Oscar nominations: “Carol” gets six nods, “The Danish Girl” gets four and Sam Smith up for Bond theme

Okay, I’ve woken up and gone through the list of Academy Award nominations and am scratching my mostly bald head wondering how the heck the Best Picture list does not include Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Don’t get that one – at all.

UPDATE: Oh geez, an even bigger slight in the Best Picture category is Straight Outta Compton. There are TEN slots available for Best Picture now – TEN. Saw it with my 14-year-old nephew and we thought it was outstanding. Academy membership is 92% white, according to a Los Angeles Times report from a few days ago. This has got to have everything to do with that snub of a film that has gotten plenty of guild nominations including a SAG ensemble nod.

Anyway, it’s my job to go through that long list and see what is LGBT about it and, thankfully, we are well represented this year in the nominations.

As expected, Eddie Redmayne has been nominated for best actor for his beautiful portrayal of a pioneering transgender woman in The Danish Girl. Redmayne won the award last year for his performance as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything.

Alicia Vikander has been nominated in the supporting actress category for her portrayal of Redmayne’s wife in the film. Hers is essentially a leading role but she might have been squeezed out had they positioned her as best actress.

I hope this leads to more people seeing this beautiful film loosely inspired by the lives of Danish artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener. In the film, Lili and Gerda’s marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili’s groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.

The Danish Girl has also earned nods for production design and costume design.

That brings us to the gorgeous film Carol which tells the story of a young aspiring photographer (Rooney Mara) and her relationship with an older woman (Cate Blanchett) going through a difficult divorce in the early 1950s in New York City.

Blanchett has been nominated for best actress and Rooney for supporting actress – both so well deserved.

The film has also been nominated in the categories of original score, costume design, adapted screenplay and cinematography.

Meanwhile, four-time Grammy winner and recent Golden Globe winner Sam Smith will have an opportunity to add and Academy Award to his collection.

The openly gay singer-songwriter has been nominated in the best original song category for Writing’s On the Wall, the theme from the James Bond flick Spectre.

Among Smith’s competition is Lady Gaga, also a Golden Globe winner on Sunday, who has been nominated for her song ‘Til It Happens To You from The Hunting Ground.

See Full List of Nominees here.