BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — The 88th annual Oscar nominations were announced Thursday, January 14, 2016, in Beverly Hills, California, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences:
Jennifer Jason Leigh says she woke up Thursday to the dream of every child who’s wanted to be an actor — an Academy Award nomination.
Leigh says, “Every kid who becomes an actor, you think about it. It’s not something that isn’t in your brain.”
The actress says she tried to keep a normal routine Wednesday night, and shut off her phone before going to bed.
That didn’t stop people from calling and waking up Leigh — and her son — but the “Hateful Eight” star turned it into an opportunity for some quality time with him. They made a diorama before her son went to school.
Leigh says she’s wanted to work with “Hateful Eight” director Quentin Tarantino for a long time, so that made Thursday’s nomination even more rewarding.
As for celebrating her nomination, Leigh says she hasn’t figured out anything beyond having a good meal. Leigh says, “I feel like it’s just meals galore. Some great breakfast, some great lunch.”
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Director Adam McKay says he wasn’t sure when he’d have another film with Oscar prospects, so that called for a party.
In the predawn hours, McKay hosted a gathering Thursday at his Los Angeles home for several people who worked on “The Big Short.”
Their early wakeup was rewarded not just with waffles, but five Academy Award nominations. McKay was nominated for best director and adapted screenplay, and “The Big Short” received a best picture nomination.
The flurry of nominations led to some boisterous celebrating. McKay says, “We were screaming like idiots in the pitch black with the smell of waffles in the room.”
It’s a departure from how most Oscar nominees learn that they’ve been honored — those in Los Angeles are often still in bed, while the announcements arrive mid-day in Europe.
“Brooklyn” screenwriter Nick Hornby says he couldn’t watch Thursday’s Oscar nominations — it’s just too painful.
So instead a flurry of text messages informed him that he had been nominated for an Academy Award, one of three nominations “Brooklyn” received.
The British screenwriter, who likened watching the nominations to “having teeth pulled, ” says he isn’t expecting to win, but is thrilled to be invited back to the show.
Hornby was previously nominated for his screenplay for 2009’s “An Education.”
Not that Hornby is complaining about how the nominations are announced — he says they’re actually pretty convenient for Londoners.
He says, “It seems to be designed for English people. It’s very leisurely for us. It’s just after lunch.”
Thomas Newman’s Oscar nomination for the score for “Bridge of Spies” is the latest honor for a family of composers who now been nominated for 89 Academy Awards.
Newman’s brother is Oscar-winner Randy Newman, and his father, Alfred Newman, was a pioneer of film scoring who won nine Academy Awards.
Thomas Newman has never won an Oscar, but now has been nominated for 13 film scores and songs. His credits include “Skyfall, ” ”The Shawshank Redemption” and “Wall-E.”
“Bridge of Spies” is the first film from director Steven Spielberg in nearly 30 years that wasn’t scored by John Williams.
Williams was unavailable to work on “Bridge of Spies, ” but did snag an Oscar nomination for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” It is Williams’ 50th Oscar nomination, second only to the late Walt Disney.
“Inside Out” writer-director Pete Docter says that while he’s surprised the animated film got a pair of Oscar nominations, the film’s personal impact has been even more stunning.
Docter says he based the film and its range of emotions playing out in a little girl’s head on personal experiences including his childhood and watching his children grow up.
“Inside Out” was nominated for two Academy Awards Thursday for writing and the other for best animated film.
He says since the film’s release he’s also heard from parents and the teachers of special education students about how “Inside Out” resonated with them.
Docter says, “I was hoping it would be an entertaining movie with some funny parts and some emotional parts, but I never expected that kind of impact.”
