This image released by Briarcliff Entertainment shows Jeremy Strong, left, and Sebastian Stan in a scene from the film "The Apprentice." (Pief Weyman/Briarcliff Entertainment via AP)2025-01-23T15:33:51Z PARK CITY, Utah (AP) In one of the more wide-open Oscar fields in recent history, there were plenty of nominations surprises Thursday.Not too long ago, it seemed that people like Angelina Jolie and Nicole Kidman were destined for best actress nominations, while general audience disinterest in the young Donald Trump movie The Apprentice might have indicated its awards chances were dead on arrival.But the members of the film academy had something different in mind. Here are some of the biggest snubs and surprises from the 97th Oscar nominations.SURPRISE: Jeremy Strong and Sebastian Stan, The ApprenticeThe young Trump movie The Apprentice has been one of the bigger awards season question marks, especially after it failed to resonate with moviegoers in theaters. And yet both Jeremy Strong, for his portrayal for Trump lawyer Roy Cohn, and Sebastian Stan (who was also in the conversation for A Different Man ), for playing the future two-time president, made it in. Only Strong got nominated by the Screen Actors Guild. SNUB: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Hard TruthsThis will forever be one of the more confounding awards season oversights. Marianne Jean-Baptiste delivered one of the all-time great performances in Mike Leighs Hard Truths, as the perpetually aggrieved and sharp-tongued London woman Pansy. The general thinking is that it was either going to be Jean-Baptiste or Fernanda Torres, and Torres got in for the equally beloved Im Still Here. SNUB: Pamela Anderson, The Last ShowgirlThis is perhaps up for debate, but there was certainly a lot of goodwill behind Andersons movie-star turn in Gia Coppolas The Last Showgirl, especially considering her SAG nomination. But like with Jennifer Lopez and Hustlers a few years ago, it was not meant to be at the Oscars. SURPRISE: James Mangold, A Complete UnknownJames Mangold has directed several awards darlings, including Ford v Ferrari and Walk the Line but had consistently missed out on a best director nomination, until this year with A Complete Unknown. It may have come at the expense of Edward Berger, who missed out on a nod for Conclave or Denis Villeneuve for Dune: Part Two. SNUB: Daniel Craig, QueerDaniel Craig gave one of his best performances as an American expat in Mexico in the torrid May-December romance in Queer, but it hasnt been resonating with awards voters. The Oscar snub is the final piece in a puzzle that just never came together.SNUB: Angelina Jolie, MariaIf there ever were a shoo-in for a nomination and an Oscar, on paper at least, it would be for Angelina Jolie playing opera legend Maria Callas. Filmmaker Pablo Larran had not missed yet in getting best actress nominations for his famous, tragic women biopics, including Natalie Portman for Jackie and Kristen Stewart for Spencer. But somehow Jolie did not make the cut in the end.SNUB: Nicole Kidman, BabygirlBabygirl is not a cliche awards movie by a long stretch, but Nicole Kidmans performance as Romy, the buttoned-up, married CEO who begins a dangerous affair with a young intern at her company was undeniable. But a best actress win at the Venice Film Festival has never guaranteed Oscar success.SURPRISE: Felicity Jones, The BrutalistDespite the wide love for The Brutalist, Felicity Jones has been curiously absent from many nominations lists for her sharp portrayal of Erzsbet Tth. The cast did not even get recognized by SAG. But it just goes to show that its never too late to sneak in for the big one SNUB: Danielle Deadwyler, The Piano LessonA few years after Danielle Deadwyler was famously snubbed for Till, she has another snub to add to her resume for Malcolm Washingtons adaptation of The Piano Lesson. This latest campaign might not have had as much steam behind it as Till, but at the very least one would assume that it could have been a make good.SURPRISE: Monica Barbaro, A Complete UnknownSupporting actress was one of the more chaotic and unpredictable categories this year, with so many deserving performers in the mix. Monica Barbaro was one of those that was on the fringe of possibilities for her turn as Joan Baez, singing and all, for A Complete Unknown.SNUB: Selena Gomez, Emilia PrezOne who was not so lucky was Selena Gomez for Emilia Prez, perhaps because she was partially competing with her co-star, Zo Saldaa who simply had more momentum (and gave a moving speech at the Golden Globes). SNUB: Clarence Maclin, Sing SingThe incarceration drama Sing Sing did get several significant nominations including for Colman Domingo, adapted screenplay and original song. But Clarence Divine Eye Maclin, who delivered a revelatory performance based on his own experience, was not among them. He is, however, credited with helping to write the story.SNUB: Margaret Qualley, The SubstanceMargaret Qualley seems to have been unfairly left out of much of the awards conversation around The Substance, a movie that only works with a great Sue. But the focus has been more on Demi Moore, overdue for such recognition, and Coralie Fargeat the only woman to score a best director nomination.SNUB: Challengers scoreTrent Reznor and Atticus Ross delivered one of their most popular scores ever this year for Challengers and yet were left off in a batch of nominees that included The Brutalist, Conclave, Emilia Prez, Wicked and The Wild Robot. Its not even that theyre consistently overlooked by the academy theyve already won twice, for Soul and The Social Network. SURPRISE: FlowEveryone expected the Latvian cat movie Flow to get a best animated feature nomination, especially after it won the Golden Globe. But the big surprise is that it got a second for best international feature a first for Latvia. This is not a first for an animated movie to get into the international category, though: Waltz with Bashir and Flee had the honor before Flow, but neither ended up winning.SURPRISE: Nickel BoysRaMell Ross Nickel Boys has had quite the rollercoaster awards season journey, even though its widely considered one of the best films of the year. The film academy thought so too, including it among the 10 best picture nominees (alongside other relative surprises like Im Still Here and Dune: Part Two). Oddly, though, it missed out on cinematography despite its inventive first-person point of view.SNUB: Denzel Washington, Gladiator IIDenzel Washington was not about to hit the campaigning trail for Gladiator II but he was, at least at one point, thought to be a sure thing for a supporting nomination. In his review, AP film writer Jake Coyle wrote that Washingtons performance as the Machiavellian power broker Macrinus is a delicious blur of robes and grins so compellingly over-the-top that he nearly reaches 1990s Al Pacino standards. But dont cry for Washington: Hes notched an incredible 10 Oscar nominations in his career, including one for producing Fences, and two wins: supporting actor for Glory and best actor for Training Day. LINDSEY BAHR Bahr has been a film writer and critic for The Associated Press since 2014. twitter instagram mailto