The race is officially on! In a presentation broadcast this morning, actor Chris Pine, directors J.J. Abrams and Alfonso Cuaron, and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Cheryl Boone Isaacs announced the 2015 Oscar nominations.
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This year brings us eight Best Picture nominees. Most of them were easy to predict beforehand, though I think that the inclusion of ‘Whiplash’ is pretty unexpected (and also highly unlikely to win). <\/p>\n
My initial gut reaction here is that ‘Boyhood’ will claim the big prize. Best Director will come down to a duel between Richard Linklater and Alejandro I\u00f1\u00e1rritu, both of whom delivered the most ambitious directorial conceits of the year (‘Boyhood’ being shot over 12 years, and ‘Birdman’ being staged to look like it’s all one long take). I think Linklater will get Best Director, and ‘Birdman’ will take the Cinematography trophy.<\/p>\n
After the recent buildup of buzz for ‘Selma’, David Oyelowo is a notable snub in the Best Actor category. The race there seems to be between Benedict Cumberbatch and Eddie Redmayne, with perhaps Michael Keaton pulling out a surprise upset. My guess is that this is Cumberbatch’s year.<\/p>\n
Other (probably inaccurate) immediate predictions: Julianne Moore for Best Actress, J.K. Simmons for Supporting Actor, and Patricia Arquette for Supporting Actress. <\/p>\n
What do you make of this year’s nominations? How many of these movies have you seen?<\/p>\n