Copyright (2007) The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences

By Scott Bettencourt

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR
CARS - John Lasseter
HAPPY FEET - George Miller
MONSTER HOUSE - Gil Kenan

This is the one category where I predicted all three correctly. Happy Feet got the best reviews, but Cars made more money and everyone knows Pixar can do no wrong; I'm guessing Happy Feet.

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ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SCORE)
BABEL - Gustavo Santaolalla
THE GOOD GERMAN - Thomas Newman
NOTES ON A SCANDAL - Philip Glass
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Javier Navarrete
THE QUEEN - Alexandre Desplat

The good news is that the two best scores of the year, The Good German and The Queen, both got nominated (how often does that happen?), and The Queen has a good chance of winning (it seems like the kind of score that even people who don't notice film scores noticed and liked). The biggest shock was the nomination for Notes on a Scandal, since many viewers and critics HATED this score; I thought Glass would be nominated for his far superior score to The Illusionist. Pan's Labyrinth was a pleasant surprise (not a favorite, but a nice score and by a composer virtually unknown to the Academy), while Babel was a forgettable score but clearly a very popular film with the Academy. Santaolalla could win in a Babel sweep, and if so then they'll probably have to invite him to join the Academy this time. This is the second nomination for Santaolalla, the third for Glass, the eighth for Newman, and the first each for Desplat and Navarrete.



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ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SONG)
"I Need to Wake Up" - An Inconvenient Truth - Music and Lyric by Melissa Etheridge
"Listen" - Dreamgirls - Music by Henry Krieger and Scott Cutler, Lyric by Anne Preven
"Love You I Do" - Dreamgirls - Music by Henry Krieger, Lyric by Siedah Garrett
"Our Town" - Cars - Music and Lyric by Randy Newman
"Patience" - Dreamgirls - Music by Henry Krieger, Lyric by Willie Reale

Dreamgirls is the third film to get three Best Song nominations in one year -- the other two, unsurprisingly, were Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King. I believe the Etheridge song is the first nominated song from a documentary since Mondo Cane's "Moreî in 1963. Randy Newman's nomination is no surprise - it's his 17th nomination.

I had hoped in vain for a nomination for Casino Royale's "You Know My Name," but then I hoped in vain for any Casino Royale nomination, which seemed plausible since it earned nine BAFTA nominations as well as nominations from the Art Directors, Costume Designers and Editors guilds, but alas it got completely snubbed. The last nominated Bond was For Your Eyes Only for Best Song, 25 years ago.



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BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
BABEL - Produced by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Jon Kilik and Steve Golin
THE DEPARTED - producer nominees to be determined
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA - Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg and Robert Lorenz,
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE - producer nominees to be determined
THE QUEEN - Produced by Andy Harries, Christine Langan and Tracey Seaward

The big shocker here is the absence of Dreamgirls (also snubbed for Director and Screenplay, but still the most nominated film of the year -- the first time the most nominated film isn't a Best Picture nominee), which I had thought would win Best Picture. The Queen and Letters from Iwo Jima most deserve the award, thought it will probably go to either Babel or Little Miss Sunshine.



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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

An impressive group, and I'm especially glad Ryan Gosling is there, surprising considering how few people saw Half Nelson. I hope Peter O'Toole wins, though Forest Whitaker has a good chance too (and his nomination is long deserved).



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PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
PENELOPE CRUZ - Volver
JUDI DENCH - Notes on a Scandal
HELEN MIRREN - The Queen
MERYL STREEP - The Devil Wears Prada
KATE WINSLET - Little Children

No surprises here, and I'm glad Winslet got in, especially since I was worried Little Children would be under-represented. Mirren will win.



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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

Another predictable group; I hope Murphy wins, though if enough Academy voters see those ubiquitous billboards for Norbit, maybe he won't, in which case Arkin could get it.



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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

Barraza and Kikuchi were the best thing about the overrated Babel, but could cancel each other out. Hudson will probably win, though the lack of a Best Picture nomination makes Dreamgirls less of a contender overall.



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ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
BABEL - Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
THE DEPARTED - Martin Scorsese
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA - Clint Eastwood
THE QUEEN - Stephen Frears
UNITED 93 - Paul Greengrass

I'm thrilled that United 93 got on the list; I hope Scorsese (finally) wins, though Inarritu could certainly take it in an undeserved Babel sweep. I'd hoped for Alfonso Cuaron, but he did get nominated for Adapted Screenplay and Film Editing, so one can't feel too bad for him.



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ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
BABEL - Guillermo Arriaga
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA - Screenplay by Iris Yamashita, Story by Iris Yamashita & Paul Haggis
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE - Michael Arndt
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Guillermo del Toro
THE QUEEN - Peter Morgan

Pan's Labyrinth is a surprise; I hope The Queen wins, but it could certainly go to Babel or Little Miss Sunshine.



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ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
BORAT CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN - Screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Peter Baynham & Dan Mazer, Story by Sacha Baron Cohen & Peter Baynham & Anthony Hines & Todd Phillips
CHILDREN OF MEN - Screenplay by Alfonso Cuaron & Timothy J. Sexton and David Arata and Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby
THE DEPARTED - William Monahan
LITTLE CHILDREN - Todd Field & Tom Perrotta
NOTES ON A SCANDAL - Patrick Marber

Borat? Are you kidding me? I mean, I love Borat as much as the next man, but it's a largely improvised film featuring non-actors -- how is that a nominate-able screenplay? How is that even a screenplay at all? Still, I'm glad the two Children movies got in; Departed will probably win.



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ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
THE BLACK DAHLIA - Vilmos Zsigmond
CHILDREN OF MEN - Emmanuel Lubezki
THE ILLUSIONIST - Dick Pope
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Guillermo Navarro
THE PRESTIGE - Wally Pfister

As usual, this is one of the strongest categories, and I was especially glad to see Pfister's Prestige work mentioned. Considering how many good films weren't nominated for anything, it's odd to see The Black Dahlia on the list, though Zsigmond is the only cinematographer of his generation (Hall, Wexler, Fraker, Kovacs, Roizman, Willis, Alonzo) who's still working and still doing top-notch work (he hasn't been nominated since 1984's The River), and it's great to see him back with DePalma.



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ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION
DREAMGIRLS - John Myhre, Nancy Haigh
THE GOOD SHEPHERD - Jeannine Oppewall, Gretchen Rau and
Leslie E. Rollins
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Eugenio Caballero, Pilar Revuelta
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST - Rick Heinrichs
Cheryl A. Carasik
THE PRESTIGE - Nathan Crowley, Julie Ochipinti

Dreamgirls will probably win, making it a third Oscar for Myhre (following Chicago and Memoirs of a Geisha). Oppewall's work on The Good Shepherd (its only nomination) was excellent as always, while The Prestige is a welcome surprise.



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ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER - Yee Chung Man
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA - Patricia Field
DREAMGIRLS - Sharen Davis
MARIE ANTOINETTE - Milena Canonero
THE QUEEN - Consolata Boyle

Dreamgirls or Marie Antoinette will win; Devil Wears Prada is a pleasant surprise -- though it's the rare film that's actually about clothes, the Academy rarely nominates contemporary American (non-fantasy) stories in this category (the last one I can find was Prizzi's Honor).



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ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
APOCALYPTO - Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Fernando Camara
BLOOD DIAMOND - Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer and Ivan Sharrock
DREAMGIRLS - Michael Minkler, Bob Beemer and Willie Burton
FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS - John Reitz, Dave Campbell, Gregg Rudloff and Walt Martin
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST - Paul Massey, Christopher Boyes and Lee Orloff

Dreamgirls will probably win, 'cuz it's a musical.



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ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING
BABEL - Stephen Mirrione and Douglas Crise
BLOOD DIAMOND - Steven Rosenblum
CHILDREN OF MEN - Alex Rodriguez and Alfonso Cuaron
THE DEPARTED - Thelma Schoonmaker
UNITED 93 - Clare Douglas, Christopher Rouse and Richard Pearson

This is where Casino Royale really should have been nominated, for Stuart Baird's classically expert work, but it's nice that Children of Men and United 93 got in. Babel will probably win the Crash It's-Got-A-Lot-Of-Characters-So-It-Must-Be-Great-Editing Oscar.



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ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
APOCALYPTO - Sean McCormack and Kami Asgar
BLOOD DIAMOND - Lon Bender
FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS - Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA - Alan Robert Murray
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST - Christopher Boyes and George Watters II

Pirates will probably win; it's got ships at sea, battles, swordfights, sea monsters and fish-faced dudes.



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ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP
APOCALYPTO - Aldo Signoretti and Vittorio Sodano
CLICK - Kazuhiro Tsuji and Bill Corso
PAN'S LABYRINTH - David Marti and Montse Ribe

Pan's Labyrinth will probably win, though Apocalypto's work was also extremely impressive (and not just for its quantity). I'd hoped The Prestige would get a slot, but the major makeups may have just been too subtle.



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BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
THE DANISH POET - Torill Kove
LIFTED - Gary Rydstrom
THE LITTLE MATCHGIRL - Roger Allers and Don Hahn
MAESTRO - Geza M. Toth
NO TIME FOR NUTS - Chris Renaud and Michael Thurmeier

A pretty good group of shorts, though I would have preferred Don Hertzfeldt's stunning, shortlisted Everything Will Be OK had taken The Danish Poet's slot. Maestro is a very clever CGI short; Little Matchgirl is a Disney version of the famous tearjerker using traditional Disney animation; No Time For Nuts is an extremely funny Ice Age spinoff starring Scrat; Lifted is a clever Pixar short about alien abduction, with (very little) music by Michael Giacchino. Oscar fans with good memories may note that Lifted's nominated writer-director, Gary Rydstrom, is actually a 13-time nominee in the sound categories, winning seven Oscars for his work on Terminator 2, Jurassic Park, Titanic and Saving Private Ryan.



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BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
BINTA AND THE GREAT IDEA (BINTA Y LA GRAN IDEA) - Javier Fesser and Luis Manso
ERAMOS POCOS (ONE TOO MANY) - Borja Cobeaga
HELMER & SON - Soren Pilmark and Kim Magnusson
THE SAVIOUR - Peter Templeman and Stuart Parkyn
WEST BANK STORY - Ari Sandel

Haven't seen any of these, no idea what will win.



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BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
DELIVER US FROM EVIL - Amy Berg and Frank Donner
AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH - Davis Guggenheim
IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS - James Longley and John Sinno
JESUS CAMP - Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY - Laura Poitras and Jocelyn Glatzer

I haven't seen any of these yet, but they're a glum bunch: one about global warming, two about Iraq, one about fundamentalists brainwashing kids and one about a priest molesting kids (for those who felt the lack of a Passion of the Christ Best Picture nomination was an insult to Christians). Inconvenient Truth director Davis Guggenheim directed Gossip and episodes of Deadwood; he is also Mr. Elisabeth Shue. Inconvenient Truth will probably win, though they're all on hot-button topics.



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BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
THE BLOOD OF YINGZHOU DISTRICT - Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon
RECYCLED LIFE - Leslie Iwerks and Mike Glad
REHEARSING A DREAM - Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
TWO HANDS - Nathaniel Kahn and Susan Rose Behr

Haven't seen any of these yet. Nathaniel Kahn directed the nominated My Architect; Leslie Iwerks is the granddaughter of animation/effects pioneer Ub Iwerks.



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BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
AFTER THE WEDDING - Denmark
DAYS OF GLORY (INDIGENES) - Algeria
THE LIVES OF OTHERS - Germany
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Mexico
WATER - Canada

I was disappointed (but not surprised) by the omission of Paul Verhoeven's terrific, short-listed Black Book, and surprised by the lack of Volver. I haven't seen After the Wedding (which stars Casino Royale's Le Chiffre, Mads Mikkelsen) or Days of Glory. The Lives of Others or Water will probably win. This year, Mychael Danna has the rare achievement of having scored a Best Picture nominee (Little Miss Sunshine) and a Foreign Language Film nominee (Water) which are different films (unlike previous nominees in both categories like Life is Beautiful and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). I know of only one other composer who has this honor -- Nino Rota, who scored the winners in the two categories in 1974, The Godfather, Part II and Amarcord.



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ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST - John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and Allen Hall
POSEIDON - Boyd Shermis, Kim Libreri, Chaz Jarrett and John Frazier
SUPERMAN RETURNS - Mark Stetson, Neil Corbould, Richard R. Hoover and Jon Thum

Bored as I was with Pirates, the CGI-faced villains were superb effects creations, and there's a ton of other effects the average viewer isn't even aware of (a miniature beached Black Pearl, digitally added peaks in the Cannibal Island scenes). Bad as Poseidon is, its effects looked spectacular in the Academy's "Visual Effects Bake-Off," though the effects supervisor probably didn't win any points with Wolfgang Petersen when he remarked that the crew had the handicap of doing the effects "without benefit of character or story." I thought Superman Returns' effects, which I'd liked in the movie, looked soft and phony in the bake-off, so I was surprised at its nomination (I thought X-Men would get that third slot). Pirates will win, deservedly.



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BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR
CARS - John Lasseter
HAPPY FEET - George Miller
MONSTER HOUSE - Gil Kenan

This is the one category where I predicted all three correctly. Happy Feet got the best reviews, but Cars made more money and everyone knows Pixar can do no wrong; I'm guessing Happy Feet.



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This year I got 63 percent correct in my predictions, not that you asked.
After last year's ceremony, I predicted the following films as potential Oscar contenders: Across the Universe, All the King's Men, Babel, Breaking and Entering, Children of Men, The DaVinci Code, The Departed, Dreamgirls, Flags of Our Fathers, The Good German, The Good Shepherd, The Hoax, Lucky You, Marie-Antoinette, The Prestige, Running with Scissors, Scoop, World Trade Center and Zodiac.

Several on the list (Across the Universe, The Hoax, Lucky You, Zodiac) were delayed until 2007. My list includes two Best Picture nominees (Babel, The Departed) as well as seven other nominated movies. And, of course, the critical and commercial flop All the King's Men. But no Blood Diamond, The Devil Wears Prada, Letters from Iwo Jima, Little Children, Little Miss Sunshine, Notes on a Scandal, Pan's Labyrinth, or The Queen. Oops.



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In 2003, I predicted the following people as future nominees.
COMPOSERS

Mychael Danna
Jan A.P. Kaczmarek
Wojciech Kilar
Michael Nyman
Christopher Young

ACTORS

Kevin Bacon
Dylan Baker
Christian Bale
Billy Crudup
John Cusack
Philip Seymour Hoffman
David Morse
Dennis Quaid
Ving Rhames
Mark Ruffalo

ACTRESSES

Sandra Bullock
Claire Danes
Kirsten Dunst
Edie Falco
Allison Janney
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Mary Louise Parker
Robin Wright Penn
Christina Ricci
Naomi Watts

So far, Watts was nominated in 2003, Kaczmarek in 2004 (and won), and Hoffman was nominated and won in 2005. And none of the rest were nominated this year.

http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/articles/2007/25_Jan---Oscar_Nominations.asp