Hollywood veterans such as Ennio Morricone and Sylvester Stallone and rising stars like Saoirse Ronan were among the dozens of performers and filmmakers honored with Oscar nominations on Thursday. Following are some reactions from the nominees, who were chosen by voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, via statement, social media or phone. Leonardo DiCaprio, best actor for "The Revenant" "I am so grateful to the Academy for their recognition of this film. Making 'The Revenant' was one of the most rewarding and collaborative experiences of my life." Brie Larson, best actress for "Room" "I'm so lucky and humbled to be a part of this beautiful story, in a once-in-a-lifetime role. Congratulations to my fellow nominees. Truly, I am very grateful this morning." Saoirse Ronan, best actress in a leading role for "Brooklyn" "When we made 'Brooklyn,' we had no idea of what was to come. It is the most personal film I have ever done, the hardest one, too." Mark Rylance, best supporting actor for "Bridge of Spies" "May I say, I am particularly proud to be nominated as a supporting actor, as I find the level of supporting acting in films these days utterly convincing and very often extremely moving, even the smallest parts." Sylvester Stallone, best supporting actor for "Creed" "I am incredibly humbled by this honor. I was not expecting it ... especially at this time in my life." Jennifer Jason Leigh, best supporting actress for "The Hateful Eight" "This is incredible news to wake up to. I am thrilled." George Miller, best director for "Mad Max: Fury Road" "Wowie zowie! So many talented people labored mightily to bring this movie to the screen. It's lovely that the Academy has acknowledged our work in this way." Adam McKay, best director for "The Big Short" "Thank you to the members of the Academy and to all the audiences that have supported 'The Big Short.' Now I'm going to take a nap." Andrea Berloff and Jonathan Herman, best original screenplay for "Straight Outta Compton" "We are humbled by this honor and are excited to be able to continue the discussion of not only (rap group) NWA's legacy but also the larger conversation of civil rights in America." Nick Hornby, best adapted screenplay for "Brooklyn" "The moment I saw Saoirse Ronan's incredible performance in 'Brooklyn,' I knew that she would get nominated for an Oscar and that she might drag one or two of us along with her." Phyllis Nagy, best adapted screenplay for "Carol" "It's the stuff of dreams, for sure, and I certainly never imagined this happening when I began this journey 18 years ago." Laszlo Nemes, director of best foreign language film "Son of Saul" from Hungary "The close collaboration of a dedicated international cast and crew transformed the ambition of a first feature into a film that can now reach a wider audience worldwide, including a new generation that has lost touch with such defining moments of our civilization as the Holocaust." Pete Docter, best original screenplay and best animated feature film for "Inside Out" "To me, I'm not interested in reality; I want to go somewhere that we can't go in any other medium. This film certainly allowed that opportunity." Ennio Morricone, best original score for "The Hateful Eight" "To work with such a brilliant young director (Quentin Tarantino) at my age gives me great pleasure. He was just one year old when I wrote my first score for Sergio Leone for 'A Fistful of Dollars.'" For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at@AhramOnlineArtsand on Facebook atAhram Online: Arts & Culture http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/181036.aspx
