The nominations for the 87th Academy Awards were announced and the race for the Oscars is officially on! The most nominated films this year are “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and “Birdman” with nine nominations each, followed by “The Imitation Game” with eight, as well as “Boyhood” and “American Sniper” with six each.
The Oscar nominations were announced by Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Academy President, actor Chris Pine and the directors J.J. Abrams and Alfonso Cuaron. Most the Oscar predictions turned out to be true. “Boyhood” and “Birdman” seem to be the Academy’s main favourites this year. Although “The Grand Hotel Budapest” also enjoyed the Academy’s love, many of its nominations were in the technical categories. “Boyhood” and “Birdman,” on the other hand, received an Oscar nod in almost all key categories, including Best Motion Picture and Achievement in Directing.”
Darkhorses “Whiplash” and “Selma” were also nominated. However, given their Golden Globe success, their success is no longer viewed as a surprise. “Whiplash” enters the race for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Film Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Sound Mixing. “Selma” got only two nominations. Nevertheless, one of them is for Best Picture.
There were also a few surprises. Marion Cotillard was included in the nominations for Best Actress for her performance in “Two Days, One Night.” Another unexpected nominations was that of Laura Dern for Best Supporting Actress in “Wild.” Robert Duvall will also join the Oscar race after he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in “The Judge.”
Last, but not least, there were many Oscar snubs. Actors Jake Gyllenhaal (“Nigthcrawler”) and David Oyelowo (“Selma”) were considered safe bets for the Best Actor category, but the Academy chose not to nominate them. Jennifer Aniston, who shared that she will not watch the Oscar nominations announcement, because she did not wanted to torture herself, was also snubbed. Even though many critics were positive that Aniston delivered her most brilliant role in “Cake,” she was not among the nominees for Best Actress.
Here is the list of the most prominent nominations for the 87th Academy Awards:
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 in “Foxcatcher”
Bradley Cooper in “American Sniper”
Benedict Cumberbatch in “The Imitation Game”
Michael Keaton in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Eddie Redmayne in “The Theory of Everything”
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Robert Duvall in “The Judge”
Ethan Hawke in “Boyhood”
Edward Norton in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Mark Ruffalo in “Foxcatcher”
J.K. Simmons in “Whiplash”
Performance by an actress in a leading role
Marion Cotillard in “Two Days, One Night”
Felicity Jones in “The Theory of Everything”
Julianne Moore in “Still Alice”
Rosamund Pike in “Gone Girl”
Reese Witherspoon in “Wild”
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Patricia Arquette in “Boyhood”
Laura Dern in “Wild”
Keira Knightley in “The Imitation Game”
Emma Stone in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
Meryl Streep in “Into the Woods”
Best animated feature film of the year
“Big Hero 6” Don Hall, Chris Williams and Roy Conli
“The Boxtrolls” Anthony Stacchi, Graham Annable and Travis Knight
“How to Train Your Dragon 2” Dean DeBlois and Bonnie Arnold
“Song of the Sea” Tomm Moore and Paul Young
“The Tale of the Princess Kaguya” Isao Takahata and Yoshiaki Nishimura
Achievement in directing
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Alejandro G. Iñárritu
“Boyhood” Richard Linklater
“Foxcatcher” Bennett Miller
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson
“The Imitation Game” Morten Tyldum
Best documentary feature
“CitizenFour” Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky
“Finding Vivian Maier” John Maloof and Charlie Siskel
“Last Days in Vietnam” Rory Kennedy and Keven McAlester
“The Salt of the Earth” Wim Wenders, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and David Rosier
“Virunga” Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara
Best foreign language film of the year
“Ida” Poland
“Leviathan” Russia
“Tangerines” Estonia
“Timbuktu” Mauritania
“Wild Tales” Argentina
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“Everything Is Awesome” from “The Lego Movie”
Music and Lyric by Shawn Patterson
“Glory” from “Selma”
Music and Lyric by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn
“Grateful” from “Beyond the Lights”
Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
“I’m Not Gonna Miss You” from “Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me”
Music and Lyric by Glen Campbell and Julian Raymond
“Lost Stars” from “Begin Again”
Music and Lyric by Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois
The 87th Academy Awards will be held on February 22nd (Sunday), at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center. The event will be hosted by actor Neil Patrick Harris.
