Yesterday, the Academy Award Nominees were announced. Wes Anderson's brilliant The Grand Budapest Hotel ties for most nominations with Alejandro González Iñárritu's star powered Birdman, each film acknowledged in 9 categories. Imitation Game closely followed with 8. 

Eddie Redmayne could very well snag his first Oscar with his performance as Stephen Hawking in The Theory Everything. He has some stiff competition though, going up against long time veterans Steve Carell (Foxcatcher), Bradley Cooper (American Sniper), fan favorite Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), and Michael Keaton (Birdman). Best actress nominee Julianne Moore won the Golden Globe for "Best Actress In A Drama, Motion Picture" for Still Alice, but can she do it again for an Academy Award? With Reese Witherspoon's daring portrayal of Cheryl Strayed in Wild and Felicity Jones' performance in The Theory of Everything, Moore has a tough road. 

Best picture nominees are no surprise, except, perhaps Clint Eastwood's American Sniper. I could be biased as I had hoped to see The Judge or St. Vincent on the list. Of course you'll find Birdman and T he Grand Budapest Hotel in this category, but also Boyhood, Selma, The Imitation Game, The Theory of Everything, and Whiplash. For a full list of nominees, see below.

But- what would an Oscar Nomination release be without some snubs?

I am shocked to see David Oyelowo not up for a "Best Actor" Oscar. His performance very much rivaled those in the category, perhaps even better than Bradley Cooper. And not to expand on the lack of diversity, but the Oscars left off Selma director Ava DuVernay- which would have made her the first black female to ever be nominated in the category. Also left off the list of best directors was Angelina Jolie for Unbroken. 

"Best Actress" left off Amy Adams for Big Eyes and Jennifer Aniston for Cake. It was much speculated that this year would be the year Jennifer Aniston would be up for an Academy Award, but much to our dismay, it was not meant to be. 

In the "Best Animated" category, we were shocked to see The Lego Movie snubbed. It was a much beloved feature film of this past year, even quite possibly the best. While Big Hero 6 and Golden Globe winning How To Train Your Dragon 2 were amazing movies, The Lego Movie drew in the bigger box office numbers, proving "Everything Is Awesome" in the Lego world.

What surprised you the most about the nominations? Tell us in the comments section. And to make for a fun night with friends, head on over to  http://oscar.go.com/mypicks to make your predictions and get ready to see which one of you wins.

87th Academy Awards Nominees:

Best Picture: 
American Sniper
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Birdman
Selma
The Imitation Game
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash
Boyhood

Best Actor - In a Leading Role: 
Steve Carell (Foxcatcher)
Bradley Cooper (American Sniper)
Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game)
Michael Keaton (Birdman)
Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)

Best Actress - In a Leading Role: 
Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night)
Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything)
Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)
Reese Witherspoon (Wild)
Julianne Moore (Still Alice)

Best Actor - In a Supporting Role: 
Robert Duvall (The Judge)
Ethan Hawke (Boyhood)
J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)
Edward Norton (Birdman)
Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher)

Best Actress - In a Supporting Role: 
Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)
Meryl Streep (Into The Woods)
Emma Stone (Birdman)
Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game)
Laura Dern (Wild)

Best Animated Feature Film:
Big Hero 6
How To Train Your Dragon 2
The Boxtrolls
Song of the Sea
The Tale of Princess Kaguya 

Cinematography: 
Emmanuel Lubezki (Birdman)
Robert Yeoman (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski (Ida)
Dick Pope (Mr. Turner)
Roger Deakins (Unbroken)

Costume Design: 
Milena Canonero (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Mark Bridges (Inherent Vice)
Colleen Atwood (Into The Woods)
Anna B. Sheppard and Jane Clive (Maleficent)
Jacqueline Durran (Mr. Turner)

Best Directing: 
Alejandro González Iñárritu (Birdman)
Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Bennett Miller (Foxcatcher)
Richard Linklater (Boyhood)
Morton Tyldum (The Imitation Game)

Best Documentary Feature:
CitizenFour
Finding Vivian Maier
Last Days in Vietnam
The Salt of the Earth
Virunga

Best Documentary Short Subject:
Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
Joanna
Our Curse
The Reaper (La Parka)
White Earth

Film Editing:
Joel Cox and Gary D. Roach (American Sniper)
Sandra Adair (Boyhood)
Barney Pilling (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
William Goldenberg (The Imitation Game)
Thom Cross (Whiplash) 

Best Foreign Language Film:
Ida
Leviathan
Tangerines
Timbuktu
Wild Tales

Make Up and Hairstyling:
Bill Corso and Dennis Liddiard (Foxcatcher)
Frances Canon and Mark Coulier (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou and David White (Guardians of the Galaxy)

Music - Original Score:
Alexandre Desplat (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Alexandre Desplat (The Imitation Game)
Hans Zimmer (Interstellar)
Gary Yershon (Mr. Turner)
Jóhann Jóhannsson (The Theory of Everything)

Music - Original Song:
"Everything Is Awesome" (The Lego Movie)
"Glory" (Selma)
"Grateful" (Beyond The Lights)
"I'm Not Gonna Miss You" (Glen Campbell... I'll Be Me)
"Lost Stars" (Begin Again)

Production Design:
Adam Stockhausen (Production Design); Anna Pinnock (Set Decoration) (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Maria Djurkovic (Production Design); Tatiana Macdonald (Set Decoration) (The Imitation Game)
Nathan Crowley (Production Design); Gary Fettis (Set Decoration) (Interstellar)
Dennis Gassner (Production Design); Anna Pinnock (Set Decoration) (Into The Woods)
Suzie Davies (Production Design); Charlotte Watts (Set Design) (Mr. Turner)

Best Short Film - Animated:
The Bigger Picture
The Dam Keeper
Feast
Me and My Moulton
A Single Life

Best Short Film - Live Action:
Aya
Boogaloo and Graham
Butter Lamp
Parvaneh
The Phone Call 

Sound Editing:
Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman (American Sniper)
Martin Hernández and Aaron Glascock (Birdman)
Brent Burge and Jason Canovas (The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies)
Richard King (Interstellar)
Becky Sullivan and Andrew DeCristofaro (Unbroken)

Sound Mixing:
John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff, and Walt Martin (American Sniper)
Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño, and Thomas Varga (Birdman)
Gary A. Rizzo, Gregg Landaker, Mark Weingarten (Interstellar)
Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño, and David Lee (Unbroken)
Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins, and Thomas Curley (Whiplash)

Visual Effects:
Dan DeLeeuw, Bryan Grill, and Dan Sudick (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)
Joe Letteri, Dan Lemon, Daniel Barrett, and Erik Winquist (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes)
Stephane Ceretti, Nicolas Aithadi, Jonathan Fawkner, and Paul Corbould (Guardians Of The Galaxy)
Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter, and Scott Fisher (Interstellar)
Richard Stammers, Lou Pecora, Tim Crosbie, and Cameron Waldbauer (X-Men: Days of Future Past)

Writing - Adapted Screenplay:
Jason Hall (American Sniper)
Graham Moore (The Imitation Game)
Paul Thomas Anderson (Inherent Vice)
Anthony McCarten (The Theory Of Everything)
Damien Chazelle (Whiplash)

Writing - Original Screenplay:
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr., and Armando Bo  (Birdman)
Richard Linklater (Boyhood)
E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman (Foxcatcher)
Wes Anderson (Screenplay); Wes Anderson and Hugo Guiness (Story) (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler)