Gerwig, Robbie, DiCaprio Snubbed in Oscar Nominations

 Leonardo DiCaprio arrives at the Governors Awards on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, at the Dolby Ballroom in Los Angeles. (AP)
Leonardo DiCaprio arrives at the Governors Awards on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, at the Dolby Ballroom in Los Angeles. (AP)
TT
20

Gerwig, Robbie, DiCaprio Snubbed in Oscar Nominations

 Leonardo DiCaprio arrives at the Governors Awards on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, at the Dolby Ballroom in Los Angeles. (AP)
Leonardo DiCaprio arrives at the Governors Awards on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, at the Dolby Ballroom in Los Angeles. (AP)

Director Greta Gerwig and actress Margot Robbie, the women who helped make "Barbie" the runaway box office success of 2023, failed to land directing and lead actress Oscar nominations on Tuesday.

Leonardo DiCaprio, the lead actor in director Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon," was passed over by Hollywood's film academy in that category.

"Barbie" and "Killers of the Flower Moon" did snag two of the 10 best picture nominations, though they face formidable competition from the awards season frontrunner, "Oppenheimer," which led Tuesday's nominations with 13 nods.

Gerwig landed a nomination for best adapted screenplay for "Barbie," along with her husband Noah Baumbach. The movie, which earned over $1.4 billion at the worldwide box office in 2023, snagged eight nominations in total, and Robbie is credited as a producer for the best picture nod.

Also not making the Oscar nomination cut was "Past Lives" star Greta Lee, who was vying for a best actress nod for her role in the romantic drama set in Seoul, South Korea, and New York.

Joining her, "Ferrari" actress Penelope Cruz did not receive a nomination for her supporting role in the high-speed racing drama despite good reviews for her performance.

Bradley Cooper was left off the best director list for "Maestro," though he was nominated for best actor for starring in the film as composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein. Cooper also was snubbed in the directing category for 2018 best picture nominee "A Star is Born."

Among the overlooked films, "The Color Purple,” the musical adaptation of the 1982 book and the 1985 film, was almost completely shut out of the 2024 Oscars race, receiving only one nomination.

Danielle Brooks received the movie’s sole Oscars nod for best supporting actress, while "American Idol" winner Fantasia Barrino was snubbed for the best actress nomination.

The newest "The Color Purple," which was inspired by the Broadway musical of the same name, may repeat the history of no Oscar wins like the movie it was based on - both led by industry giants Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg.

While the original movie received 11 Academy Award nominations, including best picture, it did not win in any category.



Film Academy Apologizes for Not Naming ‘No Other Land’ Co-director in Response to Attack on Him

Hamdan Ballal, Oscar-winning Palestinian director of "No Other Land," is released from a police station in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba a day after being detained by the Israeli army following an attack by Jewish settlers, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP)
Hamdan Ballal, Oscar-winning Palestinian director of "No Other Land," is released from a police station in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba a day after being detained by the Israeli army following an attack by Jewish settlers, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP)
TT
20

Film Academy Apologizes for Not Naming ‘No Other Land’ Co-director in Response to Attack on Him

Hamdan Ballal, Oscar-winning Palestinian director of "No Other Land," is released from a police station in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba a day after being detained by the Israeli army following an attack by Jewish settlers, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP)
Hamdan Ballal, Oscar-winning Palestinian director of "No Other Land," is released from a police station in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba a day after being detained by the Israeli army following an attack by Jewish settlers, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP)

After mounting criticism following its initial response to the violent attack on Oscar-winning "No Other Land" co-director Hamdan Ballal, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences apologized Friday for not acknowledging Ballal by name.

In a letter to academy members, academy CEO Bill Kramer and its president, Janet Yang, said they regretted not issuing a direct statement on Ballal. The director on Monday, witnesses said, was beaten by Israeli settlers in the West Bank and then detained by the Israeli military.

The attack, just weeks after Ballal and his fellow directors won best documentary at the Academy Awards, was widely condemned by numerous film organizations, among others. The academy on Wednesday released a statement condemning "harming or suppressing artists for their work or their viewpoints."

Yuval Abraham, a journalist and co-director of "No Other Land," was highly critical of that response, comparing it to "silence on Hamdan's assault."

On Friday, more than 600 of the academy's 11,000 members issued an open letter saying the academy's statement "fell far short of the sentiments this moment calls for." Among the signatories were Joaquin Phoenix, Olivia Colman, Riz Ahmed, Emma Thompson, Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz and "The Zone of Interest" filmmaker Jonathan Glazer.

After a meeting Friday by the academy's board of governors, Kramer and Yang responded with a new statement.

"We sincerely apologize to Mr. Ballal and all artists who felt unsupported by our previous statement and want to make it clear that the academy condemns violence of this kind anywhere in the world," they wrote to members. "We abhor the suppression of free speech under any circumstances."

After being detained for more than 20 hours, Ballal was released by Israeli soldiers. Ballal and two other Palestinians were accused of throwing stones at a settler, allegations they deny. After being released, Ballal told The Associated Press a settler kicked his head "like a football" during an attack on his village.

"I realized they were attacking me specifically," Ballal said at a West Bank hospital after his release Tuesday. "When they say ‘Oscar’, you understand. When they say your name, you understand."

"No Other Land," a joint Israeli-Palestinian production, chronicles the situation in Masafer Yatta, which the Israeli military designated as a live-fire training zone in the 1980s and ordered the expulsion of the residents, mostly Arab Bedouin. Around 1,000 residents have largely remained in place, but soldiers regularly come in to demolish homes, tents, water tanks and olive orchards.

After not finding a US distributor despite wide acclaim, "No Other Land" was self-released in theaters. It still managed to surpass $2 million in North American theaters.