Oscars 2014 Nominations, Snubs, Frontrunners and Trivia

The awards season is on and it doesn’t get bigger and more debatable than the much-coveted Oscars. Nominations for the upcoming 86th Academy Awards were announced on January 16 and like each year, we couldn’t help but wonder why the Academy snubbed a few actors and films that were considered as ‘favourites’. Here’s a lowdown on the hits and misses
Oscar Frontrunners
Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity and David O.Russell’s American Hustle will lock horns at the Oscars this year as both are leading the race with 10 nominations each. Giving the two competition, is Shame director Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave with 9 nominations to its credit.
Snubs and Surprises
Ron Howard‘s impeccable Rush, a film on rivalry between Formula One racers James Hunt and Niki Lauda was totally overlooked by the Academy. Daniel Brühl’s brilliant portrayal of Niki Lauda clearly deserved a nomination for the Best Supporting Actor. What was also shocking was Tom Hanks not securing a nomination for Best Actor for Captain Phillips! Her actress Scarlett Johansson and Robert Redford in All Is Lost were left out. The Coen brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis too, wasn’t appreciated by the Academy either. Surprisingly, Emma Thompson didn’t get a nod (Best Actress) for her performance in Saving Mr. Banks.
READ: Oscar Nominations 2014: Complete List
Oscar Trivia
Meryl Streep becomes the Most Oscar-Nominated Actress! By being nominated in the Best Actress category for August: Osage County, 64-year-old Streep has become the Most Oscar-Nominated Actress with 18 Oscar nominations under her belt so far! Jack Nicholson and the late Katharine Hepburn come second with 12 nominations each.