Oscar Nominations are In

As expected, There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men lead the 2008 Oscar nominations. And seriously – are there any other competitors in the Best Picture category besides those two? Don’t say Atonement; that won the Best Picture Golden Globe out of sheer luck. Everybody knows the Globes love their weepy dramas as much as the Oscars love their intense, drawn-out epics.

The most unexpected nomination this year is without a doubt Ellen Page’s for Best Actress in Juno. Don’t get me wrong, Juno was a great little movie – the Little Miss Sunshine of the 2008 Oscar season, for sure – but I’m sure even Page is baffled by her simple performance standing alongside old pros like Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age) and Julie Christie (Away From Her).

If there is an upset at the 2008 Oscars (if there’s a standard ceremony), it will be Michael Clayton winning for Best Picture. The Oscar panel is notorious for handing off multiple awards to films with the biggest buzz while giving the all-important Best Picture nod to the underdog (remember Crash?).

Anyhoo, the nominees are…

Best Actor
George Clooney – Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis – There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp – Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street
Viggo Mortensen – Eastern Promises
Tommy Lee Jones – In The Valley Of Elah

Best 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

Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett – I’m Not There
Ruby Dee – American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan – Atonement
Amy Ryan – Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton – Michael Clayton

Best Supporting Actor
Casey Affleck – The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
Javier Bardem – No Country For Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman – Charlie Wilson’s War
Hal Holbrook – Into The Wild
Tom Wilkinson – Michael Clayton

Best Film
There Will Be Blood
No Country For Old Men
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton

Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson – There Will Be Blood
Ethan Coen and Joel Coen – No Country For Old Men
Tony Gilroy – Michael Clayton
Jason Reitman – Juno
Julian Schnabel – The Diving Bell And The Butterfly