Oscars Are Announced and we give a collective Yawn

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I was going to post this yesterday, but the Heath Ledger tragedy took priority and somehow talking about the Oscar race after his death seemed a little weird. I have to say that while I’m not enthused with this year’s selections, I agree with most of them. The only rant that I would have is Atonement and Michael Clayton Best Picture? Really? Does Cate Blanchett have blackmail material on the voters? She’s the new Tom Hanks, if she farts on screen she’ll get an Oscar Nomination. I hate Cate Blanchett, but I will admit she was strong in Elizabeth – in all her pasty face glory. Those were two of the worst films that I have seen all year. Love to see Juno got love. Atonement for best musical score? Are these people tone deaf? It was like nails on a chalkboard. I DESPISED the music in Atonement. Enchanted had THREE songs nominated and only one from Once? They couldn’t give Eddie Vedder a nod for his song from Into The Wild? Really? I liked Enchanted, didn’t love it and think it’s a tad overrated, but I thought the music was AWFUL and not that movie’s strong point. Where’s King of Kong for best Documentary? For those that care, here is the complete list.

Performance by an actor in a leading role

George Clooney in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)

Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)

Johnny Depp in “Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
(DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)

Tommy Lee Jones in “In the Valley of Elah” (Warner Independent)

Viggo Mortensen in “Eastern Promises” (Focus Features)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

Casey Affleck in “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (Warner Bros.)

Javier Bardem in “No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)

Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Charlie Wilson’s War” (Universal)

Hal Holbrook in “Into the Wild” (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment)

Tom Wilkinson in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)

Performance by an actress in a leading role

Cate Blanchett in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (Universal)

Julie Christie in “Away from Her” (Lionsgate)

Marion Cotillard in “La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse)

Laura Linney in “The Savages” (Fox Searchlight)

Ellen Page in “Juno” (Fox Searchlight)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

Cate Blanchett in “I’m Not There” (The Weinstein Company)

Ruby Dee in “American Gangster” (Universal)

Saoirse Ronan in “Atonement” (Focus Features)

Amy Ryan in “Gone Baby Gone” (Miramax)

Tilda Swinton in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)

Best animated feature film of the year

Persepolis” (Sony Pictures Classics) Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud

Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Brad Bird

Surf’s Up” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Ash Brannon and Chris Buck

Achievement in art direction

American Gangster” (Universal)
Art Direction: Arthur Max
Set Decoration: Beth A. Rubino

Atonement” (Focus Features)
Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood
Set Decoration: Katie Spencer

The Golden Compass” (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners)
Art Direction: Dennis Gassner
Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock

Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Art Direction: Dante Ferretti
Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo

There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Art Direction: Jack Fisk
Set Decoration: Jim Erickson

Achievement in cinematography

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (Warner Bros.) Roger Deakins

Atonement” (Focus Features) Seamus McGarvey

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn) Janusz Kaminski

No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Roger Deakins

There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Robert Elswit

Achievement in costume design

Across the Universe” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Albert Wolsky

Atonement” (Focus Features) Jacqueline Durran

Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (Universal) Alexandra Byrne

La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse) Marit Allen

Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount) Colleen Atwood

Achievement in directing

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn) Julian Schnabel

Juno” (Fox Searchlight) Jason Reitman

Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.) Tony Gilroy

No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Paul Thomas Anderson

Best documentary feature

No End in Sight” (Magnolia Pictures)
A Representational Pictures Production
Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs

Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience” (The Documentary Group)
A Documentary Group Production
Richard E. Robbins

Sicko” (Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company)
A Dog Eat Dog Films Production
Michael Moore and Meghan O’Hara

Taxi to the Dark Side” (THINKFilm)
An X-Ray Production
Alex Gibney and Eva Orner

War/Dance” (THINKFilm)
A Shine Global and Fine Films Production
Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine

Best documentary short subject

Freeheld
A Lieutenant Films Production
Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth

La Corona (The Crown)
A Runaway Films and Vega Films Production
Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega

Salim Baba
A Ropa Vieja Films and Paradox Smoke Production
Tim Sternberg and Francisco Bello

Sari’s Mother” (Cinema Guild)
A Daylight Factory Production
James Longley

Achievement in film editing

The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal) Christopher Rouse

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn) Juliette Welfling

Into the Wild” (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment) Jay Cassidy

No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Roderick Jaynes

There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Dylan Tichenor

Best foreign language film of the year

Beaufort” A Metro Communications, Movie Plus Production
Israel

The Counterfeiters” An Aichholzer Filmproduktion, Magnolia Filmproduktion Production
Austria

Katy?” An Akson Studio Production
Poland

Mongol” A Eurasia Film Production
Kazakhstan

12” A Three T Production
Russia

Achievement in makeup

La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse) Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald

Norbit” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount) Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (Walt Disney) Ve Neill and Martin Samuel

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

Atonement” (Focus Features) Dario Marianelli

The Kite Runner” (DreamWorks, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Participant Productions, Distributed by Paramount Classics) Alberto Iglesias

Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.) James Newton Howard

Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino

3:10 to Yuma” (Lionsgate) Marco Beltrami

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

Falling Slowly” from “Once”
(Fox Searchlight)
Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova

Happy Working Song” from “Enchanted”
(Walt Disney)
Music by Alan Menken
Lyric by Stephen Schwartz

Raise It Up” from “August Rush”
(Warner Bros.)
Nominees to be determined

So Close” from “Enchanted”
(Walt Disney)
Music by Alan Menken
Lyric by Stephen Schwartz

That’s How You Know” from “Enchanted”
(Walt Disney)
Music by Alan Menken
Lyric by Stephen Schwartz

Best motion picture of the year

Atonement” (Focus Features)
A Working Title Production
Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Paul Webster, Producers

Juno” (Fox Searchlight)
A Dancing Elk Pictures, LLC Production
Lianne Halfon, Mason Novick and Russell Smith, Producers

Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)
A Clayton Productions, LLC Production
Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox and Kerry Orent, Producers

No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
A Scott Rudin/Mike Zoss Production
Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers

There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
A JoAnne Sellar/Ghoulardi Film Company Production
JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Lupi, Producers

Best animated short film

I Met the Walrus
A Kids & Explosions Production
Josh Raskin

Madame Tutli-Putli” (National Film Board of Canada)
A National Film Board of Canada Production
Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski

Même Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)” (Premium Films)
A BUF Compagnie Production
Samuel Tourneux and Simon Vanesse

My Love (Moya Lyubov)” (Channel One Russia)
A Dago-Film Studio, Channel One Russia and Dentsu Tec Production
Alexander Petrov

Peter & the Wolf” (BreakThru Films)
A BreakThru Films/Se-ma-for Studios Production
Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman

Best live action short film

At Night
A Zentropa Entertainments 10 Production
Christian E. Christiansen and Louise Vesth

Il Supplente (The Substitute)” (Sky Cinema Italia)
A Frame by Frame Italia Production
Andrea Jublin

Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)” (Premium Films)
A Karé Production
Philippe Pollet-Villard

Tanghi Argentini” (Premium Films)
An Another Dimension of an Idea Production
Guido Thys and Anja Daelemans

The Tonto Woman
A Knucklehead, Little Mo and Rose Hackney Barber Production
Daniel Barber and Matthew Brown

Achievement in sound editing

The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal)
Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg

No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Skip Lievsay

Ratatouille” (Walt Disney)
Randy Thom and Michael Silvers

There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Christopher Scarabosio and Matthew Wood

Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro)
Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins

Achievement in sound mixing

The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal)
Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis

No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland

Ratatouille” (Walt Disney)
Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane

3:10 to Yuma” (Lionsgate)
Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe

Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro)
Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin

Achievement in visual effects

The Golden Compass” (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners)
Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (Walt Disney)
John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier

Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro)
Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier

Adapted screenplay

Atonement” (Focus Features)
Screenplay by Christopher Hampton

Away from Her” (Lionsgate)
Written by Sarah Polley

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn)
Screenplay by Ronald Harwood

No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson

Original screenplay

Juno” (Fox Searchlight)
Written by Diablo Cody

Lars and the Real Girl” (MGM)
Written by Nancy Oliver

Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)
Written by Tony Gilroy

Ratatouille” (Walt Disney)
Screenplay by Brad Bird
Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird

The Savages” (Fox Searchlight)
Written by Tamara Jenkins