Bringing Home the Gold

One morning each January the West Coast opens its eyes before the sun rises for the biggest news to come out of Hollywood since the previous summer’s celebrity tirade: The list of Oscar nominees! Here’s just a bit of the action.

Abigail Breslin scored a nom for her role as the frank and innocent Olive in Little Miss Sunshine (a surprise Best Picture Nominee). The 10-year old joins eight of the other supporting nominees who were recognized for the first time in their careers.

Leading acting roles, of course, brought the fourteenth nod for Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada), who now holds the record for most acting nominations. She’ll be up against odds-on favorite Helen Mirren (The Queen), and Kate Winslet, who saw her painfully honest performance in Little Children pay off with her fifth acting nomination—making her the youngest actress to achieve that feat.

As SAG had predicted, Ryan Gosling pulled an impressive coup when his name was announced alongside Peter O’Toole (Venus) and Leonardo DiCaprio’s (Blood Diamond) for playing a drug-addicted teacher in Half Nelson. But after snagging the Golden Globe and numerous critics awards, Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland) finally seems a sure bet.

The new millennium has been good to Paul Haggis who, for the third time, heard his name announced—this time for his writing contribution to Eastwood’s Letters from Iwo Jima (a Best Motion Picture nominee). Also noted for writing this season, the inimitable Alfonso Cuarón for his adapted screenplay for Children of Men. But perhaps the biggest surprise in the screenplay categories was for the seemingly un-scripted Borat. Then again, the Academy loves to court controversy.

View the full list of nominees.

Sound Off: Do you think it might finally be Scorsese’s year to win the big one? Will Jennifer Hudson go from “American Idol” reject to Oscar-winning actress? Which nomination caught you most by surprise? Which one do you think is a sure bet? Who got snubbed? Post your thoughts in our Comments section!