Apart from the omission of nominations for Robert Redford (All Is Lost), Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips) and Martin Scorcese (The Wolf of Wall Street), there were few surprises when this year’s Academy Award list of nominees for The 86th Academy Awards were announced.
As expected, American Hustle and Gravity led the way with 10 nominations each. They were closely followed by 12 Years a Slave which garnered nine nominations. All three films recently did exceptionally well at the recent Golden Globes, with 12 Years a Slave taking the evening’s top prize as Best Picture.
The other Best Picture nominees Captain Phillips, Dallas Buyers Club, Her, Philomena, Nebraska and The Wolf of Wall Street. Best Actor nominations went to Christian Bale, Matthew McConaughey, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bruce Dern, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Both McConaughey and DiCaprio winning best actor awards at the Golden Globes. For actor Bruce Dern this is first nomination in 35-years.
In best actress category, nominations went to Amy Adams, Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, Sandra Bullock, and Meryl Streep whose nomination, adds to her record number of 18. The big snub for this category was Emma Thompson whose work in the Disney film Saving Mr. Banks.
Some first time nominees were Barkhad Abdi, who before staring in Captain Phillips was a taxi driver and June Squib who at the age of 84 received her first nomination. Director Steve McQueen also got his first nomination for 12-Years a Slave.
Ellen DeGeneres will host this year’s show on March 2. She last hosted in 2006.
—Alejandro Ramos