“The Revenant” topped all films with 12 nominations, including best picture
LOS ANGELES — Oscar voters showered “The Revenant” and “Mad Max: Fury Road” with honors on Thursday, including best picture nominations.
“The Revenant” topped all films with 12 nominations, including best picture, setting up best director nominee Alejandro Iñárritu for a potential repeat of last year’s “Birdman” success.
Leonardo DiCaprio (“The Revenant”), considered a favorite in the lead actor field, was nominated, as was his co-star Tom Hardy, who received a nod in the supporting actor category. Sylverster Stallone, considered by many a sentimental favorite for reprising his iconic Rocky Balboa role in “Creed,” snagged a best supporting actor nomination.
With 10 nominations, “Fury Road,” directed by George Miller, was the second-most-honored film, but most of its support came from technical areas, like film editing, costume design and makeup and hairstyling. Next was “The Martian,” with seven nods, although its director, Ridley Scott, was prominently snubbed.
For the most part, Oscar voters refused to bow in the direction of popular movies. “Furious 7,” “Jurassic World” and “Avengers: Age of Ultron” got nothing, even in the work-a-day categories. And “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” which picked up five nominations in craft categories, came up far short of the original “Star Wars,” which was a best picture nominee in 1978.
Mr. DiCaprio, picking up his fifth acting nomination, will be competing against the reigning best actor winner, Eddie Redmayne, who picked up a nod for “The Danish Girl.” Voters also backed Matt Damon (“The Martian”), Bryan Cranston (“Trumbo”) and Michael Fassbender (“Steve Jobs”).
In one of the big surprises of the morning, Lady Gaga, fresh off her Golden Globe win, was nominated for an Oscar for co-writing, with Diane Warren, “Til It Happens to You” from “The Hunting Ground.”
“Straight Outta Compton” was not shut out completely. Alan Wenkus and S. Leigh Savidge, who conceived the film, were nominated as part of a screenwriting team in the original screenplay category, which also saw “Inside Out,” “Spotlight,” “Bridge of Spies” and the futuristic “Ex Machina” honored. Mr. Wenkus said he was disappointed to see others from “Straight Outta Compton” overlooked.
In the best animated film category, “Anomalisa,” a bit of stop-motion puppetry from Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson, for instance, overcame head-scratching by some to take its place alongside the more conventionally built “Inside Out,” “When Marnie Was There,” “Boy and the World” and “Shaun the Sheep Movie.”
Films with most nominations
- The Revenant – 12
- Mad Max: Fury Road – 10
- The Martian – 7
- Bridge of Spies – 6
- Carol – 6
- Spotlight – 6