Broadway at the Oscars: Birdman Takes Nine Nominations, But Where’s Into the Woods?

The nominations for the 87th annual Academy Awards were announced on January 15. The Broadway-focused Birdman, along with The Grand Budapest Hotel, led the pack with nine nods each. And while the film adaptation of Into the Woods earned three nominations, including one for Meryl Streep, it was shut out of the Best Picture category.

Two current Broadway stars (and one tapped to come here soon) received recognition for their film performances. The Elephant Man headliner Bradley Cooper picked up an Actor in a Leading Role for American Sniper. Meanwhile, the Actress in a Supporting Role category, in addition to Streep for her performance as The Witch in Into the Woods, included Cabaret star Emma Stone and Olivier nominee Keira Knightley, who is slated to make her Broadway debut later this year in Thérèse Raquin. Rounding out the category are Patricia Arquette for Boyhood and Laura Dern for Wild.

Among those joining Cooper in the race for Actor in a Leading Role are Tony winner Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything), Olivier winner Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), Michael Keaton (Birdman) and Steve Carell (Foxcatcher). Broadway alum Julianne Moore earned an Actress in a Leading Role nomination for her Golden Globe-winning performance in Still Alice.

The Actor in a Supporting Role category also included some names familiar to the theater community: Tony nominee Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher) and Broadway alums Ethan Hawke (Boyhood), J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) and Robert Duvall (The Judge). They were joined by Edward Norton (Birdman).

Into the Woods picked up nominations for Costume Design and Production Design. Rob Marshall, who earned a nomination in 2002 for directing the Oscar-winning Chicago, was not recognized for helming the Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine flick.

Birdman was nominated for Original Screenplay; among the writers are Alexander Dinelaris, who will pen the book for the upcoming Gloria and Emilio Estefan musical On Your Feet!. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu was nominated for his direction of the film, and the movie also picked up nods for Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Cinematography.

This marked the first year only eight films received Oscar nominations for Best Picture; in the running with Birdman for the top prize are American Sniper, Boyhood, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, Selma, The Theory of Everything and Whiplash.

The 2015 Academy Awards will take place on February 22, hosted by Tony winner Neil Patrick Harris. For a full list of nominees, click here.