The Oscar nominations added intrigue if not diversity to an Academy Awards race by favouring one late-season release (American Sniper) over another (Selma).
The flip-flopping of fortunes, however, did little to dislodge the humble coming-of-age epic Boyhood, which has steadily grown into the movie to beat in a little-seen Oscar field, closely followed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s backstage ego trip Birdman.
The two films solidified themselves as favourites with best-picture and best-director nominations. Boyhood chalked up its expected six nominations, including supporting nods for Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke. And Birdman, (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) landed a co-leading nine nominations, including best actor for Michael Keaton.
But the Oscar race the near-culmination Hollywood’s ever-expanding industrial complex called awards season may have gotten more competitive in Thursday’s nominations.
Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper (six nods) Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel (nine nominations) and The Imitation Game (eight nominations) all emerged as heftier contenders, while Selma largely fizzled.
Each joined a best-picture field that also included the Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory of Everything and the music school psychodrama Whiplash.
The nominees also amount to a distinctly white Oscars. All 20 of the nominated actors are white, which led to the trending Twitter hashtag “OscarsSoWhite” on Thursday.
Though Ava DuVernay’s civil rights drama Selma was once seen as a major contender, it landed just two nominations. (The second was for best song.) David Oyelowo, who stars as Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, was surprisingly left out of best actor. Whereas the late December arrival of Selma appeared to hurt its chances, similar timing was on target for Clint Eastwood’s Navy SEAL drama American Sniper. Bradley Cooper, who plays lethal marksman Chris Kyle in the film, seemed to take Oyelowo’s best-actor spot.
Wes Anderson’s old Europe caper The Grand Budapest Hotel, which also won best comedy or musical at the Globes, has emerged as the most unexpected awards heavyweight. The eight nominations for the World War II code-breaker thriller The Imitation Game, about pioneering computer scientist Alan Turing, included best actor for Benedict Cumberbatch and supporting actress for Keira Knightley. “I am knocked for six by this,” said Cumberbatch of his first Oscar nod. “To ring my parents who are both actors and tell them that their only son has been nominated for an Oscar is one of the proudest moments of my life.” Steve Carell (Foxcatcher) and Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) rounded out the best actor category.
The race for the Oscars
Other Categories
- › Best Director
- Alejandro González Iñárritu for Birdman Richard Linklater for Boyhood Bennett Miller for Foxcatcher Wes Anderson for The Grand Budapest Hotel Morten Tyldum for The Imitation Game
- › Actor in a Leading Role
- 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
- › Best supporting actor
- Steve Carell,Foxcatcher Bradley Cooper, American Sniper Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game Michael Keaton, Birdman Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
- › Actress in a Leading Role
- Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything Julianne Moore, Still Alice Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl Reese Witherspoon, Wild
- › Animated Feature Film
- Big Hero 6 The Boxtrolls How to Train Your Dragon 2 Song of the Sea The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
- › Best documentary
- CitizenFour Finding Vivian Maier Last Days in Vietnam The Salt of the Earth Virunga
Best Movie
The Oscars will be presented on February 22 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris and broadcast live on ABC.
