By Lisa Richwine and Danielle Broadway
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The Netflix movie musical “Emilia Perez” led the Academy Award nominations on Thursday, giving the streaming service another shot at its first best-picture trophy, followed by historical drama “The Brutalist” and box-office smash “Wicked.”
“Emilia Perez,” the Spanish-language story of a Mexican drug lord who transitions to a woman and starts a new life, earned 13 nominations. “The Brutalist,” a 3 1/2-hour tale about a Holocaust survivor and architect chasing the American dream, and “The Wizard of Oz” prequel “Wicked” picked up 10 nods each.
All three films will compete for the coveted best-picture prize at the Oscars ceremony in Hollywood on March 2.
“A Complete Unknown,” starring Timothee Chalamet as a young Bob Dylan, dark romantic comedy “Anora” and papal selection drama “Conclave” also landed in the best-picture race.
The other nominated films were the science-fiction blockbuster “Dune Part 2” Brazilian political docudrama “I’m Still Here,” racial drama “Nickel Boys” and horror movie “The Substance.”
Nominations for the film industry’s highest honors were announced on Thursday in Beverly Hills as the Los Angeles area, the heart of the movie business, grappled with ongoing wildfires that devastated parts of the city. A new blaze erupted on Wednesday.
Netflix has never won best picture despite nominations for such films as “Roma” and “The Irishman.” The streaming service releases its movies in theaters for only a limited time, enough to qualify them for awards consideration.
Awards pundits said there was no clear frontrunner for the top movie honor. Marc Malkin, senior culture and events editor at Variety, predicted a tight race between “Wicked,” “Conclave” and “The Brutalist.”
“Wicked” and “Conclave” were released by Comcast’s Universal film division while “The Brutalist” was distributed by independent studio A24.
“Everyone loved ‘Wicked,'” Malkin said, and “Conclave” has picked up steam with strong word-of-mouth buzz from audiences.
With “The Brutalist,” “when you look at Adrien Brody’s acting in that movie, and you look at the movie as a whole, it’s pretty incredible,” Malkin added.
In the best actress category, “Emilia Perez” star Karla Sofía Gascón made history as the first openly transgender person to be nominated for an acting Oscar.
Demi Moore, who spoke at the Golden Globes about being underestimated over her four-decade career, was nominated for playing a fading celebrity in “The Substance.”
“I am deeply humbled,” Moore said in a statement on Thursday, while acknowledging the destructive wildfires.
“My heart is with my friends, family, neighbors, and community here in LA,” the actress said.
Best actor nominees included Chalamet, Brody and Sebastian Stan, who played Donald Trump in his formative years as a New York real estate developer in “The Apprentice.” Co-star Jeremy Strong, who portrayed ruthless Trump attorney Roy Cohn, received a nomination for supporting actor.
“Wicked” star Cynthia Erivo was nominated for best actress and co-star Ariana Grande for supporting actress for playing students of magic who become the witches in “The Wizard of Oz.”
“Picking my head up in between sobs to say thank you,” Grande wrote on Instagram. “I cannot stop crying.”
Notable names left off the nominations list were Angelina Jolie, who played opera singer Maria Callas in “Maria,” and Nicole Kidman for “Babygirl.”
This year’s Oscar nominations were postponed twice because of the wildfires, which have clouded Hollywood’s awards season. Several red-carpet events have been delayed or canceled.
The Oscars ceremony will proceed as a celebration of movies and resilience, organizers said.
“We will honor the talented filmmakers nominated today, pay tribute to our brave first responders and celebrate the enduring spirit of Los Angeles and the film industry,” Bill Kramer, CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said just before the nominations were unveiled.
Winners of the gold Oscar statuettes will be chosen by the roughly 11,000 actors, producers, directors and film craftspeople who make up the film academy.
Walt Disney’s ABC will broadcast the awards and comedian Conan O’Brien will host. Los Angeles and Hollywood want to show the world “that they’re still in business,” Malkin said.
“I think the last thing people in the industry want to seem like is defeated by these fires,” he said.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Additional reporting by Danielle Broadway and Rollo Ross; Editing by Mary Milliken and Mark Porter)
