Movie Industry Honors More Women, Blacks with Oscar Nominations

It is a year of diversity and firsts for Oscar nominations².

The Oscars given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are widely considered the top awards for Hollywood and the movie industry worldwide.

This week, the academy honored two women with nominations for the best director Oscar, a big change from years past. Chloé Zhao was nominated for "Nomadland" and Emerald Fennell for "Promising³ Young Woman." They were among 70 women who received a record 76 nominations.

Record nominations for actors of color

The nominees⁴ for acting⁵ awards also received special attention. Eleven of the acting nominees have never been nominated before. The decision by film studios to postpone⁶ big, costly⁷ movies in 2020 permitted new faces to be noted⁸.

Six of those nominated for acting awards are Black including the late Chadwick Boseman for "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" and Andra Day for "The United States vs. Billie Holiday." Other Black nominees include Viola Davis for "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield for "Judas and the Black Messiah" and Leslie Odom, Jr. for "One Night in Miami."

Steven Yeun became the first Asian American to be nominated for best actor for his performance in "Minari." Youn Yuh-jung, a South Korean actress, received a nomination¹ for her supporting part in "Minari." And Riz Ahmed became the first person of Pakistani descent to be nominated for an acting award as best actor in "Sound of Metal."

Glenn Close was nominated for best supporting actress for her part in "Hillbilly Elegy⁹." It is the eighth nomination of her career, but she has never won.

"Mank" received the most nominations of any movie this year with 10, including best actor for Gary Oldman and best picture. The film tells the story of Hollywood writer Herman Mankiewicz who wrote the script for Orson Wells' 1941 film classic "Citizen Kane."

The seven other best picture nominees include "The Father," "Judas and the Black Messiah," "Minari," "Nomadland," "Promising Young Woman," "Sound of Metal," and "The Trial of the Chicago 7."

Difficult year for Hollywood

The year 2020 was especially difficult for the movie industry. The new coronavirus health crisis meant movie theaters were closed much of the year in America and in many other countries. As a result, moviegoers watched more movies on internet streaming services.

Two of the best picture nominees, "Mank" and "Chicago 7," were seen on the streaming service Netflix. Netflix movies received 35 total nominations while Amazon films received 12.

Not everyone was satisfied with the choices for those nominated from the film industry. Boseman, who died of cancer at age 43, was not nominated for his part in "Get On Up" but was nominated for another movie. And director Spike¹⁰ Lee did not receive a nomination for his movie "Da 5 Bloods," although it was nominated for best musical score.

This year's ceremony for the Oscars will take place on April 25 in at least two places in Los Angeles. One will be Los Angeles train station Union Station, which has been seen in several films. The other is the Dolby Theater, formerly¹¹ known as Kodak Theater. Other places may also be included. While unusual, it is not the first time the event has been split.

Usually held in February, this year's Oscars were moved to April because of concerns over COVID-19. The Academy also eased rules to include films that were not shown in theaters and may not have been seen by many fans.

The Oscars ceremony is a big night for the movie industry, but expectations are not high for this April's event. Last year, a record low 23.6 million people watched the event on television. Some experts say people are showing less interest in awards shows generally. They say getting attention for films many people have not seen will be a difficult task for Hollywood.

Words in This Story

diversity –n. the state of having people who are different races or who have different cultures in a group or organization

studio –n. a company that makes movies; a place where movies are filmed

classic –adj. describing something considered to be one of the best of its kind

streaming –n. played out continuously as data is sent to a computer over the internet

1 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

2 nominations   

n.提名，任命( nomination的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nominations are invited for the post of party chairman. 为党主席职位征集候选人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Much coverage surrounded his abortive bids for the 1960,1964, and 1968 Republican Presidential nominations. 许多消息报道都围绕着1960年、1964年和1968年他为争取提名为共和党总统候选人所做努力的失败。 来自辞典例句

3 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

4 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

5 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

6 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

7 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 elegy   

n.哀歌，挽歌

参考例句：

• Good heavens,what would be more tragic than that elegy!天哪，还有什么比那首挽歌更悲伤的呢！
• His book is not intended to be a complete history but a personal elegy.他的书与其说是一部完整的历史，更像是一篇个人挽歌。

10 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

11 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。