Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani Reveal How They Reacted to ‘The Big Sick’ Oscar Nomination

Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss their Oscar nomination for best original screenplay for the film based The Big Sick, which was inspired by their real-life romance. While the couple took a moment to tweet about the honor, according to Nanjiani, the celebration at home took a backseat to sleep.

On their reaction upon learning of the nomination, he said, “It was very early. It was 5:30 in the morning. Screaming, laughing, crying and then right back to sleep. It was a shocking how quickly we were able to fall asleep.” After waking up two hours later, they had nearly 100 text chain conversations.

The couple’s lives have been surreal ever since, they said. Gordon said that her most “pinch-me” moment came during the Oscar Nominees Luncheon, where they were standing with fellow contenders for the annual class photo. “Once we were there and we were kind of looking around at this group, we were like, ‘Oh, wow. This is a real thing,’” she said. “That moment was maybe the most surreal one for me.”  

Gordon and Nanjiani said that the quality of other nominated films made their inclusion on the nominees’ list even more extraordinary.

“It’s been a really great year and this would have been lovely any year, but to be in a year with so many movies that we loved – there were so many movies that were so good that we adored, so it’s kind of made this whole thing feel even more special,” Gordon said. 

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