Magic Lantern to screen snubbed ‘Little Women’

Above: Writer-director Greta Gerwig (lower right) and her "Little Women" cast (clockwise from Gerwig's left) Eliza Scanlen, Saoirse Ronan,  Laura Dern and Florence Pugh.

And the Magic Lantern? On Friday the theater will open Greta Gerwig's "Little Women," which has been playing for the past few weeks at other area theaters.

If you haven't been informed, "Little Women" has been nominated for six Academy Awards: Best Actress (Saoirse Ronan), Best Supporting Actress (Florence Pugh), Best Adapted Screenplay (Gerwig), Best Costume Design (Jacqueline Durran) Best Original Score (Alexander Desplat) and … Best Picture.

One notable Academy snub? A Best Director nomination for Gerwig.

Such an oversight didn't go unnoticed.

"It’s really strange because it was nominated for six awards—including best picture, best screenplay, two acting nominations—but then somehow Greta Gerwig wasn’t nominated for director,” said Daily Show host Trevor Noah. “How the hell does that happen? Was it just two people like, ‘What an amazing movie’? ‘Yeah, and did you know the movie directed itself?’ ‘Wow, that’s incredible.’ ”

Ronan, who starred in the film as the character Jo, said the following: "I’m really happy that the Academy recognized [her] for Adapted Screenplay and Picture, and I feel like if you’ve been nominated for Best Picture, you have essentially been nominated for Best Director. But to me, Greta, since she started, has made two perfect films, and I hope when she makes her next perfect movie, she gets recognized for everything, because I think she’s one of the most important filmmakers of our time."

Pugh, who earned her first Oscar nod, said Gerwig's snub was “a big blow, especially because she created a film that is so her and so unique and it’s just come out of her, and it’s been a story she’s wanted to do for so long.” And, she added, “I think everybody’s angry and quite rightly so. I can’t believe it’s happened again, but I don’t really know how to solve it. I don’t know what the answer is, other than we’re talking about it.”

Snub or no snub, you can still just sit back and enjoy the film. It's worth the effort.