ACADEMY SPREADS THE LOVE AROUND
An honor roll that ranges from Barbie to Spider-man, that recognizes a German actress and an underappreciated African-American actor, can’t be called anything but inclusive. That’s what I like about this year’s Oscar nominees. As always, the Actors’ branch—by far the largest number of voting members—is always welcoming to newcomers like Sandra Hüller, who is so good in Anatomy of a Fall, and relative newbies like Danielle Brooks and Colman Domingo, both of whom have paid their dues. Even Jeffrey Wright, for all his experience on stage, film, and television, has seldom had a leading role as rich as the one he plays in American Fiction. Its director and screenwriter, Cord Jefferson, is not a kid either but this marks his first feature film. The Holdovers’ Da’Vine Joy Randolph was a Tony…
