Both Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara received acting nominations, while Carol also received nominations for Best Picture, Director, and Score. Netflix shows led the pack with seven nominations, beating out HBO. The Beasts of No Nation experiment may not have worked out the way Netflix hoped, but Idris Elba’s Best Actor nomination in the film category was what made the difference between the streaming service and the network.
Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant, Room, and Spotlight round out the Best Drama Picture nominations. None of the actors from Spotlight’s extraordinary ensemble were nominated. Instead, the acting in drama categories are led by the Carol actresses, Leonardo DiCaprio (for his performance not being raped by a bear in Revenant), Will Smith (his accent in Concussion was the film’s only nomination), and Brooklyn’s Saoirse Ronan. The Danish Girl’s Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander were also nominated. In comedy, Christian Bale and Steve Carrell were nominated for The Big Short, which was also nominated for Best Comedy Picture. Amy Schumer and Trainwreck also received nods.
For the most part, it’s a pretty somber collection of nominees—even many of the Comedy films are tinged with darkness (financial collapse, homelessness, and alcoholism). Ricky Gervais, who is hosting this year’s awards, will probably make light of that fact, while also reminding the audience that religion is a “fairy tale.”
The full list of nominees is here.