The host of this year's ceremony, Neil Patrick Harris, must be busy polishing his best dancing cane, because the nominations for the 2015 Academy Awards have officially been announced. Sitting pretty in the front row on February 22 will be The Grand Budapest Hotel and Birdman, each with nine nominations, followed by The Imitation Game (eight) and American Sniper and **Boyhood **(both six).
Those slightly tired 'The Brits are coming!' headlines will be writing themselves as Eddie Redmayne (The Theory Of Everything) and Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game) duke it out in the Best Actor category in Hollywood's own Eton/Harrow match.
There were surprises and disappointments, too. Like much of Gone Girl, David Oyelowo's work in Selma and Jennifer Aniston's performance in Cake, **The Lego Movie **also got snubbed, breaking a bajillion hearts into tiny bricky pieces. Everything may not be awesome after all, although the film's big song, 'Everything Is Awesome' *was *nominated for Best Original Song.
And perhaps unexpectedly, considering the general warmth for The Grand Budapest Hotel, Ralph Fiennes missed out in the Best Actor department. But enough of that, here's the full tally:
**The Grand Budapest Hotel **9
**Birdman **9
**The Imitation Game **8
**Boyhood **6
**American Sniper **6
**Interstellar **5
**Foxcatcher **5
**Whiplash **5
**The Theory Of Everything **5
**Mr. Turner **4
**Into The Woods **3
**Unbroken **3
Best Picture
American Sniper
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Selma
The Theory Of Everything
Whiplash
Best Director
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game
Best Actor
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper, American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory Of Everything
Best Actress
Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones, The Theory Of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Laura Dern, Wild
Emma Stone, Birdman
Meryl Streep, Into The Woods
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Supporting Actor
Robert Duvall, The Judge
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
JK Simmons, Whiplash
Foreign Language Film
Ida
Leviathan
Tangerines
Timbuktu
Wild Tales
Best Cinematography
Birdman, Emmanuel Lubezki
The Grand Budapest Hotel, Robert Yeoman
Ida, Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski
Mr. Turner, Dick Pope
Unbroken, Roger Deakins
Adapted Screenplay
American Sniper
The Imitation Game
Inherent Vice
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
Original Screenplay
Boyhood
Birdman
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Nightcrawler
Animated Feature
Big Hero 6
Boxtrolls
How To Train Your Dragon 2
Song Of The Sea
The Tale Of Princess Kaguya
Visual Effects
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes
Guardians Of The Galaxy
Interstellar
X:Men: Days Of Future Past
Film Editing
American Sniper
Boyhood
Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Whiplash
Production Design
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Into The Woods
Mr. Turner
Best Score
Alexandre Desplat, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alexandre Desplat, The Imitation Game
Hans Zimmer, Interstellar
Gary Yershon, Mr. Turner
Jóhann Jóhannsson, The Theory Of Everything
Best Song
"Everything Is Awesome", The Lego Movie
"Glory", Selma
"Grateful", Beyond the Lights
"I'm Not Gonna Miss You", Glen Campbell…I'll Be Me
"Lost Stars", Begin Again
Best Costume Design
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Into the Woods
Maleficent
Mr. Turner
Best Documentary Short
Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
Joanna
Our Curse
The Reaper (La Parka)
White Earth
Best Makeup And Hair
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy
Best Animated Short
The Bigger Picture
The Dam Keeper
Feast
Me and My Moulton
A Single Life
Best Live-Action Short
Aya
Boogaloo and Graham
Butter Lamp (La Lampe Au Beurre De Yak)
Parvaneh
The Phone Call
Best Sound Editing
American Sniper
Birdman
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar
Unbroken
Best Sound Mixing
American Sniper
Birdman
Interstellar
Unbroken
Whiplash
Best Documentary
CitizenFour
Finding Vivian Maier
Last Days in Vietnam
The Salt of the Earth
Virunga
As mentioned, The Academy Awards - as hosted by Neil Patrick Harris - will take place on the evening of Sunday, February 22, and **Empire **will be on hand to guide you through the show, both on Facebook and Twitter, and here on the site itself.