For once, the buzz was right. Virtually all the Oscar-bait movies got a nod in the 2014 Academy Awards Oscars Nominations list. The Academy recognized American Hustle, Nebraska, Gravity, Dallas Buyer's Club, Wolf of Wall Street and 12 Years a Slave in multiple categories. Even Oscar-worthy films that never enjoyed wide release, like Philomena and Woody Allen's darkly funny and disturbing Blue Jasmine, made the cut.
Most films that received Director and/or Best Film nominations also got nods for Best Actor or Best Actress, with at least one notable exception: Joaquin Phoenix's everyman turn in Her was ignored in the Best Actor category, even though the film was nominated for Best Picture, Music and Screenplay. Perhaps the academy didn't know what to make of the love story between a man and his body-less operating system.
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Overall, the 2014 Academy Awards may represent one of the most crowded fields for quality film making in recent memory.
This year's selections are filled with moving and memorable performances, from the enchanting Frozen to Matthew McConaughey's stunning turn in The Dallas Buyer's Club. At least the Motion Picture Academy casts a wider net with nine Best Picture nominations; the rest of the categories are capped at five.
The nominations represent the official kickoff of the Oscars Awards season. From this moment forward, every name and film mentioned will be repeated countless times on TV talk shows and in commercials, tweets, Facebook posts and movie posters.
Now that we have the full list (see the major award nominees below) you can start handicapping the winners (and catching all the films you missed) and then we can all watch together on March 2 when the academy hands out all those gold statuettes.
Best Picture
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Dallas Buyers Club
Gravity
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street
Best Director
David O. Russell, American Hustle
Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity
Alexander Payne, Nebraska
Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street
Best Actor in a Leading Role
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
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Amy Adams, American Hustle
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
June Squibb, Nebraska
Best Adapted Screenplay
Before Midnight, Written by Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke
Captain Phillips, Screenplay by Billy Ray
Philomena, Screenplay by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope
12 Years a Slave, Screenplay by John Ridley
The Wolf of Wall Street, Screenplay by Terence Winter
Best Original Screenplay
American Hustle, Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell
Blue Jasmine, Written by Woody Allen
Dallas Buyers Club, Written by Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack
Her, Written by Spike Jonze
Nebraska, Written by Bob Nelson
Best Animated Feature Film
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Ernest & Celestine
Frozen
The Wind Rises