Nominations for the 87th Annual Academy Awards were announced this morning. There are no shocks, nothing to make me throw my hands up in a touchdown lunge (as I am admittedly wont to do some years), a couple snubs, and one I had actually never heard of. So, pretty much the pattern we’re all used to. Below are nominees from some of the major categories.
Best Motion Picture of the Year:
- “American Sniper”
- “Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
- “Boyhood”
- “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
- “The Imitation Game”
- “Selma”
- “The Theory of Everything”
- “Whiplash”
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role:
- Steve Carell, “Foxcatcher”
- Bradley Cooper, “American Sniper”
- Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Imitation Game”
- Michael Keaton, “Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
- Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything”
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
- Robert Duvall, “The Judge”
- Ethan Hawke, “Boyhood”
- Edward Norton, “Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
- Mark Ruffalo, “Foxcatcher”
- J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash”
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role:
- Marion Cotillard, “Two Days, One Night”
- Felicity Jones, “The Theory of Everything”
- Juliane Moore, “Still Alice”
- Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl”
- Reese Witherspoon, “Wild”
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role:
- Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood”
- Laura Dern, “Wild”
- Keira Knightley, “The Imitation Game”
- Emma Stone, “Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
- Meryl Streep, “Into the Woods”
Best Animated Feature of the Year:
- “Big Hero 6”
- “The Boxtrolls”
- “How to Train Your Dragon 2”
- “Song of the Sea”
- “The Tale of The Princess Kaguya”
Achievement in Cinematography:
- Emmanuel Lubezki, “Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
- Robert Yoeman, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
- Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski, “Ida”
- Dick Pope, “Mr. Turner”
- Roger Deakins, “Unbroken”
Achievement in Directing:
- Alejandro G. Inarritu, “Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
- Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”
- Bennett Miller, “Foxcatcher”
- Wes Anderson, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
- Morten Tyldum, “The Imitation Game”
Best Adapted Screenplay:
- Jason Hall, “American Sniper”
- Graham Moore, “The Imitation Game”
- Paul Thomas Anderson, “Inherent Vice”
- Anthony McCarten, “The Theory of Everything”
- Damien Chazelle, “Whiplash”
Best Original Screenplay:
- Alejandro G. Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr., and Armando Bo, “Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
- Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”
- Max Frye and Dan Futterman, “Foxcatcher”
- Wes Anderson, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
- Dan Gilroy, “Nightcrawler”
So there are the bigguns. You can click here for a full list of nominees.
Couple things: Isn’t Dan Futterman the man who thought the titular gremlins were all up in his tractor? Also, *snicker*, “Everything is Awesome” got nominated. Oh my God, I’m never going to get that song out of my head, am I?
Literally no shocks here. No fun surprises, no genre movies finally recognized for something other than FX… My only surprises are the lack of nominations for “The LEGO Movie” and what is arguably the most important film of the year, “Selma.”
What say you, friends and neighbors? Which of your favorites got the cold shoulder? What are some of your favorite moments from Oscars Past? The wins of Roberto Benigni and Robin Williams are some immediate stand outs for me, but seeing Joan Rivers drop “twat” live from the red carpet was pretty amazing.
I’ll admit to being a little tepid on the nominees, but I am wildly excited for Neil Patrick Harris’s hosting duties. The ceremonies will air at 7pm (EST) on February 22.