The nominees for the 96th Academy Awards have been revealed. Ryan Gosling, who played Ken in the Barbie movie nominated in multiple categories, has been nominated for the Best Supporting Actor award. However, the film’s star Margot Robbie and director Greta Gerwig did not receive nominations.
The notable omission of Gerwig and Robbie in key categories has ignited a substantial wave of reactions, both among prominent figures and on social media.
The nominees for the 96th Academy Awards have been revealed. Ryan Gosling, who played Ken in the Barbie movie nominated in multiple categories, has been nominated for the Best Supporting Actor award. However, the film’s star Margot Robbie and director Greta Gerwig did not receive nominations.
There was a strong expectation that Robbie, competing for the Best Actress Oscar with her performance in Barbie, would secure a nomination. Greta Gerwig, the director of “Barbie,” nominated for Best Film and Best Adapted Screenplay Oscars, was considered one of the most likely candidates to be nominated in the directing category. Unfortunately, like Margot Robbie, she also did not make it among the nominees.
The notable omission of Gerwig and Robbie in key categories has ignited a substantial wave of reactions, both among prominent figures and on social media.
Expressing his disappointment over the absence of nominations for Gosling, Gerwig, and Robbie, Gosling remarked, “But there is no Ken without Barbie, and there is no Barbie movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, the two people most responsible for this history-making, globally-celebrated film. No recognition would be possible for anyone on the film without their talent, grit and genius. To say that I’m disappointed that they are not nominated in their respective categories would be an understatement.”
“Against all odds with nothing but a couple of soulless, scantily clad, and thankfully crotchless dolls, they made us laugh, they broke our hearts, they pushed the culture and they made history. Their work should be recognised along with the other very deserving nominees” Gosling added.
Gosling’s statement came after comments from British producer Mark Ronson, who emphasized, “It’s not just Ken. It’s Barbie AND Ken.”
“Could this really be true?”
America Ferrera, one of Barbie’s stars, said that she had an emotional reaction to her first Oscar nomination, but also admitted to experiencing incredible disappointment due to Robbie and Gerwig not being nominated.
About Robbie and Gerwig not being nominated, Ferrara said: “What Margot achieved as an actress is truly unbelievable. One of the things about Margot as an actress is how easy she makes everything look. And perhaps people got fooled into thinking that the work seems easy, but Margot is a magician as an actress in front of the screen, and it was one of the honors of my career to get to witness her pull off the amazing performance she did. She brings so much heart and humor and depth and joy and fun to the character. In my book, she’s a master.”
Reacting to the Barbie snub for Best Director, King asked, “No nom for Greta Gerwig? Can that actually be true?”
“It’s still so easy for Hollywood to overlook and discount artistic contributions of women – EVEN WHEN ITS THE POINT OF THE YEAR’S BIGGEST MOVIE!” lamented prominent political strategist Jennifer Palmieri, who served as director of communications in the Obama White House and for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. “My God. It was nominated for best picture. Didn’t direct itself, friends!”
Did anyone even understand the plot?
“Greta Gerwig snubbed for Best Director?” wrote TV host Julie Stewart-Binks. “How is this even possible? Margot Robbie not nominated, but Ryan Gosling is? Did anyone even understand the plot of the highest grossing movie of all-time?”
“After Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie made a film about patriarchy that generated a billion dollars for Hollywood, the man in the film got nominated for a major award and I’m honestly not sure what I expected,” wrote columnist Brandon Friedman.
Milestone of the Oscars this year
In a historic first, three directors of the 10 films nominated for Best Picture are women: Justine Triet for “Anatomy of a Fall,” Greta Gerwig for “Barbie,” and Celine Song for “Past Lives.”
Another significant milestone is Emma Stone, both a producer and actress in “Poor Things,” becoming the second woman in the same year to be nominated in both the Best Picture and Best Actress categories. At the 93rd Oscar ceremony, Frances McDormand achieved the distinction of being the first woman to be nominated in both acting and producing categories in the same year, winning awards in both.
Among the 10 nominated films, seven were produced by women, including notable names such as Emma Stone, Margot Robbie, Emma Thomas (“Oppenheimer”), Marie-Ange Luciani (“Anatomy of a Fall”), Amy Durning and Kristie Macosko Krieger (“Maestro”), Ewa Puszczynska (“The Zone of Interest”), and Pamela Koffler and Christine Vachon (“Past Lives”).