Greta Gerwig snubbed for best director and other Oscar nominations surprises

Cue all the “did ‘Barbie’ direct itself” snark. But Greta Gerwig not being among the five best director nominees for this year’s Oscars is one of the biggest shocks in recent memory. Here are some other major “snubs” and “surprises” from Oscar nomination morning.

If we knew anything going into Oscar nominations morning, it was that Gerwig was obviously going to be nominated for directing “Barbie.” It was that rarest of things, a critically praised original blockbuster (about a woman to boot) that became the highest earner of the year by a wide margin and was a legitimate cultural phenomenon. Gerwig was previously nominated for best director for “Lady Bird,” and missing out for “Little Woman” was even a snub. Unfortunately many will likely point to Justine Triet (“Anatomy of a Fall”) for taking Gerwig’s spot, but let’s not pit two great female directors against one another. If it’s any consolation to Gerwig, last year’s blockbuster directors were also shut out of this category – neither James Cameron (“Avatar: The Way of Water”) nor Joseph Kosinski (“Top Gun: Maverick”) made it in.