2015 Oscar nominees list lacks color; filled with heroes, fairytales and veteran actors

buzzz worthy. . .

Niel Patrick Harris will host the 87th Annual Oscars.

Announced in a live news conference from Hollywood early this morning, "Grand Budapest Hotel" and "Birdman" received the most nominations  for the 87th Oscars with nine a piece.  Most of the actors and actresses nominated have been around for a long, long time (Michael Keaton, Robert Duvall, Meryl Streep, Reese Witherspoon, for example), while some fresher faces made the list (such as Marion Cotillard and Rosamund Pike.)  

Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs was accompanied by a few actors in  announcing the 27 categories starting at the crack of dawn, 5:30 A.M., PST.

For the rest of the day movie fans and the rest of Hollywood have pondered the puzzling outcome of this year's nominees that does not include any Blacks and few women.

Conspicuously absent from the  2015 Oscar nominations is the diversity factor.  That leaves "Selma,"  one of the most critically acclaimed films of the year out of  several categories as well as  the Will and Jada Pinket-Smith reboot of "Annie" with past Oscar nominee Quevenzhane Wallace in the lead.  If not for the acting, several songs on the "Annie" soundtrack deserved a shot for the Best Song Oscar, namely "Opportunity." Given the success of "12 Years A Slave" last year, that was touted by many in the music business as a progression for Blacks in Hollywood, the lack of black film makers and actors is particularly questionable.

Adding insult to injury, the Hollywood Reporter  rounded up some numbers on Academy members' participation in the voting process and surprisingly, 5.5%of the Academy members polled said they did not see the films nominated for Best Picture.  

Even worse for "Selma," 10% of the member polled admitted they did not not see it, which was a greater percentage than any of the other films in the Best Picture category.

Other notable snubs include Clint Eastwood (Best Director, "American Sniper"), Angelina Jolie (Best Director, "Unbroken"), Jennifer Aniston (Best Actress, "Cake") and the "Lego Movie." With two Golden Globe nominations, Aniston was favored to be contenders. The dismissal of Jolie is further proof  that the Academy had little love for the ladies. 

There is talk  that this year's nominees are more white and male than before the 90's and of course that leads to questions of fairness.
 
It could also be said that the Academy could work on recruitment.  The average age of Academy member is 63, which  could be a reflection on the types of films that are favored if not preferred.

Per the Academy, here is the process for choosing nominees in a nutshell. . . 

How Oscar Nominations Work

Academy members from each of the 17 branches vote to determine the nominees in their respective categories – actors nominate actors, film editors nominate film editors, etc.  In the Animated Feature Film and Foreign Language Film categories, nominees are selected by a vote of multi-branch screening committees.  All voting members are eligible to select the Best Picture nominees.

Qualifying for Next Year  

Official screenings of all motion pictures with one or more nominations will begin for members on Saturday, January 24, at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.  Screenings also will be held at the Academy’s Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood and in London, New York and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Active members of the Academy are eligible to vote for the winners in all categories.
    
     
When to Watch
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2014 will be presented on Oscar® Sunday, February 22, 2015 at 8:30 P.M./ EST, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® and televised live on the ABC Television Network.  The Oscars, produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.
              
         

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Nominations for the 87th Academy Awards

Performance by an actor in a leading role

• Steve Carell in “Foxcatcher”
• Bradley Cooper in “American Sniper”
• Benedict Cumberbatch in “The Imitation Game”
• Michael Keaton in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
• Eddie Redmayne in “The Theory of Everything”

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

• Robert Duvall in “The Judge”
• Ethan Hawke in “Boyhood”
• Edward Norton in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
• Mark Ruffalo in “Foxcatcher”
• J.K. Simmons in “Whiplash”

Performance by an actress in a leading role

• Marion Cotillard in “Two Days, One Night”
• Felicity Jones in “The Theory of Everything”
• Julianne Moore in “Still Alice”
• Rosamund Pike in “Gone Girl”
• Reese Witherspoon in “Wild”

 
   

Meryl Streep extends her lead as the most nominated performer with her 19th nomination.  Into The Woods.

     
 
Performance by an actress in a supporting role

• Patricia Arquette in “Boyhood”
• Laura Dern in “Wild”
• Keira Knightley in “The Imitation Game”
• Emma Stone in “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
• Meryl Streep in “Into the Woods”

Best animated feature film of the year

• “Big Hero 6” Don Hall, Chris Williams and Roy Conli
• “The Boxtrolls” Anthony Stacchi, Graham Annable and Travis Knight
• “How to Train Your Dragon 2” Dean DeBlois and Bonnie Arnold
• “Song of the Sea” Tomm Moore and Paul Young
• “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya” Isao Takahata and Yoshiaki Nishimura

Achievement in cinematography

• “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Emmanuel Lubezki
• “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Robert Yeoman
• “Ida” Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski
• “Mr. Turner” Dick Pope
• “Unbroken” Roger Deakins

Achievement in costume design

• “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Milena Canonero
• “Inherent Vice” Mark Bridges
• “Into the Woods” Colleen Atwood
• “Maleficent” Anna B. Sheppard and Jane Clive
• “Mr. Turner” Jacqueline Durran

Achievement in directing

• “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Alejandro G. Iñárritu
• “Boyhood” Richard Linklater
• “Foxcatcher” Bennett Miller
• “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson
• “The Imitation Game” Morten Tyldum

Best documentary feature

• “CitizenFour” Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky
• “Finding Vivian Maier” John Maloof and Charlie Siskel
• “Last Days in Vietnam” Rory Kennedy and Keven McAlester
• “The Salt of the Earth” Wim Wenders, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and David Rosier
• “Virunga” Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara

 
Best documentary short subject

• “Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1” Ellen Goosenberg Kent and Dana Perry
• “Joanna” Aneta Kopacz
• “Our Curse” Tomasz Sliwinski and Maciej Slesicki
• “The Reaper (La Parka)” Gabriel Serra Arguello
• “White Earth” J. Christian Jensen

Achievement in film editing

• “American Sniper” Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach
• “Boyhood” Sandra Adair
• “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Barney Pilling
• “The Imitation Game” William Goldenberg
• “Whiplash” Tom Cross

Best foreign language film of the year

• “Ida” Poland
• “Leviathan” Russia
• “Tangerines” Estonia
• “Timbuktu” Mauritania
• “Wild Tales” Argentina

Achievement in makeup and hairstyling

• “Foxcatcher” Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard
• “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier
• “Guardians of the Galaxy” Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David White

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

• “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Alexandre Desplat
• “The Imitation Game” Alexandre Desplat
• “Interstellar” Hans Zimmer
• “Mr. Turner” Gary Yershon
• “The Theory of Everything” Jóhann Jóhannsson

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

• “Everything Is Awesome” from “The Lego Movie”
  Music and Lyric by Shawn Patterson
• “Glory” from “Selma”
  Music and Lyric by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn
• “Grateful” from “Beyond the Lights”
  Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
• “I’m Not Gonna Miss You” from “Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me”
  Music and Lyric by Glen Campbell and Julian Raymond
• “Lost Stars” from “Begin Again”
  Music and Lyric by Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois

Best motion picture of the year

• “American Sniper” Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Andrew Lazar, Bradley Cooper and Peter Morgan, Producers
• “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher and James W. Skotchdopole, Producers
• “Boyhood” Richard Linklater and Cathleen Sutherland, Producers
• “The Grand Budapest Hotel” Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson, Producers
• “The Imitation Game” Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky and Teddy Schwarzman, Producers
• “Selma” Christian Colson, Oprah Winfrey, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, Producers
• “The Theory of Everything” Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce and Anthony McCarten, Producers
• “Whiplash” Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook and David Lancaster, Producers