On Thursday morning, Hollywood's best and brightest were forced to wake up early and find out whether they had been nominated for Oscars. Here's what they had to say about the whole thing:
Felicity Jones, nominated for Best Actress ("The Theory of Everything"):
“I’m overwhelmed at this incredible news. This is a huge, huge honor. My deepest gratitude to the members of the Academy. I’ll look forward to celebrating this with everyone involved in 'The Theory of Everything.' Thank you so much.”
Reese Witherspoon, nominated for Best Actress ("Wild"):
Eddie Redmayne, nominated for Best Actor ("Theory of Everything"):
“I’m so incredibly honored to be recognized by the Academy, and even more thrilled to share this honor with the entire family of filmmakers, cast, and crew of 'The Theory of Everything.' This role was a once in a lifetime experience. Congratulations to my fellow nominees, thank you to the Academy, and thank you most of all to Stephen and Jane Hawking.”
Edward Norton, nominated for Best Actor ("Birdman"):
“Just being involved in both of these films ["Birdman" and "The Grand Budapest Hotel"] in one year left me as creatively satisfied as an actor could ever hope to be. This is a great compliment and especially fun because Mark Ruffalo and Ethan Hawke have been brothers in arms since my earliest days in NY theater and I’m so impressed and inspired by their work this year. In fact, I can’t think of a year in which more of my good friends and close collaborators have been celebrated together like this…it’s a very nice feeling.”
Julianne Moore, nominated for Best Actress ("Still Alice"):
Michael Keaton, nominated for Best Actor "Birdman"):
“Humbled, thankful and more than anything, grateful. So, so happy that Alejandro and the cast and crew are getting recognized. I am proud to be a part of such a bold, gutsy and daring experiment that is Birdman. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I am going to try as best I can and see if I can wipe this smile off my face. Wish me luck.” Michael Keaton
Emma Stone, nominated for Best Supporting Actress ("Birdman"):
"Well, this is surreal. I am completely knocked out. Thank you to the Academy for this incredible honor. I am very proud and lucky to be a part of Birdman and can't believe it came to this. I am so f--king excited. Are you allowed to say f--k when you're making a statement for the Oscars? I'm just really f--king excited."
Mark Ruffalo, nominated for Best Supporting Actor ("Foxcatcher"):
Laura Dern, nominated for Best Supporting Actress ("Wild"):
"I feel so grateful to the Academy for this gorgeous honor. It means so much to celebrate the life and the wisdom of Cheryl Strayed's amazing mother, Bobbi. Reese, who worked so diligently to protect this story, and I share this with our amazing producers, as well as Jean-Marc Vallée and Nick Hornby, who gave their art to shape 'Wild.'"
Keira Knightley, nominated for Best Supporting Actress ("Imitation Game"):
"What an exciting morning! I'm so honored and grateful for this nomination and to be in the company of such talented and inspiring actresses. Thank you to the Academy for this recognition and also for honoring so many of the film's storytellers. I would like to think the many recognitions the Academy has given our movie is a celebration of Alan Turing's legacy."
J.K. Simmons, nominated for Best Supporting Actor ("Whiplash"):
“An Oscar nomination. Wow. This is pretty darned cool. A guy doesn't think about things like this when he starts doing summer theatre in Bigfork, Montana in the 70's. (In fact, I didn't think about this when we shot 'Whiplash,' but here we are). I'm ecstatic that our little movie is nominated for best picture, and equally thrilled that Damien, The Boy Wonder, is being recognized for his work. Richly deserved. I'd also like to congratulate the Academy on their very wise choices of nominating Tom Cross, our editor, and Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley our sound mixers. Huge congrats to Damien, and producers Helen Estabrook, David Lancaster and Couper Samuelson on our best picture nod."
Wes Anderson, nominated for Best Director ("The Grand Budapest Hotel"):
"I've been asked to make a 'statement' even though I feel it does sound more like bragging. Nevertheless, my producers and I send our very deepest thanks to the Academy and its 8000 members for a whole slew of Oscar nominations, especially for my long-time collaborators Robert Yeoman (our cinematographer who has worked with me on seven movies, if I count them right), Milena Canonero (our Italian costume designer), Alexandre Desplat (our French composer), Barney Pilling (our English editor), Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier (more English, hair/make-up), and Adam Stockhausen out of Wisconsin. Also, my friend Hugo Guinness (who co-wrote the movie with me) expresses his own gratitude. We feel very deeply honored and thrilled and, frankly, very, very pleased with ourselves all around."
Alejandro González Iñárritu, nominated for Best Director ("Birdman"):
"I am very happy for the whole 'Birdman' flock because it took a lot of courage to make this film out of conventions. These nominations reflect the recognition of our colleagues as well as the members of the Academy. I am proud, thankful and humbled."
Morten Tyldum, nominated for Best Director ("The Imitation Game"):
“I’m honored and thrilled beyond my wildest dreams to be recognized today alongside four other filmmakers who I respect immeasurably. Being a part of 'The Imitation Game' and paying homage to the exquisite genius, Alan Turing, has been quite simply the experience of a lifetime. My immense gratitude goes to the Academy and my congratulations to the rest of the team on this film, who to me is second to none.”
Common, nominated for Best Original Song, ("Glory," from "Selma"):
Pawel Pawlikowski, nominated for Best Foreign Language Film ("Ida"):
"I am very happy for my country at least that half of Poland which has embraced 'Ida' and which loves cinema and poetry, which is open to the world. To have Ida appreciated like this is a vindication of something I’ve always believed in principle but that rarely works out in real life: that you shouldn’t worry about career but instead follow your heart and your nose wherever they take you."
Don Hall, nominated for Best Animated Picture ("Big Hero Six"):
"As kids growing up in Canada and Iowa, Chris and I both dreamt of becoming Disney animators. Never could we have imagined that, one day, we would get to make a film like 'Big Hero 6,' and that one day, the film and all of the talented artists who made it would be recognized by the Academy. Roy, Chris and I are deeply honored by the nomination and thank everyone at Disney Animation who made this possible.”
Producers Helen Estabrook, Jason Blum and David Lancaster, nominated for Best Picture ("Whiplash"):
“Almost exactly a year ago, we were off to Sundance wondering if people would ever see 'Whiplash.' Today is truly beyond our wildest dreams. As Fletcher would say, holy #@^!#@*$!!!”
Robert Yeoman, nominated for Best Cinematography ("The Grand Budapest Hotel"):
“Obviously a great thrill for me and I am so pleased that our film has received such recognition. Wes always puts together a wonderful team of collaborators and I am honored to be a part of it. Congratulations to my fellow cinematography nominees!”
Roger Deakins, nominated for Best Cinematography ("Unbroken"):
"It's a great honor and I'm glad to be representing 'Unbroken,' but in the end I’m just happy to be given the opportunity to work on the films that I do and to work with such inspiring directors like Angie. Making this film was a great joy with an enormously talented group of people."
Emmanuel Lubezki, nominated for Best Cinematography ("Birdman"):
"I am so honored to be nominated especially amongst all these great cinematographers. I am extremely happy for Birdman which in a way was an experiment that thankfully turned out well. It’s so exciting to be recognized by our peers. I am especially lucky and grateful to work with Alejandro. We are up here in Canada shooting where it is very cold and all these nominations are warming us up!"
Graham Moore, nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay ("The Imitation Game"):
“I am so proud of our whole Imitation Game family this morning. To receive a response like this from the Academy is the most thrilling professional honor of my life, and getting to be involved in telling Alan Turing's story on screen has been the most fulfilling personal honor imaginable. This was Alan's life; I'm so proud to have gotten to help make a film about it.”
Alexandre Desplat, nominated for Best Original Score ("The Grand Budapest Hotel," "The Imitation Game"):
“What an incredible honor to be recognized this year by the Academy for two of my scores! Wes for The Grand Budapest Hotel, and Morten for The Imitation Game, offered me wildly different great fields of inspiration, allowing me to do what I love the most: write music for films. Champagne! Twice!”
Maria Djurkovic, nominated for Best Production Design ("The Imitation Game"):
"I am thrilled and delighted by this tremendous honor. Filmmaking is such a collaboration and to have so many of my colleagues on this film also recognized is especially satisfying.”
Damien Chazelle, nominated for Best Picture ("Whiplash"):
“To say I'm thrilled with the recognition 'Whiplash' has received from the Academy would be an understatement. Seeing my small film about a jazz drummer listed among the work of filmmakers I have admired for much of my life is humbling. And to be included among some of the finest screenwriters working today is a dream come true. More than anything, I am grateful for the recognition accorded my producers, editor, sound team and, particularly, to see JK Simmons's stellar performance rewarded. To pull this little movie together involved a massive effort on the part of everyone involved in the making of the film. I can't thank them and the Academy voters enough. Also: Holy ****ing ****!!!!!!!"
Orlando von Einsiedel, nominated for Best Documentary Feature ("Virunga"):
"I couldn’t be prouder to share this incredible honor with my fellow members of 'Team Virunga.' I’m especially excited about what this means for Virunga National Park and the courageous rangers who risk their lives each and every day to defend one of the most beautiful places on Earth for all of us. I hope this nomination brings more awareness to their work protecting the home of the world's last remaining mountain gorillas. Thank you to the Academy and congratulations to all of our fellow nominees and all the amazing films this year."
Aneta Kopacz, nominated for Best Documentary Short ("Joanna"):
"The film was created, traveled around the world, and, hopefully, became truly significant to a lot of viewers. Today it has reached the heights, indeed. I would like to thank all the wonderful people that I was fortunate to work with. My special thanks go out to Joanna and her family, who decided to share a part of their life with me. This is a success for all of us."
Torill Kove, nominated for Best Animated Short Film ("Me & My Moulton):
“This is really wonderful news! One of the many great things about an Oscar nomination is that I will get some chances to express my gratitude publicly to all my colleagues and collaborators. They are all amazing people and I can’t wait to rave about them."
Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi, nominated for Best Animated Short Film ("The Dam Keeper"):
"On behalf of the crew of 'The Dam Keeper,' thank you to the Academy! Making 'The Dam Keeper' has already been such a rewarding experience. Being nominated is beyond our wildest filmmaking dreams. We are humbled to be in the company of such great films and thankful to be able to share our love for filmmaking with our follow nominees and this amazing community of filmmakers."
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