For the first time in Academy history, the nominees in all 24 categories were announced bright and early at 5:30am Pacific Time (8:30 on the East Coast). Directors J.J. Abrams (“Star Trek”) and Alfonso Cuaron (“Gravity”) began the two-part ceremony with some ugly snubs:
“The LEGO Movie” is up for Best Original Song with “Everything is Awesome”, but the animated blockbuster is NOT up for Best Animated Feature. Little-seen “Song of the Sea” and “The Tale of Princess Kaguya” take-up two out of the five slots. “Life Itself” is NOT nominated for Best Documentary Feature. The look at the life and career of film critic Roger Ebert comes from the same studios as “Blackfish”, which was also snubbed in this category last year. Both were shown on CNN prior to Oscar voting completion. Clearly that strategy is NOT working. And “Duet”, the beautiful and groundbreaking animated short film from artist and former Disney animator Glen Keane, is not in the race for its category. Disney’s own “Feast” is on the list.
And in the second group of nominees, announced by “Into the Woods” star Chris Pine and Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs, there are even more surprises:
Laura Dern is on the Best Supporting Actress ballot for “Wild”. “Whiplash” is a contender in the Best Adapted Screenplay category (it’s based on a short film). “Maleficent” is up for Costume Design, but not Makeup & Hairstyling (no love for Angelina’s cheekbones). Alexandre Desplat has Best Original Score nominations for both “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and “The Imitation Game”. Marion Cotillard (“Two Days, One Night”) knocks Jennifer Aniston (“Cake”) out of Best Actress contention. Bradley Cooper deservingly receives a Best Actor nomination for the war drama “American Sniper”. “Foxcatcher” director Bennett Miller is a Best Director nominee, and Steve Carell is up for Best Actor, but the sports drama is not nominated for Best Picture.
The eight films that are Best Picture nominees (there were nine the past few years) are “American Sniper”, “Birdman”, “Boyhood”, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”, “The Imitation Game”, “Selma” (though no David Oyelowo or Ava DuVernay), “The Theory of Everything”, and “Whiplash”.
The 87th Annual Academy Awards, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, are Sunday February 22nd at 8pmET on ABC.