The Academy award nominations were announced on Jan. 10 with many surprises and snubs. While Lincoln led the way with 12 nominations, many films fell short of the expectations while some surprised pundits and critics. The following is a list of the biggest surprises and snubs at this years Oscar nominees.
The Best Director Category
The director category was said to have four locks and two front-runners. Kathryn Bigelow ("Zero Dark Thirty") and Ben Affleck ("Argo") were considered the front-runners while Ang Lee ("Life of Pi") and Steven Spielberg ("Lincoln") were considered as locks for nomination. While the latter two earned their nod, Bigelow and Affleck were shockingly left off the list in favor of David O. Russell ("Silver Lingings Playbook"), Michael Haneke ("Amour") and Benh Zeitlin ("Beasts if the Southern Wild"). The turn of events shifted the Oscar race and left no front-runner for Best Picture. Both "Argo" and "Zero Dark Thirty have an up hill battle to win the Oscar after winning multiple Critics Circles. The last time a film won Best Picture without earning a director nomination was "Driving Miss Daisy (1989)." The race now suggests that "Lincoln," "Silver Linings Playbook" or "Life of Pi" are the new front-runners.
The Best Actress Category
The Best Actress category was another shocker as both Marion Cotillard ("Rust and Bone") and Helen Mirren ("Hitchcock") were left out of the race in favor of Emaunelle Riva ("Amour") and Quvenzhane Wallis ("Beats of the Southern Wild"). The two actresses broke Oscar records with Riva being the oldest woman to be nominated at 85 for best actress and Wallis, 9, being the youngest,to be nominated in the category. The race also proved that there is no room for two foreign performances as Cotillard was always thought to be a lock in the race after scoring Golden Globe, SAG and BAFTA nominations. However the Oscar proved that they only have room for one foreign language performance and they chose Riva because her film was also going to be nominated for Best Film.
John Hawkes gets Snubbed
John Hawkes was also thought to be a lock in the race for Best Actor for his role of Mark O'Brien in "The Sessions." His performance was based on a real life character and he underwent a complete transformation for the role. The performance had the right ingredients for an Oscar nomination but somehow the actor who was nominated for the Golden Globe, SAG and Critics' Choice failed to convince Oscar voters.
Django Unchained's Leonardo Dicaprio and Quentin Tarentino fail to get nominated
While "Django Unchained" garnered a Best Picture and Screenplay nomination, however the film failed to garner a directing nomination. Tarentino who was nominated for the BAFTA and the Golden Globe was thought to be a serious contender. Leonardo Dicaprio was also thought of as a big favorite to win the race early on. However he quickly lost favor to his co-star Christoph Waltz who was nominated for the Oscar.
Beasts of the Southern Wild
The Sundance hit "Beasts of the Southern Wild" proved to be the biggest surprise of the morning as the film not only garnered the expected Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture nominations but also scored Best Director and Actress nominations. Benh Zeitlin was never thought of as a serious contender because it was his first feature and Oscars rarely go to first-time directors. "Beasts" demonstrated that if the Academy really likes a film, the Oscars are willing to take a risk and surprise.
The Master and Moonrise Kingdom passed over Best Picture
"The Master" was thought of as the front-runner for the Best Picture award back in September but lost steam after Joaquin Phoenix spoke against awards. The critically acclaimed film still had garnered numerous awards and was thought to still have a chance at a nomination. However the Academy showed it was not really in love with the film and ousted it not only from the Best Picture race but also from the technical awards and from the Director and Screenplay races. It still however managed to get Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams acting nominations.
"Moonrise Kingdom" was also thought to be a big contender for the Best Picture award but somehow got shut out. The critically acclaimed Wes Anderson picture did not score technical awards and even missed out on a directing nomination. It only garnered an original screenplay nomination.
The Dark Knight Rises isn't nominated for anything
Once thought to be a big contender, the Christopher Nolan superhero movie lost steam throughout the race. However most pundits believed it would at least get nominated for Visual Effects and the Sound categories. "The Dark Knight Rises" failed however and was shut out completely. The other two Nolan Batman movies scored nominations and wins at the Oscars in 2006 and 2009.
The Intouchables gets snubbed
The critically acclaimed and commercially successful French film surprised Oscar pundits when it was chosen as France's submission for the Oscar. The film was submitted over "Rust and Bone" and "Holy Motors" The Golden Globe nominee became a favorite in the race winning multiple critic's organization and was perceieved as "Amour's" biggest competition in the Foreign Film category. However the Oscars did not nominate the dramedy and instead went for more serious fare.
Jacki Weaver sneaks into the Best Supporting Actress race
The supporting actress race always had four big contenders: Amy Adams ("The Master"), Sally Field ("Lincoln"), Anne Hathway ("Les Miserables"), and Helen Hunt ("The Sessions"). Nicole Kidman ("The Paperboy"), Judi Dench ("Skyfall"), and Ann Dowd ("Compliance") were the remaining contenders and one of them was assumed to fill the final spot. However, not one of them succeeded. Instead, Jacki Weaver unexpectedly got nominated after missing all precursors awards. The nomination scored "Silver Lings Playbook" four acting nominations and became the first film to receive a nomination in each acting category since "Reds" did the same over 30 years ago.
A-Listers Miss Oscar Nominations
A plethora of A-list actors missed the nomination ballot after studios had high hopes on them. Matthew McConaughey had a breakout year for his films "Magic Mike" and "Bernie." The actor was tapped by the New York Critic's Circle and the National Film Critics as the Best Supporting Actor of the year but still managed to get shut out of the Oscars.
Other major actors missing the nominations included Richard Gere for "Arbitrage," a role that was seen as sure bet to get Gere his first Oscar nomination. Keira Knightley's role in "Anna Karenina" was also a big contender as was Rachel Weisz's role for "The Deep Blue Sea" which garnered her a New York Film Critic's award and a Golden Globe Nomination. Anthony Hopkins ("Hitchcock"), Bill Murray ('Hyde Park on Hudson"), Jack Black ("Bermie") and Javier Bardem ("Skyfalll") were among other actors who missed the cut.