On Thursday, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts released its 2024 nominations—and it is being slammed for nominating Bradley Cooper as best director over Martin Scorsese.
The full shortlist was announced ahead of the BAFTAs ceremony in London in February. For his involvement in the biographical Leonard Bernstein film Maestro, the academy has nominated Cooper for three awards this year: best leading actor, best director, and best original screenplay.
The movie largely follows Bernstein away from the world of his career, shining a light on his marriage to Costa Rican-born actress Felicia Montealegre, portrayed by Carey Mulligan.
Alongside Cooper in the director category is Andrew Haigh for All of Us Strangers; Justine Triet, who directed Anatomy of a Fall; Alexander Payne for The Holdovers; Christopher Nolan for Oppenheimer; and Jonathan Glazer, who directed The Zone Of Interest.
Notably, Scorsese's name is missing from the list. He has been lauded for his 2023 film Killers of the Flower Moon, which stars Lily Gladstone and Leonardo DiCaprio. Set in 1920s Oklahoma, the movie focuses on a series of murders of Osage members and relations in the Osage Nation after oil was discovered on tribal land.
People online have taken issue with the nominations list, with many saying they disagree with Cooper being nominated over Scorsese. Newsweek contacted a spokesperson for Cooper via email and a spokesperson for Scorsese via their website for comment Friday.
"Including Alexander Payne and Bradley Cooper over Marty & Greta [Gerwig for "Barbie"] is criminal. On top of not nominating Lily [Gladstone], I just know they are going to screw over Cillian [Murphy]. Oh the BAFTAS are going to be a flop," one person wrote.
"When an award show snubs Scorsese and nominates Bradley Cooper for that mediocre film, you realize that this award should not be taken seriously," another person posted, adding clown and vomiting emojis.
When an award show snubs Scorsese and nominates Bradley Cooper for that mediocre film, you realize that this award should not be taken seriously 🤡🤡🤡🤮🤮
— 𝕞𝕒𝕣𝕠𝕜𝕒 YES JEFF! (@chillinbeats) January 18, 2024
"Bradley Cooper being nominated for a directing BAFTA over Martin Scorsese feels illegal," a third commented.
A fourth person added: "man snubbing scorsese for bradley cooper is a new level of low."
However, not everyone disagrees with Cooper being nominated for best director.
"Bradley cooper deserves to be in the best director lineup," one X user wrote.
"The fact that Bradley Cooper got in Director and Screenplay for MAESTRO at Bafta should not be discounted. Enough of the industry respects him. He has grown as a director and took risks. Maestro can get between 6-8 Oscar nominations," commented another.
The fact that Bradley Cooper got in Director and Screenplay for MAESTRO at Bafta should not be discounted. Enough of the industry respects him. He has grown as a director and took risks. Maestro can get between 6-8 Oscar nominations. #maestro #bradleycooper #director #actor pic.twitter.com/kOaCMdzCZd
— Josh Blumenkranz (@JoshBlumenkranz) January 18, 2024
Others took issue with so few women being nominated, despite there having been a variety of female-directed films released in 2023. Triet is the only female director nominated, despite Greta Gerwig's Barbie being a huge success at the box office. Korean-Canadian filmmaker Celine Song was also missing from the best director list, despite her film Past Lives being nominated in three categories.
"WHERE ARE ALL THE WOMEN! greta????" one X user asked.
"Out of six nominations only one woman director in a year where women directors had such an iconic year - seems really poor. Maybe there ought to be a special category for women directors seeing as they're still being sidelined," posted another.
A third X user added: "Greta Gerwig should be here."
Jane Millichip, CEO of BAFTA, explained the academy's decision in a statement shared with Newsweek.
"The 38 films nominated by BAFTA voters span an extraordinary range of genres and stories. The field this year is incredibly strong. More films were entered, making the selection process particularly tough for our voting members," she said.
"The films and talented people nominated represent some of the most talked about films of the year, the most critically acclaimed, and films yet to be released and discovered by audiences. With a month to go until the EE BAFTAs on 18 February, we encourage film fans everywhere to watch as many nominated films as possible and find out more about the people who make them by listening to our new official podcast, Countdown to the BAFTAs, which is available widely on podcast platforms from today."
Barbie may have prevailed in the fight of the box office, earning $1.446 billion globally, but Oppenheimer is leading the race for BAFTAs, having been nominated for 13 awards.
The movie, which was directed by Christopher Nolan, explores the true story of the first atomic bomb and has been nominated for best film and best director. Stars Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, and Robert Downey Jr. have also been nominated for acting awards.
The highly regarded film Poor Things has received 11 BAFTA nominations. Emma Stone, who plays a young lady resurrected from the dead, has been nominated for best leading actress.
Barbie has five nominations, including best leading actress for Margot Robbie and best supporting actor for Ryan Gosling. While Gerwig is notably missing from the best film and director categories, she has been nominated for best original screenplay.
Update 1/19/24, 10:34 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from BAFTA CEO Jane Millichip.
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