“Little Women” director Greta Gerwig was left out of the 2020 Oscar nominations on Monday. In fact, not one woman was nominated in the Director category this year, despite there being a record number of female directors behind the top-grossing films of 2019.
Florence Pugh, who was nominated for her role as Amy March in “Little Women,” weighed in on the snub, saying that we live in a man’s world, just like the women in Gerwig’s film.
“I haven’t spoken to her yet, but it is sad that we had three months of conversations to maybe change and they didn’t,” Pugh told TheWrap shortly after the nominations were announced. “I’ve been saying this all along: Greta made a film about women and relationships with money and working in a man’s world, and this highlights it. I don’t know what the solution is, I don’t know how to solve it. Also this year we had the most films written, produced and directed y women, so it’s not like there isn’t content out there — there is. We have to adjust.”
Tom Rothman, chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Motion Picture Group, the studio behind “Little Women,” agreed.
“Yeah, it sucks. It’s a bittersweet morning,” he told TheWrap. “The film was nominated for best picture, but it didn’t direct itself — and she wrote it! That was an unfortunate omission, but not because of [gender inequality]. Greta Gerwig is not a great female director, she is one of the great young directors working today, period, regardless of gender.”
Amy Pascal, who served as a producer on “Little Women,” took a more optimistic approach.
“What we are really pleased about, both Greta and I, is that ‘Little Women’ is actually the third movie that has been produced, directed, and written by a woman to be nominated and we’re really proud of that,” Pascal said.
Other nominees, like Rian Johnson (who was nominated for his “Knives Out” screenplay), were also upset about Gerwig’s shut-out. Johnson said he would’ve loved to see Gerwig get the recognition she deserved because she did “such a wonderful job” on the film.
Despite the outcry over a second straight year without a woman nominated for Best Director, the Academy showed record progress in gender parity on Monday with women making up 31.1% of this year’s Oscar nominees, the highest percentage ever.
Based on TheWrap’s count, 65 of the 209 individuals across all 24 competitive categories from 2019’s crop of films are women. That’s compared to 62 of 225 nominees last year (27.5%), 57 of 213 individual nominees in 2017 (26.8%), and 48 of 211 in 2016 (22.7%).
Oscar Nominations 2020: 14 Biggest Snubs and Surprises, From Greta Gerwig to 'Klaus' (Photos)
Snub: Greta Gerwig, "Little Women" (Best Director) -- The Academy failed to nominate any female directors this year, which is bound to be a topic of conversation as the award show approaches. Greta Gerwig's retelling of Louisa May Alcott's classic "Little Women" didn't land the director her second directing Oscar nomination since 2017's "Lady Bird," despite the film nabbing a nomination for best adapted screenplay.
Surprise: "Parasite" -- Director Bong Joon Ho's film became the first South Korean film to receive a nomination -- and managed to land a remarkable six nods altogether, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.
Snub: Awkwafina, "The Farewell" (Best Actress) -- Despite winning the Golden Globe for best actress in a musical or comedy for her performance in "The Farewell," Nora Lum, better known as Awkwafina, was left out of Oscar contention. The true story about a lie a family tells their dying matriarch was Awkwafina's first dramatic turn on screen.
Surprise: Kathy Bates, "Richard Jewell" (Best Supporting Actress) -- Kathy Bates snuck in to nab a supporting actress nomination from fan favorite Jennifer Lopez. Bates turned in a stellar emotional performance as Richard Jewell's mother in the Clint Eastwood's film about the Atlanta Bombing investigation.
Snub: Robert De Niro (Best Actor) -- He may be the title character in Martin Scorsese's true-life crime epic, but the acclaimed actor failed to land one of the film's 10 nominations.
Snub: Jennifer Lopez, "Hustlers" (Best Supporting Actress) -- J. Lo turned in a dominating performance as the ringleader of a group of former strippers who steal millions from rich men. Lopez's performance garnered her a Golden Globe nomination, but she was overlooked by the Academy despite a seemingly strong level of support from the film community. The snub isn't Jenny's first time around the block. She was similarly passed over for her lead role in 1998's "Selena."
Surprise: "The Lighthouse" (Best Cinematography) -- The black-and-white indie with Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe landed just a single nomination, for Jarin Blaschke's black-and-white cinematography.
Snub: "Dolemite Is My Name" (Costume Design) -- Legendary costume designer Ruth Carter didn't land a nomination for her work on Netflix's biopic, despite being expected too. She won the category last year for her costume work on Disney's "Black Panther," and was the first African American to win the award.
Surprise: "Klaus" (Best Animated Feature) -- Netflix nabbed two animated feature nominations, with "Klaus" clawing its way into contention and knocking Disney's "Frozen II" out of the race.
Snub: "Frozen II" (Best Animated Feature) -- The sequel to Disney's biggest animated hit was considered a lock for a nomination -- but it lost out to lesser known cartoons like "I Lost My Body" and "Klaus."
Snub: Jamie Foxx (Best Supporting Actor) -- The actor, who won Best Actor for "Ray" in 2005, had been getting major acclaim for his work as a man on death row for a crime he did not commit in "Just Mercy."
Surprise: John Williams (Best Original Score) -- At age 87, the composer landed his record 52nd nomination for his work on "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker."
Snub: Beyoncé Knowles-Carter (Best Original Song -- The Grammy-winning songstress was widely expected to earn a nomination for "Spirit," the song she wrote for Disney's "The Lion King" remake in which she also voiced the role of Nala. But Academy voters looked elsewhere.
Snub: "Uncut Gems" -- The Netflix drama has won multiple critics prizes for directors Benny and Josh Safdie's direction as well as lead actor Adam Sandler -- but the Academy seemed unimpressed.
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No female directors are nominated, and Netflix’s ”Klaus“ knocks out Disney’s ”Frozen II“ for Best Animated Feature
