http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/...ions/index.html
"Brokeback Mountain," the story of two male ranch hands who become romantically involved, led all films with eight nominations for the 78th annual Academy Awards.

"Brokeback," based on a short story by E. Annie Proulx, picked up nods for best picture, best director (Ang Lee), best actor (Heath Ledger), best supporting actress (Michelle Williams) and best supporting actor (Jake Gyllenhaal). Its screenplay adaptation, by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, also received a nomination.

Tuesday was also a big day for George Clooney, who picked up nominations for best director and co-writing the best original screenplay ("Good Night, and Good Luck"), as well as a pick for best supporting actor for his performance as a CIA agent in "Syriana."

"Good Night, and Good Luck" also received a nomination for best picture, while "Syriana" earned a nod for best original screenplay.

Other nominees for best picture are "Capote," "Crash" and "Munich."

"Walk the Line," the Johnny Cash biography that has earned acting honors for stars Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, was shut out of the best picture race, but both Phoenix and Witherspoon were nominated in lead acting categories.

Other nominees for best actor are Philip Seymour Hoffman ("Capote"), Heath Ledger ("Brokeback Mountain"), David Strathairn ("Good Night, and Good Luck") and Terrence Howard ("Hustle & Flow").

The nominees for best actress are Felicity Huffman ("Transamerica"), Charlize Theron ("North Country"), Judi Dench ("Mrs. Henderson Presents") and Keira Knightley ("Pride and Prejudice").

The nominees for best supporting actor are Paul Giamatti ("Cinderella Man"), George Clooney ("Syriana"), Matt Dillon ("Crash"), Jake Gyllenhaal ("Brokeback Mountain") and William Hurt ("A History of Violence").

The nominees for best supporting actress are Rachel Weisz ("The Constant Gardener"), Amy Adams ("Junebug"), Catherine Keener ("Capote"), Frances McDormand ("North Country") and Michelle Williams ("Brokeback Mountain").

The nominees for best director are Paul Haggis ("Crash"), Ang Lee ("Brokeback Mountain"), Bennett Miller ("Capote"), George Clooney ("Good Night, and Good Luck") and Steven Spielberg ("Munich").

The nominees for best original screenplay are "Crash," "Good Night, and Good Luck," "Match Point," "The Squid and the Whale," and "Syriana."

The nominees for best adapted screenplay are "Brokeback Mountain," "Capote," "The Constant Gardener," "A History of Violence" and "Munich."

"Howl's Moving Castle," "Tim Burton's Corpse Bride" and "Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-rabbit" were the nominees for best animated feature. Interestingly, none of the three were computer animated.

The awards will be held March 5 at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, California. Jon Stewart is the host.
Let the games begin!

First reaction: Maria Bello got screwed.

Can't believe Crash and Munich got best picture nods over Walk the Line or The Constant Gardener, or hell- even King Kong.

so happy for Terrence Howardand Spielberg. I hope Munich wins best film, howard best actor, . JYEAHHHH!!!

I'm calling the over/under on right-wing pundits who feel that the love for "Brokeback" demonstrates liberal Hollywood's lack of understanding on the American value system at 8.

While we're at it, here's the whole list:

Performance by an actor in a leading role
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Capote” (UA/Sony Pictures Classics)
Terrence Howard in “Hustle & Flow” (Paramount Classics, MTV Films and New Deal Entertainment)
Heath Ledger in “Brokeback Mountain” (Focus Features)
Joaquin Phoenix in “Walk the Line” (20th Century Fox)
David Strathairn in “Good Night, and Good Luck.” (Warner Independent Pictures)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
George Clooney in “Syriana” (Warner Bros.)
Matt Dillon in “Crash” (Lions Gate)
Paul Giamatti in “Cinderella Man” (Universal and Miramax)
Jake Gyllenhaal in “Brokeback Mountain” (Focus Features)
William Hurt in “A History of Violence” (New Line)

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Judi Dench in “Mrs. Henderson Presents” (The Weinstein Company)
Felicity Huffman in “Transamerica” (The Weinstein Company and IFC Films)
Keira Knightley in “Pride & Prejudice” (Focus Features)
Charlize Theron in “North Country” (Warner Bros.)
Reese Witherspoon in “Walk the Line” (20th Century Fox)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Amy Adams in “Junebug” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Catherine Keener in “Capote” (UA/Sony Pictures Classics)
Frances McDormand in “North Country” (Warner Bros.)
Rachel Weisz in “The Constant Gardener” (Focus Features)
Michelle Williams in “Brokeback Mountain” (Focus Features)

Best animated feature film of the year
“Howl’s Moving Castle” (Buena Vista)
Hayao Miyazaki
“Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride” (Warner Bros.)
Tim Burton and Mike Johnson
“Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit” (DreamWorks Animation SKG)
Nick Park and Steve Box

Achievement in art direction
“Good Night, and Good Luck.” (Warner Independent Pictures)
Art Direction: Jim Bissell
Set Decoration: Jan Pascale
“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” (Warner Bros.)
Art Direction: Stuart Craig
Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
“King Kong” (Universal)
Art Direction: Grant Major
Set Decoration: Dan Hennah and Simon Bright
“Memoirs of a Geisha” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Art Direction: John Myhre
Set Decoration: Gretchen Rau
“Pride & Prejudice” (Focus Features)
Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood
Set Decoration: Katie Spencer

Achievement in cinematography
“Batman Begins” (Warner Bros.)
Wally Pfister
“Brokeback Mountain” (Focus Features)
Rodrigo Prieto
“Good Night, and Good Luck.” (Warner Independent Pictures)
Robert Elswit
“Memoirs of a Geisha” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Dion Beebe
“The New World” (New Line)
Emmanuel Lubezki

Achievement in costume design
“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (Warner Bros.)
Gabriella Pescucci
“Memoirs of a Geisha” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Colleen Atwood
“Mrs. Henderson Presents” (The Weinstein Company)
Sandy Powell
“Pride & Prejudice” (Focus Features)
Jacqueline Durran
“Walk the Line” (20th Century Fox)
Arianne Phillips

Achievement in directing
“Brokeback Mountain” (Focus Features)
Ang Lee
“Capote” (UA/Sony Pictures Classics)
Bennett Miller
“Crash” (Lions Gate)
Paul Haggis
“Good Night, and Good Luck.” (Warner Independent Pictures)
George Clooney
“Munich” (Universal and DreamWorks)
Steven Spielberg

Best documentary feature
“Darwin’s Nightmare” (International Film Circuit)
A Mille et Une Production
Hubert Sauper
“Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room” (Magnolia Pictures)
An HDNet Films Production
Alex Gibney and Jason Kliot
“March of the Penguins” (Warner Independent Pictures)
A Bonne Pioche Production
Luc Jacquet and Yves Darondeau
“Murderball” (THINKFilm)
An Eat Films Production
Henry-Alex Rubin and Dana Adam Shapiro
“Street Fight”
A Marshall Curry Production
Marshall Curry

Best documentary short subject
“The Death of Kevin Carter: Casualty of the Bang Bang Club”
A Dan Krauss Production
Dan Krauss
“God Sleeps in Rwanda”
An Acquaro/Sherman Production
Kimberlee Acquaro and Stacy Sherman
“The Mushroom Club”
A Farallon Films Production
Steven Okazaki
“A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin”
A NomaFilms Production
Corinne Marrinan and Eric Simonson

Achievement in film editing
“Cinderella Man” (Universal and Miramax)
Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
“The Constant Gardener” (Focus Features)
Claire Simpson
“Crash” (Lions Gate)
Hughes Winborne
“Munich” (Universal and DreamWorks)
Michael Kahn
“Walk the Line” (20th Century Fox)
Michael McCusker

Best foreign language film of the year
“Don’t Tell”
A Cattleya/Rai Cinema Production
Italy
“Joyeux Noël”
A Nord-Ouest Production
France
“Paradise Now”
An Augustus Film Production
Palestine
“Sophie Scholl - The Final Days”
A Goldkind Filmproduktion and Broth Film Production
Germany
“Tsotsi”
A Moviworld Production
South Africa

Achievement in makeup
“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”
(Buena Vista)
Howard Berger and Tami Lane
“Cinderella Man”
(Universal and Miramax)
David Leroy Anderson and Lance Anderson
“Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith”
(20th Century Fox)
Dave Elsey and Annette Miles

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
“Brokeback Mountain” (Focus Features) Gustavo Santaolalla
“The Constant Gardener” (Focus Features) Alberto Iglesias
“Memoirs of a Geisha” (Sony Pictures Releasing) John Williams
“Munich” (Universal and DreamWorks) John Williams
“Pride & Prejudice” (Focus Features) Dario Marianelli

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
“In the Deep” from “Crash” (Lions Gate)
Music by Kathleen “Bird” York and Michael Becker
Lyric by Kathleen “Bird” York
“It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” from“Hustle & Flow” (Paramount Classics, MTV Films and New Deal Entertainment)
Music and Lyric by Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman and Paul Beauregard
“Travelin’ Thru” from “Transamerica” (The Weinstein Company and IFC Films)
Music and Lyric by Dolly Parton

Best motion picture of the year
“Brokeback Mountain” (Focus Features)
A River Road Entertainment Production
Diana Ossana and James Schamus, Producers
“Capote” (UA/Sony Pictures Classics)
An A-Line Pictures/Cooper’s Town/ Infinity Media Production
Caroline Baron, William Vince and Michael Ohoven, Producers
“Crash” (Lions Gate)
A Bob Yari/DEJ/Blackfriar’s Bridge/ Harris Company/ApolloProscreen GmbH & Co./Bull’s Eye Entertainment Production
Paul Haggis and Cathy Schulman, Producers
“Good Night, and Good Luck.” (Warner Independent Pictures)
A Good Night Good Luck LLC Production
Grant Heslov, Producer
“Munich” (Universal and DreamWorks)
A Universal Pictures/DreamWorks Pictures Production
Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg and Barry Mendel, Producers

Best animated short film
“Badgered”
A National Film and Television School Production
Sharon Colman
“The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation”
A John Canemaker Production
John Canemaker and Peggy Stern
“The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello” (Monster Distributes)
A 3D Films Production
Anthony Lucas
“9”
A Shane Acker Production
Shane Acker
“One Man Band”
A Pixar Animation Studios Production
Andrew Jimenez and Mark Andrews

Best live action short film
“Ausreisser (The Runaway)”
A Hamburg Media School, Filmwerkstatt Production
Ulrike Grote
“Cashback” (The British Film Institute)
A Left Turn Films Production
Sean Ellis and Lene Bausager
“The Last Farm”
A Zik Zak Filmworks Production
Rúnar Rúnarsson and Thor S. Sigurjónsson
“Our Time Is Up”
A Station B Production
Rob Pearlstein and Pia Clemente
“Six Shooter” (Sundance Film Channel)
A Missing in Action Films and Funny Farm Films Production
Martin McDonagh

Achievement in sound editing
“King Kong” (Universal) Mike Hopkins and Ethan Van der Ryn
“Memoirs of a Geisha” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Wylie Stateman
“War of the Worlds” (Paramount and DreamWorks) Richard King

Achievement in sound mixing
“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” (Buena Vista)
Terry Porter, Dean A. Zupancic and Tony Johnson
“King Kong” (Universal)
Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges and Hammond Peek
“Memoirs of a Geisha” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell, Rick Kline and John Pritchett
“Walk the Line” (20th Century Fox)
Paul Massey, D.M. Hemphill and Peter F. Kurland
“War of the Worlds” (Paramount and DreamWorks)
Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer and Ronald Judkins

Achievement in visual effects
“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” (Buena Vista)
Dean Wright, Bill Westenhofer, Jim Berney and Scott Farrar
“King Kong” (Universal)
Joe Letteri, Brian Van’t Hul, Christian Rivers and Richard Taylor
“War of the Worlds” (Paramount and DreamWorks)
Dennis Muren, Pablo Helman, Randy Dutra and Daniel Sudick

Adapted screenplay
“Brokeback Mountain” (Focus Features)
Screenplay by Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana
“Capote” (UA/Sony Pictures Classics)
Screenplay by Dan Futterman
“The Constant Gardener” (Focus Features)
Screenplay by Jeffrey Caine
“A History of Violence” (New Line)
Screenplay by Josh Olson
“Munich” (Universal and DreamWorks)
Screenplay by Tony Kushner and Eric Roth

Original screenplay
“Crash” (Lions Gate)
Screenplay by Paul Haggis & Bobby Moresco
Story by Paul Haggis
“Good Night, and Good Luck.” (Warner Independent Pictures)
Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov
“Match Point” (DreamWorks)
Written by Woody Allen
“The Squid and the Whale” (Samuel Goldwyn Films and Sony Pictures Releasing)
Written by Noah Baumbach
“Syriana” (Warner Bros.)
Written by Stephen Gaghan

This is the first time I've seen any of the best picture noms and I've seen four of them (Brokeback, Good Night, Crash & Munich).

Of the four that I've seen, I think Munich was the best.

As for the other categories:
Joaquin for best lead male
Clooney for best supporting male
Reese for best female lead
Michelle Williams for best female supporting, but Anne Hathaway did a great job in brokeback, too.

I should say how excited I am that "Murderball" got some love for best documentary, even though it will lose to the penguins.


Damn those stupid penguins.

No visual or audio effects nominations for Episode III? What a joke. That movie is, at the very least, incredibly visual and nice too look at. And like all Star Wars films, the audio is incredible.

Just shows how much the Hollywood establishment hate Lucas (and vice versa).

"It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp"


Who would have ever thought a song with this title would be nominated for an Oscar?

Naw. He along with Spielberg showed them the ways of crossover product marketing.
It just happens to be that the sci-fi series hasn't really added anything 'new' since it started nearly 30 years ago and I for one am glad it's dead now cause the last three sucked something fierce.

btw. of all the noms I've only seen 'Crash' and I have to say I'm shocked that it even got nominated because it certainly is 'NOT' that good.

The irony is that most right-wing morons (i.e. Michael Medved) would assume the opposite because they claim that Episode III is anti-Bush.

But don't take my word for it..... take the Washington Post's.

I was looking at this and pondering who's gonna perform this sucker? Will the dancers be in big fur coats with canes slappin their bitches?

And it deserves to win.

I guess I have a good reason to see Crash now. I don't see a whole lot of slam dunks out there. I think Brokeback will take best picture, but best actor is a tough call. I'd like to think Amy Adams would walk in that crowd, but Weisz is cleaning up the other awards. Big surprise to me that Malik didn't get a director nomination.

No, he would just be incensed at how violent the movie is.

Early predictions:

Best picture:
"Brokeback Mountain"

Best director:
Ang Lee

Best actor:
Philip Seymour Hoffman

Best actress:
Reese Witherspoon

Best supporting actor:
George Clooney

Best supporting actress:
Amy Adams

Best Animated Feature:
"Corpse Bride"

Best Art Dircetion:
"King Kong"

Best Cinematography:
"Batman Begins"

Best Costume Design:
"Memoirs Of A Geisha"

Best Documentary:
"March Of The Penguins"

I wasn't big on "Crash" but I thought it had a good chance to get nominated, partially because a lot of potential, "upcoming" releases like "King Kong" et al turned out to be let downs once they were released.

Having said that, MUNICH? Wow, never underestimate the power of Spielberg.

Cronenberg getting shut out is no surprise, he's dealt with that his whole career, but Maria Bello? I agree, she was robbed.

BTW, "Grizzly Man" shut out? Even after a DGA award for Herzog? Not even a music nomination for RT? I PISS on the Oscars...

No, I'm being entirely serious. I listen sometimes just to laugh, and he has gone on a rant calling "Episode III" one of the most political movies he's ever seen. Something about the line Anakin says, "You're either with me or with my enemies", and then some comment Amidala makes about too much control in the hands of one person.


He's an ass.

Well, then you would think Hollywood would even be more likely to support it.

I get an itchy feeling Penguins won't take home the prize, although Oscar docs of late have taken a populist turn thanks to Michael Moore and Errol Morris (both deserved winners). Usually the winner is the most political or of the most human interest

Only 3 nominations for best song this year? Isn't it usually 5?

Maybe they finally realized that 90% of their picks are usually crap?

"This Is The Night" should have gotten a nom here. I haven't heard any of the ones that did get nominated but I'm prepared for the worst.


"Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" effects weren't even that good. Nice talking beavers and wolves, but those characters and the human actors stood out terribly against the backgrounds like it was a cheap blue screen.

In that case, Darwin's Nightmare will win. I think Penguins will do it just because of its popular appeal.

BTW, 3 noms? Cool, two less drippy ballads to sit through.

will someone please explain to me why anyone likes Rachel Weisz

Right on. Still, it would be so cool to see Phoenix and Witherspoon do a live "Time's a-wastin'" or "Jackson".


What's not to like...she's beautiful and comes off as intelligent and strong.

Amen about Weisz. The supporting actress has been traditionally the babe category. With a few exceptions, it's usually won by the most babe-ilicious nominee. Juliette Binoche, Mira Sorvino (over the other favorite Joan Allen), Marisa Tomei's upset over Judy Davis, Kim Basinger, Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jennifer Connelly, Angelina Jolie, etc. Even losers like Winona Ryder and Kate Hudson were favorites that lost in big upsets.

Actually, the Best Actress category has been moving in that direction in recent years too.

she's not very good looking and sounds almost as stupid as Juliette Lewis.



= not babe

Uh, think again:

I just saw Hustle & Flow over the weekend on DVD and I am very happy to see Terrence Howard get nominated. That man has got serious talent. To play a pimp that is more than just a caricature, a person that you end up rooting for in one film; then to portray a man that many would call an Uncle Tom just shows his range. Not to mention all of the other roles he has shined in.

I wasn't gonna rip on the nominations, just cause it's too easy every year (god forbid a comedy like "40 Year Old Virgin" ever get some sort of nod...the only fims worthy of oscars are biopics, political films, period pieces, or films where the good looking hollywood actor plays blind/retarded/ugly/gay/etc.). But this year, something minor (but not) really pisses me off....ommissions in the visual effects category.

Both Sin City and Kung Fu Hustle were revolutionary in their use of CGI. Both films' directors showed the artistic merits of using CGI (as opposing to just cramming in more pixels and polygons to make everything a wee bit more realistic). Moreover, only three films were nominated, when most other categories have five nominees...so why couldn't these films be squeezed in. And as someone else mentioned...Star Wars probably deserves a nod too (visually, it was far superior to both War of the Worlds and Chronicles of Narnia, which just seem like random choices).

Admittedly, this is a random rant for a throw away category, but these snubs still piss me off.

Thinking Man's Hottie.

(you wouldn't understand.)

Hope Howard wins and the song wins too loved Hustle and Flow

as far as musical performance I'd love to see Howard and the Girl who sang the hook perform it

also loved Walk the Line but as good as Phoenix was Witherspoon stole the show

I always liked Phillip S Hoffman esp in Boogie Nights and Happiness but what I've seen of Capote is annoying tho I have no doubt he was pitch perfect with the voice etc

this proves there should be no competition in art

hoffman and phoenix would be terrible as pimps

howard would have hard time being capote or cash

but anyone with talent could probably play a gay cowboy

i'm really excited for george clooney and i think it's great that terrance howard got nominated, but phillip seymour should win it.

i haven't seen munich, but i always find it interesting when movies get nominated but no one who acted in them got nominated...weird.

also the other way around, like with walk the line. i thought that movie was fantastic...why wouldn't it get a best movie nod?

crash to me was pretty good...but it seemed like a rip off of magnolia...only difference was it made you think more.

I liked Crash, but it isn't as good as it thinks it is. Walk The Line and even Kong should have been given a nod over that.

Let's just put the bullshit to rest



Crash was like a children's movie, an Oprah love fest. A completely contrived after school special. A movie about caricatures, but the movie itself was a half-ass amalgam of any of the good movies that take place in L.A and a caricature in and of itself. Where the lives of 10 people cross, and blah blah blah. It has nothing on any of the movies with the same plot that have come before it.

Oprah actually had all the actors on the show last year and called it one of the best movie's ever made. This makes me want to gag and then gag again and then throw up and swallow.

it does not deserve to be a best pic nominee, it deserves a blockbuster audience popular choice award at the blockbuster awards hosted by some douche like Matt Perry.

I doubt that they'll even perform the "Hustle & Flow" song, and I have previous experience on my side. Remember, Eminem's "Lose Yourself" was best song for whatever year it won, and not only was it not performed, Eminem wasn't even at the ceremony.

I admire Crash for really tackling shit. It wasn't even-handed or "fair" in the traditional sense and it'll probably age about as well as Guess Who's Coming to Dinner but it got people thinking and talking and I have extreme respect for pretty much any movie that can do that. It lives up to its title, in a positive sense.

Crash is better than the other nominees. Had it come out later in the year, and not sort of been forgotten it would be the leading contender to win.

It gets points for trying. Crash was well-acted, it was just too broad and heavy-handed as a 'message' movie, not all that insightful, but it tried.

The difference betwen this year and last year is there is no outstanding movie that is brilliant but not Oscar material (Eternal Sunshine...)

That's why you look at the list and you could only realistically come up with 7 films that could fill those 5 spaces.

though i may be slightly bias, there is no way that paul giamatti and philip seymour hoffman will lose this year. and it'll be SPECTACULAR. you can quote me on that. if either are shafted, yet again, half of chicago will be burned to the ground. by me. in the name of [handsome] underrated actors everywhere!!

Chuck Klosterman kinda nails the Crash thing in an unrelated column:

Hmmm - I think Brokeback Mountain and Capote are both better films than Crash. Not that it's a bad film, it was good - just not as good as these two.

I know people will think I have a bias - but Brokeback should get the best picture Oscar - it succeeds on just about every level and is the type of film that stays with you for a while. Crash is a "message" movie and slightly heavy handed. Capote is haunting, but doesn't pack the emotional punch of Brokeback, though Hoffman is a sure win for Best Actor.

My guess, Brokeback will win Best Director, Adapted Screenplay, Cinemetography and Original Score - Hoffman and Reese Witherspoon will take home for Acting, as well as Racheal Weisz and Paul Giammati - but the Academy will give Best Picture to Crash.

Eh, I'm not really excited. Capote would be my pick, but I liked it more for Hoffman than the movie itself (which was still good but not great).

Here are some of snippets of trivia about this year's event:

# Brokeback Mountain leads the nominations with eight. It is the most open Oscars race since 2000, the last time a film topped the list with eight nominations (American Beauty). The leading films in subsequent years have received between 11-13 nominations each.

# It is a good year for Oscars newcomers - 14 of the 20 acting nominees have not been nominated before, the highest number for nine years. The remaining six have 13 previous nominations and four awards between them.

# It is a good year for low-budget films - only one of the best picture nominees had a budget over $15m (£8.6m), according to the Internet Movie Database. Munich is the most expensive, with a reported $75m (£43m) budget.

# Among the best picture nominees, Crash led the US box office takings at the time of the nominations with $55m (£32m), followed by Brokeback Mountain's $42m (£24m).

# For the first time in 25 years, all five nominees for best picture have also been nominated for best director - only the fourth time in Oscars history that the shortlists have been the same.

# At 71, Dame Judi Dench is the oldest best actress nominee since 80-year-old Jessica Tandy won for Driving Miss Daisy in 1990. Dame Judi is nominated for her role in Mrs Henderson Presents.

# Keira Knightley , 20, who is shortlisted for Pride and Prejudice, would be the youngest best actress winner if she won. The current record is held by Marlee Matlin, who won for Children of a Lesser God in 1987, aged 21.

# If Heath Ledger wins best actor for Brokeback Mountain, the 26-year-old would be the youngest winner of the award. Adrien Brody, who was 29 when he won for The Pianist in 2003, currently holds the record.

# Ledger's girlfriend Michelle Williams is nominated for best supporting actress. The pair met while filming Brokeback Mountain and had a daughter in October.

# George Clooney is the first person to be nominated for acting in and directing different films in the same year. He is up for best supporting actor for his role in Syriana, plus best director and best original screenplay for Good Night, and Good Luck.

# Clooney is only the fifth person to be nominated for acting, directing and writing in the same year - following Orson Welles (1942), Woody Allen (1978), Warren Beatty (1979 and 1982) and Roberto Benigni (1999).

# With Munich, Steven Spielberg has produced a total of five films with best picture nominations - one behind record-holder Stanley Kramer and tied with Francis Ford Coppola. He has also been nominated for best director six times.

# Woody Allen has received his 21st career nomination for best original screenplay for Match Point. He has received more screenplay nominations than any other writer in Oscars history with 14. He has also been nominated for best director six times and best actor once, winning a total of three times.

# Composer John Williams has two nominations for best original score for writing music for Munich and Memoirs of a Geisha. It takes his career nominations tally to 40 - one behind best score record-holder Alfred Newman. Williams has won five times.

[/i]
Let the games begin!

First reaction: Maria Bello got screwed.
[/quote]

Second reaction: I wanna screw Maria Bello.

Bookmakers slash Crash Oscar odds

The odds of race drama Crash winning the best picture Oscar have been slashed, but Brokeback Mountain remains the hot favourite.

UK bookmaker William Hill cut Crash's odds from 8/1 to 6/4 but still put Brokeback Mountain ahead at 1/2.

Meanwhile one of Crash's producers sued Oscar organisers after they failed to name him in the best picture nomination - an award given to producers.

The Academy declined to comment on producer Bob Yari's actions.

Mr Yari is also suing the Producers Guild of America, who called his action "bogus".

Race relations drama Crash is up for a total of six prizes at Sunday's ceremony.

Mr Yari was one of Crash's six producers, but only two have been named as best picture nominees by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which organises the Oscars.

The Academy has recently attempted to crack down on the number of nominated producers to ensure only those who genuinely filled that role are credited.

It has used the credits decided by the Producers Guild of America (PGA). Yari's legal action said the system was "patently unfair" and "a violation of the law".

"It never reveals who makes its awards-crediting decisions, what evidence is considered, or the basis on which a producer's application for award credit is rejected," he said.


OSCARS BEST PICTURE ODDS
1/2 - Brokeback Mountain
6/4 - Crash
20/1 - Good Night, and Good Luck
20/1 - Munich
25/1 - Capote
Source: William Hill


A PGA spokesman said: "Credit determinations are made on a confidential basis because people are afraid to step forward and tell the truth because of retaliation.

"That is the norm. That is the standard in the industry."

In a separate court case, Cathy Schulman and one of Crash's executive producers, Tom Nunan, took legal action against Mr Yari.

They are suing him for allegedly failing to pay them more than $2m (£1.14m) in fees and bonuses.

To avoid affecting the film's chances at the Oscars, both sides waited until voting closed on Tuesday before taking action.

Meanwhile, a conservative US Christian group has said 61,000 people have signed a letter protesting against Brokeback Mountain's eight Academy Award nominations.

The Center for Reclaiming America for Christ said the acclaim "had little to do with honouring great moviemaking".

"Instead, it is just a high-profile attempt to mainstream the homosexual agenda," the centre said.

The letter, sent to the Academy, said the gay cowboy story was "offensive to the vast majority of Americans".


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/ente...ent/4769588.stm

I hope Hoffman and Huffman win....just for the oddity of it all.




What? What? What?

I'll be looking forward to seeing Jon Stewart up there. I've never thought of him as a funny guy, though many revere him as hilarious. I'm hoping he does a good job, but am skeptical.

As far as the nominations for best picture, I could care less. None of them seemed interesting enough for me to go out and see in the theatre.

So is this the chatter thread? I'm ready to play.



Give me a caption.









BUSEY!





[imghttp://www.eonline.com/Features/Awards/Oscars2006/Popup/Pics/Images/06.smith.pinkettsmith.jpg[/img]

INCOMING!

damn, Billy Crystal looks awful