For a while, the biggest cinema story of 2020 was what movies they were not leaving, while the pandemic closed the cinemas and exceeded the release dates of some of the biggest box office hits of the year (see you later, Black Widow and No time to die, I hope) and the hottest award lure (or is there another reason Spielberg directed a remake of West Side Story?). But not anymore, because many good films were still released last year – and many of them have just been nominated for an Oscar.
Yes, the annual Hollywood celebration of mutual admiration is still going on, even though things are a little different this year. Prizes will not be awarded until April 25, the last point of the year for an Oscar ceremony since 1932. Some films not released until 2021 will still be eligible, such as the Academy changed the eligibility window and removed the restrictions that required a theatrical release.
But the biggest difference between this Oscar year and any other year is that you can easily (if not necessarily cheap) see most of the nominees now, without leaving your home. No more waiting for the art house to launch in order to reach the larger city near you, or for your favorite director’s next masterpiece to arrive on HBO – thanks to COVID, almost everything ready for an award this year is flowing somewhere now. Caramba, the most honored film of the year, Mank (10 nominations) even debuted on Netflix.
This is where to transmit nominees for the main categories of the 2021 Oscars.