Hollywood loves a survivor: Our take on the Oscar nominations

Director George Miller has a good reason to celebrate.

His explosive post-apocalyptic action flick Mad Max: Fury Road has earned 10 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director.

Perhaps these accolades will make the 70-year-old Australian film-maker rethink not wanting to do another Mad Max film.

Earning the top honours came as a surprise, considering the Academy folks usually prefer quieter and more prestige films, not the adrenaline-pumping, gritty kind.

It looks like the Oscars are rewarding the survivors this year. 

Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu's The Revenant -- another gritty survivalist story -- earned the top spot with 12 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio, who must surely be the frontrunner in that category after his Golden Globe win.

What raised eyebrows was the inclusion of Tom Hardy in the Best Supporting Actor category. 

Hardy, the star in Mad Max: Fury Road and the antagonist in The Revenant, has been shut out this awards season.

The biggest shocker went to The Martian's Ridley Scott, who was expected to be a winner at the upcoming Oscars, but was not among the nominees for Best Director.

Another surprise was Lady Gaga's Best Original Score nomination for co-writing Til It Happens To You from The Hunting Ground with Diane Warren.

Fresh off her Golden Globe win (Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television), the multi-Grammy pop star's Oscar dreams may come sooner than expected.

The 88th Annual Academy Awards will be broadcast live exclusively on HBO (StarHub Ch 601) on Feb 29 at 9.30am (Singapore time), with a same night primetime encore at 8pm.

Here is a list of the major nominees. 

Best Picture

The Big Short

Bridge of Spies 

Brooklyn 

Mad Max: Fury Road 

The Martian 

The Revenant

Room 

Spotlight

Best Actor

Bryan Cranston, Trumbo

Matt Damon, The Martian

Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant

Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs

Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett, Carol

Brie Larson, Room

Jennifer Lawrence, Joy

Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years

Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale, The Big Short

Tom Hardy, The Revenant

Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight

Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies

Sylvester Stallone, Creed

Best Supporting Actress

Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight

Rooney Mara, Carol

Rachel McAdams, Spotlight

Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl

Kate WInslest, Steve Jobs

Best Directing

Adam McKay, The Big Short

George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road

Alejandro González Iñárritu, The Revenant

Lenny Abrhamson, Room

Tom McCarthy, Spotlight