Oscars present a more diverse slate of nominees

The musical La La Land led with 14 Academy Award nominations this morning, joining best picture hopefuls Arrival, Fences, Hacksaw Ridge, Hell or High Water, Hidden Figures, Lion, Manchester by the Sea, and Moonlight. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science added 683 new members this past year in response to criticisms it lacked diversity. Last year’s slate of nominees met backlash on social media via the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite. Each of the four acting categories this year included at least one minority nominee, and several films in the best picture category focused on African-American characters and history. Mel Gibson scored an unexpected nomination for best director for the World War II movie Hacksaw Ridge. Gibson, director of 2004’s The Passion of the Christ, had fallen out of public favor after going on an anti-Semitic tirade in 2006 during a drunken driving arrest and being convicted of domestic violence in 2011.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.