What would the Oscars be without a few curveballs?
This year's Academy Award nominations were full of many notable snubs and surprises, from critical favorite Selma getting largely ignored for major awards to surprise additions to the acting categories. Keep reading for a breakdown of the biggest shocks from this morning's announcement.
Snub: Jennifer Aniston for Best Actress
Aniston was considered a surprise threat for the Best Actress category during the earlier part of award season, seeing as how Cake was getting drowned out by other films. However, when she scored a Globe nomination, it looked like Aniston had this one in the bag.Before the nominations, Aniston told reporters at the movie's Los Angeles premiere Wednesday that she wasn't expecting one. "I have no expectations on anything, " she said when asked about getting a nod. "I don't want to have any, and I will be thrilled, and of course over the moon if something like that happens, but I am so content with everything that has happened thus far."
Surprise: Laura Dern for Best Supporting Actress
Dern recovered from her Golden Globe supporting actress snub by scoring an Oscar nomination for her masterful turn in Wild. Her nomination earned large cheers from those in attendance at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences headquarters in Beverly Hills, CA, while the nominations were being announced. Even Mark Ruffalo was excited: — Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo)Snub: David Oyelowo for Best Actor
Selma was considered an award season frontrunner, with Oyelowo's performance as Martin Luther King, Jr. a perceived lock for best actor. Sadly, Selma only walked away from this morning with two nominations.Surprise: Bradley Cooper for Best Actor
After getting ignored at the Globes, Cooper managed to score best actor nomination for American Sniper in a particularly tough race. This marks Cooper's third Oscar nomination in a row.Snub: Ava DuVernay for Best Director
The Selma director was on the short list for the best director races this year, but she was passed over for a nod at the Oscars. Had she been nominated, she would have been the first black woman to score an Oscar nod for Best Director. Luckily, Selma did score a Best Picture nomination, which was greeted with applause by the nomination audience after several key snubs.Surprise: Marion Cotillard for Best Actress
Despite not getting a lot of attention this year, Oscar winner Cotillard notched a surprise nomination for Best Actress for Two Days, One Night. The nod was so unexpected that it drew audible gasps during the nomination announcement.Snub: Jake Gyllenhaal for Best Actor
Award fever for Nightcrawler had cooled considerably once the Oscar nominations were revealed, but many expected to see Gyllenhaal score a nomination thanks to his haunting performance, especially after he scored a Golden Globe nomination.Snub: Clint Eastwood for Best Director
Considering that American Sniper scored several major nods, it was surprising to see Eastwood left off the list for directors. This marks the first time that one of Eastwood's directorial efforts has been nominated for Best Picture but not also for Best Director.Snub: Amy Adams for Best Actress
Big Eyes wasn't exactly an award season favorite, but considering that Adams had just scored the Golden Globe for best actress in motion picture, comedy or musical, her nomination should have been on lock.Snub: The Lego Movie for Best Animated Feature Film
It was one of 2014's biggest commercial hits, got rave reviews and scored a Golden Globe nomination, but The Lego Movie was shut out for Best Animated Feature Film at the Oscars. At least it scored a nomination for Best Original Song for "Everything Is Awesome"?For the record, Phil Lord, the co-writer and director of The Lego Movie, was taking the snub in stride.
— philip lord (@philiplord) See also:
