Oscars 2013: The 10 Biggest Nomination Surprises

Every year, the Academy Award nominations include a handful of selections that baffle prognosticators and film diehards that pay attention to every minute detail of awards season. The 2013 Oscar noms were no different: while "Lincoln" remained the frontrunner and most of the Best Picture nominees were easy to predict, the other categories were chock full of faces that few thought would be vying for gold next month.

Which Oscar hopefuls had us the most startled on Thursday morning? From Joaquin Phoenix's unexpected contention to Ben Affleck's glaring snub, check out the Top 10 nomination surprises for this year's Academy Awards.

10. SETH MACFARLANE: HOST AND NOMINEE

The Best Original Song category was loaded this year, with mainstream artists like Katy Perry ("Wide Awake"), Taylor Swift ("Safe & Sound") and Adele ("Skyfall") all looking to add an Oscar nod to their respective resumes. Adele did indeed score a nomination for her James Bond theme, but 2013 Oscars host Seth MacFarlane also had his name called, as his "Ted" track "Everybody Needs a Best Friend" beat out Perry and Swift's contributions to "Katy Perry: Part of Me" and "The Hunger Games," respectively. Now, the "Family Guy" mastermind has a chance to smirk his way up to the podium in between his hosting duties.

9. NO SAMUEL L. JACKSON?

Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" was brimming with Best Supporting Actor hopefuls, and while "Inglourious Basterds" winner Christoph Waltz ended up getting his ticket stamped, it came at the expense of Leonardo DiCaprio's opulent plantation owner and Samuel L. Jackson's menacing house slave. Jackson's omission especially hurts, considering that his character was easily the film's most complex creation -- and that all five Supporting Actors noms (Alan Arkin, Robert De Niro, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tommy Lee Jones and Waltz) have already won an Oscar, while Sam still has not. One gets the feeling that, if Jackson had been nominated instead of Waltz, he would have a real shot at the trophy.

8. "DARK KNIGHT RISES" FALLS

Many critics lamented the fact that Christopher Nolan's brilliant 2008 Batman flick "The Dark Knight" was left out of the Best Picture race that year, and while last year's follow-up didn't earn the same kind of universal acclaim, "The Dark Knight Rises" was mysteriously shut out of even the technical categories on Thursday morning. No Visual Effects, Sound Editing or Original Score love for the final installment of Nolan's groundbreaking trilogy? Sounds like the work of Bane to us.

7. JOAQUIN PHOENIX BASHES OSCARS, THEN GETS NOMINATED

The major surprise in the Best Actor category was the inclusion of "The Master's" Joaquin Phoenix, who told Interview magazine in October that the concept of the Oscars was "total, utter bullshit," and "the stupidest thing in the whole world." Well, get ready to feel stupid, Joaquin, because you'll be competing against Daniel Day-Lewis, Denzel Washington, Hugh Jackman and Bradley Cooper! Phoenix's surprise addition came at the expense of presumed nominee John Hawkes, who was previously nominated for "Winter's Bone" but got dismissed for his work in "The Sessions" this year.

5. "THE INTOUCHABLES" IS NOT UNTOUCHABLE

Speaking of "Rust and Bone," the film was not submitted for Best Foreign Language consideration because the French dramedy "The Intouchables" was chosen to represent the country this year... and then got passed over in favor of lesser-known fare from Canada, Norway and Chile. "The Intouchables" has been immensely popular in its native country, and while it likely would be staring up at Michael Haneke's Best Picture-nominated "Amour" in the category, its total omission remains glaring.

4. JACKI WEAVER FINDS THE RIGHT "PLAYBOOK"

It's been 31 years since a film secured a nomination in all four major acting categories, but David O. Russell's "Silver Linings Playbook" accomplished the feat on Thursday morning when Jacki Weaver, who plays the matriarch of the Solitano family, earned her first-ever nomination. Co-stars Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro were all shoo-ins in the Actor, Actress and Supporting Actor categories, respectively, but Weaver's surprise Best Supporting Actress bid has helped bolster "Playbook" as a major threat to "Lincoln's" runaway awards sweep.

3. WAIT... WHERE'S BEN AFFLECK?

It all seemed so nice and tidy: after becoming the laughingstock of Hollywood a decade ago with "Gigli," Ben Affleck would finally redeem himself with a Best Picture nomination for the pulse-pounding "Argo" and a Best Director nod for guiding the political drama. "Argo" did indeed make it into the most prestigious category, but Affleck will not be earning his second Oscar, as his widely assumed nomination failed to materialize. With no acting or directing nominations, "Argo" will be a long shot for a major trophy next month.

2. ZERO REPEAT CHANCE FOR KATHRYN BIGELOW

After winning Best Director for "The Hurt Locker" at the 2010 ceremony, Kathryn Bigelow returned this winter with "Zero Dark Thirty," the tale of Osama bin Laden's capture that has been hailed as one of the best films of the year. Like Affleck, who has also earned nominations in nearly every other awards competition this year, Bigelow was somehow left out of the Best Director category -- which is even more surprising than the "Argo" snub given the scope of the film and the expectations with which Bigelow was saddled following her "Hurt Locker" triumph. While "Zero Dark Thirty" still has a chance to take home the main award, Bigelow's omission is bordering on indefensible.

1. 'BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD' BECOMES A CONTENDER

Who would have thought before Thursday morning that films like "Zero Dark Thirty," "Argo" and "Les Miserables" would be staring up at the tiny indie "Beasts of the Southern Wild," envious of the Academy love showered upon it? But that's the situation we have with the 85th annual Academy Awards, as the quiet fantasy/drama scored a Best Picture nod, a nod for first-time director Benh Zeitlin, and a Best Actress shot for Quvenzhané Wallis, who at nine years old becomes the youngest Best Actress contender ever. Throw in a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination, and "Beasts of the Southern Wild" has a real shot at forging an Oscar coup that no one could see coming upon its release last year. Color us surprised.