January 24, 2024, 03:40 GMT
Updated 2 hours ago
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Gosling (left) said: “There is no Barbie film without Greta Gerwig (centre) and Margot Robbie (right)”
Actor Ryan Gosling said he was “disappointed” that Barbie's Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie were snubbed in major Oscar nomination categories.
Gosling said he was “honored” to be nominated for best supporting actor for “playing a plastic doll named Ken.”
“But there is no Ken without Barbie and there is no Barbie movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie.”
Many expected Gerwig and Robbie to be nominated in the Best Director and Best Actress categories, respectively.
But there was recognition for the two of them elsewhere. Robbie won best picture as producer, while Gerwig was nominated for best adapted screenplay alongside her husband Noah Baumbach.
Barbie was the highest-grossing film of 2023, grossing $1.44 billion (£1.14 billion) worldwide.
In a statement to CBS, the BBC's US media partner, Gosling said: “It is a great honor to be nominated by my colleagues alongside such remarkable artists in a year with so many great films.”
At the same time, the Canadian actor described Gerwig and Robbie as “the two main people responsible for this historic and globally acclaimed film.”
“Without her talent, courage and genius, no one in film would be able to be recognized.”
“To say I’m disappointed they weren’t nominated in their respective categories would be an understatement.
“Against all odds, with nothing more than a few soulless, scantily clad and blissfully crotchless puppets, they made us laugh, they broke our hearts, they advanced culture, and they made history. Their work should be recognized alongside the other very deserving nominees.
Image source: Getty Images
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Barbie's America Ferrera, who was considered an outsider, received a nomination for best supporting actress
However, Gosling added that he was “so happy” for America Ferrera – who received a surprise nomination for best supporting actress – as well as the other “incredible artists who contributed their talents to making this groundbreaking film.”
Ferrera also said she was “incredibly disappointed” that Gerwig and Robbie were not recognized in the major nomination categories.
The Barbie film received a total of eight nominations, including for best film.
Mixed reaction to snubs
Many film fans on social media were dismayed by the Academy's decisions, with some suggesting the snub of Robbie and Gerwig, but the inclusion of Gosling was ironic given the film's message about feminism and the patriarchy.
A fan wrote: “The nomination of Ken rather than Barbie is really fitting for a film about a man who discovers the power of patriarchy in the real world.”
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However, others argued that the nominations were consistent with the decisions the Academy normally makes and that, despite Barbie's commercial success, higher quality films were awarded instead.
Post on X, One said: “[It’s] Objectively funny that leading actresses from two excellent films in Anatomy of a Fall and Killers of the Flower Moon (as well as a female director for the former) were nominated, but because Mattel's two-hour commercial wasn't, we had to pretend it's a big one Injustice.
Meanwhile, Ferrera was “very visible on the campaign trail, where her jaw-dropping monologue — the film's most serious moment — was played prominently,” he noted.
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Watch: Which films are the favorites for the Oscars?
Elsewhere, Christopher Nolan's “Oppenheimer” – another huge box office success – leads the field with 13 nominations.
Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt and Robert Downey Jr. were nominated for acting awards, and Nolan was nominated for best director.
Poor Things, about a toddler whose brain is transplanted into the body of an adult woman, was the second most nominated film with 11 nominations.
The 96th Academy Awards – or the Oscars – will take place on March 10 in Los Angeles.
The top nominees:
- 13 nominations – Oppenheimer
- 11 – Poor things
- 10 – Flower Moon Killer
- 8 – Barbie
- 7 – Maestro
- 5 – American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers, The Zone of Interest