Award season has arrived, and the film world is buzzing with campaigns and the North American audience awaits each announcement with a mix of excitement and debate. Studios launch campaigns, press photos flood inboxes, and critics sharpen their pencils for the chance to predict which titles will lift the golden statues on Oscar night. The nominees reveal marks a turning point as campaigns heat up and networks build anticipation for the big night.
Today the nominations for the Academy Awards were revealed, and a few selections surprised critics and fans alike, signaling shifts in taste and celebration across genres. The list includes familiar blockbusters and bold indie projects, each vying for recognition in the major categories.
While movies like Lincoln, Life of Pi and Les Misérables were expected to rack up multiple nominations, Beasts of the Southern Wild emerged as a sleeper hit that surprised many by earning nods in several major categories. It secured recognition for Best Picture, earned a director nomination for Ben Zeitlin, and earned an Adapted Screenplay nomination alongside its leading performer, Quvenzhané Wallis, for Best Actress. The film’s rise has been celebrated as a sign of bold storytelling and a reminder that intimate, human-scale cinema can compete with large-scale productions.
Jennifer Lawrence earned her second Best Actress nomination for her luminous performance in Silver Linings Playbook, while Anne Hathaway added another Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Les Misérables, a role that would become a defining moment in her career. The two performances drew wide acclaim for their emotional resonance and dramatic range, contributing to a night that many observers expect to be both sentimental and tense as voters weigh the year’s standout performances.
Animation enthusiasts will notice a strong showing in the Best Animated Feature Film category with Wreck-It Ralph, Frankenweenie, and ParaNorman among the contenders. These titles embody a range of styles from inventive comedy to spooky stop-motion and inventive storytelling, underscoring Hollywood’s continued investment in animated storytelling that appeals to both younger audiences and adults.
The full list of nominees is available through the official Oscars announcement, which details every category and entrant for 2013 and provides context on the campaigns and reactions from studios and audiences alike [Source: AMPAS 2013 Nomination List].
The 85th annual Academy Awards will air live on Sunday, February 24, with Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Family Guy, set to host the ceremony, guiding viewers through a night that showcases performance, music, and cinematic achievement across the industry.