The nominations for the 2017 Oscars are out. We are now counting down the days until 26th February when Jimmy Kimmel will step up, all suited and booted, to host the 89th Academy Awards in the Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles.
It was no surprise that La La Land, which recently broke the record for most Golden Globe awards with 7 to its name, is now making its mark on the Oscars after being nominated for a whopping 14 awards including Best Director, Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. The film also received Best Actor and Actress nominations for the two protagonists Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone.
For now, all we can do is wait to see what the outcome is come the end of February. However, in the meantime, we have you covered. We have rustled up 9 tasty facts about the 2017 Oscar Nominations for you to have a look at to whet your appetite for the big day.
1 'La La Land' hits high note by equalling Oscar nominations record
As we mentioned above, Damien Chazelle's romantic musical 'La La Land' danced away into the lead with a huge 14 nominations. This ties the all time nominations record held by 'All About Eve' (1950) and 'Titanic' (1997). 'Titanic' also holds the record for highest Academy Awards total with 11 alongside 'Ben Hur' (1959) and 'Lord of The Rings: The Return of the King' (2003), which won all 11 categories for which it was nominated for in 2004. The question is, will 'La La Land' go on and break this record?
2 Streep sets own record
3 Patel becomes third Indian actor ever to be nominated
London born Dev Patel gets a nod for an Oscar as he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in 'Lion'. However, this nomination is no ordinary nomination. It makes Patel only the third actor of Indian descent ever to be nominated for an Oscar. The last time an actor of Indian descent was nominated was 13 years ago in 2004 when 'Ben Kingsley was in with a chance for his role in House of Sand and Fog'. The first to be nominated was Merle Oberon in 1935 for 'The Dark Angel Star'.
4 Mel Gibson makes Oscars return
61 year old Mel Gibson made his return to the directors chair last year to take charge of the biographical war film 'Hacksaw Ridge'. The American director has been recognised for his work and, as a result, he has been nominated for an Oscar for the first time in 21 years. His last taste of the Oscars was back in 1996 when he actually came out victorious winning both Best Picture and Best Director award for his 1995 film 'Braveheart'.
5 'Kubo and The Two Strings' lands Visual Effects Nomination
The The Laika Entertainment film, Kubo and the Two Strings' is up for 2 Oscar nominations. As expected, the film directed by Travis Knight is in contention for the Best Animated Film, but there was a surprise nomination for the stop-motion and computer-animated production. The film also joins nominees for the Best Visual Effects award, making it only the second fully animated film to be nominated for the category. The first was 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' which eventually lost to 'Jurassic Park' back in 1993.
6 Denzil becomes first black actor with seven Oscar nominations
This historic record belongs to 62 year old New York born actor and two time Oscar winner, Denzil Washington, who holds the record as the black actor who has earned the most Oscar nominations in the history of the Academy Awards. He has been nominated for the Best Actor award for his role in 'Fences'. In fact, there was a record breaking six black actors nominated for the 2017 Oscars, which prevented the social media hashtag of #OscarsSoWhite circulating again from the previous year.
7 Matt Damon: A Jack of all trades
Matt Damon, who had a role as a producer in 'Manchester by the Sea' has become only the third person to receive nominations in the acting, writing and best picture categories after his nomination for Best Picture in 'Manchester by the Sea'. Damon was also nominated and won the Best Original Screenplay award for 'Good Will Hunting'. As well as that, he has been nominated for Best Actor in 'The Martian' and 'Good Will Hunting' on top of being nominated Best Supporting Actor in 'Invictus'. The only other individuals to achieve this feat are Warren Beatty and George Clooney.
8 Chazelle poised to become youngest Best Director Oscar winner
Director of 'La La Land', Damien Chazelle is set to make history if he wins the Best Director award for his hugely successful musical production. The 32 year old director could put an end to an 85 year record by becoming the youngest Best Director in Academy Award history by surpassing Norman Taurog who was 32 years and 260 days old when he won. Chazelle will be 32 years and 39 days old on the night of the 2017 Oscars.
9 The Newman's: family full of Oscar nominations
61 year old American composer Thomas Newman has been nominated in the Best Original Score category for the film Passengers. This is the composers 14th nomination and this takes his family's nomination total to 90, which is more than any other family. This includes nominations from six other family members. However, Thomas Newman himself is yet to win one of his 14 nominations, which makes him the most nominated composer alive to have never won an Oscar. Poor Tom.