It’s that time of the year again where the best and worst of cinema is either praised or shunned and never mentioned again. It’s awards season! As always there are the choices that scream “of course!” and a couple that cry “seriously?”
Last year, The Oscars were hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, drew in 43 million views, and the Twitter even crashed from the famous ‘Oscar Selife’. This year’s host is Neil Patrick Harris and the event will take place on February 22nd.
Best Picture
American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
Our pick: Whiplash
Best Director
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher
Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game
Our pick: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Best Actor
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper, American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Our pick: Bradley Cooper
Best Actress
Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Our pick: Reese Witherspoon
Best Supporting Actor
Robert Duvall, The Judge
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Our pick: J.K. Simmons
Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Laura Dern, Wild
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Emma Stone, Birdman
Meryl Streep, Into the Woods
Our pick: Keira Knightley
Best Adapted Screenplay
American Sniper, Jason Hill
The Imitation Game, Graham Moore
Inherent Vice, Paul Thomas Anderson
The Theory of Everything, Anthony McCarten
Whiplash, Damien Chazelle
Our pick: Whiplash
Best Original Screenplay
Birdman, Alejandro G. Inarritu, Nicholas Giacobone,
Alexander Dinelaris, Jr., and Armando Bo
Boyhood, Richard Linklater
Foxcatcher, E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman
The Grand Budapest Hotel, Wes Anderson and Hugo Guineess
Nightcrawler, Dan Gilroy
Our pick: Nightcrawler
Best Animated Feature
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Song of the Sea
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Our pick: Big Hero 6
Best Makeup And Hairstyling
Foxcather
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy
Our pick: Guardians of the Galaxy
Best Music (Original Score)
Alexandre Desplat, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alexandre Desplat, The Imitation Game
Hanz Zimmer, Interstellar
Gary Yerson, Mr. Turner
Johann Johannsson, The Theory of Everything
Our pick: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Music (Original Song)
Shawn Patterson, “Everything is Awesome” from The Lego Movie
John Stephens & Lonnie Lynn, “Glory” from Selma
Diane Warren, “Grateful” from Beyond The Lights
Glen Campbell & Julian Raymond, “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” from Glen Campbell… I’ll Be Me
Gregg Alexander & Danielle Brisebois, “Lost Stars” from Begin Again
Our pick: The Lego Movie
Best Production Design
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Into The Woods
Mr. Turner
Best Short Film (Animated)
The Bigger Picture
The Dam Keeper
Feast
Me and My Moulton
A Single Life
Best Short Film (Live Action)
Aya
Boogaloo and Graham
Butter Lamp
Parvaneh
The Phone Call
Best Sound Mixing
American sniper
Birdman
Interstellar
Unbroken
Whiplash
Best Sound Editing
American sniper
Birdman
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar
Unbroken
Best Visual Effects
Captain America: The Winter Soilder
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Best Documentary Feature
Citizenfour
Finding Vivian Maier
Last Days in Vietnam
The Salt of the Earth
Virunga
Documentary Short Feature
Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
Joanna
Our Curse
The Reaper
White Earth
Best Film Editing
American Sniper (Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach)
Boyhood (Sandra Adair)
The Grand Budapest Hotel (Barney Piling)
The Imitation Game (William Goldenberg)
Whiplash (Tom Cross)
Best Foreign Language Film
Ida
Leviathan
Tangerines
Timbuktu
Wild Tales
Who’s been left out of the nominations? Who’s going to win instead? And why is The Lego Movie not nominated for the Best Animated Movie?