Leonardo Dicaprio and Michael Fassbender have discovered that there's no room for them on the nominations list at this year's Academy Awards as the yearly event threw up its usual array of surprise candidates and high profile snubs ahead of the final ceremony in Hollywood on February 26th 2012.
Whilst the awards season so far as largely been predictable, with The Artist, Hugo, Meryl Streep and George Clooney among the films and names dominating the nominations and awards over the past few weeks, you might've predicted that the biggest show of them all would tip the balance a little - something it's duly done. DiCaprio and Fassbender may have a right to feel aggrieved at their absence from the category of Best Leading Actor, with the former earning nominations at both the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards for his performance in 'J. Edgar' whilst the latter impressed in 'Shame,' gaining notable acclaim during last Autumn's film festival season and also gaining Globe and Screen Actors nominations.
As it was 'Shame' was snubbed entirely from the main honours, with legendary director Steven Spielberg also finding himself overlooked despite the positive reception to his film 'War Horse.' So who was in? Well, as expected 'Hugo' and 'The Artist' both featured heavily, though there was even a surprise here as 'Hugo' was nominated for 11 gongs of is rivals 10 - and the strongly tipped 'The Descendants' even further back on a paltry five, behind the Brad Pitt starring 'Moneyball.'