British stars bag Oscar nominations but lack of diversity an issue again

Sir Sam Mendes, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Florence Pugh are among the British Oscar nominees, while Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker leads the way with 11 nods.

Cynthia Erivo also bagged a nod for her star turn in biopic Harriet while Sir Elton John and Bernie Taupin have been nominated for best original song for their work on Rocketman.

Pugh’s Little Women co-star Saoirse Ronan, 25, received a best actress nomination.

However, there is likely to be anger at a lack of diversity in the acting categories and the fact female filmmakers were snubbed for best director.

Joker, Phillips’s dark exploration of a troubled loner’s descent into madness, leads the way in nominations with 11, ahead of 1917, The Irishman and Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood which have 10 each.

All four of those films are nominated for best picture, alongside Ford V Ferrari, released in the UK as Le Mans ’66, Jojo Rabbit, Little Women, Marriage Story and Parasite.

The nominees for best director are Sir Sam for 1917, Martin Scorsese for The Irishman, Todd Phillips for Joker, Quentin Tarantino for Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood and Bong Joon-Ho for Parasite.

There is likely to be a backlash after female filmmakers were snubbed in the directing category and presenter Issa Rae made a pointed comment during the live broadcast.

Little Women’s Greta Gerwig and The Farewell’s Lulu Wang were considered to have a chance of being recognised, however Gerwig did earn a nod for best adapted screenplay while the film is up for best picture.

Four years on from the #OscarsSoWhite controversy, the acting categories also contained a lack of diversity.

In total, 19 of the 20 acting nominees across both the leading and supporting categories for men and women were white, with only Erivo bucking the trend.

Best actor nominees are Antonio Banderas for Pain And Glory, Leonardo DiCaprio for Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood, Adam Driver for Marriage Story, Phoenix in Joker and Jonathan Pryce in The Two Popes.

Rocketman’s Taron Egerton missed out on a nod for his work on Rocketman, as did The Irishman’s Robert De Niro and Le Mans ’66’s Christian Bale.

Alongside Erivo and Ronan in the best actress category are Scarlett Johansson for Marriage Story, Charlize Theron for Bombshell and Renee Zellweger for Judy.

While in the supporting categories Sir Anthony is recognised for his work on The Two Popes alongside Tom Hanks for A Beautiful Day In The Neighbourhood, Al Pacino and his The Irishman co-star Joe Pesci and Brad Pitt for Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood.

The actresses nominated alongside Pugh are Johansson for Jojo Rabbit, Kathy Bates for Richard Jewell, Laura Dern for Marriage Story and Margot Robbie for Bombshell.

Hustlers star Jennifer Lopez may be considered the biggest omission in that category.

1917’s 10 nods include best picture, best director, best original screenplay, best achievement in visual effects and best achievement in sound editing.

British cinematographer Roger Deakins is also nominated for best cinematography for his work on the film, which employs a unique visual style whereby it looks like one continuous shot.

South Korea’s Parasite picked up six nominations, including for best international feature film of the year, achievement in production design and best original screenplay.

Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood’s 10 nods include for best original screenplay for Tarantino, best sound mixing and best production design.

Sir Elton and Taupin earned a nomination for best original song for (I’m Gonna) Love Me Again from Rocketman and are up against tracks from Toy Story 4, Breakthrough and Frozen 2.

Erivo earned another nomination in this category alongside Joshuah Brian Campbell for their song Stand Up from Harriet.

Best animated feature film of the year nominees are How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, I Lost My Body, Klaus, Missing Link and Toy Story 4.

The animated short film nominees are Dcera (Daughter), Hair Love, Kitbull and Memorable.

In the category of original score the nominees are Joker, Little Women, Marriage Story, 1917 and Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker.

For costume design the nominated films are Jojo Rabbit, Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood, The Irishman, Joker and Little Women.

The 92nd Academy Awards will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on February 9.