By Adnan Ramic and Walter Jones
On Jan. 16, actor Chris Hemsworth and president of the Academy Cheryl Boone Isaacs announced the nominations for the 86th Academy Awards.
Films “Gravity” and “American Hustle” lead with 10 nominations each, followed by “12 Years a Slave,” with nine nominations. “American Hustle,” however, has a nominee in the top five nominations: best picture, actor in a leading role, actress in a leading role, actor in a supporting role, and actress in a supporting role.
Theater Arts Professor Nancy Silva doubts there will be many surprises.
“Awards have been consistent throughout the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards. There might be a surprise or two, but I doubt more than that,” said Silva.
The nominees for best picture include:
- “American Hustle”
- “Captain Phillips”
- “Dallas Buyers Club”
- “Gravity”
- “Her”
- “Nebraska”
- “Philomena”
- “12 Years a Slave”
- “The Wolf of Wall Street”
This is the second consecutive year that director David O. Russell has a film nominated for best picture (“American Hustle” this year, and “Silver Linings Playbook”) this year. He is also nominated for an Academy Award in Directing for the second year.
The nominees for actor in a leading role include:
- Christian Bale (“American Hustle”)
- Bruce Dern (“Nebraska”)
- Leonardo DiCaprio (“The Wolf of Wall Street”)
- Chiwetel Ejiofor (“12 Years a Slave”)
- Matthew McConaughey (“Dallas Buyers Club”)
The Golden Globes are a way of seeing who will likely win at the Academy Awards. At the Golden Globes, performances are divided by the drama genre and the musical or comedy genre. McConaughey won best performance in a motion picture – drama actor for “Dallas Buyers Club” while Leonardo DiCaprio won the Golden Globe for best performance in a motion picture – Musical or Comedy Actor. Silva thinks it will go to McConaughey, “It might be an upset and go to Chiwetel Ejiofor, but I think McConaughey has it.”
The nominees for Actress in a Leading Role are:
- Amy Adams (“American Hustle”)
- Cate Blanchett (“Blue Jasmine”)
- Sandra Bullock (“Gravity”)
- Judi Dench (“Philomena”)
- Meryl Streep (“August: Osage County”)
Best Actress is a very tough category with Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett, Amy Adams, Sandra Bullock, and Meryl Streep. Cate Blanchett plays a woman who was divorced and moves in with her sister after her husband took everything she owned. Judi Dench plays a mother of a long lost child she gave up years ago and is on a journey to find her son. Amy Adams plays a con artist who tries to convince a small crook to expand his business. Sandra Bullock plays a medical engineer who was stuck in space during her first mission. Professor Silva believes that the award will go to Cate Blanchett. “Her role in ‘Blue Jasmine’ was a career role and I think it will probably be her night.”
The nominees for the best animated feature film are:
- “The Croods”
- “Despicable Me 2”
- “Ernest & Celestine”
- “Frozen”
- “The Wind Rises”
This years surprise in the category is the lack of Pixar’s “Monster’s University”. The last Pixar film not to be nominated was “Cars 2”. In addition to the family favorites “Frozen” and “Despicable Me 2”, is the French-Belgian film based on a children’s book series “Ernest & Celestine”. Director and previous winner of the Academy Award for Animated Feature Film Hayao Miyazaki‘s “The Wind Rises” is planned to be his last film before retiring as a director. “’Frozen’ probably has it hands down. It has been sweeping the awards and I think it will continue with the Academy Awards.” Professor Silva said.
