‘Joker’ Had the Last Laugh

Most pundits, your Carpetbagger included, expected Monday’s nomination leader to be “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood,” “1917” or “The Irishman.” Instead, the comic-book origin story “Joker” triumphed, picking up 11 nominations to those films’ 10 each. The most impressive of those has got to be the inclusion of Todd Phillips in the director race: Though Phillips had been cited by the Golden Globes and BAFTA, he still faced tough competition, and now the director of “The Hangover” is newly Oscar-minted.

Women Couldn’t Crack Best Director

Nearly every major awards show this season has fielded an all-male lineup for the best-director category, and the Oscars were no different, nominating Phillips, Martin Scorsese (“The Irishman"), Quentin Tarantino (“Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood”), Bong Joon Ho (“Parasite”) and Sam Mendes (“1917”). That means the “Little Women” filmmaker Greta Gerwig, who could have been the very first woman nominated twice for best director, was left out, as were worthy contenders like Celine Sciamma (“Portrait of a Lady on Fire”) and Lulu Wang (“The Farewell”).

Is Neon the New A24?

When it comes to indie distributors, A24 used to have all the Oscar heat, steering films like “Moonlight,” “Room” and “Lady Bird” to awards glory. The past two years have proved more difficult for the company: After A24 was unable to get “Eighth Grade” and “First Reformed” into the best-picture race last year, the company was snubbed from the major categories this time around, netting no nominations for “The Farewell” or “Uncut Gems.” Meanwhile, the independent upstart Neon scored mightily, with “Parasite” getting 6 nominations, including best picture. Speaking of which …