The Revenant leads Oscars race

In all the lead categories – best director, picture, and all four acting categories – only Alejandro G. Iñárritu, the Mexican auteur who won best director and picture a year ago, for “Birdman”, adds a note of diversity.

Charlotte Rampling, 69, secured a best actress nod for her role in 45 Years, as did Irish actress Saoirse Ronan, 21, for Brooklyn, in which she plays a homesick immigrant in NY.

But absences were also stuck on repeat.

The Oscars will be presented February 28 the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, hosted by Chris Rock and broadcast live on ABC.

Leonardo DiCaprio – Nominee for Best Actor in a Leading Role “The Revenant”: “I am so grateful to the Academy for their recognition of this film”.

“Champagne and mezcal will run tonight!” said Inarritu in a statement from London.

Contenders for best pictures are: “The Big Short”, “Bridge of Spies”, “Brooklyn”, “Mad Max: Fury Road”, “The Martian”, “The Revenant”, “Room” and “Spotlight”.

“Spotlight”, which has dominated critics’ lists, received nominations for best picture, best director (Tom McCarthy), best supporting actor (Mark Ruffalo), best supporting actress (Rachel McAdams) and editing. “I’m going to start crying now, but to get Best Actress and to get Best Picture means the absolute world to us”. (“Bridge of Spies”), Paramount Pictures (“The Big Short”), Universal (“Straight Outta Compton”) and Warner Bros.

The Oscars may choose up to 10 films for best picture.

Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs has responded to the backlash, admitting she is “disappointed” more African-Americans didn’t hear their names called at the nominations event.

“Even the cats are up running around so we might have a cup of tea and then get back to bed”, laughed Miller around 2am today, when asked about his plans for the rest of the night.

Ryan Coogler’s acclaimed Rocky sequel “Creed”, starring Michael B. Jordan, was also often cited as one of the year’s best, but it drew only a nomination for Sylvester Stallone reprising his role as Rocky Balboa.

“I feel incredibly honored to be recognized among the other awesome women in this category”. “I was not expecting it … especially at this time in my life”.

Bryan Cranston, Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Fassbender and Eddie Redmayne are nominated for best actor.

The actresses will compete against former Oscar winners Cate Blanchett, who is nominated for Carol, and Jennifer Lawrence, for Joy, as well as Golden Globe victor Brie Larson, who is nominated for Room.

Jennifer Jason Leigh – Nominee for Best Actress in a Supporting Role “The Hateful Eight”: “This is incredible news to wake up to”.

Also nominated for best supporting actor were Mark Rylance, best known for his stage work, for “Bridge of Spies” and Christian Bale (“The Big Short”). Male filmmakers are again expected to dominate best director. “We were screaming like idiots in the pitch black with the smell of waffles in the room”.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens was not excluded from the nominations.

It wasn’t a question of whether or not “Beasts of No Nation” would be nominated for an Oscar, it was more like how many would Netflix’s first original feature get.