The 79th Annual Academy Awards

[MacGuffin]

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

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 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 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 supporting role
Adriana Barraza - BABEL
Cate Blanchett - NOTES ON A SCANDAL
Abigail Breslin - LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Jennifer Hudson - DREAMGIRLS
Rinko Kikuchi - BABEL

Achievement in directing
Alejandro González Iñárritu - BABEL
Martin Scorsese - THE DEPARTED
Clint Eastwood - LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
Stephen Frears - THE QUEEN
Paul Greengrass - UNITED 93

Adapted screenplay
BORAT CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN - Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Peter Baynham & Dan Mazer & Todd Phillips
CHILDREN OF MEN - Alfonso Cuarón & 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

Original screenplay
BABEL - Guillermo Arriaga
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA - Iris Yamashita & Paul Haggis
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE - Michael Arndt
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Guillermo del Toro
THE QUEEN - Peter Morgan

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

Achievement in film editing
BABEL - Stephen Mirrione and Douglas Crise
BLOOD DIAMOND - Steven Rosenblum
CHILDREN OF MEN - Alex Rodríguez and Alfonso Cuarón
THE DEPARTED - Thelma Schoonmaker
UNITED 93 - Clare Douglas, Christopher Rouse and Richard Pearson

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

Best foreign language film of the year
AFTER THE WEDDING - Denmark
DAYS OF GLORY (INDIGÈNES) - Algeria
THE LIVES OF OTHERS - Germany
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Mexico
WATER - Canada

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

Achievement in makeup
APOCALYPTO
CLICK
PAN'S LABYRINTH

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

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

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 


HONORARY AWARD
Ennio Morricone

JEAN HERSHOLT HUMANITARIAN AWARD
Sherry Lansing

[grand theft sparrow]

I liked Little Miss Sunshine but I see this as if Napoleon Dynamite was nominated for Best Picture.

[modage]

i dont know why but i am THRILLED that Dreamgirls is NOT UP FOR BEST PICTURE!

[Pubrick]

what the FUCK is Venus
where the FUCK is sacha baron cohen

LAME
LAME

[Kal]

- I hate Babel
- Agree with P on Sasha Baron Cohen
- Little Miss Sunshine was very original, very funny, refreshing, whatever the fuck... Oscar contender? NOOOT.

These nominations are so lame that for the first time in many years I dont even give a shit about watching this or who wins... fuck the Oscars

[Sunrise]

These nominations are so lame that for the first time in many years I dont even give a shit about watching this or who wins... fuck the Oscars

Which means that almost every year you really care about watching it and who wins?

[grand theft sparrow]

These nominations are so lame that for the first time in many years I dont even give a shit about watching this or who wins... fuck the Oscars

There's no reason for any of us to watch after last year; it had to make the very last of us who still watched out of habit realize that it's only going to get worse.  Can any of us say that we've been satisfied with more than a small handful of wins in the last 10 years?  I checked the nominations for something interesting, got nothing, and now I'm done.  I'll record the show in case of any Baron Cohen antics, but other than that, forget it.

[Pubrick]

yeah it has been downhill for so long that it's really not much to drop below zero credibility. it's just that i held some hope after the globe for borat, tho i should have realised it was useless since no one else has recognized the film in any major way. i hate to say it but the Oscars have officially become the Grammys, ok they became the Grammys when Gladiator won.. now they're the Grammys the year Santana got 9 of em, ok that might've been RotK's clean sweep. uh..

the only way they could ever be redeemed now is if NO ONE receives an award in any category this year, except for Penelope Cruz and An Inconvenient Truth. and if Ennio Morricone would accept his award by composing a haunting commemorative piece for the Oscars LIVE during his acceptance speech, and he would call it "Requiem for An Awards Show" and perform it by the end of the night. also if the whole damn system was revolutionised so that this kind of shit would never happen again. didn't Shakespeare in Love teach us ANYTHING???? (other than not to care about the Oscars anymore)

[modage]

you guys are crazy.  the oscars are always crap. but this was not exactly a standout year for films so there is nothing really inflammatory about those nominations.  which films did you think would be nominated?  besides baron cohen who was a serious serious longshot at best, what do you think actually had a shot.  remember, this is the oscars we're talking about.  atleast there is nothing as odious as Crash here, besides the boring Queen.  plus there are atleast some fairly cool (if overrated) films represented...

The Departed 5 Nominations incl. Best Picture and Best Director (maybe its not his best, but atleast its Scorsese)
Babel 7 Nominations incl. Best Picture and Best Director (maybe its not the best, but atleast its Inarritu)
Pans Labyrinth 6 Nominations incl. Best Screenplay and Best Foreign Film (wow, where did that come from?)
Children Of Men 3 Nominations incl. Best Screenplay and Best Cinematography (better than i thought, could've been completely ignored)
Little Miss Sunshine 4 Nominations (sure, it's not Oscar material, but most of us atleast enjoyed it and atleast its NOT oscar bait)

[Pubrick]

Little Miss Sunshine  (... atleast its NOT oscar bait)

only jail bait.

[Gold Trumpet]

Not only do I not like the Oscars, but I've stopped caring. So much so I almost forgot about them this year entirely. As someone once said, Hollywood isn't honoring the best artists with the Oscars, it only is honoring itself.

[MacGuffin]

what the FUCK is Venus

only jail bait.

[ono]

I'll watch it just to cheer on "anything but The Departed" and hope the highlight is Abigail Breslin winning for supporting actress (why she wasn't a lead, I don't know).  But, 2006 sucked almost as much as 2005, so it's no surprise.  A Prairie Home Companion was snubbed, and Pan's Labyrinth -- the most worthwhile cinematic experience of the year (even though I have some qualms with it) -- is under-represented.  Yeah, it gets the foreign film nod, and while that's nice, it should be competing with the big boys.  Plus, the girl who played Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) carried the film, and she gets no love.  I am happy Cruz got noticed.  She deserves it.  It's the year of the Spanish, with Iñárritu and Cuarón dragging behind.  Iñárritu in producing a lackluster film that got a lot of recognition, and Cuarón in producing a lackluster film that didn't.

[Chest Rockwell]

Yea after last year I've stoped caring about Awards season. I just found out a minute ago that the Oscar nominations came up. 2006 did indeed suck.

[MacGuffin]

I'll watch it just to cheer on "anything but The Departed" and hope the highlight is Abigail Breslin winning for supporting actress (why she wasn't a lead, I don't know).

It was better for her to be promoted as supporting, as she would most definitely not have been nominated at all had they tried for lead. Going this route, she has a better shot at getting nominated (which she did), and possibly winning.