2016 Oscars: The Snubs and Surprises That Are Making the Internet Angry

This morning at the ungodly hour of 5:30am, the Oscar nominations were unveiled. Last year, #OscarsSoWhite became a trending hashtag in the wake of all 20 actor contenders being white (the first time that happened since 1995). If you thought the Academy would take a long, hard look at itself and make some changes, you would be wrong. This year, all 20 slots again were given to only white people. Maybe this could have something to do with the fact that Oscar voters are 94% white, 76% men, and an average of 63 years old. Yikes. Sigh. Ugh. Blergh. I can't seem to type out anything but one-word stand-ins for disgust so I'll let these tweets do the talking:

Anyway, here’s how this year’s nominations shook out (if you even still give a damn):

Best Supporting Actress:

Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight)
Rooney Mara (Carol)
Rachel McAdams (Spotlight)
Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl)
Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)

Major drama in this category because many are calling Mara and Vikander's supporting actor campaigns category fraud, as they are clearly leads in their respective movies. This opens the door for more BS Hollywood machinations in the years to come. At least they finally decided to give Rachel McAdams some love for her role as Regina George in Mean Girls.

Best Supporting Actor:

Christian Bale (The Big Short)
Tom Hardy (The Revenant) 
Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight)
Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies)
Sylvester Stallone (Creed)

No, that's not a typo. Sylvester Stallone is nominated for an Oscar, 39 years after his first nom for Rocky. Another less-amusing surprise is the lack of Idris Elba for Beasts of No Nation, which contributed to this super duper white affair. Some also expected 9-year-old Jacob Tremblay from Room to be in the mix. Silver lining: Tom Hardy's lips will be at the Oscars.

Best Actress:

Cate Blanchett (Carol)
Brie Larson (Room)
Jennifer Lawrence (Joy)
Charlotte Rampling (45 Years)
Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn)

This makes 25-year-old Jennifer Lawrence the youngest actor to receive four nominations (Meryl didn't reach #4 until she was 33). Despite her Golden Globe win a few days ago, most didn't fully expect her to grab this nom because of the lukewarm feelings around Joy. This will probably contribute to the Anne Hathaway-ing Lawrence is experiencing right now, especially in the wake of that cringe-worthy press room incident.

Best Actor: 

Bryan Cranston (Trumbo)
Matt Damon (The Martian)
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)
Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs)
Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl)

Matt Damon bumped out Creed's Michael B. Jordan and Black Mass' Johnny Depp. There goes my super involved fantasy of Depp announcing that he's gotten back together with the love of his life, Winona Ryder, on the red carpet. And it's looking like Leo is on track to finally (FINALLY!) get the Oscar he has been chasing so desperately.

Best Picture:

The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight

For the second year in a row, the Academy only went with eight picks for best picture (they usually go for nine out of the possible ten), which doesn’t exactly send a positive message about the state of the film industry. No Straight Outta Compton because there are black people in that. No Carol, despite nomination-worthy performances from Blanchett and Mara.  No Inside Out or Star Wars: The Force Awakens because I guess they don't care if anyone watches the ceremony? Academy voters, when asked what goes into their decision making: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Best Director:

Adam McKay (The Big Short)
George Miller (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Alejandro González Iñárritu  (The Revenant)
Lenny Abrahamson (Room)
Tom McCarthy (Spotlight)

Abrahamson's inclusion is stunning some people this morning. Somewhere out there, in three separate mansions, Ridley Scott (The Martian), Steven Spielberg (Bridge of Spies) and Todd Haynes (Carol) are all shaking their fists.

Best Original Song:

"Earned It" (Fifty Shades of Grey)
"Manta Ray" (Racing Extinction)
Simple Song #3" (Youth)
"Til It Happens To You" (The Hunting Ground)
"Writing's On The Wall" (Spectre)

Many expected "See You Again" from Furious 7 to make this list. Apparently, we don't yet deserve a world in which Wiz Khalifa wins an Oscar. Instead we get Sam Smith for his predictable Bond song, the Weeknd for a song from the Razzie-nominated Fifty Shades of Grey, and Lady Gaga? We are all Leo, the Academy is Gaga:

Okay, that’s enough outrage for one post. Check out the full list of nominees. And tune in to the Oscars on February 28, 2016.