Metro Weekly

Moonlight scores 8 Oscar nominations, La La Land ties record with 14

Gay coming-of-age drama will battle musical for Best Picture

Moonlight

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.

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 MoonlightFences 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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