HOLLYWOOD - FEBRUARY 20: A display case is seen full of Oscar statues February 20, 2004 in Hollywood, California. These are the Oscar statuettes that will be handed out on February 29 at the 76th Academy Awards ceremony and will be on display at the Hollywood & Highland entertainment complex. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Getty Images)
<p>Tracee Ellis Ross and Leslie Jordan greeted audiences early Tuesday morning to release one of award season&#8217;s most anticipated lists. The pair presented nominees across 23 categories for the 94th annual Academy Awards. Although the actual show won&#8217;t be happening until March 27, fans got a lil&#8217; preview of what&#8217;s to come. This year&#8217;s nominations include first-timers like Beyoncé and returning faces like Denzel Washington and Will Smith. Here&#8217;s some moments to look out for!</p>
<h6><strong>&#8216;Best Picture&#8217;</strong></h6>
<p>This category was stacked with a total of 10 nominations. The film &#8216;King Richard&#8217; received a slot on the list. If you didn&#8217;t already know, the movie is based on <a href="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/will-smith-begins-physical-transformation-to-play-venus-serena-williams-dad-richard-williams-in-upcoming-biopic-king-richard/">Richard Williams&#8217; life</a> and 78-page plan to turn his daughters Serena and Venus into tennis champions. Additional nominees include: &#8216;Belfast,&#8217; &#8216;CODA,&#8217; &#8216;Don’t Look Up,&#8217; &#8216;Drive My Car,&#8217; &#8216;Dune,&#8217; &#8216;Licorice Pizza,&#8217; &#8216;Nightmare Alley,&#8217; &#8216;The Power of the Dog&#8217; and &#8216;West Side Story.&#8217;</p>
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<div class="pmc-adm-boomerang-pub-div ad-text" data-priority="10">In total, &#8216;King Richard&#8217; landed six nominations in film, talent and production categories. The makers also earned nominations for ‘Original Screenplay’ and ‘Film Editing.’</div>
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<h6><strong>&#8216;Original Song&#8217;</strong></h6>
<p>Beyoncé added another accomplishment to her resume with her first Oscar nomination. The decorated artist secured her &#8216;Original Song&#8217; spot with the track &#8216;Be Alive&#8217; for the film &#8216;King Richard.&#8217; Beyoncé and Dixson are credited for the song&#8217;s music and lyrics.</p>
<h6><strong>&#8216;Best Lead Actor&#8217;</strong></h6>
<p>Will Smith tapped all the way into his role as Richard on the film &#8216;King Richard&#8217;—down to learning how to play tennis and undergoing <a href="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/will-smith-begins-physical-transformation-to-play-venus-serena-williams-dad-richard-williams-in-upcoming-biopic-king-richard/">physical transformations.</a> His detailed work earned him an Oscar nomination in the category &#8216;Best Lead Actor.&#8217; Will and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith also worked as producers on the movie. In November 2021, the actor made headlines for <a href="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/will-smith-speaks-on-giving-the-king-richard-cast-crew-bonuses/">reportedly gifting</a> the film&#8217;s cast and crew bonuses.</p>
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<div data-priority="10">But, Will isn&#8217;t the only name for the culture who received nominations in this category. Denzel Washington is also nominated for his role &#8216;The Tragedy Of Macbeth.&#8217; His nomination makes him the &#8220;most <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/08/entertainment/denzel-washington-oscar-academy-award-record-cec/index.html">nominated Black actor</a> in Oscar his,&#8221; according to CNN. The last time Denzel secured an Oscar win was in 2002 for &#8216;Training Day.&#8217; That is one of two wins with the first being in 1990 for &#8220;Glory.&#8221;</div>
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<h6>&#8216;Best Supporting Actress&#8217;</h6>
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<div data-priority="10">&#8216;King Richard&#8217; found its way on the list through Aunjanue Ellis&#8217; nomination. She received a nomination for &#8216;Best Supporting Actress.&#8217; The actress did her thing in the role of the William sisters&#8217; mother Oracene Price. Voting officials also nominated Aunjanue for a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award for portraying Oracene.</div>
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<h6 data-priority="10"><strong>&#8216;Documentary Feature&#8217;</strong></h6>
<div data-priority="10">Voting landed &#8216;Summer of Soul (&#8230;Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) a &#8216;Documentary Feature&#8217; nomination. The film tells the story of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival and the thousands who attended throughout six weeks. &#8216;Summer of Soul&#8217; is the brainchild of Ahmir &#8216;Questlove&#8217; Thompson, along with Joseph Patel, robert Fyvolent and David Dinerstein. Their work <a href="https://www.searchlightpictures.com/summerofsoul/">also won</a> the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival.</div>
<p>Also in the &#8216;Documentary Feature&#8217; category is &#8216;Attica,&#8217; a look at the 1971 riot at Attica Correctional Facility in the United States. The brilliant Stanley Nelson and Traci A. Curry, who brought the story to our screens, received nominations.</p>
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<p>In the words of Issa Rae, we rooting for everybody Black! Good luck to everyone and every project that received nominations.</p>
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