As the resident Oscar/Awards geek, I had the task of watching the livestream of the announcement of this year’s Oscar nominations live (they started at 6:18 AM local Arizona time).  I gasped a few times because of some significant snubs and some HUGE surprises, which are detailed below.

The oddest inclusion was without a doubt Suicide Squad for Best Hair/Makeup; I didn’t hate Squad as much as the rest of the critical community did, but it is funny that now it can be referred to as “Oscar-nominated film, Suicide Squad.”  Jackie got snubbed for Best Picture (although Natalie Portman did get a well-deserved Best Actress nom) and Hidden Figures was a big surprise for the category (which I’m absolutely thrilled about).

I was very sad that Amy Adams didn’t get nominated for Arrival, which was my favorite movie of 2016.

It was also notable that Deadpool got completely shut out.  It has been getting a lot of love this season from the Director’s Guild, the Screen Actor’s Guild, the Golden Globes, and the Writer’s Guild.  But apparently that wasn’t enough to get Ryan Reynold’s R-Rated Superhero film any Oscar nominations.

La La Land (the heavy favorite to win Best Picture and adored by most of the writers here at The Cinema Files) tied the record for how many nominations a single film has gotten with the staggering number of 14.   Moonlight and Arrival both got 8 nominations, which are great achievements as well.

Sausage Party got snubbed in the Best Animated Feature category and Illumination Entertainment got shut out with neither The Secret Life of Pets nor Sing getting into the mix.

I’m also thrilled that Rogue One, Doctor Strange, and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them all got some love.

I will be posting predictions at a later date, so stay tuned!  Here are the actual nominees:

Best Picture

Arrival

Producers: Dan Levine, Shawn Levy, Aaron Ryder, David Linde

Fences

Producers: Scott Rudin, Denzel Washington, Todd Black

Hacksaw Ridge

Producers: Bill Mechanic, David Permut

Hell or High Water

Producers: Carla Hacken, Julie Yorn

Hidden Figures

Producers: Donna Gigliotti, Peter Chernin & Jenno Topping, Pharrell Williams, Theodore Melfi

La La Land

Producers: Fred Berger, Jordan Horowitz, Marc Platt

Lion

Producers: Emile Sherman & Iain Canning, Angie Fielder

Manchester By the Sea

Producers: Matt Damon, Kimberly Steward, Chris Moore, Lauren Beck, Kevin Walsh

Moonlight

Producers: Adele Romanski, Dede Gardner & Jeremy Kleiner

Best Cinematography

Arrival (Bradford Young)

La La Land (Linus Sandgren)

Lion (Grieg Fraser)

Moonlight (James Laxton)

Silence (Rodrigo Prieto)

Best Supporting- Actor

Mahershala Ali (Moonlight)

Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water)

Lucas Hedges (Manchester by the Sea)

Dev Patel (Lion)

Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals)

Best Documentary Feature

Fire at Sea

I Am Not Your Negro

Life, Animated

O.J.: Made in America

13th

 

Best Foreign Language Film

Land of Mine, Denmark, Martin Zandvliet, director

A Man Called Ove, Sweden, Hannes Holm, director

The Salesman, Iran, Asghar Farhadi, director

Tanna, Australia, Bentley Dean, Martin Butler, directors

Toni Erdmann, Germany, Maren Ade, director

Best Actor

Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea)

Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge)

Ryan Gosling (La La Land)

Viggo Mortensen (Captain Fantastic)

Denzel Washington (Fences)

Best Costume Design

Allied (Joanna Johnston)

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Colleen Atwood)

Florence Foster Jenkins (Consolata Boyle)

Jackie (Madeline Fontaine)

La La Land (Mary Zophres)

Best Original Score

Jackie (Micachu)

La La Land (Justin Hurwitz)

Lion (Dustin O’Halloran, Hauschka)

Moonlight (Nicholas Britell)

Passengers (Thomas Newman)

Best Original Song

“Audition” (La La Land)

“”Can’t Stop the Feeling!” (Trolls)

“City of Stars” (La La Land)

“The Empty Chair” (Jim: The James Foley Story)

“How Far I’ll Go” (Moana)

Best Sound Editing

Arrival

Deepwater Horizon

Hacksaw Ridge

La  La Land

Sully

Best Sound Mixing

Arrival

Hacksaw Ridge

La La Land

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

13 Hours

Best Documentary Short

4.1 Miles (University of California, Berkeley)

Extremis (f/8 Filmworks in association with Motto Pictures)

Joe’s Violin (Lucky Two Productions)

Watani: My Homeland (ITN Productions)

The White Helmets (Grain Media and Violet Films)

Best Production Design

Arrival (Patrice Vermette)

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Stuart Craig)

Hail Caesar

La La Land (Sandy Reynolds-Wasco, David Wasco)

Passengers (Guy Hendrix Dyas)

Best Original Screenplay

Hell or High Water (Taylor Sheridan)

La La Land (Damien Chazelle)

The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthymis Filippou)

Manchester by the Sea (Kenneth Lonergan)

20th Century Women (Mike Mills)

Best Adapted Screenplay

Arrival (Eric Heisserer)

Fences (August Wilson)

Hidden Figures (Allison Schroeder, Theodore Melfi)

Lion (Luke Davies)

Moonlight (Barry Jenkins, Tarell Alvin McRaney)

Best Animated Feature

Kubo and the Two Strings (Focus Features)

Moana (Disney)

My Life As a Zucchini (GKIDS)

The Red Turtle (Sony Classics)

Zootopia (Disney)

Best Animated Short

Blind Vaysha (National Film Board of Canada)

Borrowed Time (Quorum Films)

Pear Cider and Cigarettes (Massive Swerve Studios and Passion Pictures Animation)

Pearl (Google Spotlight Stories/Evil Eye Pictures)

Piper (Pixar)

Best Supporting- Actress

Viola Davis (Fences)

Naomie Harris (Moonlight)

Nicole Kidman (Lion)

Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures)

Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea)

Best Film Editing

Arrival (Joe Walker)

Hacksaw Ridge (John Gilbert)

Hell or High Water (Jake Roberts)

La La Land (Tom Cross)

Moonlight (Joi McMillon, Nat Sanders)

Best Actress

Isabelle Huppert (Elle)

Ruth Negga (Loving)

Emma Stone (La La Land)

Natalie Portman (Jackie)

Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins)

Best Director

Arrival — Denis Villeneuve

Hacksaw Ridge — Mel Gibson

La La Land — Damien Chazelle

Manchester by the Sea — Kenneth Lonergan

Moonlight — Barry Jenkins

Best Visual Effects

Deepwater Horizon

Doctor Strange

The Jungle Book

Kubo and the Two Strings

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

A Man Called Ove

Star Trek Beyond

Suicide Squad