Man, the Oscars are gonna be a big old pile of white this year, aren’t they? The 2015 Oscar nominations were announced this morning, and as usual, there were a few surprises and a few surprise snubs.
Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken was completely and utterly snubbed in every major category, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. Jennifer Aniston was snubbed for a Best Actress nomination, despite all the hustling and hard work she put into her campaign – and despite getting a nomination from almost every other major awards show.
Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel lead with the most number of nominations [9], with The Imitation Game a close second [8]. There were a total of 8 Best Picture nominees this year, and they are American Sniper [don’t ask me why], Birdman, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, Selma, The Theory of Everything, and Whiplash [a Sundance favorite]. It’s great to see Whiplash and Selma on that list, and the others were fairly expected – except for American Sniper. Although Sniper was snubbed by the Golden Globes, it seems like the Academy either loved the movie or just loves to suck up to Clint Eastwood, since Bradley Cooper’s lead performance also got a nomination.
Best Director also had some surprises, since Selma’s Ava DuVernay wasn’t nominated – and unjustly so. Her directing effort was so fantastic and produced such a wonderful movie, that it just seems like a racist move to snub her in favor of other, expected candidates.
Best Actor didn’t have any major surprises apart from Bradley Cooper – the other nominees are Steve Carell [Foxcatcher], Benedict Cumberbatch [The Imitation Game], Michael Keaton [Birdman], and Eddie Redmayne [The Theory of Everything]. Michael Keaton is the frontrunner here, and it’ll be a damn miracle if he doesn’t win.
In terms of actresses in a leading role, there is Julianne Moore [Still Alice], Reese Witherspoon [Wild], Rosamund Pike [Gone Girl], Felicity Jones [The Theory of Everything], and Marion Cotillard [Two Days One Night]. Again, Julianne Moore is pretty much a lock, so don’t expect anyone else to walk away with that category.
The Best Supporting Actor list was also fairly expected, although J.K. Simmons has that on lock for his brilliant performance in Whiplash. And of course, Best Supporting Actress will go to Patricia Arquette for Boyhood, for her performance as well as her body of work.
What do you guys think about the 2015 Oscar nominations? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. For a full list of nominees, go here.