Joker director Todd Phillips became a trending topic on Twitter after being revealed as one of five nominees for Best Director at the 92nd Academy Awards, marking the second straight year female directors were shut out in the category. Greta Gerwig earned a nomination in 2018 for her work on Lady Bird, making her the first female filmmaker nominated for the prize since Kathryn Bigelow, who was the first woman to win Best Director in 2010 on behalf of The Hurt Locker. Bigelow was one of just four women at the time to be nominated for the award, following Lina Wertmuller (Seven Beauties), Jane Campion (The Piano), and Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation).
Phillips will compete for the award with Martin Scorsese (The Irishman), Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood), Bong Joon Ho (Parasite) and Sam Mendes (1917), who walked away with the Best Director prize at the Golden Globes.
Several film fans are taking issue with Phillips' nomination on Twitter, with some arguing Gerwig should have received a nomination for Little Women. "Todd Phillips getting nominated over Greta Gerwig will be my Joker origin story," quipped @TylerHuckabee in a tweet that has been favorited more than one thousand times.
"Todd Phillips over Greta Gerwig or Noah Baumbach is a joke," wrote @willdarbyshire, referencing Baumbach's work on Netflix's Marriage Story, nominated for six Oscars including Best Picture, Best Actress for Scarlett Johansson and Best Actor for Adam Driver.
Joker, meanwhile, leads with 11 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix. Other reactions to Phillips' nomination follow:
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Joker is now available to own on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray. The 92nd Academy Awards air Sunday, Feb. 9 on ABC.