Oscar Nominations for 2015 amaze some and appall others, depending on their preferences, but one thing is certain: the battle for the awards is a tight one, with so many potential winners bearing equal chances to leave the festivities as recipients. Judging from the number of Oscar nominations/picture, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Birdman lead charts with nine proposals each, including the Best Picture category. Following in line is The Imitation Game, with eight nominations, also racing with the above mentioned most-nominated titles of the Oscars in the Best Picture category.
Apart from the already revealed titles, the Best Picture nominations include movies like American Sniper, Boyhood, Selma, The Theory of Everything and Whiplash. As for the race for the Best Director, both Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel reemerge with Wes Anderson and Alexandro G. Iñárritu. The imitation Game and Morten Tyldum, along with Richard Linklate (Boyhood) and Bennett Miller (Foxcatcher), join the battle.
Oscars’ Best Actor category was a target for racial commentaries, with publications forwarding that no black actor made it to the shortlist. On a more joyous note, Benedict Cumberbatch is one of the favorite nominees, with Michael Keaton (Birdman), Steve Carell (Foxcatcher), Bradley Cooper (American Sniper) and Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) as contenders. The Best Actress category bears sad news for Cake actress Jennifer Aniston and Big Eyes’ Amy Adams, who were both snubbed from the list. Reese Witherspoon wildly made it, with dramatic Julianne Moore (Still Alice) by her side. French actress Marion Cotillard joins with Two Days One Night, while Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything) and Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) close the circle.
Oscar awards 2015: full list of nominations (via Daily Mail):
Best Picture
American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
Best Director
Alexandro G. Iñárritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game
Best Actor
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper, American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Best Actress
Marion Cotillard, Two Days One Night
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Best Supporting Actor
Robert Duvall, The Judge
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Laura Dern, Wild
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Emma Stone, Birdman
Meryl Streep, Into the Woods
Best Cinematography
Birdman – Emmanuel Lubezki
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Robert Yeoman
Ida – Lukasz Zal & Ryszard Lenczewski
Mr. Turner – Dick Pope
Unbroken – Roger Deakin
Best Foreign Language Film
Ida
Leviathan
Tangerines
Timbuktu
Wild Tales
Best Adapted Screenplay
American Sniper
The Imitation Game
Inherent Vice
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
Best Original Screenplay
Birdman
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Nightcrawler
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy
Best Original Score
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Mr. Turner
The Theory of Everything
Best Original Song
‘Lost Stars,’ Begin Again
‘Everything is Awesome,’ The LEGO Movie
‘Glory,’ Selma
‘Grateful,’ Beyond the Lights
‘I’m Not Gonna Miss You,’ Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me
Best Animated Feature
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Song of the Sea
The Tale of Princess Kaguya
Best Documentary—Short
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Joanna
Our Curse
The Reaper
White Earth
Best Film Editing
American Sniper
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Whiplash
Best Production Design
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Into the Woods
Mr. Turner
Best Animated Short
The Bigger Picture
The Dam Keeper
Feast
Me and My Moulton
A Single Life
Best Live Action Short
Aya
Boogaloo and Graham
Butter Lamp
Parvaneh
The Phone Call
Best Sound Editing
American Sniper
Birdman
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar
Unbroken
Best Sound Mixing
American Sniper
Birdman
Interstellar
Unbroken
Whiplash
Best Visual Effects
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Best Documentary — Feature
Citizenfour
Finding Vivien Maier
Last Days of Vietnam
The Salt of the Earth
Virunga
Best Costume Design
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Into the Woods
Maleficent
Mr. Turner