A film that no one but Austin-based director Richard Linklater could dream up has now turned into one of the year's most-lauded films: Boyhood was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
The film, which follows Mason (Ellar Coltrane) and his family over the course of 12 years, also was nominated for Best Director for Richard Linklater, Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress for Patricia Arquette, Best Supporting Actor for Ethan Hawke and Best Film Editing.
Other nominees for Best Picture, a category that can fluctuate between five and 10 nominees, included Selma, Birdman, The Grand Budapest Hotel, American Sniper, The Imitation Game, The Theory of Everything and Whiplash, for a total of eight films. There were nine films nominated in 2014.
The Grand Budapest Hotel, directed by Texan Wes Anderson, tied with Birdman to lead all films with nine nominations. Selma, undoubtedly one of the year's best films, somehow wound up with only two nominations, although the Best Picture nomination still gives it a chance to take home the top prize.
In another local note, Dallas native Keven McAlester was nominated along with director/producer Rory Kennedy for the documentary feature, Last Days of Vietnam.
Below are the nominations for the seven other major categories; for a full list of nominees, go to oscar.go.com/nominees.
Best Actor
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper, American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Best Actress
Marion Cotillard,Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Best Director
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher
Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game
Best Supporting Actor
Robert Duvall, The Judge
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Laura Dern, Wild
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Emma Stone, Birdman
Meryl Streep,Into the Woods
Best Original Screenplay
Birdman
Boyhood
Foxcatcher
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Nightcrawler
Best Adapted Screenplay
American Sniper
The Imitation Game
Inherent Vice
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
Boyhood, directed by Austin filmmaker Richard Linklater and set entirely in Texas, was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture.
