OSCAR : Birdman, The Grand Budapest Hotel top the list of Academy Award nominations with nine each

The Oscar nominations were announced this morning, with the usual snubs and surprises; the biggest surprise for me being just how many nominations Grand Budapest Hotel (9) garnered despite the fact that it was released last spring, defying the rule that a movie needs to be released late in the fall in order to maintain its buzz come nomination time. The only other film matching that number was Birdman, one of my faves as well.  IF I had to vote, I'd cast mine for Boyhood.  It's such a personal and emotionally powerful movie and the timeline matches my own with my son who is right around the same age as the young man in the movie. It was a period film and the period was mine! Not a great reason to back up my choice for Best Movie of the Year but there you have it! The Theory of Everything also swept me off my feet — both Eddie Redmayne who is nominated for Best Actor and Felicity Jones who got the nod for Best Supporting Actress are luminous and heartbreaking —while The Imitation Game was highly entertaining but not entrancing.

As far as snubs go, while Selma finds itself in the major Best Picture category, and Best Song category, this is a very bad year for diversity, in stark contrast to last year's 12 Years a Slave success.. David Oyelowo's portrayal of Martin Luther King was ignored, as was the achievement of its director, Ava DuVernay. DuVernay would have been the first woman of color ever nominated in the category. Snub or Pleasant Surprise depending on your point of view; Amy Adams who just won the Golden Globe for her performance in Big Eyes did not receive one of the coveted five Best Actress spots while Marion Cotillard did for her critically regarded work in One Day, One Night. I haven't seen either of these two films but my heart belongs to Julianne Moore in Still Alice. As it does to composer, Alexandre Desplat who is up for his scores for both The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Imitation Game. I love both pieces of work so I don't really care which he wins for but I have a hunch it will be the charming, tinkling score to The Grand Budapest Hotel. A strange snub in the animated film department, The Lego Movie. Not on my radar but a hugely popular film in the category.

The academy is able to nominate up to ten films in the Best Movie category but only came up with eight; no other two films reaching the critical threshold! It's wonderful to see a little film like Whiplash starring Miles Teller and JK Simmonds in that category with some surprised that neither Gone Girl or Unbroken made the cut. I was shocked that Gone Girl didn't make the Adapted Screenplay category, Flynn and Fincher did a fantastic job of putting the book on film. Too commercial for the Academy voters? I don't know. I do know you probably have a few disappointments of your own, leave your thoughts in the comment section and let's talk about it.

Here's the full list, with my personal picks, if any, in bold.

Go to Oscars.org to pull up your own printable ballot.

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
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 Ostrovsky 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


ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE)
ALEJANDRO G. IÑÁRRITU
BOYHOOD
RICHARD LINKLATER
FOXCATCHER
BENNETT MILLER
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
WES ANDERSON
THE IMITATION GAME
MORTEN TYLDUM

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
MARION COTILLARD
TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT
FELICITY JONES
THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING
JULIANNE MOORE
STILL ALICE
ROSAMUND PIKE
GONE GIRL
REESE WITHERSPOON
WILD


PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
PATRICIA ARQUETTE
BOYHOOD
LAURA DERN
WILD
KEIRA KNIGHTLEY
THE IMITATION GAME
EMMA STONE
BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE)
MERYL STREEP
INTO THE WOODS

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
STEVE CARELL
FOX CATCHER
BRADLEY COOPER
AMERICAN SNIPER
BENEDICT CUMBER BATCH
THE IMITATION GAME
MICHAEL KEATON
BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE)
EDDIE REDMAYNE
THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING


PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
ROBERT DUVALL
THE JUDGE
ETHAN HAWKE
BOYHOOD
EDWARD NORTON
BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE)
MARK RUFFALO
FOXCATCHER
J.K. SIMMONS
WHIPLASH

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
WHIPLASH
WRITTEN BY DAMIEN CHAZELLE


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


ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE)
EMMANUEL LUBEZKI
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
ROBERT YEOMAN
IDA
LUKASZ ZAL AND RYSZARD LENCZEWSKI
MR. TURNER
DICK POPE
UNBROKEN
ROGER DEAKINS

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
MILENA CANNER
INHERENT VICE
MARK BRIDGES
INTO THE WOODS
COLLEEN ATWOOD
MALEFICENT
ANNA B. SHEPPARD AND JANE CLIVE
MR. TURNER
JACQUELINE DURRAN


ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION DESIGN
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
PRODUCTION DESIGN: ADAM STOCKHAUSEN SET DECORATION: ANNA PINNOCK
THE IMITATION GAME
PRODUCTION DESIGN: MARIA DJURKOVIC SET DECORATION: TATIANA MACDONALD
INTERSTELLAR
PRODUCTION DESIGN: NATHAN CROWLEY SET DECORATION: GARY FETTIS
INTO THE WOODS
PRODUCTION DESIGN: DENNIS GASSNER SET DECORATION: ANNA PINNOCK
MR. TURNER
PRODUCTION DESIGN: SUZIE DAVIES SET DECORATION: CHARLOTTE WATTS


ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING
AMERICAN SNIPER
JOEL COX AND GARY D. ROACH
BOYHOOD
SANDRA ADAIR
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
BARNEY PILLING
THE IMITATION GAME
WILLIAM GOLDENBERG
WHIPLASH
TOM CROSS

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
FOXCATCHER
BILL CORSO AND DENNIS LIDDIARD
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
FRANCES HANNON AND MARK COULIER
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
ELIZABETH YIANNI-GEORGIOU AND DAVID WHITE

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SCORE)
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
ALEXANDRE DESPLAT
THE IMITATION GAME
ALEXANDRE DESPLAT
INTERSTELLAR
HANS ZIMMER
MR. TURNER
GARY YERSHON
THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING
JÓHANN JÓHANNSSON

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SONG)
EVERYTHING IS AWESOME
THE LEGO MOVIE
MUSIC AND LYRIC BY SHAWN PATERSON
GLORY
SELMA
MUSIC AND LYRIC BY JOHN STEPHENS AND LONNIE LYNN
GRATEFUL
BEYOND THE LIGHTS
MUSIC AND LYRIC BY DIANE WARREN
I’M NOT GONNA MISS YOU
GLEN CAMPBELL...I’LL BE ME
MUSIC AND LYRIC BY GLEN CAMPBELL AND JULIAN RAYMOND
LOST STARS
BEGIN AGAIN
MUSIC AND LYRIC BY GREGG ALEXANDER AND DANIELLE BRISEBOIS

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
AMERICAN SNIPER
ALAN ROBERT MURRAY AND BUB ASMAN
BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE)
MARTÍN HERNÁNDEZ AND AARON GLASCOCK
THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES
BRENT BURGE AND JASON CANOVAS
INTERSTELLAR
RICHARD KING
UNBROKEN
BECKY SULLIVAN AND ANDREW DECRISTOFARO

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
AMERICAN SNIPER
John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin
BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE)
Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and Thomas Varga
INTERSTELLAR
Gary A. Rizzo, Gregg Landaker and Mark Weingarten
UNBROKEN
Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño and David Lee
WHIPLASH
Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley


ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER
Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Bryan Grill and Dan Sudick
DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett and Erik Winquist
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
Stephane Ceretti, Nicolas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner and Paul Corbould
INTERSTELLAR
Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher
X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST
Richard Stammers, Lou Pecora, Tim Crosbie and Cameron Waldbauer

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
IDA
POLAND
LEVIATHAN
RUSSIA
TANGERINES
ESTONIA
TIMBUKTU
MAURITANIA
WILD TALES
ARGENTINA

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 DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
CITIZEN FOUR
Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky
FINDING VIVIAN MAIER
John Maloof and Charlie Siskel
LAST DAYS IN VIETNAM
Rory Kennedy and Keven McAlester
THE SALT OF THE EARTH
Wim Wenders, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and David Rosier
VIRUNGA
Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
CRISIS HOTLINE: VETERANS PRESS 1
ELLEN GOOSENBERG KENT AND DANA PERRY
JOANNA
ANETA KOPACZ
OUR CURSE
TOMASZ ŚLIWIŃSKI AND MACIEJ ŚLESICKI
THE REAPER (LA PARKA)
GABRIEL SERRA ARGUELLO
WHITE EARTH
J. CHRISTIAN JENSEN


BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
THE BIGGER PICTURE
DAISY JACOBS AND CHRISTOPHER HEES
THE DAM KEEPER
ROBERT KONDO AND DICE TSUTSUMI
FEAST
PATRICK OSBORNE AND KRISTINA REED
ME AND MY MOULTON
TORILL KOVE
A SINGLE LIFE
JORIS OPRINS

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
AYA
ODED BINNUN AND MIHAL BREZIS
BOOGALOO AND GRAHAM
MICHAEL LENNOX AND RONAN BLANEY
BUTTER LAMP (LA LAMPE AU BEURRE DE YAK)
HU WEI AND JULIEN FÉRET
PARVANEH
TALKHON HAMZAVI AND STEFAN EICHENBERGER
THE PHONE CALL
MAT KIRKBY AND JAMES LUCAS