Rian Johnson’s ‘Knives Out’ Nomination Joy Is the Most Pure Oscars Moment so Far

Oscar nomination morning is a very emotional morning, for everyone ranging from the nominated to the snubbed, from professionals to fans. As with every round of nominations, there are plenty of snubs to be livid about, and those fiery feels are very valid. But if you’re looking for one pure thing in the furnace of hot takes that is Twitter on Oscar nom morning, look no further than Knives Out writer/director Rian Johnson.

After being a critical darling and awards season favorite up until this point, coming off three Golden Globe nominations, Knives Out scored only one Oscar nom: Johnson received a nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Johnson, upon learning of his very first Oscar nom, was stoked:

He was very stoked!

As a member of the Knives Out hive (Hives Out?), I could be very angry that the film was shut out of the Best Picture and Best Director categories. I could be livid that Daniel Craig and Ana de Armas didn’t get noms. I could be screaming about how we are still ignoring the glorious genius of Toni Collette. And where’s the Production Design and Costuming noms? I mean, that sweater! Come on!

But instead, I look to Rian Johnson, like a drone looks to the queen. While he no doubt wishes the movie got noms in all those categories, he’s just rightfully excited to be nominated. And it’s so sweet, so pure, just like… honey? Okay, I’m nixing this “hive” metaphor. It’s getting weird.

It feels just to see tweets calling out the Academy for all the brilliant people they snubbed this year, and it also feels great to see someone just be genuinely excited about getting a nomination. Who knows if Johnson will actually win Oscar gold, but he’s already won Oscar Morning Twitter.