The 2016 Academy Awards had some predictable nominations on Thursday (“Room,” “Spotlight”), but there are always a couple of surprises. One of those Oscar shockers was a nomination for “Fifty Shades of Grey.” The critically-panned movie, which follows innocent college student Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) as she explores the world of BDSM with rich businessman Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan), scored a singular nod, but it wasn’t for the amazing filmmaking.
“Earned It,” The Weeknd’s song for the “Fifty Shades of Grey” soundtrack, was nominated for Best Original Song. He is up against Lady Gaga’s “Til It Happens To You” from “The Hunting Ground,” Sam Smith’s “Writing’s on the Wall” from “Spectre,” J. Ralph and Antony’s “Manta Ray” from “Racing Extinction” and David Lang’s “Simple Song #3” from “Youth.”
Unlike “Fifty Shades of Grey,” The Weeknd (which is Abel Tesfaye’s stage name) has been a critical darling with his third album, “Beauty Behind Madness.” The Oscar nomination follows his seven Grammy nominations, including the coveted Album of the Year category. The 25-year-old singer responded to the news on Twitter Thursday.
The Oscar nomination is good news for the “Fifty Shades of Grey” cast, who were just nominated for several Razzies, which are essentially the opposite of the Oscars. The Razzies honor the year’s worst films and “Fifty Shades” was one of their most recognized films with six nominations, Entertainment Weekly reports. The movie was nominated for Worst Picture, and Dornan and Johnson both received Worst Actor nominations as well as Worst Screen Combo. Sam Taylor-Johnson’s directing and Kelly Marcel’s screenplay also received nominations.
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Despite not being critically loved, fans still flocked to see the movie and the sequels have been given the green light. “Fifty Shades Darker” begins production next month in Canada. Dornan and Johnson will reprise their roles in both the second and third films, which will shoot back-to-back.
