Oscar Noms: “American Hustle,” “Gravity” Lead; Oprah and Tom Hanks Snubbed

Actor Chris Hemsworth and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Cheryl Boone Isaacs announced the nominees for the 86th Annual Academy Awards early Thursday morning, and as expected "American Hustle," "Gravity" and "12 Years a Slave" led the pack.

"Hustle" and "Gravity" each have 10 nominations, while "12 Years" followed closely with nine.

There was no love for "Lee Daniels' The Butler" or its stars, including Oprah Winfrey, with the Academy shutting out the civil rights biopic completely. There was also little or no Oscar love for Disney's "Saving Mr. Banks," the Coen Brothers' "Inside Llewyn Davis," and "Fruitvale Station."

Nine out of a possible 10 best picture nominations were revealed, with the field consisting of "American Hustle," "Captain Phillips," "Dallas Buyers Club," "Gravity," "Her," "Nebraska," "Philomena," "12 Years a Slave" and "The Wolf of Wall Street."

Full list of Academy Award nominations

Matthew McConaughey took home the Golden Globe for best actor Sunday night, and finds himself among a field of Hollywood's elite once again in the quest for Oscar. If precedence has any bearing here, McConaughey's drastic weight loss for the 80s era AIDS drama should serve him well: extreme dieting worked in 1994 for Tom Hanks in "Philadelphia," and Robert De Nero in 1980's "Raging Bull." 

Bruce Dern of "Nebraska," Leonardo DiCaprio of "The Wolf of Wall Street" and Chiwetel Ejiofor of "12 Years a Slave" also scored nominations. One surprise addition to the list is Christian Bale, for his role in "American Hustle." Bale took the berth expected to go to Hanks for "Captain Phillips." Robert Redford was expected to be nominated for "All Is Lost," but also failed to hear his name announced. Redford has never won an Academy Award.

There were no surprises in the best actress competition, with the Academy sticking to a roster of names already featured prominently in recent award races. Globe winner Cate Blanchett ("Blue Jasmine") is up against Meryl Streep ("August: Osage County"), Amy Adams ("American Hustle"), Judi Dench ("Philomena") and Sandra Bullock ("Gravity"). "Saving Mr. Banks'" Emma Thompson did not make the cut.

Oprah Winfrey is a powerful force in entertainment, and her performance in "Lee Daniels' The Butler" received wide acclaim. But it wasn't enough to land her in the supporting actress category in place of  Sally Hawkins ("Blue Jasmine''), Jennifer Lawrence ("American Hustle"), Lupita Nyong'o ("12 Years a Slave"), Julia Roberts ("August: Osage County") and June Squibb ("Nebraska"), all of whom heard their name revealed Thursday.

Barkhad Abdi ("Captain Phillips"), Bradley Cooper ("American Hustle"), Michael Fassbender ("12 Years a Slave") and Jared Leto ("Dallas Buyers Club") make up the supporting actor list of nominees, with Jonah Hill of "The Wolf of Wall Street" taking the final spot instead of previous contenders from recent award ceremonies Daniel Bruhl ("Rush") and Will Forte ("Nebraska").

Every director named to that category saw their respective films make the list of best picture nominees. David O. Russell ("American Hustle"), Alfonso Cuaron ("Gravity"), Alexander Payne ("Nebraska"), Steve McQueen ("12 Years a Slave") and Martin Scorsese ("The Wolf of Wall Street") make up the directorial field. Considered contenders but ultimately shut out were Spike Jonze ("Her") and Woody Allen ("Blue Jasmine").

Hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, the 86th Annual Academy Awards air live on Sunday Mar. 2 on ABC.

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