The Oscar contenders were announced Thursday morning and they were the nominations heard round the critics’ world. They were Snub-tastic! My critic friend Lauren Bradshaw of Cloture Club talked about the “Snub-rage” we were all feeling. Never has there been such powerful proof that we are a passionate group of professionals. So what’s all the fuss about?
The biggest offenses relate to Selma, a film that got nearly 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, but that had been under a “moveable history” siege in the last few weeks, which coincided with the first day of Oscar voting. It was nominated for best film, but neither lead actor David Oyelowo nor director Ava DuVernay got any love, which led, among other snubs, in making this year’s Oscars the whitest since 1998. Now, a white Oscar is nothing new. However, when a film as great as Selma gets repeatedly passed over in lieu of movies like Foxcatcher, which was an extremely well acted but uneven film, it makes champions of diversity and artistic expression get their dander up.
Also shocking were the omissions of The Lego Movie for best animated feature film, and Life Itself for best documentary feature, both of which have won big in critic circles. It would be like snubbing J.K. Simmons (of Whiplash) or Patricia Arquette (of Boyhood), both of whom have won almost every award this season for best supporting actor and actress. The Lego Movieprobably suffered from “that flick made plenty of money and doesn’t need any more support” philosophy, which is as absurd as recommending a film for its low budget gumption alone.
Other notable omissions include Jake Gyllenhaal for Nightcrawler, Jessica Chastain for A Most Violent Year, and Gone Girl in almost every potential category, including, as another slap in the face of women in film, its adapted screenplay by Gillian Flynn, and the fantastic score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
The one thing to do now, oh lovers of great movies, is to support the best and most well-crafted movies of 2014, regardless of whether they were nominated, especially if they could use a vote of financial confidence at the box office. The irony of the fact that these nominations were announced on Martin Luther King’s birthday is lost on no one. In the coming days, i’ll be writing about must-see movies for the Oscars that I haven’t yet reviewed or mentioned, as well as offering my predictions, but for now, let Cinema Siren suggest: Go see Selma, which Cinema Siren announced previously as best film of the year, this weekend. The best way to make a difference in a country and an industry run by old white guys, is to do it with your dollars!
You can watch all the trailers here.
The 2015 Oscar nominees are:
Best Picture
- American Sniper Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Andrew Lazar, Bradley Cooper and Peter Morgan, Producers; Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher and James W. Skotchdopole, Producers
- Boyhood Richard Linklater and Cathleen Sutherland, Producers
- The Grand Budapest Hotel Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson, Producers
- The Imitation Game Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky and Teddy Schwarzman, Producers
- Selma Christian Colson, Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, Producers
- The Theory of Everything Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce and Anthony McCarten, Producers
- Whiplash Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook and David Lancaster, Producers
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
- Steve Carell in Foxcatcher
- Bradley Cooper in American Sniper
- Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game
- Michael Keaton in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
- Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
- Robert Duvall in The Judge
- Ethan Hawke in Boyhood
- Edward Norton in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
- Mark Ruffalo in Foxcatcher
- J.K. Simmons in Whiplash
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
- Marion Cotillard in Two Days, One Night
- Felicity Jones in The Theory of Everything
- Julianne Moore in Still Alice
- Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl
- Reese Witherspoon in Wild
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
- Patricia Arquette in Boyhood
- Laura Dern in Wild
- Keira Knightley in The Imitation Game
- Emma Stone in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
- Meryl Streep in Into the Woods
Also see:
Achievement in Directing
- Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
- Richard Linklater, Boyhood
- Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher
- Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
- Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game
Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
- Big Hero 6: Don Hall, Chris Williams and Roy Conli
- The Boxtrolls: Anthony Stacchi, Graham Annable and Travis Knight
- How to Train Your Dragon 2: Dean DeBlois and Bonnie Arnold
- Song of the Sea: Tomm Moore and Paul Young
- The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya: Isao Takahata and Yoshiaki Nishimura
Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
- Ida (Poland)
- Leviathan (Russia)
- Tangerines (Estonia)
- Timbuktu (Mauritania)
- Wild Tales (Argentina)
Adapted Screenplay
- American Sniper: Written by Jason Hall
- The Imitation Game: Written by Graham Moore
- Inherent Vice : Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson
- The Theory of Everything: Screenplay by Anthony McCarten
Original Screenplay
- Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) : Written by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. & Armando Bo
- Boyhood : Written by Richard Linklater
- Foxcatcher : Written by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman
- The Grand Budapest Hotel : Screenplay by Wes Anderson; Story by Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness
- Nightcrawler: Written by Dan Gilroy
For the entire list go to Oscar.com