What do Jake Gyllenhall, David Oyelowo, Amy Adams and Jennifer Aniston have in common?
They all turned in first-rate performances last year — in Nightcrawler, Selma, Big Eyes and Cake, respectively — but failed to earn Oscar nominations for their efforts when the career-boosting list of potential Academy Award winners was released this morning.
2014 saw a crowded field of award-worthy films, which means a host of surprises and snubs in the nominations.
Clint Eastwood is considered an Oscar darling, yet he did not make the cut when the Best Director noms were announced, even though his picture, American Sniper, pulled in six mentions including Best Picture. The Academy could have made history by nominating the first black woman director, Selma’s Ava DuVernay. But she was a no-show on the director list, nudged out perhaps by Bennett Miller (Foxcatcher) or first-timer Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game). They join expected nominees Alejandro Iñarritu (Birdman), Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel) and Richard Linklater (Boyhood).
Birdman and Budapest Hotel each picked up nine nominations, so they have to be considered front runners for the Best Picture top prize, even though that Oscar rarely goes to a comedy. By the arcane rules in the category, eight films qualified, including American Sniper, Boyhood, The Imitation Game, Selma, The Theory of Everything and Whiplash.
The most eyebrow-raising omission from that list is Foxcatcher, particularly in light of Miller’s nomination. Also long talked about as likely to be included were Gone Girl, Into the Woods and Unbroken, which each had disappointing showings. The Academy expanded the list of Best Picture nominees essentially to apologize to Christopher Nolan and his Dark Knight Batman movie which was snubbed six years ago. Now his Interstellar got the cold shoulder as did Nolan, who has never received a Best Director nod. Criminal.
It wasn’t that long ago that Bradley Cooper was chiefly known for the Hangover series and other comic turns, but now he has been nominated for Best Actor three years in a row — Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle and now American Sniper. He is in a very competitive category, but the Oscars love to award past losers as well as actors who leave their wheelhouse for an image-changing performance. (Yes, that also applies to Steve Carrell in Foxcatcher.)
Also in the category are two recent Golden Globes winners – Michael Keaton (Birdman) and Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) – as well as Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game). Keaton probably has the edge for being the elder statesman in the bunch, for this career comeback performance and for his emotional acceptance speech at the Globes. (Yes, that’s worth more than a few votes.) The absence of Oyelowo in this category and the lack of performers of color in all the acting categories has Hollywood clucking its displeasure and/or embarrassment.
The Best Actress field was more predictable, largely for a lack of films with major female roles. Still, former winner Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night) is a surprise inclusion, unlikely to get a congratulatory note from Aniston, whose slot she captured.
As a four-time also-ran, Julianne Moore (Still Alice) looks to be the likely winner, particularly since playing a woman with early onset Alzheimer’s is such Oscar bait. It helps that she is up against two young first-time nominees – Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) and Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything) – and former winner Reese Witherspoon (Wild).
She won’t win, but it is worth noting that Meryl Streep’s Supporting Actress nomination (for Into the Woods) is her 19th — far and away the career record holder. Look for Patricia Arquette to be the recipient of the considerable love for Boyhood, its best chance for a win.
Other stray snubs include: Sweden’s Force Majeure for Foreign Language Film, Documentary Life Itself about the late film critic Roger Ebert and The Lego Movie, the year’s highest-grossing Animated Film at over $250 million.
Here is the complete list of nominees for the 87th Academy Awards:
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Best Picture
“American Sniper” Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Andrew Lazar, Bradley Cooper and Peter Morgan, producers
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher and James W. Skotchdopole, producers
“Boyhood” Richard Linklater and Cathleen Sutherland, producers
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson, producers
“The Imitation Game” Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky and Teddy Schwarzman, producers
“Selma” Christian Colson, Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, producers
“The Theory of Everything” Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce and Anthony McCarten, producers
“Whiplash” Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook and David Lancaster, producers
Actor
Steve Carell in “Foxcatcher”
Bradley Cooper in “American Sniper”
Benedict Cumberbatch in “The Imitation Game”
Michael Keaton in “Birdman”
Eddie Redmayne in “The Theory of Everything”
Supporting Actor
Robert Duvall in “The Judge”
Ethan Hawke in “Boyhood”
Edward Norton in “Birdman”
Mark Ruffalo in “Foxcatcher”
J.K. Simmons in “Whiplash”
Actress
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”
Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette in “Boyhood”
Laura Dern in “Wild”
Keira Knightley in “The Imitation Game”
Emma Stone in “Birdman”
Meryl Streep in “Into the Woods”
Animated Feature
“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
Adapted Screenplay
“American Sniper” Written by Jason Hall
“The Imitation Game” Written by Graham Moore
“Inherent Vice” Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson
“The Theory of Everything” Screenplay by Anthony McCarten
“Whiplash” Written by Damien Chazelle
Original Screenplay
“Birdman” Written by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. and Armando Bo
“Boyhood” Written by Richard Linklater
“Foxcatcher” Written by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Screenplay by Wes Anderson; Story by Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness
“Nightcrawler” Written by Dan Gilroy
Cinematography
“Birdman” Emmanuel Lubezki
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Robert Yeoman
“Ida” Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski
“Mr. Turner” Dick Pope
“Unbroken” Roger Deakins
Costume Design
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Milena Canonero
“Inherent Vice” Mark Bridges
“Into the Woods” Colleen Atwood
“Maleficent” Anna B. Sheppard and Jane Clive
“Mr. Turner” Jacqueline Durran
Director
“Birdman” Alejandro G. Iñárritu
“Boyhood” Richard Linklater
“Foxcatcher” Bennett Miller
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson
“The Imitation Game” Morten Tyldum
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
Documentary Short Subject
“Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1” Ellen Goosenberg Kent and Dana Perry
“Joanna” Aneta Kopacz
“Our Curse” Tomasz Sliwinski and Maciej Slesicki
“The Reaper (La Parka)” Gabriel Serra Arguello
“White Earth” J. Christian Jensen
Film Editing
“American Sniper” Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach
“Boyhood” Sandra Adair
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Barney Pilling
“The Imitation Game” William Goldenberg
“Whiplash” Tom Cross
Foreign Language Film
“Ida” Poland
“Leviathan” Russia
“Tangerines” Estonia
“Timbuktu” Mauritania
“Wild Tales” Argentina
Makeup and Hairstyling
“Foxcatcher” Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier
“Guardians of the Galaxy” Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David White
Original Score
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Alexandre Desplat
“The Imitation Game” Alexandre Desplat
“Interstellar” Hans Zimmer
“Mr. Turner” Gary Yershon
“The Theory of Everything” Jóhann Jóhannsson
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
Production Design
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
“The Imitation Game” Production Design: Maria Djurkovic; Set Decoration: Tatiana Macdonald
“Interstellar” Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
“Into the Woods” Production Design: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
“Mr. Turner” Production Design: Suzie Davies; Set Decoration: Charlotte Watts
Animated Short Film
“The Bigger Picture” Daisy Jacobs and Christopher Hees
“The Dam Keeper” Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi
“Feast” Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed
“Me and My Moulton” Torill Kove
“A Single Life” Joris Oprins
Live Action Short Film
“Aya” Oded Binnun and Mihal Brezis
“Boogaloo and Graham” Michael Lennox and Ronan Blaney
“Butter Lamp (La Lampe Au Beurre De Yak)” Hu Wei and Julien Féret
“Parvaneh” Talkhon Hamzavi and Stefan Eichenberger
“The Phone Call” Mat Kirkby and James Lucas
Sound Editing
“American Sniper” Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman
“Birdman” Martín Hernández and Aaron Glascock
“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” Brent Burge and Jason Canovas
“Interstellar” Richard King
“Unbroken” Becky Sullivan and Andrew DeCristofaro
Sound Mixing
“American Sniper” John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin
“Birdman” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and Thomas Varga
“Interstellar” Gary A. Rizzo, Gregg Landaker and Mark Weingarten
“Unbroken” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and David Lee
“Whiplash” Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley
Visual Effects
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill and Dan Sudick
“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett and Erik Winquist
“Guardians of the Galaxy” Stephane Ceretti, Nicolas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner and Paul Corbould
“Interstellar” Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher
“X-Men: Days of Future Past” Richard Stammers, Lou Pecora, Tim Crosbie and Cameron Waldbauer