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'La La Land' ties record with 14 Oscar nominations

Posted Tuesday, January 24, 2017 at 11:10 AM Central
Last updated Tuesday, January 24, 2017 at 11:13 AM Central

by John Couture

If La La Land's record-setting performance at this month's Golden Globes didn't impress you, then maybe this will. The film secured a massive 14 Academy Award nominations this morning, tying it with Titanic and All About Eve for the most Oscar nominations ever for a single film.

It's officially a La La Land world and we're just living in it. Or shall I say it's Damien Chazelle's world. The young writer/director celebrated turning 32(!) this month by securing his second and third Oscar nominations this morning for his writing and directing work on La La Land. Previously, he was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2015 for Whiplash, which went on to win three Oscars.

So, the real question this morning is just how many little golden statuettes will this year's acclaimed musical take home next month? The record for most Oscar wins for a single film is 11, shared currently by three films (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Titanic, Ben-Hur), but it will be a near impossible task for La La Land to match or top that feat.

With two Oscar nominations for Best Original Song, the most statuettes that it could win is 13, but the competition is going to be fierce in many key categories. Even if it sweeps the secondary categories (no real guarantee), the film would still have to have Damien Chazelle sweep the writing and directing awards and take home the top prize just to tie the record.

Another potential "record" in reach for La La Land is the very rare feat of sweeping the top awards (Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Writing). It has only been done three times in the history of the Academy Awards (It Happened One Night, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Silence of the Lambs) and the stiff competition in the acting categories will most likely thwart La La Land's quest to become the fourth member of this exclusive club.

Despite La La Land's record-tying performance, the word of the day for the Oscars was balance and diversity. Fellow serious awards contenders Moonlight and Manchester by the Sea garnered eight and six nominations, respectively. An interesting surprise was the eight nominations for Arrival, including Best Picture, despite being shut out in all four acting categories.

In the past couple of years, the Academy has come under fire for its lack of diversity among its nominees, but that criticism is sure to be put to rest this year. Denzel Washington was nominated for Best Actor, while newcomer Ruth Negga was a surprise nomination in the Best Actress Category. Both Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer were nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar, while Mahershala Ali is the early odds-on favorite to take home the Best Supporting Actor statuette. That is if Dev Patel doesn't sneak in and surprise with his performance in Lion.

All in all, there were several surprises (two-time Oscar nominee Passengers?), but perhaps the most interesting is the Oscar nomination for Best Makeup for Suicide Squad. How cool would it be to see the whole cast attend as their on-screen alter-egos? Now, that would be must-see TV.

The 89th Academy Awards will be given out on February 26 and will be telecast live on ABC. ABC late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel is set to host the Oscars, it will be his first time doing so.

The full nominations are listed below.

Best Picture

Actor In A Leading Role

Actress In A Leading Role

Actor In A Supporting Role

Actress In A Supporting Role

Directing

Original Screenplay

Adapted Screenplay

Animated Feature Film

Art Direction

Cinematography

Costume Design

Documentary Feature

Documentary Short Subject

  • Extremis
  • 4.1 Miles
  • Joe's Violin
  • Watani: My Homeland
  • The White Helmets

Film Editing

Foreign Language Film

Makeup

Music (Original Score)

Music (Original Song)

Short Film (Animated)

  • Blind Vaysha
  • Borrowed Time
  • Pear Cider and Cigarettes
  • Pearl
  • Piper

Short Film (Live Action)

  • Ennemis Interieurs
  • La Femme et le TGV
  • Silent Nights
  • Sing
  • Timecode

Sound Editing

Sound Mixing

Visual Effects