Oscar nominees...

[Sylph]

January 23, 2008

‘No Country’ and ‘There Will Be Blood’ Lead Oscars

By BROOKS BARNES

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Hollywood is in a bleak mood this year, and the Oscar nominees announced Tuesday morning reflected that state of mind.

“No Country For Old Men,” about the ruthless aftermath of a botched drug deal, and “There Will Be Blood,” starring Daniel Day-Lewis as a scheming oil man in an epic about American capitalism, took the lead in the Oscar race with eight nominations each, including best picture and best director.

Meanwhile, “Michael Clayton,” a throwback thriller to the 1970s, starring George Clooney as a corporate fixer, received seven nominations, including nods for best picture, best actor (Mr. Clooney) and best supporting actress (Tilda Swinton). “Atonement,” the adaptation of Ian McEwan’s time-shifting, betrayal-filled novel, also captured seven nominations, including for best picture and best supporting actress (Saoirse Ronan).

Unlike last year, when flashy mainstream hits like “The Departed,” “Dreamgirls” and “Little Miss Sunshine” dominated, the 2008 Oscar race swings back toward critic-driven films. Many of the movies that received multiple nominations feature dark themes and unconventional endings that, for the most part, have failed to attract broad audiences.

All but shut out from the key categories were “American Gangster,” the Universal Pictures blockbuster about a Harlem heroin kingpin, and “Into the Wild,” a story about a boy’s journey to a remote corner of Alaska that was directed by Sean Penn. Each film received just one nomination in the major categories and two overall. Ruby Dee was nominated for best supporting actress in “American Gangster,” and Hal Holbrook garnered a nod— his first — for best supporting actor in “Into the Wild.”

One of the more upbeat films of the year and a hit — “Juno,” the tale of a quirky teenager who gives her baby up for adoption — received four nominations, including best picture, best director, best actress and best original screenplay.

Still, many of the nominations were expected. Daniel Day-Lewis, whose fierce portrayal of an oil man in “There Will Be Blood” has already won him a wheelbarrow full of accolades, continued his march to the ultimate awards podium with a best actor nomination.

Julie Christie and Marion Cotillard, who won respective best actress plaudits at the Golden Globe Awards for playing an Alzheimer’s victim in “Away From Her” and the singer Edith Piaf in “La Vie en Rose,” will vie for the academy’s top female acting honor.

One of the biggest questions about this year’s Oscar race — how a continuing writers strike will affect the ceremony — went unanswered. Sid Ganis, president of the academy, did not address the matter during the nominations announcement. The academy has said it has contingency plans in case the writers’ strike is not settled by the ceremony, scheduled for Feb. 24.

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)

• Atonement
• Away From Her
• The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
• No Country for Old Men
• There Will Be Blood

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)

• Juno
• Lars and the Real Girl
• Michael Clayton
• Ratatouille
• The Savages
• Back to Top

[stenbeck212]

I'm so happy for Ruby Dee.

[BottomGuy1974]

Happy and proud of Cate Blanchett..she recieved dual nominations this year. Very well deserved.

[Sylph]

And guess what? I loooove Juno, No Country for Old Men and Michael Clayton scripts.

[sheilaforever]

Really? I thought it was only okay. As if Toni Gilroy couldn't decide whether to make an arthouse film about Michael Clayton's psyche or a conventional thriller in best Sydney Pollack style.