The 2014 Oscar Nominations (A Pajiba Prediction)

By Dustin Rowles | Lists | October 15, 2013 |

By Dustin Rowles | Lists | October 15, 2013 |

JANUARY 16, 2014 (LOS ANGELES) — The nominations for the 86th Annual Academy Awards were announced this morning by Christoph Waltz (last year’s winner for Best Supporting Actor) and last year’s Best Actress winner, Jennifer Lawrence. It was one of the more spirited, effervescent nomination announcements in recent years. Lawrence, expectedly, fawned all over Waltz, to the delight of the audience in attendance, although her squeal of delight upon announcing her own nomination for Best Supporting Actress may have raised seven puppies from the dead.

There weren’t too many surprises among the nominations, except for what was left off: Martin Scorsese was denied in both the Best Picture and Best Director categories, though both Jonah Hill and Leonardo DiCaprio landed acting noms for The Wolf of Wall Street. With the exception of all the nominations for 12 Years as a Slave (which was behind only Gravity in overall nominations, though Gravity had a leg up in the technical categories), it was a lot of familiar faces. George Clooney, Tom Hanks, Amy Adams, DiCaprio, Hill, Meryl Streep, and Julia Roberts, among many others, demonstrated that the surest way to land an Oscar nomination in 2014 was to already have an Oscar nomination. It was a really good year for Matthew McConaughey, too. There was also a sweet irony to the fact that Michael Fassbender was nominated in a year in which he refused to lobby for an Oscar.

Personally, I’m happy to see that Short Term 12 got some recognition (though not nearly enough), while it’s nice to see the late James Gandolfini get a posthumous nomination for his work in Enough Said. Speaking of which, I think I’ve done exactly that.

Here are the list of nominations for the 2014 Academy Awards, which will be held on March 2nd, 2014 and be hosted by Ellen DeGeneres.

Best Picture

Gravity

Short Term 12

12 Years as a Slave

Inside Llewyn Davis

American Hustle

Dallas Buyers Club

August: Osage County

Saving Mr. Banks

Captain Phillips

Nebraska

Best Director

Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity

Steve McQueen, 12 Years as a Slave

The Coen Brothers, Inside Llewyn Davis

David O. Russell, American Hustle

John Lee Hancock, Saving Mr. Banks

Best Actor

Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street

Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club

Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips

Christian Bale, American Hustle

Chiwetel Ejiofor, Twelve Years a Slave

Joaquin Phoenix, Her

Best Actress

Sandra Bullock, Gravity

Brie Larsen, Short Term 12

Amy Adams, American Hustle

Meryl Streep, August: Osage County

Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine

Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks

Best Supporting Actor

Michael Fassbender, 12 Years as a Slave

Bradley Cooper, American Hustle

George Clooney, Gravity

James Gandolfini, Enough Said

Matthew McConaughey, Mud

Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street

Best Supporting Actress

Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle

Oprah Winfrey, The Butler

Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave

Julia Roberts, August: Osage County

Amy Adams, Her

Best Original Screenplay

Spike Jonze, Her

Bob Nelson, Nebraska

The Coen Brothers, Inside Llewyn Davis

David O. Russell and Eric Singer, American Hustle

Jeff Nichols, Mud

Best Adapted Screenplay

John Ridley, 12 Years As a Slave

Destin Cretton, Short Term 12

George Clooney and Grant Heslov, The Monuments Men

Scott Neustadter and Michael H Weber, The Spectacular Now

Tracy Letts, August: Osage County