Gay playwright Tony Kushner receives Oscar nomination

Tony Kushner is among this year’s Oscar nominees.

The 56-year-old created the 2003 HBO mini-series Angels in America, which tells the story of the AIDS-epidemic in the 1980s,

He was honoured by the Academy Awards with a nomination on Thursday for his current Box Office picture, Lincoln.

How to Survive a Plague, a film which also deals with the subject of HIV/AIDS was nominated for Best Documentary.

The film features activist Spencer Cox, who died late last month at the age of 44, and also includes members of the organisation he co-founded TAG (Treatment Action Group). 

Gay director Chris Butler’s film, ParaNorman, was included in the Best Animated Feature category.

The movie is considered to be among the first to feature a lead gay character.

Other nominees include gay rights advocates Anne Hathaway in Les Miserables, Sally Field in Lincoln and Philip Seymour Hoffman for The Master.

Hoffman previously won an Oscar for his portrayal of gay author Truman Capote.

The Oscars are taking place on 24 February.

• Dec 01 2023

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