Do your Oscar viewing at home on DVD
Several movies nominated for Oscars in the six major categories already are available on DVD. Others have been scheduled for release closer to the Feb. 24 ceremony, while still others have a way to go in their theatrical runs.
It's a volatile time of year for DVD scheduling, but here are release dates (subject to change) announced for films that received at least one nomination in the picture, actor, actress, supporting actor, supporting actress or director categories:
- American Gangster (Feb. 19; $30 and $40 editions; HD DVD, $40)
- The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Feb. 5, $28; Blu-ray and HD DVD, $36)
- Atonement (not yet announced)
- Away From Her (available, $20)
- Charlie Wilson's War (not yet announced)
- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (not yet announced)
- Eastern Promises (available; $30; HD DVD, $40)
- Elizabeth: the Golden Age (Feb. 5, $30; HD DVD, $40)
- Gone Baby Gone (Feb. 12, $30; Blu-ray, $35)
- I'm Not There (not yet announced)
- In the Valley of Elah (Feb. 19, $29; Blu-ray and HD DVD, $36)
- Into the Wild (March 14, $30 and $35 editions; HD DVD, $40)
- Juno (not yet announced)
- La Vie en Rose (available; $30)
- Michael Clayton (once announced for Feb. 19, but the release now appears to be in limbo, due to Friday's theatrical re-issue)
- No Country for Old Men (March 11, $30; Blu-ray, $35)
- The Savages (not yet announced)
- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (not yet announced)
- There Will Be Blood (not yet announced)
Guild says it won't picket Grammy Awards
LOS ANGELES - The striking Hollywood writers guild said Tuesday it will refrain from picketing the upcoming Grammy Awards, possibly allowing the music ceremony to escape the fate of the wrecked Golden Globes show.
The guild's board of directors has yet to grant the music industry show a waiver that would allow union writers to work on the ceremony, but the Grammys typically depend more on performances than scripted lines or comedy.
The guild previously said it was unlikely to grant the Recording Academy a waiver for the Feb. 10 show, the music industry's most important event, set to be broadcast live on CBS from Staples Center in Los Angeles.
The writers guild refused to grant a waiver for the Golden Globes and threatened to picket, and the Screen Actors Guild encouraged its stars to stay away as well. As a result, the typically lavish three-hour televised awards extravaganza was reduced to a half-hour, celebrity-free newscast on Jan. 13.
Its audience dropped by 70 percent compared to last year, NBC lost millions in ad revenue, and Globe organizers had to forgo a reported $6 million license fee.
Recording Academy President Neil Portnow said his organization was pleased with the decision not to picket and added the awards "will focus solely on the great music, artists and charitable work resulting from our show."
The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, which represents actors, singers, dancers and others, also lauded the decision.
AFTRA President Roberta Reardon called the awards "a crucial platform for the Recording Academy's ongoing efforts to protect and advance the rights of musical artists."
Portnow had insisted the Grammys would continue no matter what — and Beyonce and the Foo Fighters announced they still plan to perform at the event. There had been speculation that some musicians would sit out a picketed broadcast, especially top-level pop superstars who are also actors.
The decision against picketing the Grammys was made during a union board meeting on Monday, guild spokesman Neal Sacharow told The Associated Press. He declined to comment on the reason for the decision.
The decision was disclosed on the same day nominees were announced for next month's Academy Awards, which also is threatened by the writers strike. The guild has said it would not grant a waiver for the Oscars, the film industry's biggest promotional showcase.
Guild waivers were granted for this Sunday's Screen Actors Guild Awards and the NAACP Image Awards, held earlier this month.
A guild official cited the historic role the civil rights group has played in labor struggles in explaining the reason for the Image Awards waiver.
Heath Ledger found dead in NYC
NEW YORK - Heath Ledger, the talented 28-year-old actor who gravitated toward dark, brooding roles that defied his leading-man looks, was found dead Tuesday in a Manhattan apartment, face-down and naked at the foot of his bed with prescription sleeping pills nearby, police said.
There was no obvious indication that the Australian-born Ledger had committed suicide, NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said.
Ledger had an appointment for a massage at the SoHo apartment that is believed to be the home of the "Brokeback Mountain" actor, Browne said. The massage therapist and a housekeeper found his naked body in the bed at about 3:30 p.m. They tried to revive him, but he was already dead.
"We are all deeply saddened and shocked by this accident," Ledger's publicist, Mara Buxbaum, said in a statement Tuesday night. "This is an extremely difficult time for his loved ones and we are asking the media to please respect the family's privacy and avoid speculation until the facts are known."
Outside the building on an upscale street, paparazzi and gawkers gathered, and several police officers put up barricades to control the crowd of about 300. Onlookers craned their necks as officers brought out a black body bag on a gurney, took it across the sidewalk and put it into a white medical examiner's office van.
As the door opened, bystanders snapped pictures with camera phones, rolled video, and said, "He's coming out!"
An autopsy was planned for Wednesday, medical examiner's office spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said.
While not a marquee movie star, Ledger was an award-winning actor who chose his roles carefully rather than cashing in on big-money parts. He was nominated for an Oscar for his performance as a gay cowboy in "Brokeback Mountain," where he met Michelle Williams, who played his wife in the film. The two had a daughter, now 2-year-old Matilda, and lived together in Brooklyn until they split up last year.
It was a shocking and unforeseen conclusion for one of Hollywood's bright young stars. Though his leading man looks propelled him to early stardom in films like "10 Things I Hate About You" and "A Knight's Tale," his career took a notable turn toward dramatic and brooding roles with 2001's "Monster's Ball."
"I had such great hope for him," said Mel Gibson, who played Ledger's vengeful father in "The Patriot," in a statement. "He was just taking off and to lose his life at such a young age is a tragic loss."
Ledger eschewed Hollywood glitz in favor of a bohemian life in Brooklyn, where he was one of the borough's most famous residents. "Brokeback" would be his breakthrough role, establishing him as one of his generation's finest talents and an actor willing to take risks.
Ledger began to gravitate more toward independent fare, including Lasse Hallstrom's "Casanova" and Terry Gilliam's "The Brothers Grimm," both released in 2005. His 2006 film "Candy" now seems destined to have an especially haunting quality: In a particularly realistic performance, Ledger played a poet wrestling with a heroin addiction along with his girlfriend, played by Abbie Cornish.
But Ledger's most recent choices were arguably the boldest yet: He costarred in "I'm Not There," in which he played one of the many incarnations of Bob Dylan — as did Cate Blanchett, whose performance in that film earned an Oscar nomination Tuesday for best supporting actress.
And in what may be his final finished performance, Ledger proved that he wouldn't be intimidated by taking on a character as iconic as Jack Nicholson's Joker. Ledger's version of the "Batman" villain, glimpsed in early teaser trailers, made it clear that his Joker would be more depraved and dark.
Curiosity about Ledger's final performance will likely stoke further interest in the summer blockbuster. "Dark Knight" director Christopher Nolan said earlier this month that Ledger's Joker would be wildly different from Nicholson's.
"It was a very great challenge for Heath," Nolan said. "He's extremely original, extremely frightening, tremendously edgy. A very young character, a very anarchic presence that taps into a lot of our basic fears and panic."
Ledger told The New York Times in a November interview that he "stressed out a little too much" during the Dylan film, and had trouble sleeping while portraying the Joker, whom he called a "psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy."
"Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night," Ledger told the newspaper. "I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going." He said he took two Ambien pills, which only worked for an hour, the paper said.
Ledger was a widely recognized figure in his Manhattan neighborhood, where he used to shop at a home and children's store. Michelle Vella, an employee there, said she had frequently seen Ledger with his daughter — carrying the toddler on his shoulders, or having ice cream with her.
"It's so sad. They were really close," said Vella. "He's a very down-to-earth guy and an amazing father."
Before settling down with Williams, Ledger had relationships with actresses Heather Graham and Naomi Watts. He met Watts while working on "The Lords of Dogtown," a fictionalized version of a cult classic skateboarding documentary, in 2004.
Ledger was born in 1979 in Perth, in western Australia, to a mining engineer and a French teacher, and got his first acting role playing Peter Pan at age 10 at a local theater company. He began acting in independent films as a 16-year-old in Sydney and played a cyclist hoping to land a spot on an Olympic team in a 1996 television show, "Seat."
After several independent films, Ledger moved to Los Angeles at age 19 and costarred opposite Julia Stiles in "10 Things I Hate About You." Offers for other teen flicks soon came his way, but Ledger turned them down, preferring to remain idle than sign on for projects he didn't like.
"It wasn't a hard decision for me," Ledger told the Associated Press in 2001. "It was hard for everyone else around me to understand. Agents were like, `You're crazy,' my parents were like, `Come on, you have to eat.'"
Heath Ledger found dead in NYC at age 28
NEW YORK - Heath Ledger was found dead Tuesday at a downtown Manhattan apartment, naked in bed with sleeping pills nearby, police said. The Australian-born actor was 28. It wasn't immediately clear if Ledger had committed suicide.
He had an appointment for a massage at a residence in the tony neighborhood of SoHo, NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said. A housekeeper who went to let him know the massage therapist had arrived found him dead at 3:26 p.m.
A large crowd of paparazzi and gawkers gathered outside the building on an upscale block. Ledger's body was still inside, and several police officers guarded the door.
The medical examiner's office planned an autopsy Wednesday, spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said.
While not a marquee movie star, Ledger was a respected, award-winning actor who chose his roles carefully rather than cashing in on his heartthrob looks. He was nominated for an Oscar for his performance as a gay cowboy in "Brokeback Mountain," where he met Michelle Williams, who played his wife in the film. The two had a daughter, Matilda, and lived together in Brooklyn until they split up last year.
Ledger most recently appeared in "I'm Not There," in which he played one of the many incarnations of Bob Dylan — as did Cate Blanchett, whose performance in that film earned an Oscar nomination Tuesday for best supporting actress.
Ledger had finished filming his role as the Joker this year in "The Dark Knight," a sequel to 2005's "Batman Begins."
He's had starring roles in "A Knight's Tale" and "The Patriot," and played the suicidal son of Billy Bob Thornton in "Monster's Ball." He also played a heroin addict in the 2006 Australian film "Candy."
Before settling down with Williams, Ledger had relationships with actresses Heather Graham and Naomi Watts. He met Watts while working on "The Lords of Dogtown," a fictionalized version of a cult classic skateboarding documentary, in 2004.
Ledger was born in 1979 in Perth, in western Australia, to a mining engineer and a French teacher, and got his first acting role playing Peter Pan at age 10 at a local theater company. He began acting in independent films as a 16-year-old in Sydney and played a cyclist hoping to land a spot on an Olympic team in a 1996 television show, "Seat."
After several independent films, Ledger moved to Los Angeles at age 19 and co-starred opposite Julia Stiles in "10 Things I Hate About You," a teen comedy reworking of "The Taming of the Shrew."
Offers for other teen flicks soon came his way, but Ledger turned them down, preferring to remain idle than sign on for projects he didn't like.
"It wasn't a hard decision for me," Ledger told the Associated Press in 2001. "It was hard for everyone else around me to understand. Agents were like, `You're crazy,' my parents were like, `Come on, you have to eat.'"
His movie career caught on anyway, culminating with his Academy Award nomination opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in "Brokeback."
"Dark Knight" director Christopher Nolan said earlier this month that Ledger's performance as the Joker would be wildly different than Jack Nicholson's memorable turn in 1989's "Batman."
"It was a very great challenge for Heath," Nolan said. "He's extremely original, extremely frightening, tremendously edgy. A very young character, a very anarchic presence that taps into a lot of our basic fears and panic."
Heath Ledger found dead in NYC
NEW YORK - Heath Ledger was found dead Tuesday at a downtown Manhattan residence in a possible drug-related death, police said. He was 28.
NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said Ledger had an appointment for a massage at the Manhattan apartment believed to be his home. The housekeeper who went to let Ledger know the masseuse was there found him dead at 3:26 p.m.
The Australian-born actor was an Oscar nominee for his role in "Brokeback Mountain" and has numerous other screen credits.
Leafs fire Fergy, hire Fletcher
TORONTO - The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking to a face from their past to lead them into the future.
After weeks of speculation and rumours, the NHL club finally fired GM John Ferguson on Tuesday and hired Cliff Fletcher, whose years of front-office experience include a stint as GM of the Leafs in the 1990s.
"After full consideration of the Leafs' situation, it has become clear that change and a new direction is needed," Richard Peddie, president and CEO of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment, said during a news conference at the Air Canada Centre. "Regrettably, we did not win enough games to reach our goal, winning the Stanley Cup.
"Our team performance has fallen short of what is to be expected. Today, we need to forge the start of a new beginning for (the) Toronto Maple Leafs. And we begin with the man seated next to me, a man with Hall of Fame credentials, who is highly regarded by Leafs fans and by hockey people around the globe. We have reached out to Cliff Fletcher and his 50-plus years of hockey management experience to serve as general manager of the Leafs on an interim basis."
Fletcher, 72, has been given a 19-month contract. He will initially work as interim GM until a full-time replacement is found. He will then serve as a consultant for the balance of the contract.
Fletcher first served as GM of the Maple Leafs from 1991 to 1997, twice leading the team to the Western Conference final.
But he has no interest in becoming the team's full-time GM this time, saying it's a job for a younger man.
Peddie says the length of Fletcher's contract will give the team plenty of time to find the right man for the job.
"It gives us the luxury of conducting an absolutely thorough search," said Peddie.
Peddie recently admitted that he may have made a mistake by hiring a GM as inexperienced as Ferguson to run a team in this hockey-mad market.
Ferguson, who was hired as Leafs' GM in August 2003, was informed of the news by Peddie on Tuesday morning.
When reached by e-mail Tuesday, Ferguson declined to comment.
He was scheduled to meet with the media later in the day.
Fletcher takes over a Leafs team that has missed the playoffs the past two years and is in 14th place in the NHL's Eastern Conference standings with a 19-22-5-3 record. But they have won three of their last four games.
"I know here in Toronto the expectations are high," Fletcher said. "I look forward to the challenge and a few tough months ahead.
"The key here is to initially start the process to move the club ahead to the next level so that it can compete with all the top teams in the league, which will eventually lead to the playoff success."
The MLSE board of directors met Monday and decided to make the change.
Fletcher said he couldn't offer an assessment of the Leafs. Instead, he will immediately begin consulting with the club's hockey operations officials and accumulating information on what path to take the struggling franchise.
"The first step will be to meet with all the people involved in the hockey department here," Fletcher said. "I'm looking forward to their input on how they see the internal operation of the hockey team here and how they see the club moving forward.
"Out of that, a plan will developed on how we're going to pursue the next few weeks. There are 35 days to the trade deadline and within two weeks we should be prepared to philosophically at least know what direction we've chosen to go."
Leafs head coach Paul Maurice left the ice during practice Tuesday morning and was seen huddling with Peddie before returning to practice.
He was also scheduled to talk to the media Tuesday afternoon.
"Right now he's our coach but Cliff and/or the new replacement will ultimately make that decision and Paul understands that," Peddie said of Maurice's status with the club.
Fletcher, though, said Maurice and his staff will remain with the club until season's end.
"Paul Maurice is the coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs," he said. "He will be the coach for the balance of this year as will the assistant coaches that work with him."
Leafs forward Jason Blake said the players have to take some responsibility for Ferguson's firing.
"I've only been here for a few months and there are certain things you can't control," he said. "We weren't getting the job done.
"There's a change a made and I think it's the players that have to be accountable to make sure we're ready to play. We're trying to turn this thing around and move in the right direction. I guess as players you can't control it so you've got to make sure you're ready to play."
Speculation about Ferguson's future with the club has been swirling recently as the club has struggled in January.
It's been a tough year for the 40-year-old native of Montreal. Ferguson Jr. lost his father in July, when the former NHL player, coach and manager succumbed to cancer.
Ferguson and Maurice both stated during training camp in September that the Leafs would be a playoff team and contend for the Stanley Cup.
There were several questionable moves during the off-season. Critics turned thumbs down on the rationale of giving mistake-prone defenceman Bryan McCabe a long-term deal and making him the team's highest-paid player at US$7 million this season. Signing free-agent Blake was a gamble that hasn't reaped any dividends. Blake scored 40 goals for the New York Islanders last season but has only nine goals this year after signing a five-year, $20-million contract.
Blake divulged early in the season that he has a treatable form of leukemia.
Prior to becoming the 12th general manager in Leafs history, Ferguson Jr. had been vice-president and director of hockey operations for the St. Louis Blues since February 2001. There he earned a reputation of being one of the brightest young executives in the sport.
Ferguson's first season at the controls in Toronto went well. With Pat Quinn behind the bench, the Leafs knocked off Ottawa in a seven-game first round before being ousted by Philadelphia in six in the second round.
The lost lockout season followed, and Quinn was let go when the Leafs failed to make the playoffs in the spring of 2006 despite finishing with a winning record and 90 points.
Ferguson hired Maurice to take over May 12, 2006, and the Leafs finished with a winning record again but their 91 points was one short of qualifying for the 2007 playoffs.
Ferguson was assistant GM of the Blues for five years before being promoted by the team. He was a member of the Ottawa Senators scouting staff from 1993 to 1996. He played in the AHL for four years, 1989 through 1993, in the Montreal and Ottawa organizations after playing U.S. college hockey at Providence.
'Torchwood' to return for new season
LOS ANGELES - Attention, fans of quick-witted, Brit-flavoured science fiction television: Capt. Jack is back.
"He's still the same Jack but he's a little more lighthearted," says John Barrowman, who plays cheeky charmer Capt. Jack Harkness on "Torchwood," the BBC's flirty, fast-paced series co-produced with the CBC, where it airs in Canada.
"He's resolved a lot of his issues," Barrowman says of his time-travelling, alien-hunting hero who wears Second World War-era togs and cannot die. "He's got a new sparkle in his eye."
Introduced in 2005 on the BBC series "Dr. Who," Jack is coy about his shadowy past as a Time Agent - akin to an intergalactic CIA operative - turned fast-talking con artist.
In the second season of "Torchwood," Jack returns to the clandestine Torchwood agency in Cardiff, Wales, where he watches over an alien-spewing rift in space and time beneath the city streets.
Together with his hip, young Torchwood team, Jack battles his old pal, the time-travelling psychopath Capt. John Hart (James Marsters of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer").
As always, Torchwood operates outside the law and the British government. It stands tall against all manner of monsters, including a recurring cast of nasty, sewer-dwelling weevils.
But Jack and crew still find time for office romance and ill-fated, inter-species love affairs - of the same-and opposite-sex sorts.
"Omnisexual is the science-fiction word we like to use," says Barrowman, who sounds very American, both on-and off-camera. Born in Scotland, he grew up in Illinois.
"In the sci-fi setting we can talk about things that you probably couldn't talk about on a regular nighttime drama," the 40-year-old Barrowman says.
"I think audiences just get Jack because he's honest," he says. "To finally see a character who doesn't care who he flirts with, I think is a bit refreshing."
The ace Torchwood team also includes steely Dr. Owen Harper (Burn Gorman), techno-savvy Toshiko Sato (Naoko Mori), office administrator Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd) and compassionate former cop Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles), who is typically the conscience of the group.
All of Jack's cohorts are just as hormonal as he is.
"Yes, it is a science-fiction soap opera," says Myles, who is Welsh.
Last season Gwen hopped into Owen's bed despite her devotion to her clueless live-in lover, Rhys (Kai Owen).
"It was completely out of character for Gwen," Myles says. "But that's what good drama is all about. You don't want to spoon-feed a sci-fi audience. You want to challenge them. So none of these characters are safe."
In the future, Gwen "does the best she can" with monogamy, Myles says. "But it's a case of anything is possible with the Torchwood bunch."
That includes Gorman's bad-boy Owen, who mutinied on the job last season and killed Capt. Jack, albeit briefly.
"There's no question that Owen can go into morally grey areas," says Gorman, who was born in Los Angeles and considers himself a character actor.
"'Torchwood' is a very modern, Earth-based sci-fi show," he says. "Owen is very free and open with his sexuality."
"In season two Owen actually questions that kind of life," Gorman says. "There's an episode that explains why we all joined Torchwood. It explains, shall we say, Owen's emotional limits.
"But season two is also very much about the Torchwood team working cohesively," he says.
To executive producer Julie Gardner, "Torchwood" - an anagram for "Doctor Who" - is "warm science fiction."
"It's the type of science fiction that has a proper kind of human grounding," Gardner says.
"You will see relationships develop between two males," Barrowman says. "You will see them show affection for each other. You will see two women show affection for each other."
Before moving to England in 1989, Barrowman starred on the Fox series "Central Park West" and NBC's "Titans."
In Britain, his career soared with "Dr. Who" and "Torchwood," plus turns in West End musicals. He also is a judge on the musical-theatre contest series, "Any Dream Will Do."
"The thing about working in television in the U.K., it's about being me," says Barrowman, who is openly gay and in a longtime partnership with architect Scott Gill.
"I've been pretty much open and out since I started working over here," Barrowman says. "It's a great reflection on the TV industry here."
Barrowman reflects further in his autobiography, "Anything Goes," due for release this month in Britain and later in the U.S.
Meanwhile, "Torchwood" has been a blast for Barrowman and his co-stars.
"It's one of the best playpens ever," Barrowman says. "I get to go to work and play with gadgets and drive really big, fast cars. I get to shoot aliens and fly spaceships.
"And I get to kiss everybody."
Canadians among Oscar noms
TORONTO -- It was a joyous day for "Juno" on Tuesday as the teen pregnancy comedy snagged a handful of prestigious Oscar nominations, including best picture, best actress for Halifax's Ellen Page, best director for Montreal-born Jason Reitman and best original screenplay for first-time screenwriter Diablo Cody.
Toronto's Sarah Polley, who's won various film critics' association awards for her direction of the moving Alzheimer's drama "Away From Her," picked up a surprise best adapted screenplay nomination for her deft reworking of an Alice Munro short story.
The film's reclusive British star, Julie Christie -- who had to be cajoled by Polley for months before agreeing to play a woman stricken with Alzheimer's -- also got a best actress nod.
Proving itself the "Little Miss Sunshine" of 2007, "Juno" is the only comedy among the dark best picture offerings. It's competing against "No Country for Old Men," a crime saga about a drug deal gone bad, "There Will Be Blood," a historical epic set in California's oil boom years, the melancholy wartime romance "Atonement" and the legal drama "Michael Clayton."
Except for "There Will Be Blood," all of the best picture nominees had their North American premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival this year. "Juno" had its world premiere at the festival and was a fan favourite.
The National Film Board of Canada's "Madame Tutli-Putli," which also screened at the festival, got a nod in the best animated short category, as did "I Met the Walrus," from Toronto animator Josh Raskin.
The 20-year-old Page, who lives in Halifax in a house she shares with friends, seemed stunned to hear of her nomination when she appeared on NBC's "The Today Show" early Tuesday.
"It's extremely humbling to be recognized with these other actresses, people I respect and admire -- it's crazy," said Page, who once had a role on the goofy Showcase hit "Trailer Park Boys."
"I just feel so grateful to be part of the film and I'm so happy that people have responded to it in the way that they have."
In addition to Christie, Page is up against Marion Cotillard for "La Vie en rose," Cate Blanchett for "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" and Laura Linney for "The Savages."
Page and other Canadians may not get their moment in the Hollywood spotlight, however -- the ongoing screenwriters strike could prevent the glitzy awards ceremony from being held on Feb. 24, despite the insistence from Oscar organizers that their show will go on, with or without writers.
"We're dealing with contingencies but we're thrusting ahead," Sid Ganis, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, told The Associated Press.
"The point is, we're going to have a show, and we're going to give these incredible artists what they're due. We're going to present the Oscars on Feb. 24, and that is the important thing."
But the stars were already saying Tuesday they would refuse to cross any picket lines set up by the Writers Guild of America, just as they did before the Jan. 13 Golden Globes. Their stance forced the cancellation of the Globes televised gala, and could spell the same fate for the Oscars, an annual movie-lovers' tradition that attracts a billion viewers worldwide.
"I wouldn't do that (cross a picket line). I couldn't. I come from a tradition of not crossing picket lines," Tom Wilkinson, a supporting-actor nominee for "Michael Clayton," told The Associated Press.
Tony Gilroy, a directing nominee for "Michael Clayton," echoed that sentiment.
"I would never cross a picket line ever. I couldn't," he said. "I'm a 20-year member of the Writers Guild. I think whatever they work out is going to be one way or the other but no, I could never cross a picket line. I think there's a lot of people who feel that way."
Viggo Mortensen -- up for best actor for his role as a Russian mobster in David Cronenberg's "Eastern Promises" -- said he was hoping for the best.
"I have a feeling they'll solve it," he said. "I hope they do. I'm sure my mom would like to see me on TV and so forth. But if there's a strike, I'm not crossing the line."
Daniel Day-Lewis, an Oscar winner for "My Left Foot," grabbed another best-actor nomination as a flamboyant oil baron in "There Will Be Blood."
Along with Day-Lewis and Mortensen, George Clooney is nominated for "Michael Clayton," Tommy Lee Jones for "In the Valley of Elah" and Johnny Depp for "Sweeney Todd."
In the best supporting actor category, Javier Bardem is nominated for his turn as a soulless serial killer in "No Country for Old Men." He's up against Casey Affleck for "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," Philip Seymour Hoffman for "Charlie Wilson's War," Hal Holbrook for "Into the Wild" and Wilkinson for "Michael Clayton."
In addition to her best actress nod, past Oscar winner Blanchett received a supporting actress nomination for the Bob Dylan biopic "I'm Not There."
Other supporting actress nominees included Ruby Dee for "American Gangster," Saoirse Ronan for "Atonement," Amy Ryan for "Gone Baby Gone" and Tilda Swinton for "Michael Clayton."
Notable absentees from this year's list of nominees included Angelina Jolie and Keira Knightley, who had been considered shoo-ins in the best actress category for "A Mighty Heart" and "Atonement" respectively. James McAvoy, the male lead in "Atonement," and the film's director, Joe Wright, also failed to make the cut.
That doesn't bode well for a best picture win for "Atonement," despite its recent Golden Globe win for best drama.
Reitman and Gilroy were joined in the best director category by Paul Thomas Anderson for "There Will Be Blood," Ethan Coen and Joel Coen for "No Country for Old Men" and Julian Schnabel for "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly."
"Into The Wild," the Sean Penn film that landed on many critics' Top 10 list last year, was snubbed, just as it was at the Golden Globes.
Michael Moore, who castigated President George W. Bush over the Iraq War in his best-documentary acceptance speech for "Bowling for Columbine" in 2003, is back in Oscar contention with his health-care documentary "Sicko."
War-on-terror documentaries dominated the category, with "Sicko" up against "No End in Sight," "Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience" and "Taxi to the Dark Side."
In the best foreign film category, Israel's "Beaufort" is facing "The Counterfeiters" from Austria, Poland's "Katyn," "Mongol" from Kazakhstan and Russia's "12."
New CD Releases, January 22: Cat Power, Doctor Who, Drive-By Truckers, North Mississippi Allstars
Cat Power "Jukebox"
The indie-music queen is back with her second all-covers album. The first was 2000's appropriately titled "The Covers Record." The vocalist's previous release was 2006's "The Greatest," which hit No. 34 on the US charts and was, by far, her most commercially successful album to date.
The new album features Cat Power's current group, the Dirty Delta Blues, as well as such guests as Spooner Oldham, Larry McDonald and Matt Sweeney. "Jukebox" includes renditions of songs written and/or popularized by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Hank Williams, Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday, Janis Joplin and Joni Mitchell.
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Drive-By Truckers "Brighter Than Creation's Dark"
Having split with singer/guitarist Jason Isbell last spring, the Drive-By Truckers mark a fresh start with the 19-song "Brighter Than Creation's Dark." The album includes tunes from primary songwriters Patterson Hood and vocalist/guitarist Mike Cooley, as well as from bassist Shonna Tucker.
The alt-country/rock band--which also features guitarist John Neff and drummer Brad Morgan--will support "Brighter Than Creation's Dark" with a North American tour. The trek kicks off Feb. 11 in Anaheim, CA, and is currently scheduled to stretch through a March 29 date in Asheville, NC.
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North Mississippi Allstars "Hernando"
The popular jam-band--which released its first concert DVD, "Keep On Marchin'," last year--is back with a new studio album. These tireless road warriors are, of course, supporting "Hernando" with a tour, and currently have dates announced through Feb. 24.
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Patty Larkin "Watch the Sky"
The Austin, TX-based singer/songwriter found much success with her last album, 2007's "Children Running Through," a work that scored Griffin her highest ever first-week sales totals (27,000) and entered The Billboard 200 chart at No. 24. Now, the artist is hoping for more good fortune with "Watch the Sky," which is being released less than a year after "Children Running Through" came out.
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Black Mountain "In the Future"
The psychedelic rock band from Vancouver finally returns with a follow-up to its popular eponymous debut of 2005. "In the Future" includes the song "Stay Free," which was originally featured on the soundtrack of the hit film "Spider-Man 3."
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More new releases:
Eric Andersen, "Avalanche" (DBK)
Julie Andrews, "The Lass with the Delicate Air" (Flare)
The Backyardigans, "The Backyardigans: Born to Play" (Nick)
Natasha Bedingfield, "Pocketful of Sunshine" (Epic)
Matt Costa, "Unfamiliar Faces" (Brushfire)
The Feelies, "Crazy Rhythms" (Water)
Liam Finn, "I'll Be Lightning" (Yep Roc)
MGMT, "Oracular Spectacular" (Sony)
Various Artists, "Radio Disney Jams, Vol. 10" (Disney)
The Whigs, "Mission Control" (ATO)
Chuck Wicks, "Starting Now" (RCA)
Soundtracks and scores:
"Dr. Who: Series 3" (Silva)
"Forbidden Broadway: Rude Awakening 25th Anniversary Cast Recording" (DRG)
"Happy Days (2007 Original Cast Recording)" (P.S. Classics)
'No Country,' 'Blood' tie for Oscar lead
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - "No Country for Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood" led with eight Academy Awards nominations each Tuesday, among them best picture and acting honors for Daniel Day-Lewis and Javier Bardem — but whether any actors would show up was in doubt because of the writers strike.
"No Country for Old Men," a crime saga about a drug deal gone bad, "There Will Be Blood," and a historical epic set in California's oil boom years will compete for best picture against the melancholy romance "Atonement," the pregnancy comedy "Juno" and the legal drama "Michael Clayton."
"Atonement" and "Michael Clayton" trailed with seven nominations each, including best actor for George Clooney in the title role of "Clayton." The lead players in "Atonement," Keira Knightley and James McAvoy, were shut out on nominations, however, with teenager Saoirse Ronin the only performer nominated for that film, for supporting actress.
Past Oscar winner Cate Blanchett had two nominations as best actress for the historical pageant "Elizabeth: The Golden Age," and the Bob Dylan tale "I'm Not There."
The acting categories generally played out as expected — with a few surprises, including best actress nominee Laura Linney for "The Savages" and best-actor nominee Tommy Lee Jones for "In the Valley of Elah." Neither performance had been high on the awards radar so far this Oscar season.
Best actress looks like a two-person duel between Julie Christie, an Oscar winner for "Darling," as a woman succumbing to Alzheimer's in "Away From Her" and Marion Cotillard as singer Edith Piaf in "La Vie En Rose." Both won Golden Globes, Christie for dramatic actress, Cotillard for musical or comedy actress. Yet they face strong competition from Blanchett, Linney and relative newcomer Ellen Page as a whip-smart pregnant teen in "Juno."
Day-Lewis, an Oscar winner for "My Left Foot," grabbed another best-actor nomination as a flamboyant oil baron in "There Will Be Blood," for which he could emerge as the favorite.
Along with Day-Lewis, Clooney and Jones, the other nominees were Johnny Depp, who won the Globe for musical or comedy actor as the vengeful barber in "Sweeney Todd," Viggo Mortensen as a Russian mob member in "Eastern Promises."
With a Golden Globe and universal acclaim for his performance as a relentless killer, Bardem looks like the closest thing to a front-runner this Oscar season, which is unusually wide open for best picture and other top categories.
Bardem is up against Casey Affleck, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"; Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Charlie Wilson's War"; Hal Holbrook, "Into the Wild"; Tom Wilkinson, "Michael Clayton."
Joining Blanchett and Ronin in the supporting actress category were Ruby Dee for "American Gangster," Amy Ryan for "Gone Baby Gone" and Tilda Swinton for "Michael Clayton."
List of 80th annual Oscar nominees
Complete list of 80th annual Academy Award nominations announced Tuesday:
1. Best Picture: "Atonement," "Juno," "Michael Clayton," "No Country for Old Men," "There Will Be Blood."
2. Actor: 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."
3. Actress: Cate Blanchett, "Elizabeth: The Golden Age"; Julie Christie, "Away From Her"; Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose"; Laura Linney, "The Savages"; Ellen Page, "Juno."
4. Supporting Actor: Casey Affleck, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"; Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men"; Hal Holbrook, "Into the Wild"; Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Charlie Wilson's War"; Tom Wilkinson, "Michael Clayton."
5. Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett, "I'm Not There"; Ruby Dee, "American Gangster"; Saoirse Ronan, "Atonement"; Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone"; Tilda Swinton, "Michael Clayton."
6. Director: 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."
7. Foreign Film: "Beaufort," Israel; "The Counterfeiters," Austria; "Katyn," Poland; "Mongol," Kazakhstan; "12," Russia.
8. 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."
9. Original Screenplay: Diablo Cody, "Juno"; Nancy Oliver, "Lars and the Real Girl"; Tony Gilroy, "Michael Clayton"; Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava and Jim Capobianco, "Ratatouille"; Tamara Jenkins, "The Savages."
10. Animated Feature Film: "Persepolis"; "Ratatouille"; "Surf's Up."
11. Art Direction: "American Gangster," "Atonement," "The Golden Compass," "Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street," "There Will Be Blood."
12. Cinematography: "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," "Atonement," "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," "No Country for Old Men," "There Will Be Blood."
13. Sound Mixing: "The Bourne Ultimatum," "No Country for Old Men," "Ratatouille," "3:10 to Yuma," "Transformers."
14. Sound Editing: "The Bourne Ultimatum," "No Country for Old Men," "Ratatouille," "There Will Be Blood," "Transformers."
15. Original Score: "Atonement," Dario Marianelli; "The Kite Runner," Alberto Iglesias; "Michael Clayton," James Newton Howard; "Ratatouille," Michael Giacchino; "3:10 to Yuma," Marco Beltrami.
16. Original Song: "Falling Slowly" from "Once," Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova; "Happy Working Song" from "Enchanted," Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz; "Raise It Up" from "August Rush," Nominees to be determined; "So Close" from "Enchanted," Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz; "That's How You Know" from "Enchanted," Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz.
17. Costume: "Across the Universe," "Atonement," "Elizabeth: The Golden Age," "La Vie en Rose," "Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street."
18. Documentary Feature: "No End in Sight," "Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience," "Sicko," "Taxi to the Dark Side," "War/Dance."
19. Documentary (short subject): "Freeheld," "La Corona (The Crown)," "Salim Baba," "Sari's Mother."
20. Film Editing: "The Bourne Ultimatum," "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," "Into the Wild," "No Country for Old Men," "There Will Be Blood."
21. Makeup: "La Vie en Rose," "Norbit," "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End."
22. Animated Short Film: "I Met the Walrus," "Madame Tutli-Putli," "Meme Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)," "My Love (Moya Lyubov)," "Peter & the Wolf."
23. Live Action Short Film: "At Night," "Il Supplente (The Substitute)," "Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)," "Tanghi Argentini," "The Tonto Woman."
24. Visual Effects: "The Golden Compass," "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," "Transformers."
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Academy Award winners previously announced this year:
HONORARY AWARD (Oscar statuette): Robert Boyle