Jamie Neish: DiCaprio is well worth a first Oscar triumph

LEONARDO DiCaprio could be on his way to his very first Academy Award after receiving a nomination in the Best Actor category last week.
Leonardo diCaprio stars in The Revenant, directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.Leonardo diCaprio stars in The Revenant, directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.
Leonardo diCaprio stars in The Revenant, directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.

The star is recognised for his role as real-life frontiersman in The Revenant, which scored itself no less than 12 nods.

Michael Fassbender, Eddie Redmayne, Bryan Cranston and Matt Damon will compete against DiCaprio for the statue.

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Other nominees include Jennifer Lawrence, Alicia Vikander, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Rachel McAdams and Brie Larson, who is nominated for her fearless performance in Room.

The director of Room picked up a nomination too, beating the likes of Steven Spielberg and Todd Haynes for a spot on the list alongside Alejandro G Inarritu, Adam McKay, George Miller and Tom McCarthy.

It’s a first time affair for Best Actress nominee Charlotte Rampling, who landed the sole nod for Andrew Haigh’s British drama 45 Years.

Inside Out leads the pack in the Best Animated Feature category. Pixar’s other film, The Good Dinosaur, was omitted in favour of Anomalisa, Boy & the World, When Marnie Was There and Shaun the Sheep, the latest from British claymation studio Aardman.

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Lady Gaga became an Oscar nominee, as did the film Fifty Shades of Grey, which was recognised only days after leading the way at the Razzie’s, an awards ceremony that hands out awards to films considered to be terrible by their voters.

In the Best Picture field, there were eight nominees out of a possible 10. Those include: The Big Short, The Revenant, Room, Mad Max: Fury Road, Bridge of Spies, Brooklyn, The Martian and Spotlight.

If I had to choose one, I’d pick Spotlight. But after The Revenant’s big night at the Golden Globes, and renewed interest in Room and The Big Short, it could go any way.

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