An earlier version of this post ran on January 15th. We've updated with our favorites for tonight's awards.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominees in all 24 categories of the 2015 Oscars last month, and it all comes to a head tonight. A handful of films have a big presence on this list — in fact, just about every best picture nominee but Selma shows up in quite a few other categories. On the other hand, one of the year's most acclaimed films, Foxcatcher, receives a number of nominations but misses best picture.
There are a handful of other notable nominations (or lack thereof) here. While the incredibly charming Lego Movie isn't on the best animated film list, its incredibly addictive title song does get a nod. Disney's animated Marvel superhero film, Big Hero 6, makes it onto the animation list, as does Studio Ghibli's gorgeous Princess Kaguya. Netflix is represented on the list again, too, with Virunga in the documentary category. Laura Poitras' documentary on Snowden, Citizenfour, is also recognized. Finally, you'll notice that while Interstellar shows up in a few different categories, it and Christopher Nolan miss all the big ones.
The nominees are as follows. Be sure to catch our coverage of the show, with the biggest wins and craziest moments, starting tonight at 8:30PM ET:
Best picture
The race for Best Picture is widely considered to be the closest in years. Richard Linklater's Boyhood raked in a number of trophies throughout awards season, but fierce competition from the likes of Birdman as well as the incredible box office performance of American Sniper have kept it from being a clear favorite.
American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
Actor in a leading role
This is a tough call, too. Michael Keaton has taken award after award for his performance in Birdman, and he'd normally be considered a shoe-in for the Oscar. However, Eddie Redmayne's affecting turn as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything did earn him a Screen Actor's Guild award, which has for years pointed directly toward a Best Actor Academy Award. We'll just have to see.
Steve Carell — Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper — American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch — The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton — Birdman
Eddie Redmayne — The Theory of Everything
Actress in a leading role
This award pretty much belongs to Julianne Moore. Apart from the fact that she plays a woman coping with early-onset Alzheimer's in Still Alice, she has the pedigree, having earned five nominations to date.
Marion Cotillard — Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones — The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore — Still Alice
Rosamund Pike — Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon — Wild
Actor in a supporting role
As great as Ethan Hawke and Edward Norton were in their respective roles, J.K. Simmons is on most critics' shortlist for Best Supporting Actor. His out-of-this-world fury in Whiplash just can't be denied.
Robert Duvall — The Judge
Ethan Hawke — Boyhood
Edward Norton — Birdman
Mark Ruffalo — Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons — Whiplash
Actress in a supporting role
Yet another unanimous favorite. Patricia Arquette's performance in Boyhood outshone most of the cast's, and she's considered the movie's only sure win. That said, Emma Stone might cause an upset.
Patricia Arquette — Boyhood
Laura Dern — Wild
Keira Knightley — The Imitation Game
Emma Stone — Birdman
Meryl Streep — Into the Woods
Animated feature film
It still makes absolutely no sense that The Lego Movie wasn't nominated for this prize, but what can we do? With an obvious contender out of the running, it's largely anyone's race. How to Train Your Dragon 2 earned a Golden Globe, but Song of the Sea, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, and Big Hero 6 all have a solid chance.
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Song of the Sea
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Cinematography
Birdman. For the film called a technical achievement across the board, this is an obvious choice.
Birdman — Emmanuel Lubezki
The Grand Budapest Hotel — Robert Yeoman
Ida — Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski
Mr. Turner — Dick Pope
Unbroken — Roger Deakins
Costume Design
This could very easily go to Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel. Every inch of the movie was so unique. Still, you never know when a fantastical movie like Into the Woods is on the list of nominees.
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Into the Woods
Maleficent
Mr. Turner
Directing
Yet another incredibly close race between Birdman and Boyhood. Pundits have gone back and forth on who will take away the Best Director trophy for months. Those in Iñárritu's camp site the ambition behind his production. Those in Linklater's cite the story that took 12 years to tell. It's anyone's guess what direction the Academy will go in.
Birdman — Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Boyhood — Richard Linklater
Foxcatcher — Bennett Miller
The Grand Budapest Hotel — Wes Anderson
The Imitation Game — Morten Tyldum
Documentary feature
Laura Poitras' Citizenfour is pretty much poised to win Best Documentary Feature, since the Snowden film has already won award after award all season. However, Netflix's Virunga is a strong contender.
Citizenfour
Finding Vivian Maier
Last Days in Vietnam
The Salt of the Earth
Virunga
Documentary short subject
HBO's Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1 is getting bandied about by pundits as the likeliest choice, seeing as it follows the Veterans Affairs Office's many challenges.
Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
Joanna
Our Curse
The Reaper (La Parka)
White Earth
Film editing
Here we have a race between Whiplash's beat-for-beat editing and the fact that Boyhood took 12 years to make. It will probably go to Boyhood for the sheer fact that it took dedication to make.
American Sniper
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Whiplash
Foreign language film
Ida is the traditional favorite given the subject matter — a black-and-white look at life and identity in Poland after World War II. If it wins, it'll be Poland's first Oscar in the category. However, Russia's Leviathan looks strong, especially since it took the Golden Globe.
Ida — Poland
Leviathan — Russia
Tangerines — Estonia
Timbuktu — Mauritania
Wild Tales — Argentina
Makeup and hairstyle
This will probably go to The Grand Budapest Hotel, because, once again, you cannot deny Wes Anderson's style.
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy
Music original score
It's a two-way race between The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Theory of Everything, and even though Alexandre Desplat is nominated twice, it makes sense he gets the prize on clout alone.
The Grand Budapest Hotel — Alexandre Desplat
The Imitation Game — Alexandre Desplat
Interstellar — Hans Zimmer
Mr. Turner — Gary Yershon
The Theory of Everything — Jóhann Jóhannsson
Music original song
"Glory" has the cultural relevance, but "Everything Is Awesome" has the fun factor. It probably belongs to "Glory."
"Everything is Awesome" — The Lego Movie
"Glory" — Selma
"Grateful" — Beyond the Lights
"I'm Not Gonna Miss You" — Glen Campbell... I'll Be Me
"Lost Stars" — Begin Again
Production design
Do we really need to keep saying Wes Anderson has style?
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Into the Woods
Mr. Turner
Short film animated
The Dam Keeper is the odds-on favorite for Best Animated Short, but Feast is too adorable not to root for.
The Bigger Picture
The Dam Keeper
Feast
Me and My Moulton
A Single Life
Short film live action
Critics point to The Phone Call for the Oscar.
Aya
Boogaloo and Graham
Butter Lamp (La Lampe Au Beurre De Yak)
Parvaneh
The Phone Call
Sound editing
This is the first category where Interstellar is a serious contender — regardless of how it was received — but American Sniper uses sound to create such tension that it just can't be ignored.
American Sniper
Birdman
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar
Unbroken
Sound mixing
For the same reasons as sound editing, this should likely go to American Sniper.
American Sniper
Birdman
Interstellar
Unbroken
Whiplash
Visual effects
This should go to Interstellar, because it's obvious.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Writing adapted screenplay
This award could go in so many directions. With Inherent Vice, you have Paul Thomas Anderson adapting Pynchon. The Imitation Game has been considered a frontrunner for some time, but The Theory of Everything earned some muscular awards this season. And then both Whiplash and American Sniper have both been such a powerhouses. If we had to guess, it might very well go to The Imitation Game, but don't be surprised if Whiplash walks away with an upset.
American Sniper — Jason Hall
The Imitation Game — Graham Moore
Inherent Vice — Paul Thomas Anderson
The Theory of Everything — Anthony McCarten
Whiplash — Damien Chazelle
Writing original screenplay
Even though Birdman and Boyhood are duking it out for Best Picture, The Grand Budapest Hotel has a chance to shine for Best Original Screenplay. And it really should.
Birdman — Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr., and Armando Bo
Boyhood — Richard Linklater
Foxcatcher — E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman
The Grand Budapest Hotel — screenplay by Wes Anderson, story by Wes Anderson and Hugo Guinness
Nightcrawler — Dan Gilroy
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