2021 Oscars Awards Best Picture: what are the nominated movies?
The 93rd annual Academy Awards take place on Saturday evening and the final golden gong of the new-look show is expected to be for the Best Picture.
The Oscars are here and the finale is expected to be the awarding of the prize for Best Picture, the category that brings together all aspects of movie making! Tonight we will witness a very different awards ceremony - here's what to expect - but that does not change the fact that there'll be numerous famed golden prizes up for grabs, including the main one for Best Picture.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences began voting for nominations in late December, and they were tallied up by PricewaterhouseCoopers before being formally announced on 15 March, delayed a couple of months due to the covid-19 pandemic. Let's check out who's in with a chance of winning...
Oscars 2021: the nominations for Best Picture
"Nomadland" - After losing everything in the Great Recession, an old woman embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.
"The Trial of the Chicago 7" - The story of 7 people on trial stemming from various charges surrounding the uprising at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.
"Mank" - 1930s Hollywood is re-evaluated through the eyes of scathing social critic and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish the screenplay of Citizen Kane for Orson Welles.
"Promising Young Woman" - A young woman, traumatized by a tragic event in her past, seeks out vengeance against those who cross her path.
"Minari" - A Korean family moves to Arkansas to start a farm in the 1980s.
"The Father" - A man refuses all assistance from his daughter as he ages. As he tries to make sense of his changing circumstances, he begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind and even the fabric of his reality.
"Sound of Metal"" - A heavy-metal drummer's life is thrown into freefall when he begins to lose his hearing.
"Judas and the Black Messiah" - The story of Fred Hampton, Chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party, and his fateful betrayal by FBI informant William O'Neal.
Oscars 2021: the other main awards
BEST ACTOR
Chadwick Boseman - "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom"
Anthony Hopkins - "The Father"
Riz Ahmed - "Sound of Metal"
Gary Oldman - "Mank"
Steven Yeun - "Minari"
BEST ACTRESS
Carey Mulligan - "Promising Young Woman"
Frances McDormand - "Nomadland"
Vanessa Kirby - "Pieces of a Woman"
Viola Davis - "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom"
Andra Day - "The United States vs. Billie Holiday"
BEST DIRECTOR
Chloe Zhao - "Nomadland"
David Fincher - "Mank"
Emerald Fennell - "Promising Young Woman"
Lee Isaac Chung - "Minari"
Thomas Vinterberg - "Another Round"
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Daniel Kaluuya - "Judas and the Black Messiah"
Sacha Baron Cohen - "The Trial of the Chicago 7"
Leslie Odom Jr. - "One Night in Miami"
Paul Raci - "Sound of Metal"
LaKeith Stanfield - "Judas and the Black Messiah"
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Olivia Colman - "The Father"
Amanda Seyfried - "Mank"
Glenn Close - "Hillbilly Elegy"
Youn Yuh-jung - "Minari"
Maria Bakalova - "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm"
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
"Judas and the Black Messiah"
"Minari"
"Promising Young Woman"
"Sound of Metal"
"The Trial of the Chicago 7"
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
"Borat Subsequent Moviefilm"
"The Father"
"Nomadland"
"One Night in Miami"
"The White Tiger"
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
"Onward"
"Over the Moon"
"A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon"
"Soul"
"Wolfwalkers"
BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM
"Collective"
"Crip Camp"
"The Mole Agent"
"My Octopus Teacher"
"Time"
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
"Another Round" (Denmark)
"Better Days" (Hong Kong)
"Collective" (Romania)
"The Man Who Sold His Skin" (Tunisia)
"Quo Vadis, Aida?" (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Husavik (My Hometown)," "Eurovision Song Contest"
"Fight for You" - "Judas and the Black Messiah"
"Hear My Voice" - "The Trial of the Chicago 7"
"Io Si (Seen)" -"The Life Ahead"
"Speak Now" - "One Night in Miami"
Oscars: how are nominations decided, anyway?
Each member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) belongs to one of 17 branches; Actors, cinematographers, costume designers, directors, documentary, editors, makeup artists/hairstylists, music, producers, production design, short films/feature animation, sound, visual effects and writers.
Most categories are nominated by the members of the corresponding branch; actors nominate actors, directors nominate directors, and so on. All members can nominate the Best Picture and other catergories have special rules.
Oscars: how are winners decided?
All members can vote in the finals in all Oscar categories. With the exception of the Best Picture, voting members get only one vote per category. Because the field for Best Picture is so big, in 2021 there are eight, the AMPAS uses preferential voting. The members put their choices in order of preference and then when PWC tallies the votes, the votes are weighted. Lacking a resounding preference by the voters, the number one choice doesn’t necessarily win if in the event the number two receives an overwhelming vote from the members.
Once the final tally is done only two PWC partners know the results until the envelopes are opened onstage during the Oscars ceremony.