The Oscars are nearly here, and followers of this blog will know I'm a big fan of glitzy award ceremonies (and the red carpet frocks)! All the Academy Award nominations are now in, and it's no surprise that the most nods go to La La Land. What's more surprising, however, is the number - 14 - which equals the highest number ever. I doubt it will win in the acting categories, but Hollywood has a lot of love for the film so I'm expecting it to triumph many times throughout the night on 26th February. There's also no #OscarsSoWhite backlash this year, with six amazing black actors being nominated, including Viola Davis in Fences and Naomi Harris in Moonlight. In other categories, I rightly predicted success for Andrew Garfield and director Mel Gibson in Hacksaw Ridge with 6 nominations, the same number as Manchester by the Sea, and Arrival and Manchester By The Sea have nominations in 8 categories apiece.

In the Best Original Song category, all-round-top-guy and now Oscar nominee Lin-Manuel Miranda edges closer to a prestigious Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony holder. How Far I'll Go from Disney's Moana is up against two spine-tingling tracks from La La Land (City of Stars and Audition/The Fools Who Dream), The Empty Chair by Sting, and Justin Timberlake's catchy Can't Stop the Feeling. I have a feeling it'll be a La La Land win for all music categories but we'll see!

And some of the snubs...Loving has just one nomination (Ruth Negga for Best Actress), Amy Adams (Arrival and Nocturnal Animals) has been recognised in loads of awards ceremonies but not here, and Japanese film Your Name had so much hype in 2016 but has not been included for Foreign Language nor Animation. Sully, Silence and Live By Night are also films which appear to have been overlooked.

Here are some of the nominees...

Best picture

Best director

Best cinematography

Best actor

Best actress

Best supporting actor

Best supporting actress

Best score

Best song

Best animated feature

Best original screenplay

Best adapted screenplay

Best film editing

Best visual effects