from CNN
Wow - big upset here! "Dreamgirls" was shut out for Best Picture, never mind for Best Director (and never mind for Best Actress, Beyonce). Hollywood must be in a tizzy right now (nice line from Miles O'Brien on CNN: "How do you get a star up early?" - it's 5:52 a.m. in LA right now). Meanwhile, Brad Pitt was shut out for a Best Picture nod for Babel, and Marty Scorsese has one more chance to be shut out for Best Director for "The Departed."
(The accompanying photo, by the way, was what CNN had up on their homepage to hype the announcement - "Oscar Nominations On The Way!" Yikes.)
The big winner? Technically "Dreamgirls" with eight nominations in total, but they didn't even announce those (and how many of them came in "Best Original Song," anyway?). "Babel" was next with seven nominations — two for Best Supporting Actress — followed by "Pan's Labyrinth" and "The Queen" with six apiece, including the entirely unsurprising nomination of Helen Mirren. Still, never underestimate a faun with scary eyes. Here are the nominees:
Best Picture: "The Departed," "Babel," "Letters From Iwo Jima," "Little Miss Sunshine" and "The Queen." "Dreamgirls" really does seem like a real omission here.
Best Actor: Forest Whitaker ("The Last King of Scotland"), Leonardo DiCaprio ("Blood Diamond"), Ryan Gosling ("Half Nelson"), Peter O'Toole ("Venus") and Will Smith ("The Pursuit of Happyness"). Leo DiCaprio totally shut out! (For "The Departed".) And also, is this the first time that Jack Nicholson has starred in a film and not gotten the nod? Will he still be in his sunglasses in the front row?
(Note: Sacha Baron Cohen got a screenplay nod, but after the Golden Globes it seemed almost possible here. Not in this year's slate though. It's very Earnest Hollywood this year.)
Best Actress: Helen Mirren ("The Queen"), Judi Dench ("Notes on a Scandal"), Penelope Cruz ("Volver"), Meryl Streep ("The Devil Wears Prada") and Kate Winslet ("Little Children"). Only one American actress here, folks. Oh, Academy, why do you hate America?
Best Supporting Actor: Eddie Murphy ("Dreamgirls"), Alan Arkin ("Little Miss Sunshine"), Jackie Earle Haley ("Little Children"), Djimon Hounsou ("Blood Diamond") and Mark Wahlberg ("The Departed"). Odds-on favorite's got to be Eddie Murphy here, to make "Dreamgirls" feel like it accomplished something.
Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson ("Dreamgirls"), Adriana Barraza ("Babel"), Cate Blanchett ("Notes on a Scandal"), Abigail Breslin ("Little Miss Sunshine") and Rinko Kikuchi ("Babel"). We all know how this one's gonna go. Not that Abigail Breslin can't rock a pair of tearaways. Would have liked to have seen Steve Carrell get in there somehow for Best Supporting Actor, for the record.
Best Director: Martin Scorsese ("The Departed"), Clint Eastwood ("Letters From Iwo Jima"), Stephen Frears ("The Queen"), Paul Greengrass ("United 93") and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu ("Babel"). Which one of them is Bill Condon smacking his head repeatedly over? I'm gonna go with the "Babel" guy.
Wow, "Babel" instead of "Dreamgirls" in so many key places; the Oscar clip show is going to be intense and boring this year, with way too few sequins. Well, at least they'll mix it up with a little something from "United 93." The Oscars are not going to be as much fun this year.
But we'll still watch 'em! And you will, too. February 25, 2006, for the 79th annual Academy Awards.
Oscar Nominations Announced [CNN]
