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