Nominations for the 79th Academy Awards were released this morning and I have to say that there were more than a few surprises. Perhaps the two biggest snubs stirring up controvery is Leonardo DiCaprio not receiving a Best Actor nod for “The Departed” (though he did get one for “Blood Diamond”) and “Dreamgirls” completely blocked out of Best Picture contention. As far as I’m concerned, this really doesn’t have as large of an effect as everyone’s making it out to be. Forest Whitaker will no doubt walk away with Best Acting honors and “Dreamgirls” is very overrated. In fact, had there not been a Comedy/Musical category at the Globes, I wouldn’t have been the least surprised to see it missing from competition.
My only other gripe is that “Volver” didn’t receive a Best Foreign Film nomination, but since “Pan’s Labyrinth” hails from the same country, only one of the two films was bound to get in, and I’m happy that it was Guillermo del Toro’s fantasy horror flick. Props also go to the Academy for showing some love to “The Prestige” in a few of the technical categories, as well as “Little Miss Sunshine” walking away with a Best Picture nod and a Best Supporting Actor nod for Alan Arkin.
Best Picture
“Babel”
“The Departed”
“Letters from Iwo Jima”
“Little Miss Sunshine”
“The Queen”
Best Actor
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”
Best Actress
Penelope Cruz, “Volver”
Judi Dench, “Notes on a Scandal”
Helen Mirren, “The Queen”
Meryl Streep, “The Devil Wears Prada”
Kate Winslet, “Little Children”
Best Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin, “Little Miss Sunshine”
Jackie Earle Haley, “Little Children”
Djimon Hounsou, “Blood Diamond”
Eddie Murphy, “Dreamgirls”
Mark Walhberg, “The Departed”
Best Supporting Actress
Abigail Breslin, “Little Miss Sunshine”
Jennifer Hudson, “Dreamgirls”
Cate Blanchett, “Notes on a Scandal”
Adriana Barraza, “Babel”
Rinko Kikuchi, “Babel”
Best Director
“Babel” (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu)
“The Departed” (Martin Scorsese)
“Letters from Iwo Jima” (Clint Eastwood)
“The Queen” (Stephen Frears)
“United 93” (Paul Greengrass)
Best Animated Film
“Happy Feet”
“Cars”
“Monster House”
Best Screenplay (Original)
“Babel”
“Letters from Iwo Jima”
“Pan’s Labyrinth”
“Little Miss Sunshine”
“The Queen”
Best Screenplay (Adapted)
“Borat”
“Children of Men”
“The Departed”
“Little Children”
“Notes on a Scandal”
Best Documentary
“Deliver Us from Evil”
“An Inconvenient Truth”
“Iraq in Fragments”
“Jesus Camp”
“My Country, My Country”
Best Foreign Film
“After the Wedding” (Denmark)
“Days of Glory” (Algeria)
The Lives of Others” (Germany)
“Pan’s Labyrinth” (Mexico)
“Water” (Canada)
Achievement in Art Direction
“Dreamgirls”
“The Good Shepherd”
“Pan’s Labyrinth”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”
“The Prestige”
Best Cinematography
“The Black Dahlia” (Vilmos Zsigmond)
“Children of Men” (Emmanuel Lubezki)
“The Illusionist” (Dick Pope)
“Pan’s Labyrinth” (Guillermo Navarro)
“The Prestige” (Wally Pfister)
Best Costume Design
“Curse of the Golden Flower”
“The Devil Wears Prada”
“Dreamgirls”
“Marie Antoinette”
“The Queen”
Best Documentary Short Subject
“The Blood of Yingzhou District”
“Recycled Live”
“Rehearsing a Dream”
“Two Hands”
Best Editing
“Babel”
“Blood Diamond”
“Children of Men”
“The Departed”
“United 93”
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
Original Score
“Babel” (Paramount and Paramount Vantage) Gustavo
Santaolalla
“The Good German” (Warner Bros.) Thomas Newman
“Notes on a Scandal” (Fox Searchlight) Philip Glass
“Pan’s Labyrinth” (Picturehouse) Javier Navarrete
“The Queen” (Miramax, Pathé and Granada) Alexandre Despla
