Months of anticipation and speculation ended today when Liam Hemsworth and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Cheryl Boone Isaacs announced the nominees for the 86th Academy Awards. It comes as no surprise that the three films leading the nominations count this year are Alfonso Cuarón's Gravity, David O. Russell's American Hustle and Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave.
Months of anticipation and speculation ended today when Liam Hemsworth and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Cheryl Boone Isaacs announced the nominees for the 86th Academy Awards.
It comes as no surprise that the three films leading the nominations count this year are Alfonso Cuarón's Gravity, David O. Russell's American Hustle and Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave.
Alfonso Cuarón's 3D space adventure Gravity won ten nominations, alongside David O. Russell's 70s con-artist caper, with the historical slavery epic 12 Years a Slave with nine nominations. Probably one of the safest predictions you could make regarding the 2014 Oscars, is that one of these films will win the Best Director and Best Film categories.
Up to ten films can be nominated in the Best Picture category and this year nine have made the grade. There are few surprises in the list that includes Philomena, The Wolf of Wall Street, Nebraska, Her, Captain Phillips and Dallas Buyers Club, all of which were nominated in one of the two Golden Globe Best Picture categories. The Coen Brothers’ folk tale Inside Llewyn Davis didn't make the Best Picture cut, however it did garner nominations for Best Cinematography and Best Sound Mixing.
Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street) kicks Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips) out of the Best Directors category which otherwise features the same lineup as the Golden Globes. However the real competition this year looks as if it will come in the acting categories, especially Best Actor.
Any of these nominees (listed below) could head home with the Oscar on March 2nd, but what’s most noteworthy about this category is who didn't make it. 'National Treasure' Tom Hanks (as described by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler at the Globes) didn't make the cut for Captain Phillips, neither did Robert Redford for All is Lost, Joaquin Phoenix for Her or Idris Elba for Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. Just getting into this category, let along winning it, has proven to be a tough task this year.
There's no shortage of incredible talent lined up in the female acting categories either, with Amy Adams, Sandra Bullock, Judi Dench and Meryl Streep (her 18th nomination!) all going into battle against Cate Blanchett for the Best Actress Oscar. Emma Thompson (Saving Mr. Banks) missed out on a nomination, and can commiserate with Oprah Winfrey who was once again was overlooked for a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her work in The Butler.
Peter Jackson and his talented team give us a Kiwi connection to the Oscars in 2014 with The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug receiving three nominations for Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Visual Effects.
The biggest surprise of the day is surely that film from the Jackass pranksters has received an Oscar nomination. Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa is in the running for the Best Make-up and Hairstyling Oscar alongside only two other nominees; Dallas Buyers Club and The Lone Ranger.
The Oscars take place on Sunday 2nd March (Monday afternoon NZ time) and will be hosted by comedian Ellen de Generes. It has been announced by the shows producers that the theme of The Oscars this year is Movie Heroes. The ceremony will pay tribute to big-screen real-life heroes, super heroes, popular heroes and animated heroes, both past and present.
Here is a full list of the nominees for the 86th Academy Awards:
BEST PICTURE:
12 Years a Slave
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Philomena
The Wolf of Wall Street
Nebraska
American Hustle
Dallas Buyers Club
Her
BEST DIRECTOR:
David O Russell - American Hustle
Alfonso Cuarón - Gravity
Alexander Payne - Nebraska
Steve McQueen - 12 Years a Slave
Martin Scorsese - The Wolf of Wall Street
BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
Christian Bale - American Hustle
Bruce Dern - Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave
Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club
BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
Amy Adams - American Hustle
Sandra Bullock - Gravity
Judi Dench - Philomena
Meryl Streep - August Osage County
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Bradley Cooper - American Hustle
Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips
Michael Fassbender - 12 Years a Slave
Jonah Hill - The Wolf of Wall Street
Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle
Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave
Sally Hawkins - Blue Jasmine
Julia Roberts - August Osage County
June Squibb – Nebraska
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
Despicable Me 2
Frozen
The Croods
Ernest & Celestine
The Wind Rises
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke - Before Midnight
Billy Ray - Captain Phillips
Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope - Philomena
John Ridley - 12 Years a Slave
Terence Winter - The Wolf of Wall Street
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Eric Warren Singer and David O Russell - American Hustle
Woody Allen - Blue Jasmine
Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack - Dallas Buyers Club
Spike Jonze - Her
Bob Nelson – Nebraska
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
The Great Beauty (Italy)
The Hunt (Denmark)
The Broken Circle Breakdown (Belgium)
The Missing Picture (Cambodia)
Omar (Palestine)
BEST ORIGINAL SONG:
Let It Go - Frozen
Ordinary Love - Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Alone Yet Not Alone - Alone Yet Not Alone
Happy - Despicable Me 2
The Moon Song – Her
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE:
The Book Thief
Gravity
Her
Philomena
Saving Mr Banks
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:
The Act of Killing
Cutie and the Boxer
Dirty Wars
The Square
20 Feet from Stardom
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT:
Save Digger
Facing Fear
Karama Has No Walls
The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life
Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall
BEST FILM EDITING:
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
12 Years a Slave
BEST MAKE-UP & HAIRSTYLING:
Dallas Buyers Club
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa
The Lone Ranger
BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED):
Feral
Get a Horse!
Mr Hublot
Possessions
Room on the Broom
BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION):
Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn't Me)
Avant Que De Tour Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything)
Helium
Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)
The Voorman Problem
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN:
American Hustle
Gravity
The Great Gatsby
Her
12 Years a Slave
BEST SOUND EDITING:
All Is Lost
Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Lone Survivor
BEST SOUND MIXING:
Captain Phillips
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Inside Llewyn Davis
Lone Survivor
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS:
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Iron Man 3
The Lone Ranger
Star Trek Into Darkness
BEST COSTUME DESIGN:
American Hustle
The Grandmaster
The Great Gatsby
The Invisible Woman
12 Years a Slave
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
The Grandmaster
Gravity
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
Prisoners