2014 ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS

     The 86th Academy Award nominations were announced earlier this morning and there were plenty of snubs and surprises, as to be expected. That does not mean I agree with most of what the Academy as nominated. First off, shame on the Academy for not given more attention to the Coen's Inside Llewyn Davis. A complete embarrassment that that film did not receive a Best Picture, Best Director or Best Original Screenplay nomination. The writing was on the wall from the previous lack of support from the Guilds, but this film is one of the best films of the year. The screenplay absence is really unbelievable. It did receive an obviously deserved Best Cinematography nomination for Bruno Delbonnel and a Best Sound Mixing one too. How can you not give attention for T. Bone Burnett and all the great music in that film. I know some songs were ineligible, but come on! It is not the thriller, genre specific Coen's so the Academy did not like the realism and darkness of it, I guess. Embarrassing and a lack of credibility towards the Academy.
     Another big surprise was that the Academy adored Tom Hanks did not get a Best Actor nomination for his wonderful work in Captain Phillips. Shocking there, but the Best Actor field is so packed that you knew something would happen. Such as Robert Redford, who did not campaign and could care less about the Academy and its politics. He did not get a Best Actor nomination for his stellar work in All Is Lost. Shame there too. Best performance of his career. Kudos to Christian Bale for getting in. He deserves it, but still surprised Hanks and Redford were left out. And speaking of Bale, American Hustle received, along with Alfonso Cuarón's Gravity, the most nominations with ten each. All four main actors received nominations for Hustle. No surprise there. Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave received 9 nominations.
     The good news is that Martin Scorsese's masterful The Wolf of Wall Street received nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (DiCaprio), Best Supporting Actor (Hill!!!) and Best Adapted Screenplay. I am glad I was wrong on that one. Surprising that it did not get a nomination for Best Film Editing. What the hell? How do you nominate American Hustle, not edited that well, ahead of The Wolf of Wall Street. Usually the winner of Best Film Editing goes on to win Best Picture, so its chances are limited. Last year, Best Picture winner Argo won Best Film Editing also.
     Meryl Streep got in. No surprise there, but Emma Thompson for Saving Mr. Banks, and that film in general, did not get any love. Oprah Winfrey, who I thought would get the lone attention for Lee Daniels' The Butler, did not get a nomination either. No Daniel Brühl either for Rush. No Best Score nominations for Hans Zimmer in 12 Years a Slave and Alex Ebert in All Is Lost is not right at all. A lot of love for Dallas Buyers Club and Her, and that is fantastic, but I am still steaming over the lack of respect for Inside Llewyn Davis. 
     As for how my predictions went, I did not do too bad. I got all the Best Picture nominations right, but missed one or two in all the rest of the categories. You can view my final predictions from yesterday here. One more thing, it was surprising that the little indies received no attention at all. Nothing for Fruitvale Station, Short Term 12, The Spectacular Now and Frances Ha. It is all about money, box office, politics and campaigning. Hollywood is all about popularity and financial gain. That is not changing. At least there are producers like Megan Ellison (American Hustle & Her) that are helping get quality films produced and released. Here is the complete list of Academy Award nominations and the winners will be announced on March 2nd, on ABC. Enjoy!!!

BEST PICTURE

1. American Hustle
2. Captain Phillips
3. Dallas Buyers Club
4. Gravity 
5. Her
6. Nebraska
7. Philomena 
8. 12 Years a Slave
9. The Wolf of Wall Street

BEST DIRECTOR

1. David O. Russell, American Hustle
2. Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity
3. Alexander Payne, Nebraska
4. Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
5. Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street

BEST ACTOR

1. Christian Bale, American Hustle
2. Bruce Dern, Nebraska
3. Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
4. Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
5. Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club

BEST ACTRESS

1. Amy Adams, American Hustle
2. Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
3. Sandra Bullock, Gravity
4. Judi Dench, Philomena
5. Meryl Streep, August: Osage County

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1. Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
2. Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
3. Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
4. Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street
5. Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1. Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
2. Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
3. Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
4. Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
5. June Squibb, Nebraska

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1. Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke, Before Midnight
2. Billy Ray, Captain Phillips
3. Steve Coogan & Jeff Pope, Philomena
4. John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave
5. Terence Winter, The Wolf of Wall Street

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1. Eric Warren Singer & David O. Russell, American Hustle
2. Woody Allen, Blue Jasmine
3. Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack, Dallas Buyers Club
4. Spike Jonze, Her
5. Bob Nelson, Nebraska

BEST ANIMATED FILM

1. The Croods
2. Despicable Me 2
3. Ernest & Celestine
4. Frozen
5. The Wind Rises

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

1. The Act of Killing
2. Cutie and the Boxer
3. Dirty Wars
4. The Square
5. 20 Feet from Stardom

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

1. The Broken Circle Breakdown
2. The Great Beauty
3. The Hunt
4. The Missing Picture
5. Omar

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

1. Phillipe LeSourd, The Grandmaster
2. Emmanuel Lubezki, Gravity
3. Bruno Delbonnel, Inside Llewyn Davis
4. Phedon Papamichael, Nebraska
5. Roger Deakins, Prisoners

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

1. Michael Wilkinson, American Hustle
2. William Chang Suk Ping, The Grandmaster
3. Catherine Martin, The Great Gatsby
4. Michael O'Connor, The Invisible Woman
5. Patricia Norris, 12 Years a Slave

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

1. Cave Digger
2. Facing Fear
3. Karama Has No Walls
4. The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life
5. Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall

BEST FILM EDITING

1. Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers & Alan Baumgarten, American Hustle
2. Christopher Rouse, Captain Phillips
3. John 'Mac' McMurphy & Martin Pensa, Dallas Buyers Club
4. Alfonso Cuarón & Marc Sanger, Gravity
5. Joe Walker, 12 Years a Slave

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

1. Adruitha Lee & Robin Mathews, Dallas Buyers Club
2. Stephen Prouty, Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
3. Joel Harlow & Gloria Pasqua-Casny, The Lone Ranger

BEST MUSIC - ORIGINAL SCORE

1. John Williams, The Book Thief
2. Steven Price, Gravity
3. William Butler & Owen Pallett, Her
4. Alexandre Desplat, Philomena
5. Thomas Newman, Saving Mr. Banks

BEST MUSIC - ORIGINAL SONG

1. "Alone Yet Not Alone," Alone Yet Not Alone
2. "Happy," Despicable Me 2
3. "Let It Go," Frozen
4. "The Moon Song," Her
5. "Ordinary Love," Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

1. American Hustle
2. Gravity
3. The Great Gatsby
4. Her
5. 12 Years a Slave

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

1. Feral
2. Get a Horse!
3. Mr. Hublot
4. Possessions
5. Room on the Broom

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

1. Aquel No Era Yo 
2. Avant Que De Tout Perdre
3. Helium
4. Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa?
5. The Voorman Problem

BEST SOUND EDITING

1. Steve Boeddeker & Richard Hymns, All Is Lost
2. Oliver Tarney, Captain Phillips
3. Glenn Freemantle, Gravity
4. Brent Burge, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
5. Wylie Stateman, Lone Survivor

BEST SOUND MIXING

1. Captain Phillips
2. Gravity
3. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
4. Inside Llewyn Davis
5. Lone Survivor

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

1. Gravity
2. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
3. Iron Man 3
4. The Lone Ranger
5. Star Trek Into Darkness