BEVERLY HILLS—For all those movie lovers out there, it is the moment we have all been waiting for. The contenders for the 88th Annual Academy Awards were announced on Thursday, January 14. The nominations were read by directors Ang Lee, Guillermo del Toro, actor John Krasinski and Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs from the famed Samuel Goldwyn Theatre.

Leading the pack of all nominees was the film “The Revenant” with 12 nominations including Best Picture. Followed close behind was the film “Mad Max: Fury Road” with 10 nominations. For 2016, a total of 8 films were nominated in the Best Picture race which include “The Revenant,” “The Martian,” “The Big Short,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “Spotlight,” “Bridge of Spies,” “Brooklyn,” “Room” and “Spotlight.”

I predicted that we’d see some surprises in the Best Director race and the Academy did not disappoint for 2016 with Adam McKay “The Big Short,” George Miller “Mad Max: Fury Road,” Lenny Abrahamson “Room,” Tom McCarthy “Spotlight” and Alejandro Inarritu “The Revenant.” Big surprise there for Lenny Abrahamson in the Best Director race and the biggest snub was no nomination for Ridley Scott for “The Martian.” What the hell Academy?

I expected surprises in the Best Actor race and I wasn’t disappointed with contenders Leonardo DiCaprio “The Revenant,” Bryan Cranston “Trumbo,” Matt Damon “The Martian,” Michael Fassbender “Steve Jobs” and Eddie Redmayne “The Danish Girl.” I did expect possibly Will Smith or Michael B. Jordan to sneak in a nomination.

For Best Actress the ladies duking it out for Oscar gold include Brie Larson “Room,” Cate Blanchett “Carol,” Jennifer Lawrence “Joy,” Charlotte Rampling “45 Years” and Saoirse Ronan “Brooklyn.” Slightly stunned that Charlize Theron didn’t get a nomination for her riveting work in “Mad Max: Fury Road.”

More surprises in the Best Supporting Actress race as Jennifer Jason Leigh “The Hateful Eight,” Rooney Mara “Carol,” Kate Winslet “Steve Jobs,” Alicia Vikander “The Danish Girl” and Rachel McAdams “Spotlight.”

In the category for Best Supporting Actor Christian Bale “The Big Short,” Mark Ruffalo “Spotlight,” Sylvester Stallone “Creed,” Tom Hardy “The Revenant” and Mark Rylance “Bridge of Spies.” Lots of surprises here as Idris Elba, Jacob Tremblay and Steve Carell were left off the list, but super ecstatic to see Hardy nominated he was stellar in “The Revenant.”

Best Animated Feature

-“Anomalisa”

-“Boy And the World”

-“Inside Out”

-“Shaun of the Sheep”

-“When Marnie Was There”

Best Documentary Feature

– “Amy”

-“Cartel Land”

-“The Look of Silence”

-“What Happened, Miss Simone?”

-“Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom”

Best Foreign Language Film

-“Embrace of the Serpent” Colombia

-“Mustang” France

-“Son of Saul” Hungary

-“Theeb” Jordan

-“A War” Denmark

Best Original Screenplay

-“Bridge of Spies”

-“Ex Machina”

-“Inside Out”

-“Spotlight”

-“Straight Outta Compton”

Jennifer Lawrence is nominated for Best Actress for her work in "Joy."
Jennifer Lawrence is nominated for Best Actress for her work in “Joy.”

Best Adapted Screenplay

-“The Big Short”

-“Brooklyn”

-“Carol”

-“The Martian”

-“Room”

Best Film Editing

-“The Big Short”

-“Mad Max: Fury Road”

-“The Revenant”

-“Spotlight”

-“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”

Best Cinematography

-“Carol”

-“The Hateful Eight”

-“The Revenant”

-“Mad Max: Fury Road”

-“Sicario”

Best Make-Up & Hairstyling

-“Mad Max: Fury Road”

“The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out a Window and Disappeared”

-“The Revenant”

Best Costume Design

-“Carol”

-“Cinderella”

-“The Revenant”

-“Mad Max: Fury Road”

-“The Danish Girl”

Best Original Score

“Bridge of Spies”

“Carol”

“The Hateful Eight”

“Sicario”

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”

Best Original Song

-“Earned It” from “Fifty Shades of Grey”

-“Manta Ray” from “Racing Extinction”

-“Simple Song #3” from “Youth”

-“Til It Happens To You” from “The Hunting Ground”

-“Writings on the Wall” from “Spectre”

Best Production Design

-“Bridge of Spies”

-“The Danish Girl”

-“Mad Max: Fury Road”

-“The Martian”

-“The Revenant”

Best Visual Effects

-“Ex Machina”

-“Mad Max: Fury Road”

-“The Martian”

-“The Revenant”

-“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”

Best Sound Mixing

-“Bridge of Spies”

-“Mad Max: Fury Road”

-“The Martian”

-“The Revenant”

-“Star Wars: The Force Awakens”

Best Sound Editing

-Mad Max: Fury Road

-“The Martian

-“The Revenant

-“Sicario

-“Star Wars: The Force Awakens

The 88th Annual Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, February 28, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood and Highland Center in Hollywood. The ceremony will be hosted by comedian/actor Chris Rock and will be televised live on ABC starting at 7 p.m. EST.