Amy Adams, ‘Finding Dory’ and Meryl Streep: The big Oscar nomination snubs and surprises

Just a couple of weeks after our new President labeled her “one of the most overrated actresses in Hollywood,� Meryl Streep earned her 20th Academy Award nomination Tuesday.

Not that the news seemed particularly momentous to the 67-year-old. The best actress nominee -- who earned her latest nod for playing a tone-deaf singer in “Florence Foster Jenkins� -- conveyed her reaction to the news via a GIF of her jumping around in a 2013 Paul McCartney music video. (Most nominees traditionally do interviews following the nominations or issue a polite, noncontroversial statement of thanks. Then again: Streep isn’t most nominees.)

Live coverage: Analysis, reactions, snubs, surprises and more on the 2017 Oscar nominations »

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NOMINATED: Actress in a leading role - Isabelle Huppert

  (Guy Ferrandis / Sony Pictures Classics via AP)

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NOMINATED: Original score - “The Empty Chair�

  (Manu Brabo / AP)

Though Streep is an award season staple, many were actually surprised by her Oscar nomination. Her performance in “Florence� was not one of her better-reviewed turns, and pundits predicted her slot would instead go to Amy Adams (“Arrival�) or Annette Bening (“20th Century Women�) or Taraji P. Henson (“Hidden Figures�). But at the Golden Globes earlier this month -- where she was the recipient of a lifetime achievement award -- Streep delivered a stirring six-minute speech denouncing then President-elect Donald Trump. It was arguably the most rousing moment during the telecast, and may have swayed Oscar voters in her favor. (The Globes took place on Jan. 8; Oscar ballots were due Jan. 13.)

One of the biggest shockers at the Globes, meanwhile, came when Aaron Taylor-Johnson was named best supporting actor for his performance in “Nocturnal Animals.� Leading up to that award show, most critics had singled out the actor’s co-star -- Michael Shannon -- as the more likely nominee. Shannon got his due from the Academy, however, in a slot that many had guessed would go to Hugh Grant, who also appeared in “Florence Foster Jenkins.�

In the animated film category, Pixar’s “Finding Dory� — which has grossed over $1 billion at the box office — was shut out. (And you can count on one hand the number of times a Pixar film hasn’t gotten a best animated feature nomination and still have fingers left over.) Instead, the far lesser-known French-Swiss stop-motion animated film “My Life as a Zucchini� scored some recognition. The foreign film, about an orphan struggling to find his place in a foster home, has yet to be released in American theaters.

Another big surprise Tuesday morning came when the World War II drama “Hacksaw Ridge� earned six nominations, including nods for best picture, lead actor (Andrew Garfield) and best director (Mel Gibson). Gibson, whose anti-Semitic and misogynist rants have made him a TMZ staple over the last decade, edged out industry favorites Martin Scorsese (“Silence�) and Clint Eastwood (“Sully�).

“It was really great and emotional to see Mel be embraced and the stuff of the past finally being forgiven by Hollywood,� Bill Mechanic, the film’s producer, said shortly after the nominations were announced. “It’s just such a long, hard journey that it would have been disappointing to see the movie not be recognized.�

And “Deadpool,� it turned out, did not have enough superpower to break into the Oscar race. The R-rated “Deadpool,� which was a commercial hit and earned two nominations at the Globes — including one for picture — was not recognized by Academy voters.

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