“Get Out” rose out of the Sunken Place on Tuesday, January 23 by scaring up four 2018 Oscar nominations, a rarity for a horror movie. With top bids for Best Picture, Best Director for Jordan Peele, Best Actor for Daniel Kaluuya and Best Original Screenplay for Peele, “Get Out” could go all the way at the Academy Awards, something no horror flick has done since Hannibal Lecter ate a liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.
Twenty-six years ago “The Silence of the Lambs” (1991) earned a whopping seven Oscar bids and took home five including the coveted prize of Best Picture. That was the first and only time a horror film ran off with the top Oscar, in part because scary movies are mostly seen as popcorn fare instead of pieces of art that awards groups can rally behind. “Silence of the Lambs” also won Best Actor for Anthony Hopkins, Best Actress for Jodie Foster, Best Director for Jonathan Demme and Best Adapted Screenplay for Ted Tally.
SEE 2018 Oscar nominations: Full list of Academy Awards nominees in all 24 categories
Other notable horror films to enter the Oscar discussion in recent years were six-time nominee “The Sixth Sense” (1999), directed by M. Night Shyamalan, and five-time contender “Black Swan” (2010), directed by Darren Aronofsky. Just like “Get Out” and “Silence of the Lambs,” these two movies were nominated for picture, directing and acting. “The Sixth Sense” went home empty-handed while “Black Swan” claimed the Best Actress trophy for Natalie Portman.
One key nomination missing from “Get Out’s” tally is Best Film Editing. As Oscar trivia buffs know, the winner of Best Picture almost always has a corresponding editing bid. In fact, “Birdman” (2014) is the sole exception from the past 36 years.
So far this awards season “Get Out” has nabbed one major televised trophy: Best Original Screenplay at the Critics’ Choice Awards. What do YOU think will win Best Picture at the Oscars: “Get Out,” “Call Me By Your Name,” “Darkest Hour,” “Dunkirk,” “Lady Bird,” “Phantom Thread,” “The Post,” “The Shape of Water” or “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”? Our editors debate this hot race in our latest video predictions slugfest.
2018 Oscar nominations for “Get Out”
Best Picture
Best Director — Jordan Peele
Best Actor — Daniel Kaluuya
Best Original Screenplay — Jordan Peele
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