OSCAR Nominations are in!

The nominations were announced this morning. Here are some general observations and then a comparison with my predictions.

In no particular order, here is my list of "surprises" from the nominations:

1. The Lego Movie was not nominated for Best Animated Feature?! It went from front runner to loser.
2. Birdman NOT nominated for Best Film Editing... whaaattt? That's just wrong!
3. Best Documentary Feature doesn't include Life Itself or Jodorowsky's Dune. I expected both to be in this category. Life Itself was a great look at Roger Ebert's life.
4. No Foxcatcher for Best Picture despite getting 5 noms including Best Director.  How can a movie with the a best director not be nominated for Best Picture? Wasn't the expansion of the Best Picture category done to avoid this?
5. No Best Visual Effects nomination for the last Hobbit movie?
6. Bradley Cooper nominated for Best Actor for American Sniper... this is the 3rd consecutive nomination for him. He was previously nominated for Best Supporting Actor for American Hustle (2014) and Best Actor for Silver Linings Playbook (2013). He’s now one nomination away from tying Marlon Brando for the most consecutive acting noms. Perhaps his next film should have the word "American" in the title?
7. Nomination number 19 for Meryl Streep! Perhaps she should just have her own category? "And the Oscar for Best Meryl Streep Performance this year is for her film... and the winner is, Meryl Streep!" Jack Nicholson trails her with the second most at 12 nominations.

 Here is the comparison of my predictions versus the actual nominations:

My Predictions (BOLD = Golden Globe Winner)

BEST PICTURE: "Birdman," "Boyhood", "Foxcatcher," "The Imitation Game", "Gone Girl", "Selma," "The Theory of Everything", "Whiplash," "Unbroken," "Nightcrawler" - This is assuming a list of 10.  I would take "Unbroken" off the list first.

***Add "The Grand Budapest Hotel" and "American Sniper". There were only 8 films nominated for Best Picture. Missed 2, had 2 extra films on my list>

BEST DIRECTOR: A.G. Iñárritu ("Birdman"), Richard Linklater ("Boyhood"), Wes Anderson ("The Grand Budapest Hotel") , David Fincher (“Gone Girl"),  Ava DuVernay ("Selma")

***Add Bennett Miller, "Foxcatcher" and Morten Tyldum, "The Imitation Game". Missed 2.

BEST ACTOR: Michael Keaton ("Birdman"), Benedict Cumberbatch ("The Imitation Game"), David Oyelowo ("Selma"), Steve Carell ("Foxcatcher"), Eddie Redmayne  ("The Theory of Everything") - I am adding 2 alternates to this list: Bill Murray ("St. Vincent), Miles Teller ("Whiplash")

***Add Bradley Cooper, "American Sniper". Missed 1.

BEST ACTRESS: Julianne Moore (“Still Alice”),  Rosamund Pike ("Gone Girl"),  Reese Witherspoon ("Wild"),  Marion Cotillard ("Two Days, One Night"),  Felicity Jones ("The Theory of Everything")

***Got this one 100%!

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:  JK Simmons ("Whiplash"),  Edward Norton ("Birdman"), Mark Ruffalo (“Foxcatcher”),  Robert Duvall ("The Judge"),  Ethan Hawke ("Boyhood") - I have a personal wish addition: Andy Serkis ("Dawn of the Planet of the Apes") - it is about time he got some recognition for the digital characters he has brought to life.

***Got this one 100%! Still no love for Andy Serkis! :(

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:  Patricia Arquette ("Boyhood"),  Laura Dern ("Wild"),  Meryl Streep ("Into the Woods"),  Emma Stone, (“Birdman”),  Tilda Swinton (“Snowpiercer”) 

***Add Keira Knightley, "The Imitation Game". Missed 1.

Best Cinematography included my pick of Emmanuel Lubezki for "Birdman". I still pick him as the winner.

Film Nomination Totals:

• "Birdman" & "Grand Budapest Hotel" = 9
• "The Imitation Game"  = 8
• "Boyhood" and "American Sniper" = 6
• "Foxcatcher" = 5