News Digest

Birdman and Grand Budapest Hotel lead the way with 9 Oscar nominations

Show business satire “Birdman” and colourful caper “The Grand Budapest Hotel” led the Academy Awards nominees on Thursday with nine nods apiece, including best picture, in the quest for Hollywood’s top film prize. The other best picture nominees are “American Sniper,” “Boyhood,” “The Imitation Game,” “Selma,” “The Theory of Everything” and “Whiplash.” The Academy chose only eight films, although it can nominate up to 10. “Birdman” star Michael Keaton was also nominated for best actor.

I’m trying to get to terms with it all. I’ve gone from nought to a hundred miles an hour in the space of about four minutes.

Eddie Redmayne on his Oscar nomination

British World War Two biopic “The Imitation Game” garnered eight nominations, including best actor for Benedict Cumberbatch, while Iraq war portrait “American Sniper” and Golden Globe winner for best drama, “Boyhood,” each earned six. Meryl Streep is nominated for her 19th acting Oscar, breaking her own Academy Awards record. She is up for best supporting actress for Into the Woods. This year’s winners will be announced at a ceremony hosted by actor Neil Patrick Harris in Los Angeles on February 22.