Moonlight scores 8 Oscar nominations, La La Land ties record with 14
Gay coming-of-age drama will battle musical for Best Picture
Gay coming-of-age drama Moonlight has received 8 nominations for the 89th Academy Awards, tying with Arrival as the second-most nominated film at this year’s ceremony.
As well as Best Picture, it also picked up nominations for Best Director for Barry Jenkins, Best Supporting Actress for Naomie Harris, and Best Supporting Actor for Mahershala Ali, as well as Adapted Screenplay, Original Score, Cinematography, and Film Editing.
It's time to shine #MOONLIGHT. 8 Academy Award nominations including Best Picture! pic.twitter.com/dZW7tIahq6
— MOONLIGHT Movie (@moonlightmov) January 24, 2017
Jenkins’ film — about an African American man coming to terms with his sexuality over three periods in his life — was lauded by critics when it came out last Fall.
Metro Weekly’s Randy Shulman wrote: “One of those rare and extraordinary cinematic experiences that pulls you deeply into its narrative, Moonlight wraps you in a time, place, and mood, artfully guiding you into an emotional payoff without once feeling manipulative or artificial…. [It] is the best gay film since 1996’s Beautiful Thing. It’s also the best African-American film since 1991’s Boyz in the Hood. It’s been a long time coming on both counts. And it’s been worth the wait.”
Moonlight scooped the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Drama, but is unlikely to take the top gong at the Oscars.
Instead, Best Picture (and a host of other awards) will likely to go to Damien Chazelle’s La La Land, which scored 14 nominations — tying with All About Eve and Titanic as one of the most-nominated films of all time.
Despite the notable lack of diversity in the Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling film, the rest of this year’s nominations might help the Oscars avoid the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag.
As the New York Times noted, 6 African American actors are nominated this year — a record for the Oscars — and Moonlight, Fences and Hidden Figures are all nominated for Best Picture.
In addition, Joi McMillon has made history as the first African American woman to be nominated for Best Film Editing, earning her nom alongside Nat Sanders for Moonlight.
The 89th Academy Awards will take place Feb. 26 at 8:30 p.m. ET.
View the full list of nominees below:
BEST PICTURE
Arrival
Fences
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Hidden Figures
La La Land
Lion
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
DIRECTING
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling, La La Land
Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington, Fences
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Isabelle Huppert, Elle
Ruth Negga, Loving
Natalie Portman, Jackie
Emma Stone, La La Land
Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea
Dev Patel, Lion
Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Viola Davis, Fences
Naomie Harris, Moonlight
Nicole Kidman, Lion
Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
My Life as a Zucchini
The Red Turtle
Zootopia
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Arrival
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Silence
COSTUME DESIGN
Allied
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Florence Foster Jenkins
Jackie
La La Land
DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)
Fire at Sea
I Am Not Your Negro
Life, Animated
O.J.: Made in America
13th
DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)
Extremis
4.1 Miles
Joe’s Violin
Watani: My Homeland
The White Helmets
FILM EDITING
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
La La Land
Moonlight
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Land of Mine
A Man Called Ove
The Salesman
Tanna
Toni Erdmann
MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
A Man Called Ove
Star Trek Beyond
Suicide Squad
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
Jackie
La La Land
Lion
Moonlight
Passengers
MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
“Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” from La La Land
“Can’t Stop The Feeling” from Trolls
“City Of Stars” from La La Land
“The Empty Chair” from Jim: The James Foley Story
“How Far I’ll Go” from Moana
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Arrival
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Hail, Caesar!
La La Land
Passengers
SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
Blind Vaysha
Borrowed Time
Pear Cider and Cigarettes
Pearl
Piper
SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
Ennemis Intérieurs
La Femme et le TGV
Silent Nights
Sing
Timecode
SOUND EDITING
Arrival
Deepwater Horizon
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Sully
SOUND MIXING
Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
VISUAL EFFECTS
Deepwater Horizon
Doctor Strange
The Jungle Book
Kubo and the Two Strings
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
Arrival
Fences
Hidden Figures
Lion
Moonlight
WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
Hell or High Water
La La Land
The Lobster
Manchester by the Sea
20th Century Women
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