The Academy has finally announced the Oscar nominations for 2014. Blockbuster hits "American Hustle" and "Gravity" led the field with 10 Oscar nominations each, while "12 Years a Slave" received nine. "Nebraska" and "Captain Phillips" also pulled in six nominations. As usual, Best Actor and Best Actress nominees were a who's who of the big names in Hollywood, including Leonardo DiCaprio and Sandra Bullock.
Nominees for Best Picture included well-known films like "American Hustle," "The Wolf of Wall Street," "Captain Phillips" and "Gravity," but lesser-known films such as "Her," "Nebraska" and "12 Years a Slave" also got the nod. This category will be very competitive and the contest is considered a real toss up.
The Best Actor category is filled to brimming with talent, as well, and many believe that the Academy is faced with an incredibly tough choice. Leonardo DiCaprio, who has never won an Oscar, is nominated for his superb performance in "The Wolf of Wall Street." Other nominees include Christian Bale for "American Hustle," Bruce Dern for "Nebraska," Matthew McConaughey for "Dallas Buyers Club" and Chiwetel Ejiofor for his work in "12 Years a Slave."
The category was so packed that Joaquin Phoenix's mesmerizing performance in "Her" was overlooked by the Academy. Tom Hanks and Robert Redford were also passed over.
The nominees for Best Actress are equally impressive, with Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench in the lineup. All five of these actresses have been nominated for Oscars multiple times throughout their careers and most of them have won at least one Academy Award before.
A few of the nominees in the Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress categories are a bit less well known, but for the most part, big names will dominate at this year's Oscars. For a full list of Oscar nominees, see this article on ABC News.
The 86th Academy Awards will air on ABC Mar. 2, 2014 at 7 p.m. EST. It promises to be a night of decadence and a true Hollywood celebration.
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