More diverse field of Oscar noms – Adult dramas, indie-spirited features dominate

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After a decade in the professional wilderness, Hollywood signaled that it had at least partially forgiven Mel Gibson. A previous Oscar-winner for “Braveheart,” Gibson was shunned by many industry power brokers when he was caught on tape making anti-semitic remarks to a police officer after being pulled over for a DUI in 2005. On Tuesday, Gibson was nominated for his directing work on “Hacksaw Ridge,” a gritty war drama that also earned a best picture and best actor nod for Garfield.

From a box office perspective, this year’s list of nominees was dominated by smaller, indie-spirited features and adult dramas. There were no “Inceptions” or “Avatars,” and the lack of a certifiable blockbuster could dim ratings.

There were a number of notable snubs and surprises. Hugh Grant (“Florence Foster Jenkins”), Tom Hanks (“Sully”), Amy Adams (“Arrival”) had been expected to pick up nods, but failed to get the call, while Michael Shannon, recognized for his work as an ailing lawman in “Animal Kingdom,” and Negga, managed to shoulder into the final five after missing out on other important critics group honors.

Jimmy Kimmel hosts this year’s ceremony. It marks his first time as emcee, but also represents a long-desired stab at synergy. ABC, which broadcasts the Oscars, also backs Kimmel’s late night program. The network has been pushing for the comic to host the show for years.

This year’s Oscar nominations were announced in a novel way. Instead of having Academy brass and the odd celebrity read out the lists of honorees, ABC had small interstitial videos with previous nominees and winners such as Marcia Gay Harden, Glenn Close, Brie Larson, and Ken Watanabe sharing their memories of their big mornings.

The full list of nominees for the 2017 Oscars is below:

* Best picture: “Arrival”, “Fences”, ”Hacksaw Ridge”, “Hell or High Water”, “Hidden Figures”, “La La Land”, “Manchester by the Sea”, “Lion”, “Moonlight”

* Lead actor: Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea”, Andrew Garfield, “Hacksaw Ridge”, Ryan Gosling, “La La Land”, Viggo Mortensen, “Captain Fantastic”, Denzel Washington, “Fences”

* Lead actress: Isabelle Huppert, “Elle”, Ruth Negga, “Loving”, Natalie Portman, “Jackie”, Emma Stone, “La La Land”, Meryl Streep, “Florence Foster Jenkins”

* Supporting actor: Mahershala Ali, “Moonlight”, Jeff Bridges, “Hell or High Water”, Lucas Hedges, “Manchester by the Sea”, Dev Patel, “Lion”, Michael Shannon, “Nocturnal Animals”

* Supporting actress: Viola Davis, “Fences”, Naomie Harris, “Moonlight”, Nicole Kidman, “Lion”, Octavia Spencer, “Hidden Figures”, Michelle Williams, “Manchester by the Sea”

* Best director: Denis Villeneuve, “Arrival”, Mel Gibson, “Hacksaw Ridge”, Damien Chazelle, “La La Land”, Kenneth Lonergan, “Manchester by the Sea”, Barry Jenkins, “Moonlight”

* Animated feature: “Kubo and the Two Strings”, “Moana”, “My Life as a Zucchini”, “The Red Turtle”, “Zootopia”

* Animated short: “Blind Vaysha”, “Borrowed Time”, “Pear Cider and Cigarettes”, “Pearl”,“Piper”

* Adapted screenplay: “Arrival”, “Fences”, “Hidden Figures”, “Lion”, “Moonlight”

* Original screenplay: “Hell or High Water”, “La La Land”, “The Lobster”, “Manchester by the Sea”, “20th Century Women”

* Cinematography: “Arrival”, “La La Land”, “Lion”, “Moonlight”, “Silence”

* Best documentary feature: “Fire at Sea”, “I Am Not Your Negro”, “Life, Animated”, “OJ: Made in America”,  “13th”

* Best documentary short subject: “Extremist”, “4.1 Miles”, “Joe’s Violin”, “Watani My Homeland”,“The White Helmets”

* Best live-action short film: “Ennemis Interieurs”, “La Femme et le TGV”, “Silent Nights”, “Sing”, “Timecode”

* Best foreign language film: “A Man Called Ove”, Sweden; “Land of Mine”, Denmark; “Tanna”, Australia;  “The Salesman”, Iran; “Toni Erdmann”, Germany

* Film editing: “Arrival”, “Hacksaw Ridge”, “Hell or High Water”, “La La Land”, “Moonlight”

* Sound editing: “Arrival”, “Deep Water Horizon”, “Hacksaw Ridge”, “La La Land”, “Sully”

* Sound mixing: “Arrival”, “Hacksaw Ridge”, “La La Land”, “Rogue One”, “13 Hours”

* Production design: “Arrival”, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”, “Hail Caesar!”, “La La Land”, “Passengers”

* Original score: “Jackie”, “La La Land”, “Lion”, “Moonlight”, “Passengers”

* Original song: Audition, “La La Land”, Can’t Stop the Feeling!, “Trolls”, City of Stars, “La La Land”, The Empty Chair, “Jim: The James Foley Story”, “How Far I’ll Go”, “Moana”

* Makeup and hair: “A Man Called Ove”, “Star Trek Beyond”, “Suicide Squad”

* Costume design: “Allied”, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”, “Florence Foster Jenkins”, “Jackie”, “La La Land”

* Visual effects: “Deepwater Horizon”, “Doctor Strange”, “Jungle Book”, “Kubo and the Two Strings”, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”

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