Ryan Gosling getting a nom while Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig miss out couldn't possibly better encapsulate the larger point of Barbie.
Chef's kiss, Academy.
It's the big story of the day and should be.
I have seen all but one of the movies in the Best Actress/Best Director categories. Of seven, I've seen six.
One complicating factor is Anatomy of a Fall, which takes up 2 of the 10 spots - including a female director - is one hell of a movie. I won't be surprised if it's (poorly) remade by a US studio. The noms there were very unexpected. But the movie got 6-7 overall noms. It's good, the female lead is compelling, and it's directed for suspense and tension.
I'd swap out Carey Mulligan for Margot Robbie in Actress. I don't think Maestro's that good anyway, but I think what Robbie's asked to do is harder to Mulligan's taking on of accent and doing dramatic sitting room scenes with an inferior actor. (well, Bradley Cooper is.)
The one movie I haven't yet seen - The Zone of Interest - is in direction.
It's the second time Gerwig has been "snubbed." If you don't take out the French director no one knows, you have to swap out The Zone of Interest director, since nobody would dare suggest a 12-hour Martin Scorsese picture, however powerful it is, could use better direction any more than people could suggest Stanley Kubrick lost his magic even before The Shining.
I'm sure, when they looked at the director's category, they got a sick feeling.
(And FWIW I don't think it's Nolan's best direction - or best movie. But he'll clean up on it.)