Oscars 2014: The Nominees.

After months of speculation, whispers and waiting, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science have announced this years contenders for the much coveted Oscars. Each year comes with some surprising nominees and some not so surprising nominees. This year is no exception. Where the bloody hell was Emma Thompson and Oprah Winfrey? What, no love for Tom Hanks? And what the hell is going on in the Best Original Song category? Lets take a look shall we?  

Best Picture: 

• 12 Years a Slave - Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleniner, Steve McQueen and Anthony Katagas.
• American Hustle - Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Megan Ellison and Jonathan Gordon.
• Captain Phillips - Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti and Michael De Luca.
•  Dallas Buyers Club - Robbie Brenner and Rachel Winter.
•  Gravity - Alfonso Cuaron and David Heyman.
•  Her - Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze and Vincent Landay.
•  Nebraska - Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa.
•  Philomena - Gabrielle Tana, Steve Coogan and Tracey Seaward.
•  The Wolf of Wall Street - Nominees to be determined

Best Director:

• Steve McQueen -- "12 Years a Slave"
• David O. Russell -- "American Hustle"
• Alfonso Cuaron -- "Gravity"
• Alexander Payne -- "Nebraska"
• Martin Scorsese -- "The Wolf of Wall Street"

Best Actor: 

• Bruce Dern -- "Nebraska"
• Chiwetel Ejiofor -- "12 Years a Slave"
• Matthew McConaughey -- "Dallas Buyers Club"
• Leonardo DiCaprio -- "The Wolf of Wall Street"
• Christian Bale -- "American Hustle"

Best Actress: 

• Amy Adams -- "American Hustle"
• Cate Blanchett -- "Blue Jasmine"
• Judi Dench -- "Philomena"
• Sandra Bullock -- "Gravity"
• Meryl Streep -- "August: Osage County" 

Best Supporting Actor: 

• Barkhad Abdi -- "Captain Phillips"
• Bradley Cooper -- "American Hustle"
• Jonah Hill -- "The Wolf of Wall Street"
• Jared Leto -- "Dallas Buyers Club"
• Michael Fassbender -- "12 Years a Slave"

Best Supporting Actress: 

• Jennifer Lawrence -- "American Hustle"
• Lupita Nyong'o -- "12 Years a Slave"
• June Squibb -- "Nebraska"
• Julia Roberts -- "August: Osage County"
• Sally Hawkins -- "Blue Jasmine"

Best Original Screenplay: 

• "American Hustle" -- David O. Russell and Eric Warren Singer
• "Blue Jasmine" -- Woody Allen
• "Her" -- Spike Jonze
• "Nebraska" -- Bob Nelson
• "Dallas Buyers Club" -- Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack 

Best Adapted Screenplay: 

• "12 Years a Slave" -- John Ridley
• "Before Midnight" -- Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater
• "The Wolf of Wall Street" -- Terence Winter
• "Captain Phillips" -- Billy Ray
• "Philomena" -- Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope 

Best Animated Feature: 

• "The Wind Rises"
• "Frozen"
• "Despicable Me 2"
• "Ernest & Celestine"
• "The Croods" 

Best Foreign Feature: 

• "The Hunt" (Denmark)
• "The Broken Circle Breakdown" (Belgium)
• "The Great Beauty" (Italy)
• "Omar" (Palestinian territories)
• "The Missing Picture" (Cambodia) 

Best Music (Original Song): 

• "Frozen": "Let it Go" -- Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez
• "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom": "Ordinary Love" -- U2, Paul Hewson
• "Her": "The Moon Song" -- Karen O, Spike Jonze
• "Despicable Me 2": "Happy" -- Pharrell Williams
• "Alone Yet Not Alone": "Alone Yet Not Alone" -- Bruce Broughton, Dennis Spiegel 

Best Music (Original Score):

• "Gravity" -- Steven Price
• "Philomena" -- Alexandre Desplat
• "The Book Thief" -- John Williams
• "Saving Mr. Banks" -- Thomas Newman
• "Her" -- William Butler and Owen Pallett 

Best Cinematography: 

• "Gravity" -- Emmanuel Lubezki
• "Inside Llewyn Davis" -- Bruno Delbonnel
• "Nebraska" -- Phedon Papamichael
• "Prisoners" -- Roger Deakins
• "The Grandmaster" -- Phillippe Le Sourd 

Best Costume Design: 

• "The Great Gatsby" -- Catherine Martin
• "12 Years a Slave" -- Patricia Norris
• "The Grandmaster" -- William Chang Suk Ping
• "American Hustle" -- Michael Wilkinson
• "The Invisible Woman" -- Michael O'Connor 

Best Documentary Feature: 

• "The Act of Killing"
• "20 Feet From Stardom"
• "The Square"
• "Cutie and the Boxer"
• "Dirty Wars" 

Best Film Editing: 

• "Gravity" -- Alfonso Cuaron, Mark Sanger
• "12 Years a Slave"-- Joe Walker
• "Captain Phillips" -- Christopher Rouse
• "American Hustle" -- Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers and Alan Baumgarten
• "Dallas Buyers Club" -- John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa 

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:

• "The Lone Ranger" -- Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua-Casny
• "Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa" -- Stephen Prouty
• "Dallas Buyers Club" -- Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews 

Best Production Design:

• "12 Years a Slave" -- Adam Stockhausen and Alice Baker
• "The Great Gatsby" -- Catherine Martin and Beverley Dunn
• "American Hustle" -- Judy Becker and Heather Loeffler
• "Gravity" -- Andy Nicholson, Rosie Goodwin and Joanne Woollard
• "Her" -- K.K. Barrett and Gene Serdena 

Best Visual Effects:

• "Gravity"
• "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"
• "Star Trek Into Darkness"
• "Iron Man 3"
• "The Lone Ranger"

Best Sound Mixing:

• "Gravity"
• "Captain Phillips"
• "Lone Survivor"
• "Inside Llewyn Davis"
• "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" 

Best Sound Editing:

• "Gravity"
• "All Is Lost"
• "Captain Phillips"
• "Lone Survivor"
• "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" 

Best Short Film, Live Action:

• "Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn't Me)"
• "Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything)"
• "Helium"
• "Pitaako Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)"
• "The Voorman Problem" 

Best Short Film, Animated:

• "Feral"
• "Get a Horse!"
• "Mr. Hublot"
• "Possessions"
• "Room on the Broom" 

Best Documentary Short:

• "CaveDigger"
• "Facing Fear"
• "Karama Has No Walls"
• "The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life"
• "Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall

So there we have it, "Gravity" and "American Hustle" lead the pack with 10 nominations each, followed closely by "12 Years a Slave" with 9. The race for Best Picture seems to be between these three brilliant films and after the SAG win for "Hustle" and the tie for "Gravity" and "12 Years" at the PGA awards, it looks like it could go to any of the three.

I was surprised to not see Emma Thompson, it would seem Academy voters weren't as impressed with "Saving Mr Banks" as the other award shows. Is anyone else getting a little bored of hearing Meryl Streep's name being called nearly every year? I was very pleased to see Amy Adams promoted from the supporting to lead category. I'd be happy if she won but this ones already got Cate Blanchett.

No Oprah, what!? Everyone seemed so certain she would make the cut, but just like the Golden Globes, her name was left off the list, leaving room for Sally Hawkins to finally get her first nomination. That was something I'm very pleased to see.

Pixar must be pretty disappointed to lose a nomination for Best Animated Film to "The Croods". Oh well, you win some you lose some, and they've won a hell of a lot. What do you think of this years nominated films? Have they got it right or very, very wrong? Let me know what you think.