The nominations for the 83rd annual Academy Awards, announced this morning in Los Angeles, were fairly predictable but notable for their pronounced recognition of two films with lesbian characters and or/themes.
Though films such as The King’s Speech, True Grit and The Social Network scored the most nominations in the various categories considered, Black Swan and The Kids Are All Right racked up an impressive number of nods.
The Kids Are All Right, in which Annette Bening and Julianne Moore play a lesbian couple whose children meet their sperm donor, earned a nomination for Best Picture, and Bening received a Best Actress nod for her commanding performance (Mark Ruffalo was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film). Although four-time nominee Bening is widely favored to win the Best Actress award, Black Swan’s Natalie Portman was also recognized in the same category. Portman recently picked up a Golden Globe for her harrowing portrayal of a perfection-obsessed ballet dancer spiraling into madness—complete with an intense ecstasy-fueld sex scene with costar Mila Kunis (who was snubbed in the Best Supporting Actress Category). Black Swan additionally scored nominations for Best Picture and Best Director (Darren Aronofsky)
The Academy Awards, to be hosted by Oscar nominee James Franco and previous Oscar nominee Anne Hathaway, will take place Feb. 27 at Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre and will be broadcast on ABC.
Here is a list of the nominees in the categories we care most about:
Best Picture
* Black Swan
* The Fighter
* Inception
* The Kids Are All Right
* The King’s Speech
* 127 Hours
* The Social Network
* Toy Story 3
* True Grit
* Winter’s Bone
Actress in Leading Role
* Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
* Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
* Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
* Natalie Portman, Black Swan
* Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine
Actor in a Leading Role
* Javier Bardem, Biutiful
* Jeff Bridges, True Grit
* Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
* Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
* James Franco, 127 Hours
Actress in a Supporting Role
* Amy Adams, The Fighter
* Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech
* Melissa Leo, The Fighter
* Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
* Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom
Actor in a Supporting Role
* Christian Bale, The Fighter
* John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone
* Jeremy Renner, The Town
* Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
* Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech
Directing
* Black Swan, Darren Aronofsky
* The Fighter, David. O. Russell
* The King’s Speech, Tom Hooper
* The Social Network, David Fincher (pictured)
* True Grit, Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
What Do You Think?