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Renee Zellweger and Elton John among Oscar nominees, yet Rocketman and Judy snubbed for the big prize

Renee Zellweger and Elton John among Oscar nominees yet Rocketman and Judy snubbed for the big prize

Renée Zellweger in Judy and Taron Egerton in Rocketman

Renée Zellweger and Elton John are among the nominees for the 2020 Academy Awards, but their films are among the biggest snubs, with both shut out for the Best Picture Oscar.

Zellweger was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance as gay icon Judy Garland in Judy, while Elton John was nominated for Best Original Song for “I’m Gonna Love Me Again” from his biopic Rocketman. Zellweger is considered a favourite to take home the Best Actress gong on February 9.

Despite this, both films were shut out of the Best Picture category. The Academy can nominate as many as 10 films for the night’s big prize, but this year settled on nine: Ford v Ferrari, The Irishman, JoJo Rabbit, Joker, Little Women, Marriage Story, 1917, Once upon a time… in Hollywood and Parasite.

LGBT+ fans disappointed that Taron Egerton is among Oscar snubs for Rocketman.

British actor Taron Egerton failed to secure a nomination for his turn as Elton John in Rocketman just a week after he won a Golden Globe for his performance.

Rocketman garnered critical acclaim upon its release last year and won praise from LGBT+ people for its depiction of Elton John’s sexuality. Despite this, the film has largely been shut out of this year’s Academy Awards, garnering just one nomination in the Original Song category.

Many Twitter users hit out at the Academy for Rocketman’s poor performance, comparing it to the huge success of last year’s Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.

Elsewhere, Margot Robbie was nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category for playing fictional right-wing queer character Kayla in Bombshell. The character never comes out as queer in the film, but denies being a lesbian following a same-sex love scene.

Tom Hanks was nominated for Best Actor for his turn as ‘bisexual icon’ Mr Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood. Mr Rogers never came out publicly as bisexual, but a biography released last year suggested that he once revealed that he was equally attracted to men and women.

Joker is 2020’s most nominated film at the Oscars with 11 nods, with 1917 and Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood both racking up 10 nominations.

The Academy is already coming under fire for its all-male line-up in the Best Directing category, with Greta Gerwig and other female contenders shut out of the race.

Elsewhere, it looks as though #OscarsSoWhite could have another outing this year, as a number of actors of colour were excluded.

Snubs aside, the major Oscar nominations include:

Best Picture

Ford v Ferrari
The Irishman
Jojo Rabbit
Joker
Little Women
Marriage Story
1917
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
Parasite

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Antonio Banderes, Pain and Glory
Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
Adam Driver, Marriage Story
Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Cynthia Erivo, Harriet
Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story
Saoirse Ronan, Little Women
Charlize Theron, Bombshell
Renée Zellweger, Judy

Best Supporting Actor

Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood
Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes
Al Pacino, The Irishman
Joe Pesci, The Irishman
Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood

Best Supporting Actress

Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell
Laura Dern, Marriage Story
Scarlett Johansson, Jojo Rabbit
Florence Pugh, Little Women
Margot Robbie, Bombshell

Director

Martin Scorsese, The Irishman
Todd Phillips, Joker
Sam Mendes, 1917
Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
Bong Joon Ho, Parasite

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