With all the noms The Piano got in 94, I figured a return by the same director to a period piece, which the Academy likes, would have garnered more nods. Maybe with a bigger distributor things would've been different. (Who makes awards marketing decisions - the distributor or production company?) A shame for Abbie Cornish who gave a great performance. I would swap either An Education for Bright Star for Best Pic, Mulligan for Cornish for Actress, and Nine for Bright Star for art direction. This year would've been great for voters to play politics having 2 female directors up for Best Director and 3 films by women directors up for Best Pic.

Second biggest surprise is An Education's You've Got Me Wrapped Around Your Little Finger not getting nominated.

Biggest acting snub since, off the top, Jeff Bridges for Door in the Floor that had no shot is Tilda Swinton's lead performance in Julia.