Alfonso Cuarón could equal a record broken by Kenneth Branagh last year when the Oscar nominations were announced on January 24.
As one of the producers of the Disney short ‘The Pupil’, he could receive a nomination for Best Live Action Short. This mention would mark the seventh Oscar category in which the filmmaker is recognized. He would be the second person to achieve this after Branagh last year with “Belfast”, in addition to being the first Latino.
The short film, directed by Alice Rohrwacher and co-produced by Carlo Cresto-Dina, Cuarón and Gabriela Rodriguez, which became the first Latina ever nominated for Best Picture with ‘Roma’ (2018), delves into the minds of girls in the confines of a strict religious boarding school at Christmas.
Cuarón is currently tied with George Clooney and Walt Disney, both of whom have been recognized in six different categories throughout their careers. Cuarón’s 10 career Oscar nominations were split between Best Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, and Editing. He won four statuettes: director and editor for “Gravity” and director and director of photography for “Roma”.
Fun fact: another member of the “three amigos”, Oscar-winning Guillermo del Toro, could join the six-category spot vacated by Cuarón.
In addition to being a lock for “Pinocchio” in Best Animated Feature, del Toro is a likely contender for a second name in the original song as songwriter on the whimsical track “Ciao Papa.” If the Netflix film manages to surprise in an adapted storyline (which is entirely possible given the alleged weakness of this breed), this would be del Toro’s sixth category after his appearances in best picture, director and the original screenplay (as well as animation and song if they come to fruition). He’s a beloved author who won two Oscars for “The Shape of Water” (2017) for Best Picture and Best Director. If “Pinocchio” wins the animated feature, he would be the first person to have Oscars for picture, direction and animation.
And if “Bardo”, by Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, is nominated for directing or international feature film, the “three amigos” would be nominated for an Oscar. It would be the second time since 2006 that all three were individually recognized after “Babel”, “Children of Men” and “Pan’s Labyrinth”. All have lost their prizes.
Voting for the Oscars is currently underway and will close on January 17 at 5:00 p.m. PT.