The 2008 Oscar Nominations were announced this morning. Here is your list of nominees. My pics are noted with an “*”
BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
Atonement
*Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood
ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
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
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
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
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Cate Blanchett – Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie – Away From Her
Marion Cotillard – La Vie en Rose
Laura Linney – The Savages
*Ellen Page – Juno
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Casey Affleck – The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
*Javier Bardem – No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman – Charlie Wilson’s War
Hal Holbrook – Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson – Michael Clayton
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Cate Blanchett – I’m Not There
Ruby Dee – American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan – Atonement
*Amy Ryan – Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton – Michael Clayton
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 – Ratatouille
Tamara Jenkins – The Savages
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
Beaufort (Israel)
The Counterfeiters (Austria)
*Katyn (Poland)
Mongol (Kazakhstan) 12 (Russia)
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR
Persepolis
*Ratatouille
Surf’s Up
ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION
American Gangster
Art Direction: Arthur Max; Set Decoration: Beth A. Rubino
Atonement
Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
The Golden Compass
Art Direction: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
*Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Art Direction: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
There Will Be Blood
Art Direction: Jack Fisk; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson
ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
Roger Deakins – The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Seamus McGarvey – Atonement
Janusz Kaminski – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Roger Deakins – No Country for Old Men
*Robert Elswit – There Will Be Blood
ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
Albert Wolsky – Across the Universe
Jacqueline Durran – Atonement
*Alexandra Byrne – Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Marit Allen – La Vie en Rose
Colleen Atwood – Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
No End in Sight
Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience
*Sicko
Taxi to the Dark Side
War/Dance
ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING
*Christopher Rouse – The Bourne Ultimatum
Juliette Welfling – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Jay Cassidy – Into the Wild
Roderick Jaynes – No Country for Old Men
Dylan Tichenor – There Will Be Blood
ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP
Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald – La Vie en Rose
Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji – Norbit
*Ve Neill and Martin Samuel – Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SCORE)
Dario Marianelli – Atonement
Alberto Iglesias – The Kite Runner
James Newton Howard – Michael Clayton
Michael Giacchino – Ratatouille
*Marco Beltrami – 3:10 to Yuma
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SONG)
“Falling Slowly” – Once
Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and: Marketa Irglova
“Happy Working Song” – Enchanted
Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
*”Raise It Up” – August Rush
Nominees to be determined “So Close” – Enchanted
Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
“That’s How You Know” – Enchanted
Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis – The Bourne Ultimatum
Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland – No Country for Old Men
Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane – Ratatouille
Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe – 3:10 to Yuma
*Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin – Transformers
ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg – The Bourne Ultimatum
Skip Lievsay – No Country for Old Men
Randy Thom and Michael Silvers – Ratatouille
Matthew Wood – There Will Be Blood
*Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins – Transformers
ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood – The Golden Compass
John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier – Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
*Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier – Transformers
There are a couple of small surprises, but no major outrages on the this this year. Despite a very disapointing summer, this has actually been a pretty damn fine year for film, and it’s great to see Juno getting the attention it deserves. Having said that, 3:10 to Yuma not being nominated for best film is a bit of a let down (I would remove Michael Clayton), and I still say Ratatouille is being robbed of its rightful place on the “Best Film” list just because of its genre. Other than that, a very solid line up this year, and I can’t wait for the results! Let the discussion and wagering begin!
