Oscars: The Revenant and Mad Max lead the pack

Best director: Alejandro Iñárritu, “The Revenant;” George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road;” Tom McCarthy, “Spotlight;” Adam McKay, “The Big Short;” Lenny Abrahamson, “Room”. “The Martian”, Ridley Scott’s sci-fi adventure with Matt Damon, racked up seven nominations, including best picture.

Actress in a supporting role: Rooney Mara, “Carol;” Jennifer Jason Leigh, “The Hateful Eight;” Alicia Vikander, “The Danish Girl;” Kate Winslet, “Steve Jobs;” Rachel McAdams, “Spotlight”.

Best foreign language film: “Son of Saul”, “Mustang”, “A War”, “Embrace of the Serpent”, “Theeb”.

Pioneer-era drama “The Revenant” led the Oscar nominations on Thursday with 12 nods, including best picture. Sylvester Stallone, meanwhile, is the sixth person to be nominated for playing the same role in two films.

Credit must always be given where it is due: after years of dormancy, the Mad Max franchise proved not only that it still has some fuel left in the tank, but that the franchise driver has as sharp of an eye as ever.

Despite efforts in recent years to diversify the voting ranks of the academy, not a single actor of color was nominated in any of the acting categories, ensuring a return of the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag that trended on social media heading into last year’s Oscars. Mad Max: Fury Road earned well deserved Oscar nominations yesterday, and it’s available on DVD and Blu-ray now. Given the intense, lengthy production of Fury Road, it’s understandable that Miller might want to do something a little less exhaustive next.

Among the films in contention that didn’t make the cut were Todd Haynes’ “Carol” and the N.W.A biopic “Straight Outta Compton”.

Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs has since redoubled efforts to diversify the academy’s membership, and slated Chris Rock – who a year ago labeled Hollywood a “white industry” – to host this year’s February 28 ceremony.

The Revenant could see Leanardo DiCaprio, who has been nominated four times, winning his first Oscar.

Though some fans had hoped for a better showing, the box-office behemoth “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” failed to land a best picture nomination.

Best documentary feature: “Amy”, “What Happened, Miss Simone?”.