By Kit-Kat
For the Fifth year running, CountingDown.com is proud to be your insider information for the Oscar Nominations, giving fans news hot off the press for the prestigious 79th Academy Awards coming February 25, 2007!
There is something rather surreal about traveling the streets of Beverly Hills in the dark hours of the morning. The buildings are tall and silent, the streets clear of traffic and there is a peace that is seldom appreciated or even noted by most people. Of course, that is until you get near the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre on the fated Oscar Nominations Day that is. Streams of press people darting across the streets, racing to get in from the cold pre dawn (well, cold to native Californians, of which I cannot claim to be) to get hot coffee and breakfast while waiting eagerly for the nominations to be announced. I have to say the sheer number of press that attended today was a bit shocking. And from what I understand, was far more than years past... Is Oscar starting to reclaim some of his former glory years? One can certainly hope so.
I couldn't help but feel like I was in a pen downstairs and that was further driven home when the admittance to the theatre was announced and the press streamed to the stairs, plodding up in droves, like a stampede of technical cattle. Yeah, I'm an original Wisconsin gal, how could you guess? Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis and past Oscar Nominee Salma Hayek (seriously, does she ever look bad?) took the stage and the golden nuggets were revealed. There were some shockers, and even Salma couldn't contain her excitement when reading off Penelope Cruz as nominated for best actress in a supporting role (Volver). Top shockers were Mark Wahlberg with his first Oscar nomination for actor in a supporting role (The Departed) and Paul Greengrass for achievement in directing (United 93). Of course you had your cheers for the veterans Clint Eastwood and Steven Spielberg (bringing his total nominations to ten and Steven Spielberg's twelfth) when Letters from Iwo Jima was nominated for best motion picture of the year and even some laughs when Borat was nominated for achievement in writing (adapted screenplay).
All things considerd it looks to be an interesting Oscar year and if the press (or should I say cattle?) calls are any heed, Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro) is going to shine with six nominations (a six nomination tie with The Queen). Clearly Dreamgirls (DreamWorks and Paramount) is the top contender with eight nominations (but that was a given from all the chatter) and oddly Babel (Paramount and Paramount Vantage) runs a close second with seven nominations (I say oddly, because I have yet to hear someone actually liked the movie). Blood Diamond and The Departed (Warner Brothers) slide in with five nominations just besting the tally on Letters from Iwo Jima (Warner brothers) with four nominations (clearly this is a stellar year for Paramount and Warner Brothers). On a side note: am I the only one a bit surprised that Dreamgirls didn't get a Best Picture nom ??
Following is a complete listing of who made the cut in Oscar's eyes:
Performance by an actor in a leading role
Leonardo DiCaprio in "Blood Diamond" (Warner Bros.)
Ryan Gosling in "Half Nelson" (THINKFilm)
Peter O'Toole in "Venus" (Miramax, Filmfour and UK Council)
Will Smith in "The Pursuit of Happyness" (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Forest Whitaker in "The Last King of Scotland" (Fox Searchlight)
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Alan Arkin in "Little Miss Sunshine" (Fox Searchlight)
Jackie Earle Haley in "Little Children" (New Line)
Djimon Hounsou in "Blood Diamond" (Warner Bros.)
Eddie Murphy in "Dreamgirls" (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Mark Wahlberg in "The Departed" (Warner Bros.)
Performance by an actress in a leading role
Penelope Cruz in "Volver" (Sony Pictures Classics)
Judi Dench in "Notes on a Scandal" (Fox Searchlight)
Helen Mirren in "The Queen" (Miramax, Pathe and Granada)
Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada" (20th Century Fox)
Kate Winslet in "Little Children" (New Line)
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Adriana Barraza in "Babel" (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
Cate Blanchett in "Notes on a Scandal" (Fox Searchlight)
Abigail Breslin in "Little Miss Sunshine" (Fox Searchlight)
Jennifer Hudson in "Dreamgirls" (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Rinko Kikuchi in "Babel" (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
Best animated feature film of the year
"Cars" (Buena Vista) John Lasseter
"Happy Feet" (Warner Bros.) George Miller
"Monster House" (Sony Pictures Releasing) Gil Kenan
Achievement in art direction
"Dreamgirls" (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Art Direction: John Myhre
Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh
"The Good Shepherd" (Universal)
Art Direction: Jeannine Oppewall
Set Decoration: Gretchen Rau and Leslie E. Rollins
"Pan's Labyrinth" (Picturehouse)
Art Direction: Eugenio Caballero
Set Decoration: Pilar Revuelta
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (Buena Vista)
Art Direction: Rick Heinrichs
Set Decoration: Cheryl A. Carasik
"The Prestige" (Buena Vista)
Art Direction: Nathan Crowley
Set Decoration: Julie Ochipinti
Achievement in cinematography
"The Black Dahlia" (Universal) Vilmos Zsigmond
"Children of Men" (Universal) Emmanuel Lubezki
"The Illusionist" (Yari Film Group) Dick Pope
"Pan's Labyrinth" (Picturehouse) Guillermo Navarro
"The Prestige" (Buena Vista) Wally Pfister
Achievement in costume design
"Curse of the Golden Flower" (Sony Pictures Classics) Yee Chung Man
"The Devil Wears Prada" (20th Century Fox) Patricia Field
"Dreamgirls" (DreamWorks and Paramount) Sharen Davis
"Marie Antoinette" (Sony Pictures Releasing) Milena Canonero
"The Queen" (Miramax, Pathe and Granada) Consolata Boyle
Achievement in directing
"Babel" (Paramount and Paramount Vantage) Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
"The Departed" (Warner Bros.) Martin Scorsese
"Letters from Iwo Jima" (Warner Bros.) Clint Eastwood
"The Queen" (Miramax, Pathe and Granada) Stephen Frears
"United 93" (Universal and StudioCanal) Paul Greengrass
Best documentary feature
"Deliver Us from Evil" (Lionsgate)
A Disarming Films Production
Amy Berg and Frank Donner
"An Inconvenient Truth" (Paramount Classics and Participant Productions)
A Lawrence Bender/Laurie David Production
Davis Guggenheim
"Iraq in Fragments" (Typecast Releasing)
A Typecast Pictures/Daylight Factory Production
James Longley and John Sinno
"Jesus Camp" (Magnolia Pictures)
A Loki Films Production
Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
"My Country, My Country" (Zeitgeist Films)
A Praxis Films Production
Laura Poitras and Jocelyn Glatzer
Best documentary short subject
"The Blood of Yingzhou District"
A Thomas Lennon Films Production
Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon
"Recycled Life"
An Iwerks/Glad Production
Leslie Iwerks and Mike Glad
"Rehearsing a Dream"
A Simon & Goodman Picture Company Production
Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
"Two Hands"
A Crazy Boat Pictures Production
Nathaniel Kahn and Susan Rose Behr
Achievement in film editing
"Babel" (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
Stephen Mirrione and Douglas Crise
"Blood Diamond" (Warner Bros.)
Steven Rosenblum
"Children of Men" (Universal)
Alex Rodrmguez and Alfonso Cuarsn
"The Departed" (Warner Bros.)
Thelma Schoonmaker
"United 93" (Universal and StudioCanal)
Clare Douglas, Christopher Rouse and Richard Pearson
Best foreign language film of the year
"After the Wedding" A Zentropa Entertainments 16 Production
Denmark
"Days of Glory (Indighnes)" A Tessalit Production
Algeria
"The Lives of Others" A Wiedemann & Berg Production
Germany
"Pan's Labyrinth" A Tequila Gang/Esperanto Filmoj/Estudios Picasso Production
Mexico
"Water" A Hamilton-Mehta Production
Canada
Achievement in makeup
"Apocalypto" (Buena Vista) Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
"Click" (Sony Pictures Releasing) Kazuhiro Tsuji and Bill Corso
"Pan's Labyrinth" (Picturehouse) David Marti and Montse Ribe
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
"Apocalypto" (Buena Vista) Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
"The Good German" (Warner Bros.) Thomas Newman
"Notes on a Scandal" (Fox Searchlight) Philip Glass
"Pan's Labyrinth" (Picturehouse) Javier Navarrete
"The Queen" (Miramax, Pathe and Granada) Alexandre Desplat
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
"I Need to Wake Up" from "An Inconvenient Truth"
(Paramount Classics and Participant Productions)
Music and Lyric by Melissa Etheridge
"Listen" from "Dreamgirls"
(DreamWorks and Paramount)
Music by Henry Krieger and Scott Cutler
Lyric by Anne Preven
"Love You I Do" from "Dreamgirls"
(DreamWorks and Paramount)
Music by Henry Krieger
Lyric by Siedah Garrett
"Our Town" from "Cars"
(Buena Vista)
Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
"Patience" from "Dreamgirls"
(DreamWorks and Paramount)
Music by Henry Krieger
Lyric by Willie Reale
Best motion picture of the year
"Babel" (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
An Anonymous Content/Zeta Film/Central Films Production
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Jon Kilik and Steve Golin, Producers
"The Departed" (Warner Bros.)
A Warner Bros. Pictures Production
Nominees to be determined
"Letters from Iwo Jima" (Warner Bros.)
A DreamWorks Pictures/Warner Bros. Pictures Production
Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg and Robert Lorenz, Producers
"Little Miss Sunshine" (Fox Searchlight)
A Big Beach/Bona Fide Production
Nominees to be determined
"The Queen" (Miramax, Pathe and Granada)
A Granada Production
Andy Harries, Christine Langan and Tracey Seaward, Producers
Best animated short film
"The Danish Poet" (National Film Board of Canada)
A Mikrofilm and National Film Board of Canada Production
Torill Kove
"Lifted" (Buena Vista)
A Pixar Animation Studios Production
Gary Rydstrom
"The Little Matchgirl" (Buena Vista)
A Walt Disney Pictures Production
Roger Allers and Don Hahn
"Maestro" (Szimplafilm)
A Kedd Production
Geza M. Toth
"No Time for Nuts" (20th Century Fox)
A Blue Sky Studios Production
Chris Renaud and Michael Thurmeier
Best live action short film
"Binta and the Great Idea (Binta Y La Gran Idea)"
A Peliculas Pendelton and Tus Ojos Production
Javier Fesser and Luis Manso
"Eramos Pocos (One Too Many)" (Kimuak)
An Altube Filmeak Production
Borja Cobeaga
"Helmer & Son"
A Nordisk Film Production
Soren Pilmark and Kim Magnusson
"The Saviour" (Australian Film Television and Radio School)
An Australian Film Television and Radio School Production
Peter Templeman and Stuart Parkyn
"West Bank Story"
An Ari Sandel, Pascal Vaguelsy, Amy Kim, Ravi Malhotra and Ashley Jordan Production
Ari Sandel
Achievement in sound editing
"Apocalypto" (Buena Vista)
Sean McCormack and Kami Asgar
"Blood Diamond" (Warner Bros.)
Lon Bender
"Flags of Our Fathers" (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by Paramount)
Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman
"Letters from Iwo Jima" (Warner Bros.)
Alan Robert Murray
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (Buena Vista)
Christopher Boyes and George Watters II
Achievement in sound mixing
"Apocalypto" (Buena Vista)
Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Fernando Camara
"Blood Diamond" (Warner Bros.)
Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer and Ivan Sharrock
"Dreamgirls" (DreamWorks and Paramount)
Michael Minkler, Bob Beemer and Willie Burton
"Flags of Our Fathers" (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by Paramount)
John Reitz, Dave Campbell, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (Buena Vista)
Paul Massey, Christopher Boyes and Lee Orloff
Achievement in visual effects
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (Buena Vista)
John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and Allen Hall
"Poseidon" (Warner Bros.)
Boyd Shermis, Kim Libreri, Chaz Jarrett and John Frazier
"Superman Returns" (Warner Bros.)
Mark Stetson, Neil Corbould, Richard R. Hoover and Jon Thum
Adapted screenplay
"Borat Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" (20th Century Fox)
Screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Peter Baynham & Dan Mazer
Story by Sacha Baron Cohen & Peter Baynham & Anthony Hines & Todd Phillips
"Children of Men" (Universal)
Screenplay by Alfonso Cuarsn & Timothy J. Sexton and David Arata and Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby
"The Departed" (Warner Bros.)
Screenplay by William Monahan
"Little Children" (New Line)
Screenplay by Todd Field & Tom Perrotta
Notes on a Scandal" (Fox Searchlight)
Screenplay by Patrick Marber
Original screenplay
"Babel" (Paramount and Paramount Vantage)
Written by Guillermo Arriaga
"Letters from Iwo Jima" (Warner Bros.)
Screenplay by Iris Yamashita
Story by Iris Yamashita & Paul Haggis
"Little Miss Sunshine" (Fox Searchlight)
Written by Michael Arndt
"Pan's Labyrinth" (Picturehouse)
Written by Guillermo del Toro
"The Queen" (Miramax, Pathe and Granada)
Written by Peter Morgan
For myself I am hoping that Pirates gets the kudos they truly deserve (and I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds it disappointing that Johnny Depp was over looked for his fantastic acting as Captain Jack Sparrow). I am certainly keeping my fingers crossed for Djimon Hounsou (nominated for actor in a supporting role) - he is one deserving actor that gets overlooked far too often. I also have to throw my lot in with Pan's Labyrinth; Guillermo del Toro has truly outdone himself with this one. And as shocking as it may be (since I am so not political) I am pulling for Davis Guggenheim's An Inconvenient Truth - a stellar documentary. For the rest I have my picks set aside and will wait to see how much celebrating I get to do come Oscar night!
