Reactions to the 2015 Academy Award nominations, announced Thursday in Beverly Hills, California:
— "I don't care how much people tell you, 'It's gonna happen.' When it happens, you're thrilled." — Michael Keaton on his best-actor nod for "Birdman."
— "One could say, only two times?" — Composer Alexandre Desplat, a double nominee for his original scores for "The Grand Budapest Hotel" and "The Imitation Game."
— "A guy doesn't think about things like this when he starts doing summer theater in Bigfork, Montana in the '70s." — J.K. Simmons, nominated for his supporting role in "Whiplash."
— "I am so (expletive) excited. Are you allowed to say (expletive) when you're making a statement for the Oscars?" — Emma Stone, supporting-actress nominee for "Birdman."
— "I was in a deep, dark sleep. I was in a dazed state. I was half undressed and stumbled to the door. I found my manger there brandishing a phone with a lot of screams coming out of it." — Eddie Redmayne on how he learned he was nominated for best actor for "The Theory of Everything."
— "Even though we're up for best documentary, I feel it's the best acting I've ever done." — Actor Jeff Garlin, a producer of nominated documentary feature "Finding Vivian Maier."
— "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." — Benedict Cumberbatch on his best actor nod for "The Imitation Game."
— "Now I guess Baymax has to go out and pick out a tux." — Chris Williams, co-director of "Big Hero 6," nominated for best animated feature.
— "I was in my pajamas when I got the news." — Best-actress nominee for "The Theory of Everything," Felicity Jones.
— "That's a question you'd have to present to people in the White House." — Laura Poitras on whether Edward Snowden, the subject of her nominated documentary, "Citizenfour," will attend the Oscar ceremony.
— "We feel very deeply honored and thrilled and, frankly, very, very pleased with ourselves all around." — Writer-director Wes Anderson, whose film "The Grand Budapest Hotel" is up for nine Oscars, including best picture.
— "I spent a few years in Los Angeles and I used to stand outside the Baskin-Robbins and watch the limos going by, and it's a bit like Cinderella finally being invited to the ball." — Anthony McCarten, nominated for his screenplay and as a producer of "The Theory of Everything."
— "No comment. I've been called worse." — Cinematographer Dick Pope, whose name was pronounced as "Dick Poop" when he was nominated for his work in "Mr. Turner."
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AP Entertainment Writers Derrik J. Lang, Jill Lawless and Sandy Cohen contributed to this report.
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More