Award Central News

Oscar took a world view in nominations for the 79th annual Academy Awards, with foreign-language work strongly represented in a roster filled with twists. No. 1 on that list of surprises: "Dreamgirls" was the nom leader, with eight, but failed to make it into the best picture race -- the first time that's ever happened.

Contenders for the top prize are Paramount Vantage's "Babel," with seven noms; Warner Bros.' "The Departed" (five); WB's "Letters From Iwo Jima" (four); Fox Searchlight's "Little Miss Sunshine" (four); and Miramax-Pathe-Granada's "The Queen" (six).

Right behind were Picturehouse's "Pan's Labyrinth" (six) and WB's "Blood Diamond" (five).

The wealth was spread wide, with voters at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences throwing some twists into a race that had begun to seem formulaic this season.

The five pic contenders are a surprisingly diverse bunch: a remake of a violent Hong Kong actioner, a wry family comedy, a fact-based drama about the British monarchy in crisis, a Japanese-language WWII epic and an ambitious multi-language drama about noncommunication.

The eclectic, global mix is in sharp contrast with last year's five pic nominees, all serious dramas ("Brokeback Mountain," "Capote," "Crash," "Good Night, and Good Luck" and "Munich").

As always, there were anomalies. Paul Greengrass was nommed for director for Universal-StudioCanal's "United 93," though the pic didn't make the cut; "Sunshine" was nommed for best pic, but directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris were not. Of the 10 actor-actress contenders, only one (Helen Mirren) was in a best-pic nominee.

Only three of the Directors Guild nominees made it into the Acad five: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, "Babel"; Martin Scorsese, "The Departed"; and Stephen Frears, "The Queen." Aside from Greengrass, the Acad added Clint Eastwood for "Iwo Jima."

It was a very good year for Paul Haggis, who racked up his third consecutive scripting nom, for "Iwo Jima" (after "Million Dollar Baby" and "Crash"). The last two pics won best film.

The presence of "Iwo Jima" is due to one of the year's most daring kudos decisions. Pic was scheduled for release in 2007, but the studio and filmmakers decided in November to release it in December. The awards attention will help both this film and its companion, "Flags of Our Fathers."

It was also a prestigious year for Brad Pitt, and Brad Grey. The actor was a key player in "Babel," and he is one of four producers credited onscreen in "Departed." Grey too was a producer on WB's "Departed," while his studio, Paramount, enjoyed multiple noms.

The nominees in the acting categories typify the global tastes of voters this year. The 20 thesps include five blacks, two Latinas and one Japanese actress in categories that were all-Caucasian for decades. This year's lineup tops the records of 2003 and '04, when there were five non-Caucasians nommed.

The honorees also include three foreign-language performances, which is a rarity; only 25 such perfs have been cited in the last 78 years.

Two of the pic nominees break the English-only domination of the top race: "Babel," in four languages (including English), and the Japanese-language "Iwo Jima." Before Tuesday's announcement, only seven foreign-language films had been nommed for the top prize.

Of the four films with the most nominations, two -- "Babel" and "Pan's Labyrinth" -- are from Mexican directors. Gonzalez Inarritu was nommed in the directing category, and two of his fellow Mexican helmers, Guillermo del Toro ("Labyrinth") and Alfonso Cuaron (Universal's "Children of Men"), were recognized in the writing categories.

"Children of Men" drew three noms in all.

In addition, Sony Pictures Classics' Spanish-language "Volver" received a bid, for Penelope Cruz's performance, and Buena Vista's Mayan-language "Apocalypto" scored three in technical categories.

Foreign-language fare also was recognized in technical categories, including costume design (Yee Chung Man's work on Sony Classics' "Curse of the Golden Flower") and cinematography (Guillermo Navarro, "Labyrinth").

The multilingual theme is carried out in the foreign-language race. Mexico's "Labyrinth," Denmark's "After the Wedding" and Canada's "Water" are from helmers who've worked in two languages, including English -- del Toro, Susanne Bier and Deepa Mehta, respectively.

All five foreign-language contenders have a domestic distrib, including "Days of Glory" (Algeria), IFC-Weinstein Co.; and "The Lives of Others" (Germany), Sony Classics. "Labyrinth" is at Picturehouse, "Water" at Fox Searchlight and "After the Wedding" also at IFC.

CGI is once again the king in the animation race. All three contenders -- Buena Vista's "Cars," WB's "Happy Feet" and Sony's "Monster House" -- are CG pics after that format was absent from last year's race.

In 16 of the past 20 years, the film with the most noms went on to win best picture. But the trend has been reversing, with the top nom getter winning only twice in the last five years. That "Dreamgirls" is out of the race means there will be genuine suspense when the awards are handed out Feb. 25.

Another sign of the times: A number of the nominees got their big breaks in TV, including Eastwood, Haggis, Sacha Baron Cohen, Will Smith and Eddie Murphy. And there are two former rappers, Smith and Mark Wahlberg.

And though actresses sigh there are few good roles for anyone over a certain age, the actress race features three contenders over 50.

While somber "prestige" films are the traditional targets of kudos voting, this year, all of the season's film awards seemed more willing to salute lighter forms of entertainment, such as comedies "Little Miss Sunshine," "Borat" and "The Devil Wears Prada" and the musical "Dreamgirls."

However, the banner for serious themes was proudly carried in the documentary category. Both "Iraq in Fragments" and "My Country, My Country" center on Iraq; global warming is the focus of "An Inconvenient Truth"; "Jesus Camp" tackles America's religious right; and "Deliver Us From Evil" explores priestly child abuse.

Studio tallies are difficult, considering shared financing and distribution.

WB, DreamWorks and Par all have a stake in "Letters From Iwo Jima," a big-scale film that Eastwood shot for $19 million in only 32 days. He'd had the script in place before lensing "Flags of Our Fathers." At home in Carmel Tuesday, the filmmaker recalled, "When we were waiting for the visual and sound effects on 'Flags,' which were pretty elaborate, I decided to shoot this."

He finished the film in November, just weeks before its bow. The film is a big hit in Japan and will broaden out to the rest of the world after its screening at the Berlin Film Festival next month.

When reminded of the daring choices he's made recently as a filmmaker, Eastwood deadpanned, "Oh, you get to a certain age and what can they do? They can't beat you up. So you might as well take chances."

In Sundance, Par Vantage topper John Lesher was celebrating the nine noms for his company in its first Oscar race. "That's cool!" he said. "We're really proud of these films." The company has "Babel" in English and Spanish-speaking territories and said the seven bids for the film will give in "new life" around the world.

The two for "An Inconvenient Truth" are also significant because the global-warming docu was Lesher's first buy in his new job. It's turned into Par's most profitable film of 2006.

In its second Oscar race, the reinvented Miramax did very well. Under Bob and Harvey Weinstein, the niche label was always a major player in the Oscar race. Now under Daniel Battsek, the revised company has one win already (foreign-language winner "Tsotsi," its first acquisition) and chalked up a total of seven noms for "The Queen" and "Venus."

From Sundance, Miramax topper Daniel Battsek told Daily Variety, "We're so proud of our movies. It's great for this company, which has a long, well-founded reputation for getting movies recognized, and we're proud to carry on that tradition."

The recognition will help the films, he said. "Venus" has played on just a few screens, and "Queen" had its first wide break just last week. In its 17th week, it got into the top 10 and, said Battsek, "We're in great shape to take advantage of these nominations."

Looking at the big picture, he added, "It's a wide-open race, which is good for the industry and will keep people coming to the box office, I hope."

Fox Searchlight's "Little Miss Sunshine" is the only best-pic contender on DVD, but company topper Peter Rice said the four noms will give the film a big push in its ancillary life. The film has sustained audience enthusiasm since its bow at Sundance 2006. "There is such an intense depth of feeling for the film, and in various branches of the Academy."

He also celebrated the noms for "The Last King of Scotland," "Water" and "Notes on a Scandal," paying tribute to "a wonderful team at Fox Searchlight who's been working so hard. And I'm so happy for all the filmmakers."

WB's actioner "Departed" wasn't greenlit with the notion that it was an "Academy contender," said Jeff Robinov. "But Marty (Scorsese) is pretty consistent, so there was always that chance. And when we saw the director's cut, and the first audience screenings, we got a sense of it."

Robinov credited Alan Horn with the studio's success this year and with such kudos hits as "Mystic River" and "Million Dollar Baby," saying, "He's not afraid to make the movies that are daring and substantial -- and entertaining."

Nominations were announced at 5:38 a.m. Tuesday at the Acad's BevHills headquarters by AMPAS prexy Sid Ganis and Salma Hayek.

Final ballots will be mailed Jan. 31 and are due Feb. 20. Oscars will be held Feb. 25 at the Kodak Theater.

Click here to view nominations list