The 84th Academy Award nominations were announced today in Los Angeles, and nominees from a number of LGBT inclusive films made the cut, including frontrunner Christopher Plummer for his role as an elderly gay man in Beginners. Also nominated were Glenn Close and Janet McTeer for their roles as 19th century, Irish hotel employees living as men in Albert Nobbs, and Rooney Mara for her role as bisexual investigator Lisbeth Salander in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
None of the Best Picture nominees are particularly LGBT-inclusive this year, though Midnight In Paris does feature Kathy Bates as Gertrude Stein in a small role. Woody Allen’s film also picked up nominations for Directing and Original Screenplay.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo picked up a number of technical noms, including Sound Mixing and Editing, Film Editing and Cinematography. British spy thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy features several gay or bisexual characters, and was recognized in the Best Actor (Gary Oldman), Adapted Screenplay and Original Score categories. And Albert Nobbs received a well-deserved nomination for makeup in addition to its actress nods.
Unfortunately, the incredibly moving doc We Were Here wasn’t among the final five nominees for Feature Documentary despite making the Oscar shortlist. However, Lucky Walker and Kira Carstenen’s The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom did receive a nomination for Best Documentary Short. The film is currently playing at the Sundance Film Festival.
Following his use of an anti-gay slur during a Tower Heist Q&A and subsequent outreach from GLAAD, Brett Ratner stepped down as this year’s award show producer, which resulted in the exit of expected host Eddie Murphy as well. The show will now be hosted by longtime Oscar telecast veteran Billy Crystal, and will be broadcast live from Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre on February 26.
