'La La Land' equals record with 14 nominations at Oscars, Dev Patel recognised

"La La Land", a whimsical ode to classic Hollywood musicals, tied the record previously set by "Titanic" and "All About Eve" by bagging 14 nods at the 89th Academy Awards nominations announced today while British-Indian actor Dev Patel scored in the best supporting category.
"La La Land", a candy-colored romance about two struggling dreamers in Hollywood, earned nods for best picture, best director for 32-year old Damien Chazelle and best actress and actor nods for its lead stars, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling at the nominations.
The Academy, which faced a lot of criticism for its lack of diversity for last two years, addressed the topic by nominating actors like Denzel Washington, Octavia Spencer, Viola Davis, Ruth Negga, Mahershala Ali, Patel, Naomie Harris and films like "Hidden Figures" and "Fences" and "13th".

Patel, who has won hearts with his poignant portrayal of a man in search of his roots in "Lion", said he was "overwhelmingly grateful" to be recognised.
"I'm sitting here with my mouth wide open figuring out how this happened. I'm feeling overwhelmingly grateful right now," he said.
"La La Land" will face competition at the Academy awards next month from sci-fi drama "Arrival" and "Moonlight", with both landing a total of eight nominations.

Actor-director Mel Gibson, who was made an outcast for his anti-Semitic rants in the past, signalled his comeback to Hollywood with war drama "Hacksaw Ridge". The film surprised award pundits by scoring six nods, including the best picture, director and best actor for Andrew Garfield.

"Hacksaw Ridge" tied in the third place of the nominations list with "Lion", a true story about a man searching for his lost family in India, and Kenneth Lonergan's tragic drama "Manchester by the Sea", starring Casey Affleck.
Lonergan is nominated for best original screenplay and for his direction with Casey bagging a nod in the best actor category. Michelle Williams was nominated in the best supporting actress category.
Casey, who stars in "Manchester by the Sea", is a front-runner already after picking up a Golden Globe and a bunch of critics honors but previous best actor Oscar-winner Washington and Gosling may upset his sprint with their powerful portrayals in "Fences" and "La La Land". Garfield and Viggo Mortensen are the other nominees in the category.

Meryl Streep, who created quite a stir with her politically-charged speech against President Donald Trump at the Golden Globe, broke her own record by bagging her 20th nomination, the most for any actor ever.
She was nominated in the best actress category for her role of tone-deaf opera singer "Florence Foster Jenkins". Her competition is French actress Isabelle Huppert for ("Elle"), Natalie Portman as the first lady ("Jackie"), Ruth Negga ("Loving") and Stone ("La La Land").