Well it’s that time again… We’re still waiting to see how the writer’s strike will affect the Academy Awards show but today the nominations are out. I did mention these might be the only awards I follow didn’t I? Well I think it might be true.
I’ve got some more movies to watch before I can accurately pick the winners in my Oscar pool. Though we’ve all agreed watching the movies is a detriment to voting because you allow yourself to be swayed by what you want, or don’t want, as opposed to what will win. Let’s just say I thought I learned my lesson about standing on principles the year my refusal to vote for Titanic sunk my hopes of a win.
Maybe this year I’ll be stronger, though I have to admit I might already be in trouble, I liked but wasn’t in love with the two seeming frontrunners No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood, and I thought Juno was cute enough, but Best Picture? We’ll see if Atonement or Michael Clayton will sway me, though I’m not sure Michael Clayton is playing anywhere maybe it will return to wider release.
Following are some of the major categories and for those of you interested you can see the full list of nominees at http://www.oscars.org/80academyawards/nominees/
Best Picture
“Atonement”
“Juno”
“Michael Clayton”
“No Country for Old Men”
“There Will Be Blood”
Actor
George Clooney, “Michael Clayton”
Daniel Day-Lewis, “There Will Be Blood”
Johnny Depp, “Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
Tommy Lee Jones, “In the Valley of Elah”
Viggo Mortensen, “Eastern Promises”
Actress
Cate Blanchett, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
Julie Christie, “Away From Her”
Marion Cotillard, “La Vie en Rose”
Laura Linney, “The Savages”
Ellen Page, “Juno”
Supporting Actor
Casey Affleck, “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”
Javier Bardem, “No Country for Old Men”
Hal Holbrook, “Into the Wild”
Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Charlie Wilson’s War”
Tom Wilkinson, “Michael Clayton”
Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett, “I’m Not There”
Ruby Dee, “American Gangster”
Saoirse Ronan, “Atonement”
Amy Ryan, “Gone Baby Gone”
Tilda Swinton, “Michael Clayton”
Director
Julian Schnabel, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”
Jason Reitman, “Juno”
Tony Gilroy, “Michael Clayton”
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, “No Country for Old Men”
Paul Thomas Anderson, “There Will Be Blood”
Adapted Screenplay
Christopher Hampton, “Atonement”
Sarah Polley, “Away from Her”
Ronald Harwood, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, “No Country for Old Men”
Paul Thomas Anderson, “There Will Be Blood”
Original Screenplay
Diablo Cody, “Juno”
Nancy Oliver, “Lars and the Real Girl”
Tony Gilroy, “Michael Clayton”
Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava and Jim Capobianco, “Ratatouille”
Tamara Jenkins, “The Savages.”
