‘Joker’ leads Oscar nods

Dark comic book tale “Joker” topped the Oscar nominations on Monday, picking up 11 nods including best picture and best director, as women and ethnic minorities were largely shut out once again.

The pre-dawn Academy Award announcement capped months of ceaseless campaigning by A-listers and studios, revealing which stars and movies have a shot at Hollywood’s ultimate prize next month. Todd Phillips’s “Joker,” a bleak, arthouse take on the comic book villain starring Joaquin Phoenix, was just ahead of three films.

Quentin Tarantino’s 1960s Tinseltown homage “Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood,” Sam Mendes’s World War I odyssey “1917” and Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” each earned 10 nominations, including best picture as well as best director. South Korean class satire “Parasite,” from Bong Joon-ho, secured the final best director slot, meaning once again no female directors made the shortlist.

Much of the focus so far this award season has been on the lack of women and ethnic minority filmmakers honoured. Greta Gerwig’s acclaimed “Little Women” adaptation has been notably absent in several award nominations announcements, although it was one of nine films nominated for the best picture Oscar.

“Unfortunately there are just five nominees” for best director in an “incredibly strong year,” one Academy voter who asked not to be named told AFP, pointing to the revered track records of the likes of Scorsese, Tarantino and Mendes.

Controversy over those omissions, in an industry criticized for its lack of diversity, was fuelled at last week’s Bafta nominations, which were also condemned for overlooking ethnic minorities.

The Oscars picked only one non-white actor -- British star Cynthia Erivo, who plays US anti-slavery icon Harriet Tubman in “Harriet”.

Notable snubs included Eddie Murphy for blaxploitation biopic “Dolemite Is My Name,” Jennifer Lopez for “Hustlers”, Awkwafina for “The Farewell” and Lupita Nyong’o for “Us”. Last year, three of the four acting Oscars went to non-white performers. Voting for Oscar nominees ended last Tuesday, two days after the Golden Globes.