Spielberg, Garfield and Gyllenhaal top Jewish Oscar nominations
(Steven Spielberg receives his eighth Oscar nomination for best director at the 94th Academy Awards. He’s nominated for “West Side Story.” The film received seven nominations in total. Credit: Gage Skidmore)
The 94th Academy Awards ceremony will take place on March 27 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and several Members of the Tribe were among the nominees when they were announced on Feb. 8.
Steven Spielberg’s remake of “West Side Story” earned seven nominations, including for best picture. Spielberg, who has won three competitive Oscars, was nominated for the eighth time in the direction category and for the 11th time in the producing category. His first nomination came in 1978, when he was nominated for his direction of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
Other Jewish nominees include Andrew Garfield, for his turn as Jewish playwright and composer Jonathan Larson in “Tick, Tick … Boom!” The biopic was based on a semi autobiographical work Larson wrote before he created the Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning “Rent.” Larson died on Jan. 25, 1996, the day of “Rent’s” first off-Broadway preview performance. He was 35.
It’s Garfield’s second nomination. He was nominated for lead actor in 2016’s “Hacksaw Ridge.”
Kristen Stewart, whose mother is half Ashkenazi Jewish, was nominated in the lead actress category for her turn as Princess Diana in “Spencer.” She’s perhaps best known for playing Bella in the “Twilight” films. It is her first nomination.
Maggie Gyllenhaal was nominated in the adapted screenplay category for “The Lost Daughter,” which was also her directorial debut. The script was adapted from a novel of the same name by Elena Ferrante.
Gyllenhaal was nominated in the supporting actress category for her performance in 2010’s “Crazy Heart.”
Oscar-winning screenwriter Eric Roth (“Forrest Gump”) was nominated, with co-writers Jon Spaihts and Denis Villeneuve, for adapting Frank Herbert’s seminal science fiction novel “Dune.” The sweeping, special effects-laden epic earned a total of 10 nominations, including best film.
David Sirota, along with co-writer Adam McKay, were nominated in the original screenplay category for the star-studded, climate-change satire “Don’t Look Up.”
Will the 13th time be the charm for always-a-bridesmaid, never-a-bride Diane Warren? She earned her 13th nod in the original song category for penning the music and lyrics to “Somehow You Do” from “Four Good Days.” Competition in that category is star-studded: Superstar Beyonce, Tony-winning “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, platinum-album recording artist Van Morrison and pop-darling Billie Eilish are among the other nominees.
Three composers in the original score category have Jewish backgrounds: Nicholas Britell (“Don’t Look Up”), Hans Zimmer ( “Dune”) and Jonny Greenwood (“The Power of the Dog.”)
The critically acclaimed “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” adapted and directed by Joel Coen, received three nominations: for lead actor Denzel Washington, production design and cinematography.
Rookie actress Alana Haim, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in “Licorice Pizza,” was snubbed by the motion picture academy. Tony Kushner, who adapted 2021’s “West Side Story,” a Broadway (1957) and film hit (1961) with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, also failed to receive a screenwriting nod.
Jay Rosenblatt’s “When We Were Bullies” was nominated in the short documentary category.