Oscar nominations were announced this morning and you can find the full list here.
Let's start with the positive. I was delighted to see Laura Dern recognized this morning for her work in "Wild". Although her screen time was limited, she was able to give the character surprising depth. Her impact was truly felt which is so important for Reese Witherspoon's Cheryl Strayed character. It was also nice to see Wes Anderson get his first directing recognition for his wildly inventive "The Grand Budapest Hotel". Many who even haven't been fans of Anderson's previous work had a blast going on the adventure with Ralph Fiennes and company.
"American Sniper" was clearly a big hit with the Academy, showing us that late breaking films shouldn't always be counted out. Clint Eastwood has been here before in a similar position with "Million Dollar Baby". I'm really looking forward to catching Marion Cotillard's nominated performance this month in "Two Days, One Night". She was the talk of Cannes and I'm glad to see that a lack of nominations throughout the year didn't impact her chances later on in the season.
What hurts? Quite a bit. "The LEGO Movie" missing was the shocker today. It really makes you wonder what the Animation branch didn't like. Did it come down to - "I didn't like the way LEGO people move?" Let's hope not. The wonderful documentary on Roger Ebert "Life Itself" missing out was also unfortunate. I really thought the Academy would find the love for it. I was hoping that Jake Gyllenhaal would show up in Best Actor for his work in "Nightcrawler". Many would consider it career-best work and the film only found recognition in Best Screenplay. Aside from that nomination and Rosamund Pike's Best Actress nod, it seems "Gone Girl" and "Nightcrawler" just didn't connect as much as expected after faring well with many of the guilds and critics groups. Two of the best pictures of the year in my mind.
The most disappointing moment of the morning for me was no nomination for "Selma" director Ava DuVernay. Her work on that picture was incredible and she was able to make something so emotionally-charged and relevant to today's world. Her astounding leading man David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King, Jr. also found himself without a nomination. I was frankly relieved to see it in for Best Picture. It's also disheartening to think that there was not a single Best Picture nominee this year led by a female. There was also not a single person of color nominated for acting this year, the first time this has happened since 1998! Anyone who was expecting a female writer to be nominated with Gillian Flynn's great and much talked about "Gone Girl" script were also left wondering what happened.
I found 2014 to be a great year in film, but I don't think this was reflected in the Academy's choices this time around. Time to cheer me up Neil Patrick Harris! We will see how it all shakes out on February 22nd.
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