"12 Years a Slave", "American Hustle" and "Gravity" are strong contenders for an Oscar. "Gravity" and "American Hustle" lead with 10 nominations apiece. "12 Years a Slave" has been nominated for nine nominations and Steve McQueen could become the first black filmmaker to win a Best Director Oscar.
Though "Gravity" features a handful of characters, it still carries weight the technical aspects of cinema. That's in contrast to the full fledged ensembles of "12 Years a Slave" and "American Hustle."
The academy is sure to appreciate Alfonso Cuaron's box-office hit that reeled in $670 million worldwide. "Gravity" has a reputation among moviegoers for its innovative visual effects.
The Golden Globes were quite a blast and both Tina Fay and Amy P. did a fantastic job with their monologues. The comedy duo was doubly entertaining but the Globes are still a weak indicator of what to expect at the Oscars. Nonetheless, we could see a few overlaps in some categories.
The Globes still reflect consensus among Hollywood big-wigs naming "American Hustle"as best comedy and "12 Years a Slave"as best drama.
Hollywood's guilds make up the bulk of the academy. Martin Scorsese's finance thriller "The Wolf of Wall Street" won five nominations along with Spike Jonze's"Her"
The best picture nominees are of course a coveted category. The nominations announced Thursday suggest a threeway sharing of awards similar to the Golden Globes.
Candidates for.best picture include ""Philomena," "Dallas Buyers Club," "American Hustle", "Nebraska," "Captain Phillips," "12 Years a Slave," The Wolf of Wall Street,"
"Gravity" and "Her."
However, best actor is usually the most watched: Matthew McConaughey ("Dallas Buyers Club"), Leonardo DiCaprio ("The Wolf of Wall Street"), Chiwetel Ejiofor ("12 Years a Slave"), Christian Bale "American Hustle," and Bruce Dern ("Nebraska").
Amy Adams, who won at the Globes for "American Hustle," is a favorite for the best actress award. Among the surprise nominations is the best actress nod is Sandra Bullock in "Gravity." Veteran actress Meryl Streep is nominated for the 18th time. She stars in the film August: Osage County, for which Julia Roberts received a nomination as best supporting actress. Cate Blanchett is nominated for "Blue Jasmine" directed by the controversial Woody Allen, and Judi Dench in "Philomena."
Ellen Degeneres will host the Oscars in March.
For a complete list of nominations, please visit Oscar.com
