The nominations for the 87th Academy Awards were announced Thursday, Jan 15 with all of the nominees being announced live for the first time, with directors J.J. Abrams and Alfonso Cuarón announcing the first batch and actor Chris Pine and Academy Cheryl Boone Isaacs announcing the second group of nominees. And while this year had predictors preparing for a by-the-numbers slate of nominees, the Academy threw more than a few curveballs our way, with Selma getting largely snubbed and Boyhood and Birdman cementing their likely domination come Oscar night with The Grand Budapest making a surprisingly strong showing with nine nominations, tying with Birdman for most nominations.
Starting at the top, the nominees for Best Picture dropped to eight candidates from nine in the previous years with American Sniper, Birdman, Boyhood, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, Selma, The Theory of Everything, and Whiplash competing for the main prize. While this category largely came down as expected, one can’t help but wonder if Foxcatcher was dropped to make it an even eight, not to mention the surprise that both Whiplash and The Grand Budapest Hotel maintained momentum throughout the year despite early releases and buzz (the Academy tends to favor films released during the Fall).
In the Best Actor category, the five nominees had all been favorites throughout awards season, though Bradley Cooper’s turn in American Sniper seemed to take out late-season favorites David Oyelowo in Selma and Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler. The full list of nominees are Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game, Bradley Cooper in American Sniper, Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything, Michael Keaton in Birdman, and Steve Carell in Foxcatcher.
Competing for best actress, the nominees, similar to their male counterparts, were mostly favorites throughout the season though one can’t help but imagine how Marion Cotillard managed to squeeze out Cake’s Jennifer Anniston for her turn in the Belgian film Two Days, One Night. One thing is for sure, both actresses gave incredible performances and as there can only be five, someone is always going to get the short stick. The nominees are Felicity Jones for The Theory of Everything, Julianne Moore in Still Alice, Marion Cotillard in Two Days, One Night, Reese Witherspoon in Wild, and Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl.
However, the big shocker came in the Achievement in Directing category as Selma’s Ava DuVernay was snubbed, seemingly in favor of relative newcomer Morten Tyldum and his The Imitation Game. Also, for American Sniper making such a surprisingly strong showing, one can’t help but wonder if Bennett Miller and Foxcatcher pushed out Clint Eastwood. The nominees are Alejandro G. Iñárritu for Birdman, Bennet Miller for Foxcatcher, Morton Tyldum for The Imitation Game, Richard Linklater for Boyhood, and Wes Anderson for The Grand Budapest Hotel.
One of the bigger surprises came in the form of Robert Duvall for his turn in The Judge, a role that had seemingly zero Oscar buzz going into the nominations. J.K. Simmons was of course nominated for Whiplash, where he continues to be the front-runner, with Edward Norton in Birdman, Ethan Hawke in Boyhood, and Mark Ruffalo in Foxcatcher rounding out the category.
Finally, in the Best Supporting Actress category, the nominees were largely as expected, though Laura Dern’s flashback-heavy role in Wild edged out other late contenders like Jessica Chastain in A Most Violent Year and Rene Russo in Nightcrawler. Dern will be competing against Emma Stone in Birdman, Keira Knightley in The Imitation Game, Meryl Steep in Into the Woods, and Patricia Arquette in Boyood.
A few of the other big surprises coming out of LA this morning was The Lego Movie not even being included in the Best Animated Feature category, which was long considered to take the award. On the bright side, the fantastic “Everything is Awesome” was included in the Best Song category. Furthermore, while Rosamund Pike did score a Best Actress nom for Gone Girl, this early awards season heavyweight joined Selma in the snubbed category. Finally, in the Best Documentary category, the Roger Ebert documentary Life Itself, also considered to be a lock for the award, failed to even score a nomination.
All in all, Oscar night just got a lot more interested and we hope you’ll join us when we Live Tweet the ceremony on February 22nd.
Click Read More to see the full list of nominees below.
Best Picture
- American Sniper
- Birdman
- Boyhood
- The Grand Budapest Hotel
- The Imitation Game
- Selma
- The Theory of Everything
- Whiplash
Best Actor
- Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
- Bradley Cooper, American Sniper
- Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
- Michael Keaton, Birdman
- Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Best Actress
- Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night
- Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
- Julianne Moore, Still Alice
- Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
- Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Best Supporting Actor
- Robert Duvall, The Judge
- Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
- Edward Norton, Birdman
- Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
- K. Simmons, Whiplash
Best Supporting Actress
- Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
- Laura Dern, Wild
- Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
- Emma Stone, Birdman
- Meryl Streep, Into the Woods
Directing
- Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman
- Richard Linklater, Boyhood
- Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher
- Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
- Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game
Cinematography
- Birdman
- The Grand Budapest Hotel
- Ida
- Mr. Turner
- Unbroken
Costume Design
- The Grand Budapest Hotel
- Inherent Vice
- Into the Woods
- Maleficent
- Mr. Turner
Foreign Language Film
- Ida, Poland
- Leviathan, Russia
- Tangerines, Estonia
- Timbuktu, Mauritania
- Wild Tales, Argentina
Makeup and Hairstyling
- Foxcatcher
- The Grand Budapest Hotel
- Guardians of the Galaxy
Original Score
- The Grand Budapest Hotel
- The Imitation Game
- Interstellar
- Mr. Turner
- The Theory of Everything
Adapted Screenplay
- American Sniper
- The Imitation Game
- Inherent Vice
- The Theory of Everything
- Whiplash
Original Screenplay
- Birdman
- Boyhood
- Foxcatcher
- The Grand Budapest Hotel
- Nightcrawler
Animated Feature Film
- Big Hero 6
- The Boxtrolls
- How to Train Your Dragon 2
- Song of the Sea
- The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Documentary Feature
- Citizenfour
- Finding Vivian Maier
- Last Days in Vietnam
- The Salt of the Earth
- Virunga
Documentary Short Subject
- Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
- Joanna
- Our Curse
- The Reaper (La Parka)
- White Earth
Film Editing
- American Sniper
- Boyhood
- The Grand Budapest Hotel
- The Imitation Game
- Whiplash
Original Song
- “Everything Is Awesome,” The Lego Movie
- “Glory,” Selma
- “Grateful, Beyond the Lights
- “I”m Not Gonna Miss You,” Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me
- “Lost Stars,” Begin Again
Production Design
- The Grand Budapest Hotel
- The Imitation Game
- Interstellar
- Into the Woods
- Mr. Turner
Animated Short Film
- The Bigger Picture
- The Dam Keeper
- Feast
- Me and My Moulton
- A Single Life
Live Action Short Film
- Aya
- Boogaloo and Graham
- Butter Lamp
- Parvaneh
- The Phone Call
Sound Editing
- American Sniper
- Birdman
- The Hobbitt: The Battle of the Five Armies
- Interstellar
Sound Mixing
- American Sniper
- Birdman
- Interstellar
- Unbroken
- Whiplash
Visual Effects
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Interstellar
- X-Men: Days of Future Past