Oscar Nominations

This time of year is always award season. And the biggest award for movies is the Oscars. The Academy Awards have released their nomination lists. That follows with some personal thoughts added in.

Best Picture
"American Sniper"
"Birdman"
"Boyhood"
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
"The Imitation Game"
"Selma"
"The Theory of Everything"
"Whiplash"

No big surprises here. You probably could have guessed the list. Some thought that Foxcatcher would get a nom. And with only 8 noms, they could have. Keep in mind that Boyhood and The Grand Budapest Hotel won the awards at the Golden Globes.

Best Director
Wes Anderson, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
Alejandro González Iñárritu, "Birdman"
Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"
Bennett Miller, “Foxcatcher”
Morten Tyldum, "The Imitation Game"

Would've liked to see Ava DuVernay get a nom for “Selma”. This category is full of men.

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"

Moore will probably will win here. Surprised that Jennifer Aniston (Cake) or Amy Adams (Big Eyes) didn't get a nomination.

Best Actor
Steve Carell, "Foxcatcher" 
Bradley Cooper, “American Sniper”
Benedict Cumberbatch, "The Imitation Game"
Michael Keaton, "Birdman"
Eddie Redmayne, "The Theory of Everything"

One of the biggest surprises of the entire list is Bradley Copper for American Sniper. I would have left him off for David Oyelowe in Selma. Some also thought Miles Teller deserved one for Whiplash. I think this is Keaton's to lose.

Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette, "Boyhood"
Laura Dern, “Wild”
Keira Knightley, "The Imitation Game"
Emma Stone, "Birdman"
Meryl Streep, "Into the Woods"

Glad Dern got the nom. Think Streep got the nom just because she is Streep, though she is the best part of her movie. Honestly, this is Arquette's.

Best Supporting Actor
Robert Duvall, "The Judge"
Ethan Hawke, "Boyhood"
Edward Norton, "Birdman"
Mark Ruffalo, "Foxcatcher"
J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash"

Same list as the Globes. Think it will turn out the same.

Best Adapted Screenplay
Paul Thomas Anderson, “Inherent Vice”
Damien Chazelle, "Whiplash"
Jason Hall, “American Sniper”
Anthony McCarten, "The Theory of Everything"
Graham Moore, "The Imitation Game"

Best Original Screenplay
Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
Dan Futterman and E. Max Frye, "Foxcatcher" 
Dan Gilroy, "Nightcrawler"
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo, "Birdman"
Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"

Best Foreign Language Film
"Leviathan"
"Ida"
"Tangerines"
“Timbuktu”
"Wild Tales"

Best Documentary Feature
"CITIZENFOUR"
“Finding Vivian Maier”
"Last Days in Vietnam"
“The Salt of the Earth”
"Virunga”

Best Animated Feature
"Big Hero 6"
"The Boxtrolls"
"How to Train Your Dragon 2"
“Song of the Sea”
"The Tale of The Princess Kaguya"

A lot of people are scream that The Lego Movie got snubbed. I don't know about that but I would've had it there instead of Boxtrolls. 

Best Film Editing
"American Sniper"
"Boyhood"
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
"The Imitation Game"
"Whiplash"

Best Original Song
"Everything is Awesome" from "The LEGO Movie" (written by Shawn Patterson)
"Glory" from "Selma" (written by Common and John Legend)
"Grateful" from "Beyond the Lights" (written by Diane Warren)
"I’m Not Gonna Miss You" from "Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me" (written by Glen Campbell)
"Lost Stars" from "Begin Again" (written by Gregg Alexander, Danielle Brisebois, Nick Lashley and Nick Southwood)

Best Original Score
Alexandre Desplat, "The Grand Budapest Hotel" 
Alexandre Desplat, "The Imitation Game"
Johann Johannsson, "The Theory of Everything"
Gary Yershon, “Mr. Turner”
Hans Zimmer, "Interstellar"

Best Cinematography
Roger Deakins, "Unbroken"
Emmanuel Lubezki, "Birdman" 
Dick Pope, "Mr. Turner"
Robert Yeoman, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski, “Ida”

Best Costume Design
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
“Inherent Vice”
"Into the Woods"
"Maleficent" 
"Mr. Turner"

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
"Foxcatcher"
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
"Guardians of the Galaxy"

Best Production Design
"The Grand Budapest Hotel"
“The Imitation Game”
“Interstellar”
"Into the Woods"
"Mr. Turner"

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 Short Film, Live Action
"Aya"
“Boogaloo and Graham”
“Butter Lamp”
“Parvaneh”
"The Phone Call"

Best Short Film, Animated
"The Bigger Picture"
"The Dam Keeper"
"Feast"
"Me and My Moulton"
“A Single Life”

Best Documentary, Short Subject
“Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1”
"Joanna"
"Our Curse"
“The Reaper”
"White Earth"

Nominations (by movie):
“Birdman” – 9
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” – 9
“The Imitation Game” – 8
“Boyhood” – 6
“American Sniper” – 6
“Whiplash” – 5
“Interstellar” – 5
“Foxcatcher” – 5