The nominations have been unveiled for the 88th Academy Awards, and as ever, it's a mixture of jubilation and disappointment, as blockbusters and indies alike fared unexpectedly well in the field, while a number of obvious picks were inexplicably snubbed. No film fan is ever going to come away from the nominations announcement 100% satisfied, and so it's time to look at the big shocks and depressing snubs which characterised this year's set of nods. Though the Best Picture winner feels pretty sewn up at this point, a number of categories (namely Best Director) have been crowbarred wide open by some of the unexpected contenders to enter the fray, so hopefully this year's ceremony won't be another boring and predictable one. We'll have to wait until February 28th to know for sure, but until then, here are 15 shocks and snubs from this year's Oscar nominations...
15. Snub: Carol Misses Out On Best Picture
The exclusion of Todd Haynes' highly acclaimed, Oscar-buzzed period drama was all the more shocking because there were only eight Best Picture nominees announced this year, yet it seems that Carol didn't meet the minimum threshold in the controversial preferential ballot system, and so shocked everyone by missing out. This one pretty much seemed like a lock, and so it's a huge surprise that the film has gone from being a front-runner for winning the big one outright to getting shut out in just a few short months. Such is the fickle nature of Oscar.
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
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