Margot RobbieandGreta Gerwig’s individual omissions from the recently announcedOscars2024 nominations won’t be forgotten anytime soon, according to an expert.
Karger is referring toBarbie, the box-office smash that became the highest-grossing film of 2023 following its July release. The comedy nabbedeight Academy Award nominationsthis year, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor forRyan Goslingand Best Supporting Actress forAmerica Ferrera.
But surprisingly, star and co-producer Robbie, 33,was not recognizedin the Best Actress category, and Gerwig, 40, was left out among the Best Director nominees.
“Even though they both received nominations for their work onBarbiein other categories, these two high-profile omissions will be remembered — and they will sting — for a long time,” Karger tells PEOPLE.
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Ryan Gosling, Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig on the set ofBarbie(2023).Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bros.
Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bros.
The film’s comedic nature may have also affected overall nominations, he adds.
“I do think that the Academy membership has a bit of a bias, unconscious or otherwise, against true comedies and towards heavier dramas,” says Karger. “Greta and Margot surely made it on to thousands of ballots, but since those ballots are weighted towards voters’ No. 1 and No. 2 favorites, we can assume they simply didn’t earn enough of those top-tier votes.”
Meanwhile, Robbie has secured numerous awards this year for her lead role inBarbie, including acting nominations at both theGolden Globe AwardsandCritics Choice Awards. She is eligible for an Oscar this year as a co-producer of the film, since it is up for Best Picture.
In previous years, Gerwig — who co-wroteBarbiealongside her now-husbandNoah Baumbach— landed a Best Director nod for 2017’sLady Bird, her debut, though she was not nominated for her other film, 2019’sLittle Women. She did earn writing nods for both of those films.
ForBarbie, Gerwig earned directing nominations from the Directors Guild of America, Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards earlier this year. She and Baumbach, 54, are nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the upcoming Oscars.
However, there were many nominations Tuesday that showcased a notably diverse class of nominees. Among the history-making nods this year areKillers of the Flower MoonBest Actress hopefulLily Gladstone, who is the thefirst Native American actress to be nominated for an Oscar. Many other stars are also marking their first-ever Oscar acting nods, including Ferrera,Emily Blunt,Jeffrey Wright,Sterling K. BrownandCillian Murphy.
Nine women are up for awards in the Best Picture category, and one woman —Anatomy of a Fall’sJustine Triet— is in contention for Best Director.
Triet, 45, is the eighth woman to benominated in the category(only three have won:Jane Campionin 2021,Chloé Zhaoin 2020 andKathryn Bigelowin 2009). And one-third of nominees across all categories this year are women — higher than the last three years.
“To say that I’m disappointed that they are not nominated in their respective categories would be an understatement," he said about the pair.
Margot Robbie inBarbie(2023).Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bros.
While Gosling, 43, added that he was “extremely honored to be nominated,” the dad of two added thatthere is “no Ken without Barbie. And there is noBarbiemovie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie.”
He went on to call Gerwig and Robbie “the two people most responsible for this history-making globally celebrated film.”
Just hours after the nominations were announced on Tuesday, Ferrera, who played Gloria in the film, also revealed thatshe was “incredibly disappointed”her fellow female colleagues did not receive mentions.
The actress, 39, toldVariety, “Greta has done just about everything that a director could do to deserve it. Creating this world, and taking something that didn’t have inherent value to most people and making it a global phenomenon. It feels disappointing to not see her on that list.”
As for Robbie, who has received two Oscar acting nominations in the past (Best Actress forI, Tonyain 2018 and Best Supporting Actress forBombshellin 2019), Ferrera told the outlet that what she achieved as an actress is “truly unbelievable” inBarbie.
Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie at the Critics Choice Awards in Santa Monica, California, on Jan. 14, 2024.Kevin Winter/Getty
Kevin Winter/Getty
“One of the things about Margot as an actress is how easy she makes everything look. And perhaps people got fooled into thinking that the work seems easy,” theUgly Bettyalum said.
“But Margot is a magician as an actress in front of the screen, and it was one of the honors of my career to get to witness her pull off the amazing performance she did,” she added toVariety.
source: people.com
