List of potential Oscar VFX nominees now down to Star Wars, Mad Max, and 8 others

By Rick Marshall December 22, 2015

2016 oscars vfx shortlist mad max fury road — Image used with permission by copyright holder

After releasing the initial list of 20 films under consideration for nominations in the Academy Awards’ visual-effects category earlier this month, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences narrowed the list down to 10 films this week.

The new, shortened of potential nominees includes many of this year’s biggest blockbusters, with Jurassic World, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Avengers: Age of Ultron all in the running at this point. The list will be narrowed down to five official nominees next month.

The Academy’s shortlist of potential nominees for the VFX Oscar now includes the following films:

Ant-Man
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Ex Machina
Jurassic World
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Tomorrowland
The Walk

Among the films that were initially considered for nominations but didn’t make the cut were some notably VFX-heavy projects, including the mountain-climbing drama Everest, the whale-hunting adventure In the Heart of the Sea, and the Wachowskis’ sci-fi spectacle Jupiter Ascending.

The final list of five nominees for the VFX Oscar will be selected by the Academy’s Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee after viewing visual-effects reels from each film, then announced during a live, televised event scheduled for Thursday, January 14, 2016, at 9:30 a.m. EST. The event will be held at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

Last year’s five nominees included Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Interstellar, Guardians of the Galaxy, and X-Men: Days of Future Past. Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar took home the Academy Award.

The 88th Academy Awards will be held at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood. The ceremony will be televised by ABC and kick off Sunday, February 28, 2016, at 7 p.m. EST.

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