oscars started. (If only Spain had submitted Pedro and toppled Italy!)
The annual list of who missed out despite getting both SAG & Golden Globe nods, and who made it in:
Missed
Lady Gaga - House of Gucci - Lead Actress
Ruth Negga - Passing - Supporting Actress
Catriona Balfe - Belfast - Supporting Actress
Ben Affleck - Tender Bar - Supporting Actor
Made It
Penelope Cruz - Parallel Mothers - Lead Actress
Judi Dench - Belfast - Supporting Actress
Jessie Buckley - The Lost Daughter - Supporting Actress
Jesse Plemons - Power of the Dog - Supporting Actor
J.K. Simmons - Being the Ricardos - Supporting Actor
Bonus points for Penelope Cruz and Judi Dench for getting in without BAFTA or Critics' Choice either!
If they give it to Kidman and they shouldn't wait a few years Academy it will be 3 years in a row BA was a former winner.
So, as I do every year, I like finding connections among the 20 acting nominees every time a new crop comes up. Here's what I got so far with these year's groups:
The Prom: Nicole Kidman and Ariana DeBose
I’m Thinking of Ending Things: Jesse Plemons and Jessie Buckley
Spider-Man: No Way Home: Benedict Cumberbatch, Andrew Garfield, and J.K. Simmons
Spider-Man (Sam Raimi Trilogy): Kirsten Dunst and J.K. Simmons
Vicky Cristina Barcelona/Everybody Knows: Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz
The Eyes of Tammy Faye: Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield
Murder on the Orient Express: Penélope Cruz, Judi Dench and Olivia Colman
Skyfall: Javier Bardem and Judi Dench
Black Mass: Benedict Cumberbatch and Jesse Plemons
Dark Phoenix: Jessica Chastain and Kodi Smit-McPhee
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Benedict Cumberbatch and Ciarán Hinds
Justice League: Ciarán Hinds and J.K. Simmons
Silence: Andrew Garfield and Ciarán Hinds
Margot at the Wedding: Nicole Kidman and Ciarán Hinds
The Help: Jessica Chastain and Aunjanue Ellis
The Beguiled: Nicole Kidman and Kirsten Dunst
Nine: Penélope Cruz, Nicole Kidman and Judi Dench
Isn't this the first year four films are nominated for Best Picture that are either remakes or have been previously adapted for the big screen?
CODA, Dune, Nightmare Alley and West Side Story
Ralph! I was just gonna say. It's gotta be the first time, right?
ralph & lucky -- ooh good one. i'll put that in.
I think Campion has now directed more Oscar nominated performances than any other woman, with 7. Greta Gerwig and Barbra Streisand were the previous record holders with 4. (Thank you TFE for doing this research for me.)
John Huston still holds the record for longest gap between directing nominations (33 years). Are Branagh (32 years) and Campion (28 years) now 2nd and 3rd?
Man Bradley Cooper was hot in that bathtub scene.
Nat more trivia 3rd year in a row no nom for the Actress Globe M/C winner.
I put this one the other post, but I want to put it here as well. For the first time in the history of the Oscars (I think, someone correct me if I'm wrong), all four acting categories feature at least one performance directed by a woman (Benedict Cumberbatch in Actor, Olivia Colman in Actress, Troy Kotsur, Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee in Supporting Actor, Jessie Buckley and Kirsten Dunst in Supporting Actress).
@ Richter Scale
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3: Denzel Washington, Aunjanue Ellis
The Hollow Crown: Richard III: Benedict Cumberbatch, Judi Dench
The Other Boleyn Girl: Benedict Cumberbatch, Andrew Garfiled (whose scenes were cut, so...)
In a field of five, it only takes two films to make it 40% (four out of ten in this year's field of ten). There are a number of years with at least two remakes/new adaptations, like 1968: Oliver!, Romeo and Juliet.
@Paranoid Android - I make that exact list every year too, and this year was wild!
I also put this in the other thread but this is the first year there have been 5 Best Picture nominees that did not receive a single acting nod (Don't Look Up, Drive My Car, Dune, Licorice Pizza, Nightmare Alley). First time since 2003 that at least half the best picture nominees had no acting nominations.
Pretty surprising in that going into last night it seemed very likely only Dune and maybe Don't Look Up or Drive My Car would do it. It required Cooper and Dicaprio missing noms, and Macbeth, Ricardos, Lost Daughter and Tick Tick Boom all missing those last 2 best pic spots.
Isn't this the first year with three solo female screenwriters nominated in the same category since Juno/Lars/Savages in 2007?
It's the first time that Disney managed 3 nominations on the best animated feature category
Will Riz Ahmed get nominations for producing Flee? If so, and including his Live Action Short nomination, he'll be the most nominated muslim person (or person from a muslim background), with five nominations along with A.R. Rahman, besting Ismail Merchant's 4. If not, then he's in third, with several others (e.g., Ali, etc.).
Unless Kristen Stewart or Jessica Chastain wins, this will be the third consecutive year in which Best Actress goes to a previous winner, which I believe would make that a record.
Not sure if someone has the stats for:
(1) How many times has it happened that different actor/actress playing the same character from the same movie being nominated. I remember it happened to titanic and Iris (both times Kate Winslet was one of them) but not sure about others.
(2) With Smith/Ellis, Plemons/Dunst, Bardem/Kidman being nominated, I was wondering how many times has it happened that 3 or more married characters in a movie being nominated together.
(3) Is this the first time Best Director nominees come from 4 different continents?
actually it's the second time Disney gets 3 nominees in Animated feature, 2012 being the first with Brave, Frankenweenie and Wreck-it-Ralph
and Power of the dog would be officially the most nominated movie directed by a woman, surpassing The Hurt locker's 9 nominations
With Colman and Buckley both being nominated, this is the third time actresses have been nominated for playing the same role in the same film. Titanic was the first (Winslet and Stuart), Iris was the second (Winslet and Dench)
Joe G -- Riz Ahmed will not be nominated for Flee, no. Executive Producers, often brought on after the movie is made to help draw attention to it, are not included in the nominations.
Just for the sake of completeness: Alfonso Cuarón was also tied with Clooney and Disney for that Oscar record that is now held by Branagh (Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing). If International Film nomination were counted as nominations for the director (which, I know, they aren't, even although they accept the Oscar on their country's behalf), he'd be tied with Branagh for seven.
3 actors from the year's highest grossing movie (SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME) are nominated for an Oscar for other films: Andrew Garfield, Benedict Cumberbatch, JK Simmons.
Now imagine if they found a way to include Kirsten Dunst in there!
This is one to watch next year. For the first time since the 1970s, the Oscars have nominated the director of an international feature film four years running (Paweł Pawlikowski and Alfonso Cuaron in 2018, Bong-Joon Ho in 2019, Thomas Vinterberg in 2020 and Ryusuke Hamuguchi in 2021). The record is five years from 1972 to 1976 (Jan Troell, Ingmar Bergman, Francois Truffaut, Federico Fellini and Lina Wertmuller).
However, if you are going by number of nominees alone, this year would be a record of five international feature directors nominated in four years. (If you want to look at it as directors of subtitled films, you could add Lee Isaac Chung for Minari into the group, and that would be six directors in four years.)
BGK -- oooh, i love that stat. thanks
I tried checking, but didn't make it all the way back. But, I think this is the year with the most actresses over 40 receiving nominations in Best Actress (4/5). A real change for a category that loves to give women Oscars early in their 20s. The only other year this may have happened in 1978.
@edwin: Yes, and if Colman wins, it will be McDormand, Colman, Zellweger, McDormand, Colman in the last five years. I can only think of Davis, Rainer, Rainer, Davis as coming close!
Here it is...the dumbest Oscar stat
The lineup for Best Supporting Actress is the shortest alphabetical lineup in Oscar history.
Buckley
DeBose
Dench
Dunst
Ellis
The previous record was Best Actor 2004:
Cheadle
Depp
DiCaprio
Eastwood
Foxx
More dumb stats. "Power of the Dog" is Jesse Plemons' 5th consecutive appearance in a Best Picture nominee and his sixth in seven years.
2015- Bridge of Spies
2017- The Post
2018- Vice
2019- The Irishman
2020- Judas and the Black Messiah
2021- The Power of the Dog
He is also in "Killers of the Flower Moon" (Martin Scorsese) scheduled for release this year so he could make it six in a row.
@ Ben Miller
Yes, I noted that in the “12 Takeaways” comments yesterday morning! It’s a silly stat, but it’s cute.
Ten years ago there were three titles from which two versions were both nominated for best Picture. In the last decade that number had already doubled. West Side Story is now the seventh.
1. Mutiny on the Bounty (1962 & 1935)
2. Cleopatra (1963 & 1934)
3. Romeo & Juliet (1968 & 1936)
4. Les Misérables (2012 & 1935)
5. A Star Is Born (2018 & 1937)
6. Little Women (2019 & 1932/33)
7. West Side Story (2021 & 1961)
^^^ Spielberg was really bold to tackle WSS for the obvious reasons, but also to make that leap into the 1960s. He could have stayed in the 1930s like the above titles and picked a different Oscar-nominated property like 42nd Street or Broadway Melody of 1936.
All of Will Smith's nominations have been for playing real people in biopics.
I do like the symmetry of the two Supporting categories - four first-time nominees and one previous winner. (And Actress is almost the counterpoint, with four previous nominees and one newbie).
I wonder which year (besides Year One, of course) has the largest number of first-time actingnominees. In particular, how far back so we have to go to get a larger number than this year (9)?
I don't know if it's a record, but I count 5 acting nominees who are former child actors (Javier Bardem, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Kristen Stewart) and 2 who are former teen actors (Penélope Cruz, Nicole Kidman).
I thought Will Smith would make the second list, but he was already 20 when "Parents Just Don't Understand" was released. Others who debuted in their early 20s: Jessica Chastain, Andrew Garfield, Judi Dench...