Originally Posted By DAR Performance by an actor in a leading role Leonardo DiCaprio - BLOOD DIAMOND Ryan Gosling - HALF NELSON Peter O'Toole - VENUS Will Smith - THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS Forest Whitaker - THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND Performance by an actor in a supporting role Alan Arkin - LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE Jackie Earle Haley - LITTLE CHILDREN Djimon Hounsou - BLOOD DIAMOND Eddie Murphy - DREAMGIRLS Mark Wahlberg - THE DEPARTED Performance by an actress in a leading role Penélope Cruz - VOLVER Judi Dench - NOTES ON A SCANDAL Helen Mirren - THE QUEEN Meryl Streep - THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA Kate Winslet - LITTLE CHILDREN Performance by an actress in a supporting role Adriana Barraza - BABEL Cate Blanchett - NOTES ON A SCANDAL Abigail Breslin - LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE Jennifer Hudson - DREAMGIRLS Rinko Kikuchi - BABEL Best animated feature film of the year CARS HAPPY FEET MONSTER HOUSE Achievement in art direction DREAMGIRLS THE GOOD SHEPHERD PAN'S LABYRINTH PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST THE PRESTIGE Achievement in cinematography THE BLACK DAHLIA CHILDREN OF MEN THE ILLUSIONIST PAN'S LABYRINTH THE PRESTIGE Achievement in costume design CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA DREAMGIRLS MARIE ANTOINETTE THE QUEEN Achievement in directing BABEL THE DEPARTED LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA THE QUEEN UNITED 93 I hope Scorsese wins this Best documentary feature DELIVER US FROM EVIL AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS JESUS CAMP MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY Best documentary short subject THE BLOOD OF YINGZHOU DISTRICT RECYCLED LIFE REHEARSING A DREAM TWO HANDS Achievement in film editing BABEL BLOOD DIAMOND CHILDREN OF MEN THE DEPARTED UNITED 93 Best foreign language film of the year AFTER THE WEDDING DAYS OF GLORY (INDIGÈNES) THE LIVES OF OTHERS PAN'S LABYRINTH WATER Achievement in makeup APOCALYPTO CLICK PAN'S LABYRINTH Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score) BABEL THE GOOD GERMAN NOTES ON A SCANDAL PAN'S LABYRINTH THE QUEEN Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song) "I Need to Wake Up" - AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH "Listen" - DREAMGIRLS "Love You I Do" - DREAMGIRLS "Our Town" - CARS "Patience" - DREAMGIRLS Best motion picture of the year BABEL THE DEPARTED LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE THE QUEEN Best animated short film THE DANISH POET LIFTED THE LITTLE MATCHGIRL MAESTRO NO TIME FOR NUTS Best live action short film BINTA AND THE GREAT IDEA (BINTA Y LA GRAN IDEA) ÉRAMOS POCOS (ONE TOO MANY) HELMER & SON THE SAVIOUR WEST BANK STORY Achievement in sound editing APOCALYPTO BLOOD DIAMOND FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST Achievement in sound mixing APOCALYPTO BLOOD DIAMOND DREAMGIRLS FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST Achievement in visual effects PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST POSEIDON SUPERMAN RETURNS Adapted screenplay BORAT CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN CHILDREN OF MEN THE DEPARTED LITTLE CHILDREN NOTES ON A SCANDAL Original screenplay BABEL LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE PAN'S LABYRINTH THE QUEEN
Originally Posted By DlandDug How exciting to see that little Abagail Breslin was nominated for supporting actress. Regular readers may recall that she would often tag along with her big brother Spencer (The Kid, Teamo Supremo, The Shaggy Dog, Santa Claus II and III) on the red carpet. She was always a very sweet girl who was happy to talk to a web site interviewer. Congratulations to her!
Originally Posted By Dlmusic Just out of interest, here are the box office figures for the Best Picture nominees: The Departed $122 million The Queen $35 million (still in theaters) Babel $24 million Letters from Iwo Jima $2 million Little Miss Sunshine $60 million While I know that artistic films don't tend to be the big money makers, I wonder how long the Academy can keep up a reputation with the public if they keep picking obscure movies.
Originally Posted By Dlmusic Some other interesting thoughts: Looks like Cars is the front runner since it got a nomination for Best Song and Happy Feet did not even though Happy Feet's song won the Golden Globe. There will be some great performances from the Dreamgirls cast at the Oscars this year. Why is Borat nominated for Adapted Screenplay? An adapation of what? I thought the movie was mostly an improv skit, but I don't know much about it.
Originally Posted By DAR Here are my picks and if nothing is listed it's because I haven't seen the film Performance by an actor in a leading role Performance by an actor in a supporting role Mark Wahlberg - THE DEPARTED Performance by an actress in a leading role Performance by an actress in a supporting role Abigail Breslin - LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE Best animated feature film of the year CARS Achievement in art direction PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST Achievement in cinematography THE ILLUSIONIST Achievement in costume design Achievement in directing THE DEPARTED Best documentary feature Best documentary short subject Achievement in film editing THE DEPARTED Best foreign language film of the year Achievement in makeup Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score) Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song) "Our Town" - CARS Best motion picture of the year THE DEPARTED Best animated short film Best live action short film Achievement in sound editing PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST Achievement in sound mixing PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST Achievement in visual effects PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST Adapted screenplay THE DEPARTED Original screenplay LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE BTW it always cracks me up the nominations are announced and when they announce like Best Live Action Short subject and you hear a tiny "woo" and half a clap coming from the back.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 <While I know that artistic films don't tend to be the big money makers, I wonder how long the Academy can keep up a reputation with the public if they keep picking obscure movies< isn't this the truth - the Globes have taken over as the peoples awards IMHO. I give a rats petuite about most of these nominations....
Originally Posted By amazedncal2 DAR, your "winner" list would be about the same as mine Although I didn't see the Illusionist. As I was reading the list of nominee's I thought "cripes, I need to get out more" Dug, that is a cute story about Abagail
Originally Posted By DlandDug I forgot to thank you, DAR for providing this complete list. I believe that Borat's closely guarded screenplay was finally revealed, simply because the producers were hoping for a nomination. For the purposes of publicity it was said that the whole thing was sort of made up as it went along. But just like "reality" TV, there were writers involved.
Originally Posted By DAR <<While I know that artistic films don't tend to be the big money makers, I wonder how long the Academy can keep up a reputation with the public if they keep picking obscure movies.>> The Departed isn't really obscure.
Originally Posted By EdisYoda Also, the Oscar goes to (or is supposed to go to) the movie that "technically" is the best, not the most popular.
Originally Posted By DlandDug The Academy has lurched back and forth between honoring popular films and artistic accomplishments for years. That's why the list of past winners runs the gamut from Annie Hall to The Greatest Show on Earth.
Originally Posted By Shooba >>Also, the Oscar goes to (or is supposed to go to) the movie that "technically" is the best, not the most popular.<< Exactly. If they started giving awards to the most popular movies, their credibility would go right out the window. Plenty of other awards show can take care of those movies. Having said the above, I do think the Academy Awards are a little snobbish in their tastes in movies. There have been well-written, well-directed, well-acted big action movies that should have been nominated for awards too.
Originally Posted By ToonKirby My initial thoughts: Best Picture: Wow, no "Dreamgirls". Wasn't too thrilled about it to begin with, but buzz was high. Most nominations, with 8 (including 3 songs), but no BP (I believe that may be a record). Can I admit I'm thrilled that it didn't make it to the top? Acting: Leo for "Blood Diamond", not "Departed", after all ... Otherwise, as expected, except Mark Wahlberg instead of Jack Nicholson for supporting in "The Departed". Who would have thought that some day we would see both Marky Mark and the Fresh Prince nominated for Oscars in the same year ??? Not to mention a former Mousketeer (Ryan Gosling) as a drug addict ... Peter O'Toole up for his 8th Oscar. If he loses, he will be the most nominated performer without a competitive win (he received a lifetime achievement award in 2002) in Oscar history. Director: DGA notwithstanding, I knew the Academy wouldn't forget Clint ... they love their Clint. Most welcome surprise: Paul Greengrass for "United 93", which seemed too controversial for the Academy to nominate for BP, so its nice to see recognition for this brilliant film here (and also in the editing category). Screenplay: "Borat" made it into this category (but no others) with 5 screenwriters (as for why its adapted, it was "based on" an existing character, and most "improvised" films do have a script of some sort, even if its after scenes are filmed), while "Children of Men" did as well with the same number. Could get crowded at that podium. Nice to see, like "Children", another late arriving favorite, "Pan's Labyrinth" (which did very well over all for a foreign language film with 6 nods) in there as well, I'm dying to see this one. Music: Never underestimate Randy Newman in the song category. "Dreamgirls" nets the most love here, with 3 nominees (all deserving? I don't think so - eh, it will at least get Beyonce, Jennifer, Eddie and Anika Noni Rose on stage during the show), only the third film to do so after Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Lion King". Would have loved to have seen the "Casino Royale" theme here (or "Casino Royale" anywhere, totally snubbed - boo). Tech awards: For cinematography, no BP nominees ... interesting, may be a first. Editing has always been a weird percussor to the BP winner; this year the category has only 2 BP nominees, "Babel" and "The Departed" ... could that be a sign of the eventual victor ??? Most don't understand why there are 2 categories for sound, and this year the "sound editing" category was expanded to 5 nominees from 3, (while special effects and make-up - two more "obvious" crafts - are still stuck at 3), ending up sharing 4 of the 5 nominations ... Speaking of special effects and make-up: "Poseidon"? "Click"? Seriously ??? Animation: Wow, they went with mo-cap with "Monster House", something they wouldn't do with "Polar Express" ... but its still between the cars and those dancing penguins. The biggest surprise for me, and a delightful one, is the nomination of "The Little Matchgirl" in the short subject category (if you haven't seen it, its on the "Little Mermaid" DVD). A strong year for shorts reminscent of the old days with such power houses as Pixar, Disney, Blue Sky (another Scrat cartoon, on the "Ice Age: The Meltdown" DVD) and the National Film Board of Canada making up the nominees. Foreign Language Film: Wow, no Pedro, even with Penelope Cruz's best actress nod ... Documentary: They have become much better with this category with films people have actually heard about ... "An Inconvenient Truth" will probably win, although I personally found it weak as a film despite its compelling message.
Originally Posted By ToonKirby >The Departed $122 million The Queen $35 million (still in theaters) Babel $24 million Letters from Iwo Jima $2 million Little Miss Sunshine $60 million< "Letters from Iwo Jima" is still in theaters, in fact, it hasn't opened in most markets (expect it will by next weekend). "Little Miss Sunshine" is currently on DVD, while both "The Departed" and "Babel" will be on DVD by the time of the ceremony.
Originally Posted By DAR <<Otherwise, as expected, except Mark Wahlberg instead of Jack Nicholson for supporting in "The Departed>> Loved Wahlberg in that movie, had the best and funniest lines.
Originally Posted By jasmine7 I would really like to see Eddie Murphy win the Best Supporting Actor category. I think he did a phenomenal job as Jimmy Early. I was really blown away by his performance.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan I have no idea what it takes to win the achievment in cinematography award, but I was happy to see 'The Prestige' on the list. It was a great-looking movie. Saw 'Little Miss Sunshine' last night, best movie I've seen in some time.
Originally Posted By MissCandice Like some others here, I need to get out more. I haven't seen a single best picture nominated film.
