26/01/2017 8:27pm

While the Golden Globes are renowned for their glamour and the BAFTAs for their prestige, the awards season’s night of nights is reserved for just one event: The Oscars. But before the champagne is put on ice, the last sequins sewn on gowns and the red-carpet Instagram poses perfected, the nominees must be announced. So after months of guessing, potential racial prejudice churning and hilarious ad campaigns from the Deadpool (2016) camp, we finally have our list. There may be no #OscarsSoWhite backlash this year, but there have been plenty of snubs, surprises and shocks worthy of a mention.

Leading the pack with an incredible 14 nominations was Damien Chazelle’s modern musical La La Land (2016). The Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling-led vehicle managed to put its name in the record books early, tying with Titanic (1997) and All About Eve (1950) for the most nominations of all time. Barry Jenkins self-discovery piece Moonlight (2016) came in second, with eight nominations including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. Despite failing to secure a Best Actress nominee, Arrival (2016) put its mark on this year’s awards too, picking up eight nominations, while Manchester By the Sea (2016) and Hacksaw Ridge (2016) stayed close behind with six nominations apiece. 

As for the surprises, they included Mel Gibson’s directing nod for WWII drama Hacksaw Ridge (2016), marking his first nomination since Braveheart (1995). Similarly, 20-year-old actor Lucas Hedges got his name into the Best Supporting Actor category for his brilliant turn in festival-favourite Manchester By the Sea (2016). Nocturnal Animals (2016) standout Aaron Taylor Johnson was overlooked for fellow cast mate Michael Shannon in the Best Supporting Actor category, while the ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ piece Sully (2016) was hardly given an opportunity, nabbing only one nomination for Sound Editing. Other major snubs included Amy Adams in the Best Actress category for Arrival (2016) who lost her spot to the likes of Isabelle Huppert, Natalie Portman and veteran performer Meryl Streep. Perhaps the best moment though was the diversity that is beginning to be acknowledged in film, with Hidden Figures (2016), Fences (2016) and Moonlight (2016) earning their rightful place among the Best Picture and acting categories. But with such fierce competition, it’s anyone’s game as to who’ll win. You can check out a selection of the nominees below, or see the full list here before the ceremony on February 26.

25/02/2016 11:51am

With the 88th Academy Awards ceremony just mere days away, the season of spoofs has officially begun, and it's been kicked off in style by none other than The Screen Junkies' and their Honest Trailers. Published earlier today, their new video pokes fun at the pros and cons of the eight films vying for the Best Picture statuette, and poses a question that always makes a resurgence around February - 'what did win the Oscar last year?'