By AARON KREIN
Features Editor
After weeks of speculation, the nominations for the 88th Annual Academy Awards were released last Thursday and many people are talking about who is and who isn’t in contention for this year. This year’s race for Best Picture has a lineup of eight films: “The Big Short,” “Bridge of Spies,” “Brooklyn,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “The Martian,” “The Revenant,” “Room,” and “Spotlight.”
“The Revenant” leads the pack with twelve nominations including Best Picture, Best Director for Alejandro González Iñárritu, and Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio. Notoriously, DiCaprio has been nominated four times in this category without winning. Tom Hardy also scored an unexpected Best Supporting Actor nomination after missing spots in numerous pre-cursor events.
“Mad Max: Fury Road” has ten nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director for George Miller. “The Martian” received seven nominations including Best Picture and Best Actor for Matt Damon. Despite being snubbed in the Best Director category, Ridley Scott receives his fourth nomination as a producer in the Best Picture category.
“Carol,” “Bridge of Spies,” and “Spotlight” received six nominations with the latter two nominated for Best Picture. Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara of “Carol,” Mark Rylance of “Bridge of Spies,” and Rachel McAdams and Mark Ruffalo of “Spotlight” all received acting nominations for their roles.
Many news outlets have openly talked about the absence of diversity in all of the main categories. This is the second year in a row and third in total to have all white nominees in the acting fields. Will Smith in “Concussion” and Idris Elba in “Beasts of No Nation” have been nominated in pre-cursors such as the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild, but both were left out in the cold by Academy voters. The hashtag, “#OscarsSoWhite,” went viral on Twitter in response to the controversy.
DiCaprio and Damon in the Best Actor race are joined by Michael Fassbender for “Steve Jobs,” Eddie Redmayne for “The Danish Girl,” and Bryan Cranston for “Trumbo.” Joining Blanchett in the Best Actress category are Brie Larson for “Room,” Charlotte Rampling for “45 Years,” Jennifer Lawrence for “Joy,” and Saoirse Ronan for “Brooklyn.” Christian Bale for “The Big Short” and Sylvester Stallone for “Creed” along with Hardy, Rylance, and Ruffalo make up the Best Supporting Actor field. Joining Mara and McAdams in the Best Supporting Actress lineup are Jennifer Jason Leigh for “The Hateful Eight,” Alicia Vikander for “The Danish Girl,” and Kate Winslet for “Steve Jobs.”
As every year, there are always people nominated in several pre-cursor award shows that just miss the cut in the acting categories. In addition to Smith and Elba, these actors include Johnny Depp for “Black Mass,” Michael Shannon for “99 Homes,” Jacob Tremblay for “Room,” Helen Mirren for “Trumbo,” and a second nomination for Alicia Vikander in “Ex Machina.”
Disney/Pixar’s “The Good Dinosaur” was also notably absent from the Best Animated Feature race. Despite Critic’s Choice adding on an 11th Best Picture nomination after seeing “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” fanboys will be disappointed to know that the Oscars didn’t have the same reaction.
First-time nominees Tom McCarthy for “Spotlight” and Adam McKay for “The Big Short” join Miller and Iñárritu for Best Director. Rounding out the category, Lenny Abrahamson receives a surprise nomination for “Room” after receiving no love from any of the pre-cursors.
In the technical categories, there are numerous returning nominees who’ve been unsuccessful in garnering the trophy. Cinematographer Rodger Deakins from “Sicario” received his thirteenth nomination after missing out with previous works like “Fargo” and “Skyfall.”
Composer Thomas Newman of “Bridge of Spies” received his thirteenth nomination after losing for films such as “American Beauty” and “WALL-E.”
Songwriter Diane Warren, who wrote “Till It Happens to You” from “The Hunting Ground,” received her eight nomination after missing out with songs such as “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” from “Armageddon” and “There You’ll Be” from “Pearl Harbor.” Warren shares her nomination with co-writer and performer, Lady Gaga.
Speaking of the Best Original Song, two radio hits made the list with The Weeknd’s “Earned It” for “Fifty Shades of Grey” and Sam Smith’s “Writings on the Wall” for “Spectre.”
Both Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s “See You Again” from “Furious 7” and Ellie Goulding’s “Love Me Like You Do” from “Fifty Shades of Grey” were included in pre-cursors but ultimately missed the cut.
With three big musical artists in contention along with “Simple Song #3” from “Youth” and “Manta Ray” from “Racing Extinction,” we should be expecting some star-power performances gracing the Oscar stage.
With the upcoming Critic Choice’s Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards on their way, we’ll see who could be the frontrunners for the Oscar race.
The 88th Annual Academy Awards will be broadcast live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, CA on Feb. 28th on ABC. Comedian Chris Rock will be hosting the ceremony for the second time.
