DALLAS — It's time for stars and studios to pop champagne corks to either celebrate or drown their sorrows. Nominations were announced Monday morning for the 92nd Academy Awards. You'll see a complete list of nominees elsewhere on our website, so I won't bore you. I'll just talk a little shop.
Netflix led all nominations with 24 total, so if you thought streaming didn't shine enough light on movies for the Academy to take notice, think again.
As far as individual films go, "Joker" leads all with 11 nominations, including Best Picture. Star Joaquin Phoenix is almost a sure bet to win Lead Actor for his masterful job in that film. His "Joker" co-star, Robert De Niro, however, will not be joining him in the Lead Actor race for "The Irishman." That title character is left out in an incredibly crowded field. De Niro's co-stars Al Pacino and Joe Pesci, however, are nominated in the Supporting Actor category.
RELATED: Read our 'Joker' review here
"The Irishman" lands close behind "Joker" with 10 nominations, as does "1917" (my pick for Best Picture) and "Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood," which just won the Critics Choice Award for Best Picture.
Almost every year, there's talk about the lack of diversity in the Oscar nominations. Greta Gerwig had a good chance for a Best Director nod for "Little Women," but she was snubbed. Her partner, Noah Baumbach, was also not nominated for directing "Marriage Story." Misery loves company. Both were nominated for their screenplays, though.
As far as acting nominations of color, Cynthia Erivo scored a nod for "Harriet," but otherwise it's a whitewash, and that discussion will continue.
(Worthy of consideration: Lupita Nyong'o in "Us," Eddie Murphy in "Dolomite Is My Name," and Awkafina and Zhao Sjuzhen for "The Farewell." That movie was shut out entirely.)
But congratulations to South Korea and "Parasite," for six nominations including Best Picture, and Best International Feature Film (That's what they're calling Best Foreign Language Film now.) I won't give away spoilers, but there's a hole so big in the storyline, I liked it, but couldn't jump on the bandwagon.
For the first time in 13 years, someone scored two acting nominations. That's Scarlett Johansson, nominated for Best Actress for "Marriage Story" and Best Supporting Actress for "Jojo Rabbit." I'd say she's having a good year. No love for Jennifer Lopez, though, as she wasn't recognized for her turn in "Hustlers."
Speaking of divas, there was no love either for Beyoncé, and her original song "Spirit" from "The Lion King." The movie did receive a nod for Visual Effects, the very thing people complained about. Go figure.
RELATED: Read our 'Lion King' review here
And let's give a shout out to composer John Williams, landing his 52nd Oscar nomination for his final "Star Wars" score, breaking his own record. He has the most nominations of any living artist, winning five times. Only the late Walt Disney tops him with 59. May he live long and prosper....wait, wrong franchise.
That's an overview. I'll break down the categories as the big Oscars Day draws near on February 9th. Meantime, check out some of these movies. It's been a fine year for film!