2017 Oscar Nominations: Snubs & Surprises

All of Hollywood was up before sunrise eager to discover the nominees for the 89th annual Academy Awards. And now that they have officially been announced, it proved to be another historic day for Damien Chazelle's La La Land. The timeless musical secured a record-tying 14 nominations in total and solidified the film's epic frontrunner status nearly a month before the big night. Looking back at our predictions for the nominees in the major categories, we were far from perfect but still respectable. But just like us. the Oscars don't always "get it right" either (click here for a complete list of nominees). So here's a look at the biggest snubs and surprises for this year's Academy Award Nominees:

Snubs

Perhaps no omission is greater than the work of Amy Adams in the sci-fi drama, Arrival. The film garnered nominations in the Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay categories, but its leading star wasn't able to crack the top five. This was a historic year for the Best Actress race, but Amy Adams felt like a safe bet throughout the entire awards season.

It's a very rare feat that an actor wins a Golden Globe but misses out on Oscar Nomination for the same performance, however Nocturnal Animals supporting star, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, did just that. In a bit of a surprising twist, Taylor-Johnson's nomination may have come at the expense of his co-star, Michael Shannon, who missed out on just about every other major awards show.

While it isn't much of a "snub" in my eyes, Florence Foster Jenkins co-star, Hugh Grant, also found himself outside looking in for the Best Supporting Actor Race. After earning both Globe and SAG nominations, Grant felt like an assured finalist.


Surprises

One man's loss is another man's gain. While Co-star and Globe Winner, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, failed to secure an Oscar nod, Michael Shannon takes his unimaginably snubbed performance to the big dance. Shannon failed to secure a nomination from the Globes, SAG and BAFTA, but the Academy just couldn't say "no". I'm glad they got it right!

She always had an outside chance of sneaking into the mix, but it was supposed to take a miracle for Loving star, Ruth Negga, to secure her first Oscar Nomination. Some may try to rationalize the selection as a backlash to last year's #OscarsSoWhite outrage, yet Negga gives a mightily deserving performance.

It appears as though the presumably tarnished relationship between the Academy and Mel Gibson has finally ended. After an unforgettable verbal tirade damaged his career, Gibson's artistic prowess just couldn't be ignored by Oscar voters. The highly competitive Best Director race found its 5th finalist in the form of Hacksaw Ridge helmer, Mel Gibson.