It’s probably too late for me to tell you that I would have had Terrence Malick listed as a surprise Best Director nominee had we done predictions this year, right? Right.

If you had trouble getting onto IMDb this morning, it’s because was trying to figure out who the hell Demián Bichir was at the very same time. Okay, that might be a little unfair; Bichir was also a Screen Actors Guild Best Actor nominee for A Better Life, but he was still one of the more surprising announcements this morning. In same category, Gary Oldman became an Oscar nominees for the first time, making the cut, somewhat unexpectedly, for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. They are two of the nine acting nominees who are getting their first invite to the big competition. There are also a few performers who are back in the Oscar fold after gaps of more than twenty years: Max von Sydow was last nominated for Pelle the Conquerer for the 1988 movie year, Kenneth Branagh (as an actor, anyway) for 1989’s Henry V and Glenn Close was last nominated for 1988’s Dangerous Liaisons.

And so let’s talk about poor, poor Glenn. This is her sixth Oscar nomination. She’s never won, and she’s almost assured to lose again. The Best Actress race largely boils down to whether or not the Academy finally breaks down and gives Meryl Streep her third trophy or if they decide that the wounded nobility of Viola Davis in The Help is preferable. The Academy does love wounded nobility, you know. There’s also a chance that Williams could benefit from a split vote and win a very deserving prize for My Week with Marilyn, but Close is almost assuredly going to be jockeying with Rooney Mara for the thankfully unrevealed ignominy of least votes in the category.

A couple other quick thoughts:

–The acting branch really didn’t like the edgy, indie stuff this year. Despite plenty of attention in the precursor awards, Michael Fassbender for Shame (maybe keep it in your pants next time, Michael, the Oscars is a classy joint), Tilda Swinton for We Need to Talk About Kevin and Albert Brooks for Drive were all bypassed. That last one is especially sad, but at least Brooks knew full well what the ultimate outcome was going to be. Now he doesn’t have to dress up if he doesn’t want to.

–Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen each picked up his seventh nomination as Best Director, tying them for third on the list of most nominations in the category with David Lean and Fred Zinnemann and putting them right behind Billy Wilder who was nominated eight times. They’re still unlikely to ever catch William Wyler’s record twelve nominations. Interestingly, they moved past Spielberg who stays stuck at six, even though his film War Horse is a Best Picture nominee. While the expanded Best Picture category blunts this observation somewhat, it’s the third time this has happened to Spielberg after being passed over when Jaws and The Color Purple received Best Picture nods.

–Bérénice Bejo landing in the Supporting Actress makes about as much sense as Hailee Steinfeld being relegated to the same category last year. I’ll guess one ridiculously misassigned performance is a new Oscar tradition.

That’s all I’ve got on the subject until the gold-plated men are doled out next month. But, seriously, I really would have predicted Malick’s nomination. Honest.