Are they really snubs? I'm not sure this year!

Oscar nomination snubs and surprises

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Usually the Oscar race seems pretty much firmed up long before anyone’s name is announced as a nominee at 5:38 a.m. PST. Not so this year — there were some wonderful surprises and surprising snubs.

Among them:

— WAKE-UP CALL: “Dreamgirls,” the de facto front-runner throughout awards season, received a leading eight nominations — except for the biggie, best picture. It looked like a shoo-in, especially after winning the Golden Globe for best musical or comedy. Co-stars Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson (who also won at the Golden Globes) were nominated in the supporting-actor categories, as expected. But director Bill Condon was shut out, as were top-billed stars Jamie Foxx and Beyonce Knowles. And of the film’s eight nominations, three are for original song. (The others came in art direction, costume design and sound mixing.)

— FEEL THE VIBRATION: Mark Wahlberg, the artist formerly known as Marky Mark, beat out his more established co-stars in “The Departed” — Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon — to score a nomination for best supporting actor. Among the talented ensemble cast in Martin Scorsese’s mob drama, which also includes Alec Baldwin and Martin Sheen, Wahlberg was a consistent scene stealer as a bitter Boston detective. He was even more arresting than in his days as a rapper and underwear model.

— NADA PARA PEDRO: Longtime critical darling and Oscar favorite Pedro Almodovar was left out of the foreign-language category with “Volver,” his supernatural tale of strong women in a small Spanish town. The film’s star, Penelope Cruz, did score a best-actress nomination, though — the first for a Spanish actress. Almodovar was widely expected to be included in the category; his 1999 film “All About My Mother” won the foreign-language prize, and he also earned an Oscar for his original screenplay for 2002’s “Talk to Her.”

— HOW DO YOU SAY “OSCAR” IN MAYAN?: It looked like Mel Gibson was nuts when he said he was making an ultraviolent historical epic in subtitled Mayan with an entirely unknown cast. Now it looks like he was on to something — not only did it open at No. 1 at the box office, it has three Oscar nominations: makeup, sound editing and sound mixing. Say what you will about Mel, the man knows how to make a mean — and technically flawless — action picture.

— THE SEPT. 11 FILMS: Paul Greengrass received a much-deserved directing nomination for “United 93,” his harrowing, detailed docudrama about the hijacked flight that nose-dived into a Pennsylvania field. He took the spot that might have gone to Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris of “Little Miss Sunshine,” the only ones in the best-picture category who didn’t also get a nomination for best director. “United 93” also was recognized for its editing. Oliver Stone’s stirring “World Trade Center,” meanwhile, received no nominations, despite his elaborate recreation of ground zero and strong performances from Nicolas Cage, Michael Pena, Maria Bello and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

— THE RETURN OF KELLY LEAK: Jackie Earle Haley, until recently best known for his role as bad-boy slugger Kelly Leak in the 1976 classic “The Bad News Bears,” has completed his comeback with a supporting-actor nomination for “Little Children.” Haley is chilling as a former sexual predator who returns to his hometown and sparks fear in the suburbanites. He also appeared last year as a bloodless bodyguard in “All the King’s Men.”

— SMALL FILMS, BIG PERFORMANCES: A couple of Sundance favorites also found themselves among the Oscar nominees. Ryan Gosling, who did complex work as a drug-addicted junior-high-school teacher in the low-budget “Half Nelson,” received a best-actor nomination. And the independent darling “Little Miss Sunshine,” besides being honored among the best-picture and original-screenplay contenders, also earned supporting-actor nominations for the adorable, 10-year-old Abigail Breslin and Alan Arkin as a cantankerous grandfather.

"Heroes" is enjoyable in the way that "Lost" used to be!

'Heroes' Expands Universe with Roberts

The cast of "Heroes" will grow a little bit more this season with the addition of the ever-busy Eric Roberts.

The one-time "Less Than Perfect" star will join the first-year NBC hit later this season. He'll be playing a character named Thompson, an associate of Jack Coleman's shadowy HRG, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

In other casting news, Scott Cohen ("Law & Order: Trial by Jury") is reuniting with "Gilmore Girls" creator Amy Sherman-Palladino on a FOX pilot, and former "24" regular James Badge Dale will star in NBC's drama "Fort Pit."

It's unclear whether Roberts will be a regular or have a recurring part on "Heroes." He's one of several recent additions to the cast; former "Dr. Who" Christopher Eccleston made his first appearance on the show Monday, and Stana Katic ("24," "The Shield") was seen in a preview for a future episode. Jessalyn Gilsig ("Nip/Tuck") will also be featured on the show this season.

Roberts, whose credits range from "Star 80" to "The Cable Guy" to "Less Than Perfect," will next be seen in the Hallmark Channel's miniseries "Pandemic." He also has several film projects at various stages of production.

Also at NBC, Dale will play a fresh-from-the-academy police officer in "Fort Pit," a drama about a precinct filled with rookies and veteran officers riding out the last days of their careers. Dale starred in the third season of "24" and recently co-starred in the Oscar-nominated "The Departed."

Cohen, meanwhile, has taken a role in "The Return of Jezebel James," a comedy about two estranged sisters who reunite when one agrees to carry the other's baby. He'll play the boyfriend of one of the sisters. It's a reunion with Sherman-Palladino for Cohen, who played Lorelai's (Lauren Graham) boyfriend Max Medina early in the show's life.

Very niiiiice!!

'Borat' improv script lands Oscar nom

NEW YORK - Wa Wa Wee Wah? Borat Sagdiyev himself might have exclaimed that catch phrase upon hearing that the largely improvised "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" had been nominated Tuesday for a best adapted screenplay Oscar.

The majority of the movie, starring Sacha Baron Cohen as Borat, is fueled by Cohen's interactions with real people — most of whom weren't reading from a script. Needless to say, if they had been supplied dialogue, many of the unwitting actors wouldn't have sued (as they have) over their inclusion in the film.

And still a team of four writers was nominated for the Oscar: Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Peter Baynham and Dan Mazer. The same four, plus Todd Phillips, were credited with the story.

What in the name of Kazakhstan is going on here?

When "Borat" was introduced to the press last fall, the production notes from studio 20th Century Fox said "there was no script" for the film, which it explained was "a new form of filmmaking for an age in which reality and entertainment have become increasingly intertwined."

Does a film need a screenplay to be considered for best screenplay? Can anyone beside Yogi Berra answer such a question?

Bruce Davis, executive director of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, says the academy defers to the Writers Guild when it comes to writing credit. ("Borat" is nominated in the adapted category because it's based on a pre-existing character — in this case, Baron Cohen's TV show "Da Ali G Show.")

Jody Frisch, a spokeswoman for the Writers Guild, says there is, in fact, a script for "Borat." The WGA earlier nominated "Borat" for best adapted screenplay.

"They turned in a script," Frisch said Tuesday. "There was a script. The Writers Guild basically recognizes the creative process of writing, whether it's traditional drama or comedy, whether it's reality or documentary or animation. It's all writing."

The WGA raised eyebrows in 2003 when it honored Michael Moore's "screenplay" for his documentary "Bowling for Columbine." Like "Borat," that film included a large amount of narration, but relied mostly on interviews and real-life interaction.

Similarly, the WGA has battled production companies to establish writer credit for those penning reality television programming.

"There's always improvisation on a movie, if you think about it — even the very traditional, original drama," says Frisch. "It's a collaborative process. ... A lot of it is, you're creating the arc of the story."

Baron Cohen, who didn't receive the best-actor nomination that some expected, did not immediately return requests Tuesday for a comment on the best screenplay nomination.

He did, though, last week at a question-and-answer session with the WGA, say: "We'd sit around the writers' room and imagine the scene. What do we want it to look like?" He added, "Looking at the script and the finished film, they're remarkably the same."

"Borat" will compete for best adapted screenplay against the scripts for "Children of Men," "The Departed," "Little Children" and "Notes on a Scandal."

Love that Cancon!!

Regina animator gets Oscar nomination

A filmmaker from Saskatchewan said he almost drove off the highway when he found out he was nominated for an Academy Award.

Animator Michael Thurmeier, who is from Regina but now works at Blue Sky Studios in White Plains, N.Y., received the nod for best short animated film on Tuesday morning.

Although he knew his film No Time for Nuts was on a short list, it still came as a surprise, he said.

After watching the live broadcast of nominations and failing to hear his name called, he got in his car to drive to work. While he was on the highway, his wife called him on his cellphone.

"I just about drove off," Thurmeier told CBC. "I really didn't think we had much of a chance."

No Time for Nuts is a computer-generated animated spinoff of the popular Ice Age movies.

Thurmeier was nominated with Chris Renaud, his co-director on the film.

Thurmeier said his interest in art began when he was a child in Regina, but he never dreamed he would work on Hollywood films.

"I always had an interest in film and in drawing, but … it feels so far away when you are a kid in Saskatchewan," said Thurmeier, who trained for his craft at Ontario's Sheridan College. "It just ended up working out."

The film is about Scrat, a sabre-toothed squirrel that finds a time machine while trying to bury an acorn.

Thurmeier described the movie as a six-minute throwback to classic Warner Brothers cartoons.

The Academy Awards gala will be on Feb. 25. Among those who will be cheering Thurmeier on that night is his delighted father, Regina's Daryl Thurmeier.

"The rest of the day will be just sort of floating," Daryl Thurmeier said on Tuesday, adding that he couldn't wait to talk to his son later in the day.

Meanwhile, Michael Thurmeier said he's eagerly anticipating the Oscar nominees' lunch and is looking ahead to the big day.

"I'll have to lose 10 pounds and go get a tux, I guess," he said.

The only race that is still open in the major six categories is "Best Picture"!

Early Predictions

The nominations for the 79th annual Academy Awards were announced on Tuesday morning and they confirmed what all prognosticators already knew: the only open race is for "Best Picture."

Even prior to the Golden Globes, and their nominations, the following five of the big six races were already determined, due to buzz, the fact that the people themselves were showing contrition regarding winning an Oscar, and their performances themselves.

Those guaranteed to win on Oscar night are:

Best Actress
Helen Mirren, THE QUEEN

Best Actor
Forest Whitaker, THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND

Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Hudson, DREAMGIRLS

Best Supporting Actor
Eddie Murphy, DREAMGIRLS

And

Best Director
Martin Scorsese, THE DEPARTED.

So now, who wins Best Picture?

Well, BABEL was a surprise Golden Globe winner, so it has to make the final two; THE DEPARTED has no buzz at all in this category, but it will (finally) give Marty his Award, and Mark Wahlberg's nominations shows the academy notices a great performance - yes "Marky Mark" is now an Academy Award nominee - but no one thinks it was the Best Picture last year; the Academy loves Clint Eastwood, but LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA doesn't have the momentum of his previous Oscar winners MILLION DOLLAR BABY or UNFORGIVEN; LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE was the surprise winner of the top feature film award presented by the Producers Guild of America last weekend, confirming that voters are aware of this wonderful little film, so that gives it momentum; and THE QUEEN is also wonderful, and the nomination for Best Director for Stephen Frears is proof again that voters are aware of the movie, but it is getting all of it's buzz for Helen Mirren, not for the film itself.

So now, who wins Best Picture?

At this point, it looks like it is a race between BABEL and LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, with the latter poised to be the only surprise on Oscar night, February 25th.

That is a surprise I would enjoy.

You now have some movies to go and see!

'Dreamgirls' picks up most Oscar nods

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - The peppy "Dreamgirls" led Academy Awards contenders Tuesday with eight nominations, but surprisingly was shut out in the best picture category after being considered a potential front-runner.

The sweeping ensemble drama "Babel" was close behind with seven, including best picture and acting honors for two newcomers to U.S. audiences, Adriana Barraza and Rinko Kikuchi.

Other best-picture nominees were the bloody crime saga "The Departed," the World War II spectacle "Letters From Iwo Jima," the road-trip comedy "Little Miss Sunshine" and the monarchy-in-crisis chronicle "The Queen."

Going into nominations day, the best-picture competition looked unusually wide open, with no consensus on a favorite. With "Dreamgirls," a Golden Globe winner out of the race, the best picture competition was even more up for grabs.

But front-runners in all four acting categories nabbed nominations and seem poised to come home with Oscars on Feb. 25: Helen Mirren for best actress as British monarch Elizabeth II in "The Queen"; Forest Whitaker for best actor as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland"; and Eddie Murphy and former "American Idol" finalist Jennifer Hudson as soulful singers in "Dreamgirls" supporting roles.

All four won at the Golden Globes.

Oscar attention is a new experience for Murphy, whose fast-talking persona has brought him devoted audiences but little awards acclaim in his 25-year career. For Hudson, the nomination caps a speedy rise to stardom with her first film role, just two years after making her name on "American Idol."

The best-actress category featured a 14th nomination for two-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep, padding her record as the most-nominated actor ever, this time as a demonically demanding boss in "The Devil Wears Prada."

Joining Mirren and Streep as best-actress nominees were Penelope Cruz as a woman dealing with bizarre domestic crises in "Volver"; Judi Dench as a scheming teacher in "Notes on a Scandal"; and Kate Winslet as a woman in an affair with a neighbor in "Little Children."

Other best-actor nominees were Leonardo DiCaprio as a mercenary hunting a rare gem in "Blood Diamond"; Ryan Gosling as a teacher with a drug addiction in "Half Nelson"; Peter O'Toole as a lecherous old actor in "Venus"; and Will Smith as a homeless dad in "The Pursuit of Happyness."

Whitaker is expected to come away with best actor, though sentiment is high for O'Toole, who has been nominated seven times, losing each. An eighth loss for O'Toole, who nearly turned down an honorary Oscar three years ago because he hoped to earn one outright, would put him in the record books as the actor with the most nominations without winning.

This finally may be the year for another perennial loser, Scorsese, who is tied with four other directors for the Oscar-futility record of five nominations and five losses.

"The Departed" marks Scorsese's return to the cops-and-mobsters genre he mastered in decades past and is considered his best shot to finally win an Oscar, though a sixth defeat would put him alone in the record book as the losingest director ever.

Here is the complete list of nominees...

NOMINATIONS BY CATEGORY - 79TH AWARDS

Performance by an actor in a leading role
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

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Alan Arkin - LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Jackie Earle Haley - LITTLE CHILDREN
Djimon Hounsou - BLOOD DIAMOND
Eddie Murphy - DREAMGIRLS
Mark Wahlberg - THE DEPARTED

Performance by an actress in a leading role
Penélope Cruz - VOLVER
Judi Dench - NOTES ON A SCANDAL
Helen Mirren - THE QUEEN
Meryl Streep - THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
Kate Winslet - LITTLE CHILDREN

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Adriana Barraza - BABEL
Cate Blanchett - NOTES ON A SCANDAL
Abigail Breslin - LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Jennifer Hudson - DREAMGIRLS
Rinko Kikuchi - BABEL

Best motion picture of the year
BABEL
THE DEPARTED
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
THE QUEEN

Achievement in directing
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, BABEL
Martin Scorsese, THE DEPARTED
Clint Eastwood, LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
Stephen Frears, THE QUEEN
Paul Greengrass, UNITED 93

Best animated feature film of the year
CARS
HAPPY FEET
MONSTER HOUSE

Achievement in art direction
DREAMGIRLS
THE GOOD SHEPHERD
PAN'S LABYRINTH
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST
THE PRESTIGE

Achievement in cinematography
THE BLACK DAHLIA
CHILDREN OF MEN
THE ILLUSIONIST
PAN'S LABYRINTH
THE PRESTIGE

Achievement in costume design
CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
DREAMGIRLS
MARIE ANTOINETTE
THE QUEEN

Best documentary feature
DELIVER US FROM EVIL
AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS
JESUS CAMP
MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY

Best documentary short subject
THE BLOOD OF YINGZHOU DISTRICT
RECYCLED LIFE
REHEARSING A DREAM
TWO HANDS

Achievement in film editing
BABEL
BLOOD DIAMOND
CHILDREN OF MEN
THE DEPARTED
UNITED 93

Best foreign language film of the year
AFTER THE WEDDING
DAYS OF GLORY (INDIGÈNES)
THE LIVES OF OTHERS
PAN'S LABYRINTH
WATER

Achievement in makeup
APOCALYPTO
CLICK
PAN'S LABYRINTH

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
BABEL
THE GOOD GERMAN
NOTES ON A SCANDAL
PAN'S LABYRINTH
THE QUEEN

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
"I Need to Wake Up" - AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
"Listen" - DREAMGIRLS
"Love You I Do" - DREAMGIRLS
"Our Town" - CARS
"Patience" - DREAMGIRLS

Best animated short film
THE DANISH POET
LIFTED
THE LITTLE MATCHGIRL
MAESTRO
NO TIME FOR NUTS

Best live action short film
BINTA AND THE GREAT IDEA (BINTA Y LA GRAN IDEA)
ÉRAMOS POCOS (ONE TOO MANY)
HELMER & SON
THE SAVIOUR
WEST BANK STORY

Achievement in sound editing
APOCALYPTO
BLOOD DIAMOND
FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST

Achievement in sound mixing
APOCALYPTO
BLOOD DIAMOND
DREAMGIRLS
FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST

Achievement in visual effects
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST
POSEIDON
SUPERMAN RETURNS

Adapted screenplay
BORAT CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN
CHILDREN OF MEN
THE DEPARTED
LITTLE CHILDREN
NOTES ON A SCANDAL

Original screenplay
BABEL
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
PAN'S LABYRINTH
THE QUEEN

BREAKING NEWS!!

'Dreamgirls' picks up most Oscar nods

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - The peppy musical "Dreamgirls" led Academy Awards contenders Tuesday with eight nominations, but surprisingly was shut out in the best picture category for which it had been considered a potential front-runner.

The sweeping ensemble drama "Babel" was close behind with seven, including best picture and acting honors for two newcomers to U.S. audiences, Adriana Barraza and Rinko Kikuchi.

Other best-picture nominees were the bloody crime saga "The Departed," the World War II spectacle "Letters From Iwo Jima," the road-trip comedy "Little Miss Sunshine" and the monarchy-in-crisis chronicle "The Queen."

Going into nominations day, the best-picture competition looks unusually wide open, with no consensus on a favorite. With "Dreamgirls," a Golden Globe winner out of the race, the best picture competition was even more up for grabs.

But front-runners in all four categories nabbed nominations and seem poised to come home with Oscars on Feb. 25: Helen Mirren for best actress as British monarch Elizabeth II in "The Queen"; Forest Whitaker for best actor as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland"; and Eddie Murphy and former "American Idol" finalist Jennifer Hudson as soulful singers in "Dreamgirls."

The other nominees for best actor are Leonardo DiCaprio for "Blood Diamond," " Ryan Gosling" for "Half Nelson," Peter O'Toole for "Venus," and Will Smith for "The Pursuit of Happyness."