Picture from 2015 Oscar Nominations
Actor Chris Pine (left) and Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs announced the nominees for the 87th Annual Academy Awards in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Image ©A.M.P.A.S.

2015 Oscar Nominations

It’s Oscar season and the nominations were announced earlier today. As usual, the big news is just as much about the movies not included as it is about the movies that are. Personally, the big miss for me was The Lego Movie in the animation category. Another notable absentee is Ava DuVernay for directing in Selma, yet the film did manage to acquire a Best Picture nomination—but no other nominations except for Original Song. I don’t have the statistics in front of me, but it’s somewhat unusual to not have an actor, actress, director or even hair and makeup nomination for a film that still achieves Best Picture. Finally Unbroken faired poorly with only three technical nominations for cinematography, sound editing and sound mixing. Enough said… here are the nominations. And you can click on the linked movies to see our Parent Previews reviews.

NOMINATIONS FOR THE 87th ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS

BEST PICTURE
American Sniper
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash

ACTOR—in a Leading Role
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

ACTOR—in a Supporting Role
Robert Duvall – The Judge
Ethan Hawke – Boyhood
Edward Norton – Birdman
Mark Ruffalo – Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons – Whiplash

ACTRESS—in a Supporting Role
Patricia Arquette – Boyhood
Laura Dern – Wild
Keira Knightley – The Imitation Game
Emma Stone – Birdman
Meryl Streep – Into the Woods

DIRECTING
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)—Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Boyhood—Richard Linklater
Foxcatcher—Bennett Miller
The Grand Budapest Hotel—Wes Anderson
The Imitation Game—Morten Tyldum

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Song of the Sea
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

COSTUME DESIGN
The Grand Budapest Hotel– Milena Canonero
Inherent Vice– Mark Bridges
Into the Woods– Colleen Atwood
Maleficent – Anna B. Sheppard
Mr. Turner – Jacqueline Durran

CINEMATOGRAPY
Birdman – Emmanuel Lubezki
The Grand Budapest Hotel– Robert Yeoman
Ida – Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski
Mr. Turner – Dick Pope
Unbroken – Roger Deakins

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Citizenfour
Finding Vivian Maier
Last Days in Vietnam
The Salt of the Earth
Virunga

FILM EDITING
American Sniper – Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach
Boyhood – Sandra Adair
The Grand Budapest Hotel – Barney Pilling
The Imitation Game – William Goldenberg
Whiplash – Tom Cross

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Ida—Poland Leviathan—Russia
Tangerines—Estonia
Timbuktu—Mauritania
Wild Tales—Argentina

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy

BEST SCORE
The Grand Budapest Hotel—Alexandre Desplat
The Imitation Game—Alexandre Desplat
Interstellar—Hans Zimmer
The Theory of Everything—Jóhann Jóhannsson

BEST SONG
Everything Is Awesome – Music and Lyric by Shawn Patterson – The Lego Movie
Glory – Music and Lyric by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn –Selma
Grateful – Music and Lyric by Diane Warren –Beyond the Lights
I’m Not Gonna Miss You – Music and Lyric by Glen Campbell and Julian Raymond – Glen Campbell… I’ll Be Me
Lost Stars—Music and Lyric by Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois—Begin Again

More details about the movies mentioned in this post…

American Sniper

American Sniper

He's got you in his sites.

Begin Again

Begin Again

A has-been record maker and an un-tapped talent decide to make music together.

Beyond the Lights

Beyond the Lights

The push for stardom leads to burnout.

Big Hero 6

Big Hero 6

Just because he's inflatable doesn't mean he's an airhead.

Birdman

Birdman

Life isn't over before the final curtain call.

Song of the Sea

Song of the Sea

The siren music of the selkies is calling.

The Boxtrolls

The Boxtrolls

A surprise in every box.

Boyhood

Boyhood

The boyhood of Mason (as played by Ellar Coltrane), from age 5 through 18.

Leviathan

Leviathan

For the love of home and family.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

It may be a new season in his life, but the Captain is still determined to defend his country.

Citizenfour

Citizenfour

Eric Snowden shares his side of the story.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

A new species is evolving.

Foxcatcher

Foxcatcher

Hopes for Olympic glory is finished by a cheap shot.

Gone Girl

Gone Girl

Speculation runs wild when a married woman suddenly goes missing.

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Trouble is about to check in.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy

Bringing order to the galaxy -one disorderly super hero at a time.

How to Train Your Dragon 2

How to Train Your Dragon 2

A dragon is a man's best friend.

Ida

Ida

What's in a name?

The Imitation Game

The Imitation Game

Great minds must think alike.

Inherent Vice

Inherent Vice

Trouble comes knocking...

Interstellar

Interstellar

Hope may only be possible in the vastness of space.

Into the Woods

Into the Woods

Sometimes, when dreams come true, they're nightmares.

The Judge

The Judge

Like father, like son...

The Lego Movie

The Lego Movie

Viewers will feel giddy as a kiddy with a new box of Legos

Maleficent

Maleficent

She could put anyone to sleep.

Mr. Turner

Mr. Turner

This bio-drama paints the life of the British artist J.M.W. Turner.

Nightcrawler

Nightcrawler

When does the footage become inappropriate for public viewing?

Selma

Selma

One man's dream can change history.

Still Alice

Still Alice

A lost mind is hard to find.

The Theory of Everything

The Theory of Everything

Physical disability can't cripple mental ability.

Two Days, One Night

Two Days, One Night

A desperate woman has to beg her co-workers to let her keep her job.

Unbroken

Unbroken

Battered, beaten, but still unbroken.

Whiplash

Whiplash

A teacher can either whip up or beat down a student.

Wild

Wild

How far do you need to walk to find yourself?

X-Men: Days of Future Past

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Can the X-men save the future by going back to the past?