Match point
For only the fourth time in Oscar annals, there is an exact correspondence between best picture and directing nominees -- the previous ones occurred in 1957, 1964 and 1981. Rarer still, however, is the additional presence of a writing nom for each of the best pic nominees, making this only the second year that five films have earned the "Triple Crown" of Academy Award nominations. The first instance was the 1964 awards, when "Becket," "My Fair Lady," "Mary Poppins," "Zorba the Greek" and "Dr. Strangelove" all scored the hat trick. ("Lady" earned best picture and directing honors, while "Becket" defeated the other four pics for the adapted screenplay statuette.)
After the fall
Powerhouse specialty distrib Miramax -- whose spectacular run of 249 Oscar bids (and 60 Academy Awards, including three best picture winners) over nearly two decades was unparalleled -- virtually vanished from the Oscar scene this year in the wake of the departure of founders Harvey and Bob Weinstein. The Disney-owned distrib earned its fewest bids -- one, for South African pic "Tsotsi" in the foreign-language pic category -- since the 1991 awards, when the company also scored a sole nom, coincidentally in the foreign-language race (for Italian pic "Mediterraneo," which won the Oscar).
Fresh-faced
With no fewer than 14 of this year's 20 acting nominees Academy Award neophytes, there's a strong chance that all four thesp winners will score on their first noms. Since the Acad added the supporting acting categories in 1936, there have been only two prior instances of a newbie sweep in the acting races. At the 1955 awards, Oscar virgins Ernest Borgnine ("Marty"), Anna Magnani ("The Rose Tattoo"), Jo Van Fleet ("East of Eden") and Jack Lemmon ("Mister Roberts") earned trophies.
In 1961, first-timers Maximilian Schell ("Judgment at Nuremberg"), Sophia Loren ("Two Women") and "West Side Story" co-stars George Chakiris and Rita Moreno all took home Oscars.
Double time
George Clooney is the first individual to earn acting ("Syriana") and directing ("Good Night, and Good Luck") noms for two different films in the same year. A handful of helmers, however, have earned supporting actor noms in years they weren't contending for directing honors, including John Cassavetes (nommed for 1967's "The Dirty Dozen"), John Huston (1963's "The Cardinal"), Vittorio de Sica (1957's "A Farewell to Arms") and Erich von Stroheim (1950's "Sunset Blvd.").
Tally ho!
With a total of eight noms for "Munich" and "War of the Worlds," Steven Spielberg becomes the second helmer to break the century mark in overall Academy Award noms earned by his pics, with 103 bids since 1975. William Wyler holds the all-time record -- his films earned 127 nominations over a 34-year span (1935-68). Wyler and Spielberg also lead all directors in terms of Oscars won by their pics, with 39 and 31 respectively.
Sky's the limit
Composer John Williams this year surpassed his late colleague Alfred Newman in total Oscar nominations, earning his 44th and 45th noms for the scores to "Memoirs of a Geisha" and "Munich." Newman earned 43 bids in the music categories over a 33-year period beginning in 1938, winning nine Oscars along the way. Newman and five-time winner Williams, who earned his first bid for 1967's "Valley of the Dolls," now rank behind only Walt Disney (59 bids) on Oscar's most-nominated list. Williams is a comfortable distance ahead of Woody Allen, whose 21 noms (including his screenplay bid for "Match Point") rank the Gotham-based filmmaker as the second-most nominated living person.
Someday?
Since 1983, Kevin O'Connell, a member of the sound mixing team nominated for "Memoirs of a Geisha," has earned 18 nominations but still awaits his first Academy Award. (In fact, "Geisha's" mixing team has 41 noms among them without a win.) O'Connell so far can't match the streak of composer Victor Young, who earned 22 noms between 1938 and 1956 before finally winning, for his score to "Around the World in 80 Days." Alas, Young died four months before the awards were handed out.
More with less
This year's five best picture nominees earned a total of 30 nominations among them, the second lowest tally in the past 50 years. In 1989, the best pic nominees ("Dead Poets Society," "Born on the Fourth of July," "Field of Dreams," "My Left Foot" and winner "Driving Miss Daisy") earned 29 bids among them.
Below the line
"Memoirs of a Geisha," which earned six bids in technical/ music categories -- tying the pic with "Crash" and "Good Night, and Good Luck" for second place among all films in nominations -- is among the few pics to rank high on a particular year's Oscar-nom tote board without earning a bid in the top eight categories (picture, directing, acting and writing). The record holder for such a feat is the 1960 Cantinflas starrer "Pepe," whose seven below-the-line noms tied it with best pic nominees "The Alamo" and "Sons and Lovers" for second place behind eventual best pic winner "The Apartment" (10 bids). But seven wasn't lucky for "Pepe" -- pic was blanked on Oscar night.
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