movie buffs and hollywood industry watchers are buzzing because the long awaited  oscar nominations are finally out here are the five biggest takeaways from tuesdays announcement of who is vying for the industrys highest honors  la la land looks unstoppable  the modern homage to classic musicals is already a hit with audiences and critics and it appears  based on its record tying  oscar nominations  that the ebullient feelgood film has also won over the very hollywood community it gently satirizes for a little perspective the only two films in the year history of the oscars to match its total  titanic and all about eve  both went on to win best picture    following its formidable performance at the golden globes this film has all the momentum right now and even though there is already an inevitable backlash against it its hard to see any other movie knocking it off its perch it may not win in every category its nominated ryan gosling has very strong competition in the best actor race for instance but it will likely be the biggest winner of the night  play theres diversity in the  oscar nominations al roker says facebook twitter google plus embed  theres diversity in the  oscar nominations al roker says  hollywood temporarily puts oscarssowhite behind it  on the heels of what the africanamerican film critics association has dubbed the best year ever for black film a record seven performers of color were recognized in the top acting categories this year a sea change from  and  where no minorities were included    not only were five black and brown actors and actresses featured in the best supporting actor and supporting actress races  where they have historically enjoyed more success  but also denzel washington and newcomer ruth negga will be competing for best actor and best actress  after a slew of unflattering headlines boycotts and studies which showed just how much work hollywood needs to do on issues of gender race and sexuality the film business appears to be starting to get the picture  snubs and surprises  neggas appearance in the best actress race was a bit of a surprise since her film loving which dramatizes the s battle to legalize interracial marriage nationwide had not been as big a player this awards season and had not become a crossover hit with audiences amy adams on the other hand was left out of the best actress race for her more widelyseen arrival    other surprising omissions include hugh grant for florence foster jenkins taraji p henson and janelle monae for hidden figures annette bening for th century women tom hanks for sully and legendary filmmaker martin scorsese whose somewhat polarizing passion project silence was left out of the best picture race  play octavia spencer on hidden figures oscar nods we are over the moon facebook twitter google plus embed  octavia spencer on hidden figures oscar nods we are over the moon  making a statement  meryl streep earned her th oscar nomination for florence foster jenkins while her inclusion may not be a shock her powerful golden globes speech that drew the ire of donald trump could have put her over the top oscar voting was still open during that ceremony and streeps impassioned plea for empathy may have made a difference  meanwhile hollywood could be signalling some forgiveness for former alister mel gibson who has been on the periphery of the industry after being exposed as having made several antisemitic and racist remarks his harrowing war film hacksaw ridge earned gibson his first best director nomination since his victorious braveheart in  it also scored five other nominations including best actor for andrew garfield and best picture  finally the welldeserved recognition for moonlight could also be seen as politicallycharged embrace of its subject matter which includes a compassionate look at a young black man and lgbtq culture  this movie was made with the passion of a lot of really dedicated people the films director barry jenkins also an oscar nominee as of tuesday told nbc news people respect an attempt to speak to something thats real thats vital when people go to see this film  theyre coming out with a genuine experience  it was written three years ago he added but i think its arrived right on time  play meryl streep takes on trump at the golden globes facebook twitter google plus embed  meryl streep takes on trump at the golden globes  an eye on the future  among the many recognizable names among tuesdays nominees there are a lot of fresh faces that could reshape the moviemaking landscape in coming years  significant efforts were made this year to diversify the oscar voting pool and while there is no way to quantify the impact of those reforms firsttime directing nominees jenkins denis villeneuve damien chazelle and kenneth lonergan pushed out regulars such as clint eastwood to stake out a place for themselves on hollywoods alist  it feel great said jenkins i think film is a relatively young medium so its lovely to see so many new faces and voices in that category  the best picture race is one of the most eclectic in years  one of the goals when the academy expanded the list of potential nominees from five to as many as  in  a scifi film is up against intimate family dramas period films a war movie and a fullblown musical  and while this year has its fair share of locks  viola davis winning an oscar for fences is starting to look like a forgone conclusion  there are going to be some tight races and potential upsets worth tuning in for when the ceremony airs feb th and if none of that interests you there will be trump jokes galore