Hopefully some Oscars nominees took the "It's an honor just to be nominated" adage to heart, because in 2014 that's all they were -- nominated. The 86th annual Academy Awards were filled with memorable moments, historic wins, and tearful acceptance speeches.
But in a year overflowing with immense talent and plenty of critical acclaim, several films didn't pick up a single win despite an impressive amount of nominations.
American Hustle was the most noteworthy shut out, not receiving any golden statues in its 10 potential categories. Despite having an actor nominated for each acting category, David O. Russell's funky flick lost out at every turn -- with the closest race being between 12 Years a Slave's Lupita Nyong'o and Hustle's Jennifer Lawrence for Best Supporting Actress. Hustle is one of four other films in Oscar history to lose all 10 or more of its nominations.
The technical categories mostly went to Alfonso Cuaron's space epic Gravity, while Baz Luhrmann's Great Gatsby adaptation won for Costume and Production Design, which could have been Hustle's moment to shine.
Hustle wasn't the only flick to lose out. Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street failed to win in any of its five categories, with star Leonardo DiCaprio losing out to Matthew McConaughey in his fifth acting nomination.
Not only did Woody Grant (Bruce Dern) not win a million dollars in director Alexander Payne's Nebraska, but the film didn't win a single of its six nominations either. And Captain Phillips may have survived Somali pirates, but after the film's lead Tom Hanks wasn't nominated for an Oscar, it also failed be crowned victorious in any of its five categories.Gravity was the big winner of the night with seven, mostly technical wins, and 12 Years a Slave took home the Best Picture Oscar in addition to Nyong'o's Supporting Actress win and Best Adapted Screenplay. by nevel