By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON
Guillermo Del Toro’s fantasy thriller The Shape of Water led all Oscar contenders Tuesday with 13 nominatins, including best picture.
The film's surprising dominance came during one of the most unpredictable Oscars seasons in recent memory.
Also contending for best picture are: Call Me By Your Name, Darkest Hour, Dunkirk, Get Out, Lady Bird, Phantom Thread, The Post, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
Women continued to make inroads into Hollywood’s male dominated industry that has been turned upside-down by scathing allegations of sexual misconduct prompted by the #MeToo movement.
Rachel Morrison is the first woman to be nominated for best cinematography. She is nominated for her work on Mudbound.
Greta Gerwig, who wrote and directed Lady Bird became the fifth woman to be nominated for best director. She is competing against Christopher Nolan for his work on Dunkirk, Jordan Peele for Get Out, Paul Thomas Anderson for Phantom Thread, and del Toro.
Meryl Streep notched her 21st Academy Award nomination for her role as Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham in The Post.
"I am honored beyond measure by this nomination for a film I love, a film that stands in defense of press freedom, and inclusion of women’s voices in the movement of history," Streep said in a widely-reported statement.
Peele, the comedian turned director, is the fifth black director to be nominated in the category.
Nolan’s Dunkirk, which chronicled the allied evacuation from the eponymous French coastal town in World War II, was second only to the Shape of Water for total nominations. It landed eight nods, including best picture, cinematography, and production design.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri totaled seven nominations, including actress in a leading role,Frances McDormand, and two nominations in the actor in a supporting role category, Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell.
Blockbusters also had strong showings, including Blade Runner 2049, the sequel to the iconic 1982 sci-fi/noir film. The 2017 sequel received five nominations, including for cinematography, sound editing and visual effects.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi had four nods, and Baby Driver had three.
Jimmy Kimmel will host the 90th Academy Awards on March 4.
Here is a selected list of major categories and their nominees:
Best Picture
Call Me By Your Name
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
Get Out
Lady Bird
Phantom Thread
The Post
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Actor In A Leading Role
Timothee Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name
Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread
Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out
Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour
Denzel Washington, Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Actress In A Leading Role
Sally Hakwins, The Shape of Water
Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Margot Robbie, I, Tonya
Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird
Meryl Streep, The Post
Actor In A Supporting Role
Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project
Woody Harrelson, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water
Christopher Plummer, All the Money in the World
Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Actress In A Supporting Role
Mary J. Blige, Mudbound
Allison Janney, I, Tonya
Lesley Manville, Phantom Thread
Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird
Octavia Spencer, The Shape of Water
Best Director
Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk
Jordan Peele, Get Out
Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird
Paul Thomas Anderson, Phanton Thread
Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water
Best Cinematography
Roger A. Deakins, Blade Runner 2049
Bruno Delbonnel, Darkest Hour
Hoyte van Hoytema, Dunkirk
Rachel Morrison, Mudbound
Dan Laustsen, The Shape of Water
Best Visual Effects
Blade Runner 2049
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Kong: Skull Island
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
War for the Planet of the Apes
Best Music (Original Score)
Hans Zimmer, Dunkirk
Johnny Greenwood, Phantom Thread
Alexandre Desplat, The Shape of Water
John Williams, Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Carter Burwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
