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One of the fun things about the Oscar race is that no matter how much it鈥檚 analyzed before nominations are announced, there are usually a few unexpected movies and actors that make it onto the list of contenders.聽

This year is no exception, as some films rallied to make it to the Best Picture nominations list and some actors received nods despite earlier doubts.聽

After recent rule changes, the Academy can now nominate between five and 10 movies for the Best Picture prize and this year it went with eight, one less than the two previous years. The movies 鈥淏oyhood鈥� and 鈥淏irdman鈥� have been frontrunners for some time and they received nods for Best Picture, as did 鈥淭he Grand Budapest Hotel,鈥� which got a boost when it received the best comedy or musical prize at the Golden Globes. The biopics 鈥淭he Imitation Game鈥� and 鈥淭he Theory of Everything,鈥� which detail the lives of Alan Turing and Stephen Hawking, respectively, have been strong contenders for the nominations list and they also received nods. The last three had not been regarded as sure things but the Martin Luther King, Jr. biopic 鈥淪elma,鈥� the war film 鈥淎merican Sniper,鈥� and the movie about a sadistic music instructor, 鈥淲hiplash,鈥� all received nominations. (Neither 鈥淲hiplash鈥� nor 鈥淪niper鈥� was nominated for the Golden Globes best drama prize or for the best cast performance prize, the equivalent of Best Picture, at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.)听

Things become a little unusual when you get to the best director nominations list 鈥� directors who receive best director nominations often see their film nominated for Best Picture as well, but Bennett Miller鈥檚 film 鈥淔oxcatcher鈥� did not make the Best Picture nominations, despite his receiving a nod for Best Director. Meanwhile, 鈥淪elma鈥� was nominated for Best Picture but its director, Ava DuVernay, was not nominated, nor was Clint Eastwood of 鈥淪niper,鈥� James Marsh of 鈥淭heory,鈥� or Damien Chazelle of 鈥淲hiplash,鈥� though the fact that there can only be five directors nominated for the prize means some who directed Best Picture nominees will inevitably lose out.

A few actors who were not regarded as sure things made the list of nominations for the acting prizes. It was expected that Eddie Redmayne of 鈥淭heory,鈥� Benedict Cumberbatch of 鈥淚mitation,鈥� and Michael Keaton of 鈥淏irdman鈥� would all make the Best Actor nominations list (Redmayne won the Best Actor in a Drama Golden Globe and Keaton won the Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy Golden Globe, while Jake Gyllenhaal of "Nightcrawler" and "Foxcatcher" actor Carell both received SAG nods for Best Actor), but it was unclear whether Gyllenhaal, David Oyelowo of 鈥淪elma,鈥� or Carell would make the list. Carell did, but Gyllenhaal and Oyelowo both lost out and 鈥淪niper鈥� actor Bradley Cooper received a nomination.

Meanwhile, four of the Best Actress nominees have been considered strong contenders for a nomination for some time 鈥� Julianne Moore of 鈥淪till Alice鈥� (who received the Best Actress in a Drama Golden Globe), Rosamund Pike of 鈥淕one Girl,鈥� Felicity Jones of 鈥淭he Theory of Everything,鈥� and Reese Witherspoon of 鈥淲ild鈥� all made the Golden Globe Best Actress in a Drama nominations list and the SAG Best Actress nominations list. However, Jennifer Aniston of 鈥淐ake鈥� received a Best Actress in a Drama Golden Globe nomination and SAG nod but did not make the Oscar nominations list. Instead, Marion Cotillard of 鈥淭wo Days, One Night鈥� received a nod.

Meanwhile, for the Best Supporting Actor award, the list is the same as it was at the Golden Globes and the SAG Awards, with 鈥淲hiplash鈥� actor J.K. Simmons, Mark Ruffalo of 鈥淔oxcatcher,鈥� 鈥淏oyhood鈥� actor Ethan Hawke, Edward Norton of 鈥淏irdman,鈥� and 鈥淭he Judge鈥� actor Robert Duvall all receiving nominations.

And for Best Supporting Actress, 鈥淲ild鈥� actress Laura Dern received a nod despite not showing up on the Golden Globes Best Supporting Actress list or the SAG list of nominees. As with the Golden Globes and the SAG Awards, 鈥淏oyhood鈥� actress Patricia Arquette, Keira Knightley of 鈥淭he Imitation Game,鈥� 鈥淚nto the Woods鈥� actress Meryl Streep, and Emma Stone of 鈥淏irdman鈥� all received nominations. At the Golden Globes, Jessica Chastain received a nod for 鈥淎 Most Violent Year,鈥� while the SAG Awards selected Naomi Watts of 鈥淪t. Vincent,鈥� but Dern took the fifth slot for the Oscars nominations list.

The Oscars ceremony will be held on Feb. 22.