LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced nominations on Thursday for the Oscars, with "Birdman" and "The Grand Budapest Hotel" leading with nine nods each.
Following is a list of reactions from leading nominees for the Academy Awards in statements or as told to Reuters. The Oscars will be presented in Los Angeles on Feb. 22.
- "After having been around, it makes me feel good because I think you have to earn something," Michael Keaton, best actor nominee for "Birdman," told Reuters. "From the get-go, I always wanted to prove that I was in it for the long run, and I just always wanted to get better at what I did."
- "It's all too much to take in really," Eddie Redmayne, best actor nominee for "The Theory of Everything," told Reuters. "Come later today, I will have a stiff glass of something."
- "I am very happy for the whole 'Birdman' flock because it took a lot of courage to make this film out of conventions," best director nominee Alejandro G. Inarritu said in a statement.
- "I’m honored and thrilled beyond my wildest dreams to be recognized today alongside four other filmmakers who I respect immeasurably," Morten Tyldum, nominated for best director for "The Imitation Game," said in a statement. "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."
- "So excited and honored to receive this recognition," Benedict Cumberbatch, best actor nominee for "The Imitation Game," said in a statement. "To ring my parents, who are both actors, and tell them that their only son has been nominated for an Oscar is one of the proudest moments of my life.”
- "I am over the moon - actually I am on a plane, flying over the United States," Julianne Moore, who won a best actress nod for "Still Alice," said in a statement. "My old friend Bruce Cohen was the first to reach me to tell me the news. I can’t believe that I have gone from doing plays in the eighth grade with Bruce Cohen, to him texting me 100 years later to tell me about an Oscar nomination."
- “I’m overwhelmed at this incredible news," Felicity Jones, a best actress nominee for "The Theory of Everything," said in a statement. "This is a huge, huge honor."
- "Well, this is surreal," Emma Stone, best supporting actress nominee for "Birdman," said in a statement. "I am completely knocked out. Thank you to the Academy for this incredible honor."
- "Almost exactly a year ago, we were off to Sundance (film festival) wondering if people would ever see 'Whiplash,'" Helen Estabrook, Jason Blum and David Lancaster, producers of best picture nominee "Whiplash," said in a statement.
- "We are really thrilled and really, really excited about this," Laura Poitras, director of best documentary nominee "Citizenfour," told Reuters. "There are so many people who risked a lot to make this film possible."
- “It’s a bit of a fairytale, which happens just once in a lifetime,” said Pawel Pawlikowski, the director of foreign film nominee "Ida," said in a statement.
- "I am overwhelmed by an indescribable feeling, it is an honor for me and a great sign for Mauritania and Africa," Abderrahmane Sissako, director of best foreign-language nominee "Timbuktu," said in a statement.
(Reporting by Eric Kelsey and Patricia Reaney; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Grant McCool)